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Objectives: Tibial tubercle is a crucial player in maintaining the structural integrity and functional stability of the knee joint. Currently, there is no standardized protocol for the classification and treatment of tibial tubercle fractures in adults. This study analyzed the incidence and treatment strategies of tibial tubercle fractures in adults according to the four‐column and nine‐segment classification system. Methods: Data of patients with proximal tibial fractures involving tibial tubercle fractures who were treated at our hospital from August 2007 to March 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. The fractures were classified using the AO/OTA classification and four‐column and nine‐segment classification systems, and the treatment protocol (surgically treated or conservatively treated) was recorded. The number and distribution proportion of patients were counted. A two‐sided t‐test was conducted to determine the significance of differences between the gender and sides. Results: In total, 169 tibial tubercle fractures were found in 1484 proximal tibial fractures. According to the AO/OTA classification, seven of the 169 patients, (4.1%) were type A, 36 patients (21.3%) were type B, and 126 patients (74.6%) were type C. According to the four‐column and nine‐segment classification, type 1 cleavage without free fragments was the most common type of fracture (93/169, 55.0%), followed by type 2 dissociative segmental fragments (48/169, 28.4%) and type 3 comminuted fractures (28/169, 16.6%). Overall, 139 of the 169 proximal tibial fractures with tuberosity involvement were treated surgically. Among them, additional fixation of the tubercle fragment was performed in 52 fractures. Conclusion: The incidence of tibial tubercle fractures involved in proximal tibial fractures was approximately 11.4% (169/1484) in adults, and approximately one‐third of the tubercle bone fragment required additional fixation (30.8%, 52/169). The injury types in the four‐column and nine‐segment classifications are helpful for accurately judging and making treatment‐related decisions for tibial tubercle fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on fixed‐time consensus of networked Euler–Lagrange systems (NELSs) over event‐based communication under denial‐of‐service (DoS) attacks. First of all, a basic fixed‐time consensus algorithm is developed for NELSs, where a general fixed‐time communication triggering scheme through error decomposition method is designed for decreasing communication frequencies while avoiding singularity. Then, to fulfil the consensus problem of NELSs in the presence of DoS attacks, a novel fixed‐time resilient algorithm is further presented by the basic algorithm, where the effective attack interval is redefined for carrying out the algorithm design. Furthermore, a hierarchical fixed‐time control framework with privacy preservation is introduced for the consensus problem of NELSs under DoS attacks. Meanwhile, a self‐triggered scheme is employed for the above algorithms to lower the update frequencies of control inputs. The stated algorithms possess a uniformly constrained upper bound on the convergence time, and are resilient as well as responsive to DOS attacks while saving control resources significantly. Finally, numerous illustrative examples are given for demonstrating the efficacy of the derived schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on social identity theory and the elaboration likelihood model, the authors hypothesize that positive affect (PA) similarity between recruiters and applicants affects both parties, and the influenced recruiters’ behaviour thus affecting applicants’ attitudes and behaviours. Nine hypotheses are tested by conducting two studies featuring a time-lagged research design with the goal of investigating the recruitment practices used by higher education institutions (HEIs) in China. Cross-level polynomial regression and block variable approaches examining 142 and 148 separate recruiter/applicant dyads support the proposed recruiter/applicant PA similarity effects. The underlying mechanism is revealed to be recruiters’ informativeness and affective delivery (Study 1), that then causes applicants to form brand identification, which further influences applicants’ attraction to the organization, and intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth about the organization (Study 2). Findings indicate that HEIs and organizations should strive to match applicant/recruiter PA levels. Implications and directions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the distributed optimization problem of networked Euler–Lagrange (EL) systems with actuator faults and unknown model parameters. In order to solve this issue, some event‐triggered fault‐tolerant (ETFT) optimal coordination algorithms with the mechanism of intermittent communication and intermittent controller update are designed for the first time to compensate for the impact of physical faults on the system, and reduce communication costs and control resource consumption. For practical applications, it is difficult for the system to have a secure environment if there exist malicious attacks blocking network channels among agents. Therefore, the resilient ETFT optimal coordination with intermittent communication subject to asynchronous denial‐of‐service (DoS) attacks is considered. Especially, auxiliary systems with adaptive gains are introduced in the algorithms due to the unavailability of the EL model parameters, which also enable virtual data exchange between agents and protect actual state information. Note that the algorithms are fully distributed as the global topology information is not required. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed algorithms is verified through numerical simulation of examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the significant distortion problem caused by the special projection method of equi-rectangular projection (ERP) images, this paper proposes an omnidirectional image super-resolution algorithm model based on position information transformation, taking SwinIR as the base. By introducing a space position transformation module that supports deformable convolution, the image preprocessing process is optimized to reduce the distortion effects in the polar regions of the ERP image. Meanwhile, by introducing deformable convolution in the deep feature extraction process, the model's adaptability to local deformations of images is enhanced. Experimental results on publicly available datasets have shown that our method outperforms SwinIR, with an average improvement of over 0.2 dB in WS-PSNR and over 0.030 in WS-SSIM for ×4 pixel upscaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with the fixed‐time fault‐tolerant control problem of multiple Euler–Lagrange systems (MELSs) with intermittent communication, actuator faults and input disturbances. A nonsingular fixed‐time control framework with three parts is built for the above problem. In the first part, a novel adaptive controller is proposed for MELSs to ensure the fixed‐time stability of sliding modes while successfully solving the actuator faults, parameter uncertainties and unknown disturbances. In the second part, the fixed‐time estimators based on event‐triggered communication are designed by an error decomposition approach. In the third part, an auxiliary system is introduced for the singularity problem and sufficient condition for achieving the consensus is rigorously proved by synthesizing the results of the above two parts. The key feature of the proposed control framework is that the convergence time is constrained by a constant without involving initial states, and the singularity problems of fixed‐time control is avoided. Finally, simulation examples are provided to prove the efficacy of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the distributed Nash equilibrium seeking problem of quadratic time‐varying games with Euler–Lagrange (EL) players, where external disturbances and parametric uncertainties are involved. A gradient‐based hierarchical algorithm consisting of a game layer and a control layer is proposed. Specifically, in the game layer, EL players communicate with neighbors through a graph to reach the consensus on potential aggregate values, which will be employed to calculate the gradient of each player's objective function, and then, a gradient‐based sliding mode controller is developed to track time‐varying gradient in the control layer. Thus, the convergence results are hierarchically obtained through the Lyapunov stability method. In addition, the hierarchical control strategy is extended to address the constrained problems through the utilization of a smooth penalty function. By appropriately choosing control parameters, the Nash equilibrium seeking errors can be arbitrarily small. The relation between the optimal solutions of the original problem and the dual one is further discussed. Finally, the proposed methods are numerically verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies have shown that umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells have an anti-aging effect in ovaries, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms of HA-MSC ovarian anti-aging remain to be studied. Therefore, we conducted a 10X Genomics single-nucleus transcriptome sequencing experiment on the ovaries of macaque monkeys after HA-MSC treatment. Methods: The results of cell subgroup classification were visualized by 10X Genomics single nuclear transcriptome sequencing. The aging model of hGCs was established, and the migration ability of the cells was determined after coculture of HA-MSCs and aging hGCs. The genes screened by single nuclear transcriptional sequencing were verified in vitro by qPCR. Results: Compared with the aging model group, the number of cell receptor pairs in each subgroup of the HA-MSC-treated group increased overall. Treatment with 200 μmol/L H2O2 for 48 h was used as the optimum condition for the induction of hGC senescence. After coculture of noncontact HA-MSCs with senescent hGCs, it was found that HA-MSCs can reverse the cell structure, proliferation ability, senescence condition, expression level of senescence-related genes, and expression level of key genes regulating the senescence pathway in normal hGCs. Conclusions: HA-MSC therapy can improve the tissue structure and secretion function of the ovary through multiple cellular and molecular mechanisms to resist ovarian aging. In vitro validation experiments further supported the results of single-cell sequencing, which provides evidence supporting a new option for stem cell treatment of ovarian senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and detecting buried pipelines under concrete pavement are often complex and difficult tasks. The time–frequency electromagnetic technology, with the fast information acquisition and strong anti-interference ability, is first applied in the buried pipeline inspection. The purpose is to verify if this method can monitor and detect the pipelines status change effectively, even if covered by concrete pavement. Three representative scenarios (normal, coating-damaged and leaking) and two types of pavement (plain concrete and reinforced concrete) are created and applied in the simulations with the finite element method. The simulated results are processed and analysed with the proposed method. In the frequency domain, the maximum change of the electric and magnetic field signals for the coating-damaged scenario from the normal one are 0.4% and 9.9% respectively, and 97.7% and 157.7% for the leaking scenario. In the time domain, the shifts of the electric and magnetic field signal peak are 6.2 μs and 6.5 μs respectively when the coating damage occurs, and 11.4 μs and 13.1 μs when leakage appears. The results indicate that the above technology is valid for buried pipelines. Moreover, it can be used to locate and identify the abnormalities and types of concrete pavement can be differentiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the flotation separation of cerussite and quartz under different experimental conditions was studied by using phenylpropenyl hydroxamic acid (PHA) as a collector. The flotation performance of PHA was studied through experiments involving pure minerals and artificial mixed minerals, and the results showed that PHA has good selectivity and collecting ability for cerussite. The adsorption mechanism of the collector on the surface of cerussite was investigated via adsorption capacity experiments, zeta potential tests, FTIR spectroscopy, and XPS analysis. The adsorption capacity results showed that PHA can be well adsorbed on the surface of cerussite. The results of the zeta potential tests showed that PHA has strong chemical adsorption on the cerussite surface. FTIR and XPS analysis showed that PHA may form a Pb–PHA complex on the cerussite surface to improve the floatability of cerussite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric field driven acceleration of plasma ions is an intrinsic effect in laser-induced plasma plumes and is responsible for the generation of high-energy ions. At high laser fluences (≥ 2 J/cm2), multiply charged ions are formed and affect the plume expansion dynamics. In this paper, we used kinetic energy-resolved mass spectrometry to investigate the relative abundance and kinetic energy distributions of singly- and doubly-charged ions produced by KrF-laser ablation of nine different oxide targets. The doubly charged metal ions with a lower mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio show narrow energy distributions at high average kinetic energies coinciding with the cutoff energies for the singly-charged ion distributions. The observation suggests that the recombination of higher charged ions plays a prominent role in the formation of the high-energy tail for singly-charged ions. The results are discussed in terms of component volatility and a dynamic double layer, where ions with different m/z values experience different accelerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the use of a specially designed hollow trephine to create the entry point through the femoral condyle during retrograde interlocking intramedullary nailing for femoral fractures. Methods: From June 2019 to December 2021, we treated 11 patients (5 men, 6 women; mean age, 64 years; age range 40–77 years) with mid-distal femoral fractures by retrograde intramedullary femoral nailing using a self-designed hollow trephine for femoral condyle reaming and cancellous bone harvesting. The mode of all the nails is static. Patients were followed up at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks and for at least 6 months after surgery. The healing process and heterotopic ossification were evaluated by imaging. Partial weight bearing was permitted during the recovery period and complete weight bearing was permitted after clinical healing of the fracture displayed by X-ray. Results: The operation was successful in all patients. Over mean follow-up of 9.3 months (range, 6.0–12.0 months), all patients achieved clinical healing within three months. There were no complications such as knee joint infection, heterotopic ossification, knee joint adhesion and wedge effect. Conclusion: The use of the hollow trephine during femoral retrograde intramedullary nailing helps avoid postoperative complications such as heterotopic ossification, knee joint adhesions, and wedge effect. It also facilitates bone graft harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recycling of retired lithium ion batteries (LIBs) plays a vital role in alleviating the energy crisis and preventing secondary pollution. However, the unstable properties of waste materials greatly restricts the reuse of recycled materials in the industrial energy domain. Herein, we applied water as stripping solvent to effectively dispose of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4) cathode scrap. The results showed that the stripping rate of cathode scrap could reach more than 92%, and the recycling did not give rise to any impact on the structure of the cathode material under optimized condition. The molar ratios of elements were signed as n (Li): n (Fe): n (P) = 5 : 4.6: 4.95 by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the PVDF was completely invisible after sintering. The LiFePO 4 materials calcined at different temperature for 10 h under argon atmosphere showed excellent constant current charge-discharge performance and good cycle life, which reflected the stability of the olivine structure. The LiFePO 4 cathode material directly calcined at 650 °C for 10 h exhibited the best charge-discharge specific capacity with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.2%. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests showed that the re-sintered LiFePO 4 material had a less redox polarized potential compared with the retired LiFePO 4 material. The non-structure-damaging recycling mode also provides a green and effective direction for the recovery and recyclability of retired LiFePO 4. The discharge capacity of the recycled sample LFP-650-10 was 164.2 mA h g−1 at first cycle, and it could deliver a discharge capacity of 161.9 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles with a high capacity retention of 98.5%. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was aimed at analyzing the incidence and characteristics of hyperextension tibial plateau fractures (HTPFs) by using a computed tomography (CT)-based "four-column and nine-segment" classification.Methods: In the coronal plane, HTPFs are divided into four types: pure hyperextension, hyperextension-varus, hyperextension-valgus, and hyperextension-bicondylar. Fractures in the sagittal plane were divided into three types: type 1, pure depression; type 2, cleavage extending to the posterior cortex with no displacement; and type 3, cleavage extending to the posterior cortex with a significant displacement. A retrospective analysis of CT images of the tibial plateau fractures from December 2007 to December 2021 was conducted. Fracture mapping was analyzed and drawn using the new classification system.Results: A total of 136 (10.9%, 136/1253) fractures fulfilled the radiographic criteria for HTPF pattern in 136 knees (53.5 ± 13.3 years). There were 11 knees with pure hyperextension fracture (8.1%), 23 with hyperextension-varus fracture (16.9%), 46 with hyperextension-valgus fracture (33.8%), and 56 with hyperextension-bicondylar fracture (41.2%) in the coronal plane. Furthermore, there were 64 (47.1%), 47 (34.6%), and 25 (18.4%) cases of type 1, type 2, and type 3 fractures, respectively, in the sagittal plane. In the three-dimensional heat map, the fracture lines were mainly located at the anterior rim of the tibial plateau, while the posterior articular surface was rarely involved.Conclusions: The main manifestations of HTPF are anterior compression and posterior avulsion injury. The CT-based four-column and nine-segment classification system could be used to categorize the injury characteristics of HTPF in the coronal and sagittal planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the incidence of proximal avulsion of the five main ligaments and to revise the diagonal tension/compression concept in tibial plateau fractures.Methods: Computed tomographic images of 1263 cases of tibial plateau fractures were retrospectively analyzed by the OTA/AO classification and four-column nine-segment classification. The correlation between proximal avulsion of five ligaments and the injury mechanism was analyzed.Results: In total, 1263 tibial plateau fractures in 1253 patients were included. A total of 92 cases (7.3%) associated with proximal avulsions were identified among the 1263 tibial plateau fracture cases obtained from our institution's database. The 92 avulsions occurred in 82 patients, among whom 10 patients had two different avulsions in a single knee. The incidence of proximal avulsion fracture of the medial and lateral collateral ligament was 3.6% (45/1263) and 2.1% (26/1263), respectively. The incidence of avulsion of the anterior cruciate ligament and avulsion of the posterior cruciate ligament was much lower at 0.2% (2/1263) and 0.1% (1/1263), respectively. Proximal avulsion of the patellar ligament occurred in 18 cases (incidence rate = 1.4%). Several combinations of injuries, composed of distal tibial plateau fractures and proximal avulsion of ligaments, were identified.Conclusions: Among the patients with tibial plateau fracture, the incidence of proximal avulsion of the five ligaments was 7.3% (92/1263). The four-column and nine-segment classification is an exhaustive method for recording injuries in these ligaments. The revised diagonal injury concept is useful for understanding the injury mechanism and choosing the appropriate surgical strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the collaborative control of multiple nonlinear Euler-Lagrange systems with actuator faults and stochastic semi-Markov jump networks (SMJNs) is concerned. In order to fulfil high reliability and low consumption, several novel event-triggered fault-tolerant control (ETFTC) algorithms are established to simultaneously eliminate the undesirable faults and save control resources, where only quantised partial-state signal of neighbours is required for the control process. Moreover, some ubiquitous constraints, such as unknown control directions and time-varying communication delays, are also comprehensively considered and effectively excluded so as to further enhance the control reliability. Meanwhile, some sufficient criteria on the algorithm synthesis and stability analysis without involving Zeno behaviour are successfully built with the aid of Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional. Finally, some illustrative simulations are performed to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the derived ETFTC algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recycling of cathode materials from batteries has an impact on reducing energy consumption. In this study, a green recycling method without secondary pollution was adopted to directly reutilize spent lithium manganate materials. The stripping rate achieved for these spent materials reached 91.1%. This excellent stripping rate was attributed to the synergistic effects of stirring and sonication. The molecular formula of the stripped cathode materials was determined to be LiMn1.85O4. Infrared spectroscopy was used to demonstrate that the organic adhesive in the cathode materials was completely removed after calcination and that the asymmetric stretching peak of the MO6 groups was enhanced. Comparative experiments showed that the electrochemical properties of the re-utilized materials were dramatically improved. The discharge capacity of the sample calcined at 800 °C for 12 h was 131.7 mAh g−1 at the first cycle, and 91.7% of the capacity was maintained after 200 cycles at 0.2C (1C = 148 mAh g−1). Importantly, this recycling strategy not only requires no toxic or hazardous solvents but also has no harmful effects on the environment and reduces waste accumulation effectively, thus providing a new possibility for the recycling of similar batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gas-phase reaction dynamics and kinetics in a laser induced plasma are very much dependent on the interactions of the evaporated target material and the background gas. For metal (M) and metal–oxygen (MO) species ablated in an Ar and O2 background, the expansion dynamics in O2 are similar to the expansion dynamics in Ar for M+ ions with an MO+ dissociation energy smaller than O2. This is different for metal ions with an MO+ dissociation energy larger than for O2. This study shows that the plume expansion in O2 differentiates itself from the expansion in Ar due to the formation of MO+ species. It also shows that at a high oxygen background pressure, the preferred kinetic energy range to form MO species as a result of chemical reactions in an expanding plasma, is up to 5 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the recovery of rare earth elements, finding a collector with a strong selectivity ability had become the focus of research. In this paper, phenylpropyl hydroxamic acid (PHA) was used as a new hydrophobic surfactant collector for the separation of bastnaesite from calcite, and salicylic hydroxamic acid (SHA) was used as a reference collector. The results of a single mineral flotation test with SHA show that the reagent has good collection performance and selectivity. In addition, Zeta potential measurements and FTIR analysis show that PHA is adsorbed on the surface of bastnaesite by chemical adsorption, and the surface state of bastnaesite changes after PHA treatment. By XPS analysis, PHA interacts with Ce, and forms a Ce–O bond with Ce. It is speculated that the hydroxamic acid forms a five-element-chelated hydroxamic group with Ce on bastnaesite surface, so as to improve the hydrophobicity of bastnaesite, and make bastnaesite float more easily out of the pulp. According to DFT calculation, PHA has better adsorption capacity and stronger hydrophobicity than SHA, and shows superior electronic group capacity and chemical reactions that promote its flotation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely believed that people have preferences in relation to the colour of their interior environment. With the development of the global small apartment industry, it is important to understand well people's colour preference for apartments. This study investigated the apartment colour preference (N = 958) and the arousal level measured as heart rate variability for 70 young Chinese people for 21 colours. The findings indicate that young Chinese people (22‐27 years of age) prefer light red, red, yellow, and gray areas of the colour space, and least prefer darker colours in the green, gray, and brown areas of the colour space. In terms of heart rate variability arousal, it was found that colours in the red, purple, and yellow areas of the colour space had the highest effect on heart rate variability arousal, vs gray and brown colours, which were found to have the lowest effect on arousal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the coordination of a class of underactuated systems subject to limited energy supply and channel bandwidth and aims to stabilize system states and exclude Zeno behaviors simultaneously. First, by means of event-triggered (E-T) and quantized techniques, several novel quantized sampled-data-based E-T schemes are constructed, which only require discrete-time controller updates and partial quantized states, and thus efficiently mitigate the control and communication workloads. Then, in order to further lower the communication consumptions, several new triggered sampled-data-based communication rules under fixed and switched networks are established, where the communications are performed only at some specific instants and, thus, the ideally continuous-time signal transmission among neighbors can be avoided. Note that sufficient criteria for achieving the coordination of the underactuated systems are derived in terms of the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional method. Finally, numerous simulations are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the distributed fixed-time formation problem of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) in the presence of external disturbances, model uncertainties, input saturation and quantization constraints. To deal with the problem, a fixed-time sliding-mode control algorithm is proposed, where multi-layer neural networks (MNNs) are designed to approximate the unknown dynamics and composite disturbances of the system. The proposed MNNs combine the advantages of fuzzy neural networks (FNNs) and radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs), exhibiting robust dynamic characteristics. Furthermore, the non-singular fast terminal sliding mode (NFTSM) is integrated into the fixed-time control framework to improve the robustness and speed of convergence for uncertain USV systems. Comparative simulations conducted with USVs demonstrate the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The tumorigenesis of infused umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) is being preclinically evaluated.Methods: We observed tumor formation in NOD SCID mice after a single subcutaneous injection of hUC-MSCs and the effect of these cells on tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. Three generations (P5, P7, and P10) of hUC-MSCs (1 × 107) from two donors (hUC-MSC1 and hUC-MSC2) were inoculated subcutaneously into NOD SCID mice. Subcutaneous transplantation models were established in NOD SCID mice with human cervical cancer HeLa cells (solid tumor) and human B cell lymphoma Raji cells (hematological tumor). Then, the animals were euthanized, gross dissection was performed, and tissues were collected. Various organs were observed microscopically to identify pathological changes and tumor metastasis.Results: In the tumorigenesis experiment, no general anatomical abnormalities were observed. In the tumor promotion experiment, some animals in the HeLa groups experienced tumor rupture, and one animal died in each of the low- and medium-dose hUC-MSC groups. The results may have occurred due to the longer feeding time, and the tumor may have caused spontaneous infection and death. Pathological examination revealed no metastasis to distant organs in any group. In the Raji tumor model, some animals in each group experienced tumor rupture, and one animal in the medium-dose hUC-MSC group died, perhaps due to increased tumor malignancy. Thus, hUC-MSCs neither promoted nor inhibited tumor growth. No cancer cell metastasis was observed in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys or other important organs, except that pulmonary venule metastasis was observed in 1 animal in the model group.Conclusions: Injected hUC-MSCs were not tumorigenic and did not significantly promote or inhibit solid or hematological tumor growth or metastasis in NOD SCID mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) present the advantages of long cycle life, high voltage, and energy density and are widely made in the field of energy storage. LiVOPO 4 (LVOP), a cathode material used in LIBs, has a high conceptual capacity of 159 mAh g−1 and high operating voltage of 3.9 V. However, its low electrical conductivity and cycle performance limit its commercial applications. According to the X-ray diffraction results, orthogonal crystal LVOP and monoclinic crystal Li 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 (LVP) coexisted in the synthesised composite material. The transmission electron microscopy results also indicated that the LVOP and LVP phases coexist, which were coated by carbon layer of about 2.5 nm. The discharge of LVOP–LVP composite material initially was 143.2 mAh g−1, and that after 120 cycles was 132.2 mAh g−1 (at 0.1 C and 3–4.5 V). Thus, the electronic conductivity and first discharge specific capacity of the material enhanced due to the introduction of fast ion conductor LVP into LVOP. Electrochemical performance improved because the introduction of LVP led to an increase in Li+ pervasion channels in the original material and the acceleration of the Li+ transmission speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. About 1/3 of tibial plateau fractures are associated with proximal fibula fractures, but most proximal fibula fractures are often ignored. The aim of this study was to precisely explain the classification and treatment strategies of six injury types of the fibular column associated with tibial plateau fractures. Methods. Patients with ipsilateral proximal fibula and tibial plateau fractures treated in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed from Aug 2007 to Mar 2020. Two experienced surgeons and two radiologists divided fibular column injury into 6 injury types according to the AO classification and four-column nine-segment classification. The treatment scheme (surgically treated or conservatively treated) was also recorded. Results. In total, 355 proximal fibula fractures were included. Type 2 fibular head fracture was the most common type of injury in 122, and the segregate of superior tibiofibular syndesmosis was the rarest type in 3. In avulsion injury proximal of fibular pattern, the proportion of patients who need surgical intervention is the highest. Conclusions. Six injury types in the four-column nine-segment classification covered all types of bony and soft tissue injuries of the fibular column and concisely explained the injury mechanism. The classification is helpful for the precise judgement and decision-making of the concomitant fibular column injuries in tibial plateau fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with the quantized fault‐tolerant control (FTC) for consensus of multiple Lagrangian systems subject to stochastically switching networks, actuator and sensor faults. First of all, a reliable quantized FTC algorithm is developed under Markov jump networks (MJNs), where the communication signal is first quantized before transmitted to develop controllers, and the communication networks are stochastically switching with the sojourn time belonging to an exponential distribution. Then, to handle the FTC problem in the presence of unknown control directions, the Nussbaum function is introduced to further improve the control reliability. Furthermore, the FTC case involving semi‐Markov jump networks (S‐MJNs) and time‐varying communication delays is considered, where the negative constraints of time delays can be effectively attenuated with the sojourn time following a Weibull distribution. Meanwhile, several sufficient criteria on the consensus analysis and algorithms synthesis are established by means of the Lyapunov–Krasovskii stability method. Finally, numerous illustrative examples are elaborated on for demonstrating the feasibility of the derived results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No-tillage (NT) can enhance the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC), thereby aiding in climate change mitigation and improving soil fertility. However, the relations of soil microbial abundance, composition, and necromass to SOC increase under NT are still unclear, limiting the knowledge of SOC stabilization. We performed a 5-year paddy field experiment in southern China including NT, reduced tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT). Soil microbial necromass C (MC, including fungal and bacterial necromass C, FC, and BC) were analyzed, as well as soil bacterial and fungal community composition. At a depth of 0–10 cm, NT increased FC (by 48.6 %–50.2 %, P < 0.05), BC (28.6 %–41.7 %), and MC (38.5 %–45.1 %, P < 0.05) but did not significantly alter the FC/BC and MC/SOC ratios. The increase rate of MC (NT vs. CT and RT) was 12.8–16.2 % higher than that of total SOC. Compared with 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm, the MC/SOC ratio was 12.5 %–14.1 % lower at 20–30 cm. Linear regression indicated significant positive correlations of SOC with MC, BC, and FC, whereas no significant correlation was found between bacterial (or fungal) α-diversity (expressed by Shannon index) and BC (or FC). The Random Forest Model showed that several important fungal and bacterial Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) explained 14 %–73 % of the FC and BC variations. Therefore, the composition of the microbial community may play a pivotal role in driving the accumulation of MC. Short-term NT in rice paddies resulted in increased levels of both MC and SOC. Notably, the rate of increase in MC exceeded that of SOC, suggesting the potential for SOC stabilization. • 5-Year no-tillage increased microbial-derived C in paddy soil. • Microbial composition explained 14–73 % of microbial-derived C variation. • The SOC is positively related with fungal and bacterial necromass C. • 5-Year no-tillage did not change microbial-derived C/SOC ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saiga antelope horn (SAH) is derived from the Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica Linnaeus) of the bovidae family. SAH has been used for the treatment of febrile seizures (FS) in children for thousands of years in China. Due to the biological protection of Saiga antelope and its ethical reasons, the application of SAH has been widely restricted. Unfortunately, the field of artificial manufacturing of SAH is still blank at present. The mechanism of SAH in the treatment of FS is still unclear, which seriously hinders the further development of artificial antelope horns and the search for substitutes for SAH. At present, there is an urgent need to determine the mechanism of SAH in the treatment of FS, so as to provide a theoretical basis for artificial antelope horn and its substitutes. To explore the anti-FS effect of natural SAH on FS rat model and its possible mechanism, and to provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent manufacture of artificial antelope horns and the search for the best substitutes. FS was induced by a warm water bath (48 ± 0.5 °C). The latency and seizure grade of FS were observed and recorded. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the functional defect of hippocampal cells. The contents of tryptophan (TRP), serotonin (5-HT), IL-1β and TNF-a in rat brain tissue were determined by ELISA. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of 5-HT synthesis related neurotransmitter receptors, catalytic enzymes and inflammatory factors in hippocampus. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the expression of TPH2 protein in the dorsal raphe nucleus of rat brain. After pretreating rats with SAH, the seizure grade of FS was significantly reduced and the latency was prolonged. SAH can reduce the histological damage of hippocampal tissue induced by FS in rats. Further analysis of ELISA results showed that SAH significantly increased the levels of TRP and 5-HT in the brain of FS rats, and significantly decreased the levels of IL-1β and TNF-a. The results of QPCR showed that SAH could up-regulate the expression of ER-β and TPH2 mRNA and down-regulate the expression of IL-1β and TNF-ɑ mRNA in the hippocampus of rats. In addition, WB and immunofluorescence results showed that SAH could significantly up-regulate the expression of ER-β/TPH2/5-HT pathway in the hippocampus of FS rats and the expression of TPH2 protein in the raphe nucleus, but had no significant effect on SERT protein in the hippocampus of FS rats. In addition, ER-β protein inhibitor PHTPP significantly inhibited the therapeutic effect of SAH on FS rats. The present study demonstrates that SAH has a significant anticonvulsant effect on the FS rat model. The mechanism may be related to the increase of TRP content and up-regulation the expression of ER-β/TPH2/5-HT signaling pathway in the brain of FS rats, thereby increasing the content of 5-HT in the brain and reducing the content of IL-1β and TNF-a in the brain. [Display omitted] • The present study confirmed the anti-FS effect of Saiga antelope horn.. • The study verified the anti-febrile convulsive mechanism of Saiga antelope horn. (by up-regulating the expression of ER-β protein and TPH2 protein). • The study demonstrated that the anti-febrile convulsive effect of Saiga antelope horn was associated with increased 5-HT expression. • To provide theoretical basis for the development of artificial Saiga antelope horn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the characteristics of modern weapon injury, a repetitive model of traumatic systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and an evaluation system were established. The models were treated with GFP-labeled tree shrew umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs). Forty out of 50 tree shrews were used to make a unilateral femoral comminuted fracture. Lipopolysaccharide was injected intravenously to create a traumatic SIRS model. The other 10 shrews were used as normal controls. After the model was established for 10 days, 20 tree shrews were injected intravenously with GFP-labeled UCMSCs, and 18 tree shrews were not injected as the model control group. The distribution of GFP-labeled cells in vivo was measured at 2 and 10 days after injection. Twenty days after treatment, the model group, the normal control group, and the treatment group were taken to observe the pathological changes in each tissue, and blood samples were taken for the changes in liver, renal, and heart function. Distribution of GFP-positive cells was observed in all tissues at 2 and 10 days after injection. After treatment, the HE staining results of the treatment group were close to those of the normal group, and the model group had a certain degree of lesions. The results of liver, renal, and heart function tests in the treatment group were returned to normal, and the results in the model group were abnormally increased. UCMSCs have a certain effect on the treatment of traumatic SIRS and provide a new technical solution for modern weapon trauma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is an important contributor to acute kidney injury and a major factor affecting early functional recovery after kidney transplantation. We conducted this experiment to investigate the protective effect of induced multipotent stem cell transplantation on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Forty rabbits were divided into four groups of 10 rabbits each. Thirty rabbits were used to establish the renal ischemia-reperfusion injury model, and ten rabbits served as the model group and were not treated. Among the 30 rabbits with renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, 10 rabbits were treated with induced peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and 10 other rabbits were treated with noninduced PBMCs. After three weekly treatments, the serum creatinine levels, urea nitrogen levels and urine protein concentrations were quantified. The kidneys were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE), periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Masson's trichrome and then sent for commercial metabolomic testing. The kidneys of the rabbits in the model group showed different degrees of pathological changes, and the recovery of renal function was observed in the group treated with induced cells. The results indicate that PBMCs differentiate into multipotent stem cells after induction and exert a therapeutic effect on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) has been recognized as an oncogene in numerous cancers and overexpression of SNHG6 was found to promote colorectal cancer (CRC). Hence, we performed a meta‐analysis to examine the clinical importance of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG6. Moreover, comprehensive identification of RNA‐binding proteins‐mass spectrometry (ChIRP‐MS) was conducted to explore the carcinogenic mechanism of lncRNA SNHG6 in CRC. Fourteen studies conducted on 1,139 patients were included in this meta‐analysis. We also constructed the protein–protein interactive (PPI) network in string based on the ChIRP‐MS results and cytoscape was used to identify core modules in the PPI network, which were then analyzed using the bioinformatics websites, cancer single‐cell state atlas (CancerSEA) and G:profilter. The clinical outcomes of the meta‐analysis indicated that higher expression of SNHG6 was related with a poorer survival outcome (overall survival: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.92; 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 1.48, 2.49; p <.0001; disease‐free survival: HR = 1.84; 95% Cl: 1.02, 3.34; p =.044), higher tumor stage (odds ratio [OR] = 3.35; 95% Cl: 2.57, 4.37; p <.0001), distant metastasis (OR = 1.83; 95% Cl: 1.11, 2.99; p =.017) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.33; 95% Cl: 0.93, 1.89; p =.119). The ChIRP‐MS results showed that core Module 1 of the PPI was significant in ribosomes and core Module 2 was mainly related to spliceosomes and messenger RNA processing. In conclusion, a higher expression of SNHG6 was found to be associated with a poorer survival outcome, high tumor stage, and distant metastasis in various solid tumors. SNHG6 was also found to be able to affect the processes of transcription and translation to promote CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are promising energy storage systems because sodium is a low cost and abundant resource. Appropriate electrode materials with high performance are a prerequisite to satisfy demand for efficient SIBs. Heterostructured electrodes show high specific capacity and rate capacity for SIBs owing to the synergistic effect of multiple components compared with a single component. Here, heterostructured binary metal-sulfide CoS2/NiS2 compounds encapsulated in bamboo-like carbon nanotubes (CoS2/NiS2@B-CNT), were prepared by pyrolysis and sulfidation procedures. The heterostructured anode material demonstrates a high capacity of 625.8 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, a distinguished rate capacity (491.6 mA h g−1 at 10 A g−1), and stable cyclic property (497.6 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1 after 1000 cycles, 93.0% capacity retention). This design of a heterostructure offers a new avenue to develop anode materials with high performance for SIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: In many grasslands under grazing pressure, unpalatable plants have become abundant and these areas are refuges for plant diversity. We hypothesize that unpalatable plants may also serve as refuges for soil microbes. Methods: We tested this hypothesis by investigating soil fungal diversity and community composition, soil properties, and plant parameters in areas dominated by the unpalatable drunken horse grass (Achnatherum inebrians), and areas without this toxic grass, in three types of natural rangelands in northern China. Results: Our results showed that the areas dominated by A. inebrians had a higher fungal diversity, higher microbial biomass, higher abundance of plant pathogens in soil, and higher plant biomass than areas that did not contain A. inebrians. Soil fungal community composition was positively correlated with plant community composition across the three study sites. Fungal diversity and microbial biomass were positively correlated with higher plant biomass. Abundance of soil plant pathogens was positively correlated with coverage of A. inebrians. Conclusions: The results indicated that plant community composition significantly correlated with soil fungal community composition, and refuge effects of A. inebrians drive higher fungal diversity, microbial biomass and abundance of plant pathogens in the soil. Increased abundance of A. inebrians potentially has considerable effects on the soil fungal community in grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 is a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its high capacity, high energy density and low cost. However, LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 suffers from an aggressive side reaction with electrolyte, resulting in poor cycling performance, large polarization and fast voltage degradation. To overcome these drawbacks, we use an acid coprecipitation method to prepare rod-shaped LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 , and introduce a thin and uniform lithium titanium oxide layer on the surface by a solvothermal method. The 3 mol% lithium titanium oxide-coated LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 exhibits a much higher capacity retention (88.6%) than the pristine material after 100 cycles, and the polarization and voltage degradation of the Ni-rich cathode are largely alleviated. Furthermore, at an elevated temperature of 65 °C, the capacity retention of lithium titanium oxide–coated LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 is 81.1% after 50 cycles, which is much higher than that of pristine LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 (only 52.0%). These results suggest that the surface doping of Ti4+ and the introduction of the lithium titanium oxide layer help to improve the structure stability and mitigate the side reactions on the electrode-electrolyte interface, resulting in good electrochemical performance. • Rod-shape LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 is synthesized by simple acid co-precipitation. • Uniform and thin layer coating is achieved by solvothermal method. • LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 with Li-Ti-O coating layer shows improved cycling stability and rate capability. • Polarization and voltage degradation are alleviated by the introduction of Li-Ti-O layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fullerene-based organic solar cells are generally suffering from severe microstructure evolution occurring in their bulk heterojunction active layers and thus are extremely stable. To address it, four polymerizable C 70 fullerene derivatives, [6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -ethyl acrylate (PC 71 EA), [6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -propyl acrylate (PC 71 PrA), [6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -butyl acrylate (PC 71 BA), and [6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -pentyl acrylate (PC 71 PeA), have been designed, synthesized, and investigated. These fullerene compounds have a molecular structure, shape and size very like the conventional C 70 fullerene acceptor, [6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -butyric acid methyl ester (PC 71 BM), and have been found no different in their light absorption, redox potentials, and frontier orbital energy levels. Using these fullerene acrylates individually as acceptor and poly(3-hexylthiophene) as donor, organic solar cells have been fabricated and gave optimal efficiencies ranging from 3.32% to 4.16%, comparable to PC 71 BM-based reference cells (4.06%). Owing to their acrylate functionality, these fullerene derivatives can turn into insoluble upon heating, and thus endow their solar cell devices much better thermostability than PC 71 BM-based reference cells. The best one, coming from PC 71 PeA devices, reported an optimal efficiency of 4.16%, and maintained 91.7% efficiency after heat treatment at 150 °C for 35 h. As a sharp contrast, the PC 71 BM reference cell dropped its optimal efficiency from 4.06% to 0.48% only after 5 h heat treatment. X-ray diffraction, optical and atomic force microscopy, and space-charge-limited current method have been carried out to understand active layer structure, morphology, and charge mobility change during heat treatment. Image 1 • A series of polymerizable C 70 fullerene acrylates with different methylene lengths were designed and synthesized. • These C 70 fullerene acrylates have a molecular shape and size like PC 71 BM and have no difference in their light absorption, redox potential, band gap, HOMO and LUMO energy levels. • Polymer solar cells based on these C 70 fullerene acrylates exhibited similar efficiency to those based on P3HT/PC 71 BM, but the former cells possessed much better thermal stability than the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Mucosal traction as a "second hand" in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is very helpful for ESD operators. The efficacy of using a snare combined with endoclips to assist in ESD (SC‐ESD) was evaluated whether it could achieve peroral external traction (PET) and peroral internal traction (PIT) and real‐time adjustment of mucosal traction position. This study aimed to preliminarily evaluate its feasibility. Methods: A snare was fixed using endoclips to the incised mucosal flap that was intended for dissection. Subsequently, the snare was adjusted to achieve mucosal traction. This study included 54 gastroesophageal neoplasias in 54 consecutive patients who underwent SC‐ESD. The operative and clinical data were retrospectively collected. Results: Peroral external tractions were performed for 22 esophageal neoplasias, and PETs and PITs were performed for 32 gastric neoplasias. The median (interquartile range) sizes of lesions were 4.3 (2.5) and 4.2 (2.1) cm, operation times were 73.4 (43.8) and 60.0 (45.2) min, and submucosal dissection times were 27.0 (32.0) and 31.0 (34.5) min in the esophagus and stomach, respectively. Mucosal traction position could be effectively adjusted by fixing the snare to the incised mucosal flap intended for dissection during SC‐ESD. All lesions in the esophagus and stomach were completely resected, with R0 resection rates of 100%. Besides postoperative bleeding in a patient with gastric neoplasia, no intraoperative and postoperative perforations occurred. Conclusions: SC‐ESD seems to be feasible for resecting gastroesophageal neoplasia, and two types of mucosal tractions (PET and PIT) could be effectively achieved during SC‐ESD. Further prospective comparative study with a large sample is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) of the genotypes B1a and B1b have co-circulated in mainland China in the past decades. From 2013 to 2017, a total of 3,008 specimens from 3,008 patients with mild hand, foot, and mouth disease were collected in the present study. Viral RNA was tested for CV-A16 by a real-time RT-PCR method, and complete VP1 sequences and full-length genome sequences of CV-A16 strains from this study were determined by RT-PCR and sequencing. Sequences were analyzed using a series of bioinformatics programs. The detection rate for CV-A16 was 4.1%, 25.9%, 10.6%, 28.1% and 12.9% in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. Overall, the detection rate for CV-A16 was 16.5% (497/3008) in this 5-year period in Shenzhen, China. One hundred forty-two (142/155, 91.6%) of the 155 genotype B1 strains in the study belonged to subgenotype B1b, and 13 (13/155, 8.4%) strains belonged to subgenotype B1a. Two strains (CVA16/Shenzhen174/CHN/2017 and CVA16/Shenzhen189/CHN/2017) could not be assigned to a known genotype. Phylogenetic analysis of these two strains and other Chinese CV-A16 strains indicated that these two CV-A16 strains clustered independently in a novel clade whose members differed by 8.4%-11.8%, 8.4%-12.1%, and 14.6%-14.8% in their nucleotide sequences from those of Chinese B1a, B1b, and genotype D strains, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of global CV-A16 strains further indicated that the two novel CV-A16 strains from this study grouped in a previously uncharacterized clade, which was designated as the subgenogroup B3 in present study. Meanwhile, phylogenetic reconstruction revealed two other new genotypes, B1d and B4, which included a Malaysian strain and two American strains, respectively. The complete genome sequences of the two novel CV-A16 strains showed the highest nucleotide sequence identity of 92.3% to the Malaysian strain PM-15765-00 from 2000. Comparative analysis of amino acid sequences of the two novel CV-A16 strains and their relatives suggested that variations in the nonstructural proteins may play an important role in the evolution of modern CV-A16. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • SnS 2 nanoparticles impregnated in carbon nanofibers was prepared by electrospinning. • The CNFs skeleton improves the electronic conductivity and structural stability. • SnS 2 @CNFs anode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. Abstract To solve the problems of insufficient conductivity and volume expansion of SnS 2 during cycling when applied as anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), we designed flexible and self-standing SnS 2 /carbon nanofibers (SnS 2 /CNFs) film by electrospinning technology and post sulfuration, in which the ultrafine SnS 2 nanoparticles (∼5 nm) are preganated in the carbon nanofibers. The three-dimensional carbon nanofibers serve as flexible scaffold with high electrical conductivity to buffer the aggregation and pulverization of SnS 2 particles. The obtained flexible SnS 2 /CNFs film can be directly used as anode for SIBs without adding binder and carbon additive, and exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. The SnS 2 /CNFs delivers a high capacity of 570.8 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. Even at a high rate of 5 A g−1 , a high capacity of 247.1 mAh g−1 is still achieved. It also maintains 378.9 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The existing classification systems of tibial plateau fracture (TPF) are suboptimal for clinical use and academic communication. A more comprehensive and universal classification system with the capability to analyze all patterns of TPF is urgently required to guide the clinical practice. This study aimed to analyze the incidence and fracture characteristics of TPF using a computed tomography-based "four-column and nine-segment" classification.Methods: According to the differentiated morphological characteristics, tibial plateau and proximal fibula were divided into four columns, which were subdivided into nine segments. Tibia plateau injury index (TPII) was innovatively introduced to represent the extent of injury. A total of 698 consecutive adult patients with 704 affected knees were included (377 females, 321 males, mean age 51.6 ± 12.9 years). Fracture mapping was retrospectively analyzed according to the new-style classification system based on the CT imaging.Results: 371 (53.2%) left knees and 321 (46.0%) right knees were injured solely and 6 (0.9%) cases sustained bilateral injuries. The rates of one-column, two-column, three-column and all-four-column injuries were 30.5%, 31.5%, 28.0% and 9.9%, respectively. On average, 2.2 ± 1.0 columns and 3.6 ± 2.1 segments were involved, the mean TPII was 5.7 ± 3.0. The rates of mild, moderate and severe comminuted fractures were 50.0%, 37.5% and 12.5%. The most frequently affected columns were lateral column (572, 81.3%) and intermedial column (524, 74.4%), and the less frequently involved columns were the medial column (219, 31.1%) and fibular column (218, 31.0%). The most frequently affected segments were the posterolateral segment (465, 66.1%), anterolateral segment (453, 64.3%) and posteromedian segment (379, 53.8%). The least frequently involved segment was tubercle segment (85, 12.1%).Conclusions: The novel "four-column and nine-segment" classification will be a beneficial classification system for clinical diagnosis, statistical analysis and prognostic judgment of tibial plateau fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small molecular (SM) semiconductors with sufficient solubility and high performance are highly desired in solution-processed organic electronics. In order to address the poor solubility that a reported high performance molecular semiconductor ( BDT(ThBTTh) 2 ) with a benzodithiophene (BDT) core and two thiophene-benzothiadiazole-thiophene arms (ThBTTh) suffers from, two additional hexyl side chains have been designed into its scaffold and different attaching fashions yield two new SM semiconductors, SM1 and SM2 . The integration positions in SM1 are terminal thiophene units, while that of SM2 are located on the inner thiophene units neighbor to the central BDT unit. With expectation, the so-prepared SM1 and SM2 possess much better solubility than BDT(ThBTTh) 2 . However, the integration of additional alkyl side chains sacrifices its optoelectronic performance and the sacrifice extent is highly dependent on their attaching fashions. The molecule SM2 having new additional side chains in two inner thiophene units displayed much better performance (hole mobility: 1.80 × 10 −2  cm 2  V -1  s -1 , solar cell efficiency: (2.57 ± 0.17)%) than SM1 that integrates them at the two terminal thiophene units (hole mobility: 2.18 × 10 −4  cm 2  V -1  s -1 , solar cell efficiency: (0.87 ± 0.11)%). For understanding the origination of such performance differences, detail characterizations including differential scanning calorimetry, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, density function theoretical calculation, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy have been carried out. Finally, benefiting from their enhanced good solubility in non-chlorinated solvents, toluene has been proved capable as a green processing solvent for organic solar cell fabrication. The so-obtained SM2 devices displayed an optimized efficiency of (2.35 ± 0.19)%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material surfaces can induce cell responses such as contact guidance, yet little attention has been paid to further cell orientation. Herein, we report an interesting phenomenon of cell orientation beyond the classic contact guidance on a stripe‐like micropattern with cell‐adhesive arginine‐ glycine‐aspartate (RGD) peptides on a nonfouling background decorated by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Such a micropattern with cell adhesion contrast led to significant contact guidance after cell seeding. What is more, the localized and elongated cells were found to be further orientated out of the adhesive stripes, and even an anticlockwise rotation was observed for rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs). The left‐right asymmetry of rMSCs stood only in statistics, for we observed all cases including clockwise orientation, anticlockwise orientation or just keeping the orientation of previous contact guidance. We further found that human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) preferred a clockwise rotation, while human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) exhibited no significant preference to either direction, which indicated that the left‐right symmetry or asymmetry was cell‐type dependent. The present report has partially confirmed the cell chirality and revealed its complexity, calling for further careful and comprehensive investigation of the challenging topic of cell chirality on material surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Donor–acceptor (D–A) conjugated polymers bearing non‐covalent configurationally locked backbones have a high potential to be good photovoltaic materials. Since 1,4‐dithienyl‐2,5‐dialkoxybenzene (TBT) is a typical moiety possessing intramolecular S…O interactions and thus a restricted planar configuration, it was used in this work as an electron‐donating unit to combine with the following electron‐accepting units: 3‐fluorothieno[3,4‐b]thiophene (TFT), thieno‐[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐4,6‐dione (TPD), and diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) for the construction of such D–A conjugated polymers. Therefore, the so‐designed three polymers, PTBTTFT, PTBTTPD, and PTBTDPP, were synthesized and investigated on their basic optoelectronic properties in detail. Moreover, using [6,6]‐phenyl‐C71‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as acceptor material, polymer solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated for studying photovoltaic performances of these polymers. It was found that the optimized PTBTTPD cell gave the best performance with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.49%, while that of PTBTTFT displayed the poorest one (PCE = 1.96%). The good photovoltaic behaviors of PTBTTPD come from its lowest‐lying energy level of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) among the three polymers, and good hole mobility and favorable morphology for its PC71BM‐blended film. Although PTBTDPP displayed the widest absorption spectrum, the largest hole mobility, and regular chain packing structure when blended with PC71BM, its unmatched HOMO energy level and disfavored blend film morphology finally limited its solar cell performance to a moderate level (PCE: 3.91%). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018, 56, 689–698 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by bilateral cerebral calcification with diverse neurologic or psychiatric symptoms. Recently, XPR1 variation has accounted for PFBC as another new causative gene. However, little is known about the distribution and basic function of XPR1 and its interaction with the other three pathogenic genes for PFBC ( SLC20A2, PDGFRB and PDGFB). The aim of this study was to further clarify the role of XPR1 in PFBC brain pathology. As a result, gene expression profiles showed that XPR1 mRNA was widely expressed throughout the mouse brain. Cerebellum and striatum, most commonly affected in PFBC, contained a higher level of XPR1 protein than other brain regions. Additionally, XPR1 deficiency seriously affected Pi efflux and XPR1 mutations seemed to have an effect through haploinsufficiency mechanism. The immunoprecipitation and immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that XPR1 could interact with PDGFRB and might form a complex on the cell membrane. These results suggested that XPR1 played a fundamental role in the maintenance of cellular phosphate balance in the brain. This provided us with a novel perspective on understanding the pathophysiology of PFBC. The expression networks and interaction with the known pathogenic genes could shed new light on additional candidate genes for PFBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report a simple way to fabricate VO x thin film from pure-water solution, as the hole extraction layer (HEL) for perovskite hybrid solar cells (pero-HSCs). Furthermore, an aminopropanoic acid (APPA) interfacial layer is used to modify VO x thin film for reducing the charge carrier recombination rate. As a result, the pero-HSCs with the VO x /APPA HEL exhibits better device performance than that of the pero-HSCs with the VO x HEL and the pero-HSCs with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly-(styrenesulfonate) HEL. Moreover, the pero-HSCs with the VO x /APPA HEL exhibits hysteresis-free characteristics. All these results indicate that we report a simple approach to realize high performance of perovskite hybrid solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mantle convection could have a significant effect on basin evolution; however, research quantifying this relationship is controversial. To understand the formation mechanism and evolution of the Cenozoic rift basins in eastern China, we applied the back-stripping technique and strain rate inversion modeling to 119 wells from Sangjiang Basin, Bohai Bay Basin, North Yellow Sea Basin, South Yellow Sea Basin, East China Sea Shelf Basin, and four basins within the northern South China Sea margin. The modeled results can be used to reconstruct the tectonic subsidence history and further assess the potential subsidence mechanisms of eastern China. Residual subsidence is defined as the difference between the theoretical and observed tectonic subsidences. Our results show that the residual subsidence since 20 Ma in eastern China generally increases from ∼100 to 300 m in terrestrial areas to ∼1.2–1.8 km on the continental shelf. Our observed residual subsidence is generally consistent with the present-day dynamic topography that is predicted from mantle flow models, and it is associated with a stagnant slab within the mantle that has been observed by seismic tomography. The migration pathway of the residual subsidence since 20 Ma is consistent with the movement direction of the Pacific and Philippine plates. Therefore, we suggest that the residual subsidence might be a dynamic subsidence induced by a negative buoyancy of the sinking slab in the deep mantle beneath eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object: There is a high probability of iatrogenic perforation of the vertebral pedicle wall during the application of subaxial cervical pedicle screw (CPS). The goal of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of CPS insertion at C3-C7 in vitro using novel calipers based on the gravity line. Methods: Nine cadaveric cervical spines underwent computed tomography scanning and preoperative design. A lateral fluoroscopic view was taken to measure the intra-operative sagittal angle by C-arm with hanging cross structured K-wires. By referring to the gravity line, caliper A was used to locate the entry point, while caliper B was employed to guide the screw insertion. Postoperative CT scans were performed to assess the accuracy of the screw placements, according to the Neo classification. Results: Overall, 78 (88.6%) of the 88 pedicle screw placements were classified as grade 0 (correct position), 4 (4.5%) were grade 1 (non-critical perforation), 4 (4.5%) were grade 2 (critical perforation), and 2 (2.3%) were grade 3 (critical perforation). Conclusions: Using our novel calipers and referring to the gravity line was helpful for locating and guiding individual cervical pedicle screw insertions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, multi-shelled copper oxide hollow composite microspheres with tunable shell number and composition were successfully synthesized by means of hard template method. The source for the carbonaceous microspheres templates affects the compositions of the final copper oxides spheres critically. When changing the sucrose to glucose, the composite hollow spheres of cupric oxide (CuO) and cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) were synthesized instead of the pure CuO hollow spheres. The structure of products can be tuned from single-, double- to triple-shelled hollow spheres by precisely increasing the calcination rate. The pure CuO hollow-shell spheres had uniform diameters of about 900 nm and an average shell thickness of 45 nm. While the diameters and thicknesses of Cu 2 O/CuO composite hollow-shell spheres are 90–500 nm and 15–35 nm, respectively. Both of these two kinds of hollow-shell spheres showed much improved response to ethanol gas as gas sensors, the triple-shelled CuO/Cu 2 O hollow spheres exhibited the highest response at 140 °C, 1000 ppm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]