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The floral supply chain is one of the most delicate logistics networks in existence, requiring intensive monitoring of temperature, humidity, and product conditions to ensure the quality of flowers. However, the traditional centralized supply chain involves exchanging information back and forth, and therefore wastes time, money, and resources. In addition, centralized data control without security verification exposes logistics information to the risk of hacking, information tampering, and counterfeiting. Blockchain technology offers decentralization, immutability, and encryption security. Furthermore, application of Internet of Things (IoT) technology has made it easier to monitor goods and the distribution process. Combining the above two new technologies can effectively improve the transparency and traceability of the floral supply chain and make transactions more secure through the digital signature verification process. In this research, we propose a smart contract for the floral supply chain. Through contract compilation, the proposed contract defines the delivery process status, delivery specifications, and other conditions in the shipping process so that the status of the goods is updated on the blockchain, giving the supply chain higher traceability. This study also defines the process for and conditions of money transactions between buyers and sellers using such smart contracts, thereby automating the transaction, improving its efficiency, and saving on labor costs and paper waste. This research also compares the proposed smart contract to traditional transaction methods. The pros and cons are thoroughly discussed, offering significant benefit to decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim: During ablation of the posterior wall (PW), luminal oesophageal temperature elevation (OTE) prompts attenuation of radiofrequency (RF) energy delivery to minimize oesophageal injury. This strategy on lesion efficacy is unknown. The goal of this study was to analyse the relationship between OTE and pulmonary vein reconnection (PVR).Methods and Results: During the index antral pulmonary vein (PV) isolation procedure with an irrigated RF ablation catheter, OTE was detected with a multisensor oesophageal temperature probe. Posterior wall ablation did not exceed 25 W and was terminated when the temperature was ≥38.5°C. Patients undergoing redo procedures (n = 142) were studied for PW sites of PVR along 4 segments: left and right superior, and left and right inferior. Pulmonary vein reconnections had occurred in 51 of the 142 patients (36%), in 58 of 284 PV pairs (20%). Among these 58 reconnected pairs, 83% (n = 48) were along the PW. Oesophageal temperature elevation had occurred in 30 patients (59%). No difference in characteristics was seen between the patients with OTE (n = 30) and those without (n = 21). For superior segments, there was no interaction between the presence or absence of OTE and PVR. For inferior segments, there were more PVRs in the group with OTE: for the right-inferior segment, the PVR rate was 72% for OTE cases vs. 42% without (P = 0.04), and for the left-inferior segment, the PVR rate was 44% for OTE cases vs. 22.9% without (P = 0.12).Conclusion: Pulmonary vein reconnections are predominantly posteriorly located. Along the right- and left-inferior PW segments, there was an association with elevated oesophageal temperature during the index procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing is an alternative to metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty, especially for young and physically active patients. However, wear which might be detected by increased serum ion levels is a matter of concern. Background: Little is known about the biomechanical effectiveness of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) cages in different positioning and various posterior implants used after decompressive surgery. The use of the various implants will induce the kinematic and mechanical changes in range of motion (ROM) and stresses at the surgical and adjacent segments. Unilateral pedicle screw with or without supplementary facet screw fixation in the minimally invasive TLIF procedure has not been ascertained to provide adequate stability without the need to expose on the contralateral side. This study used finite element (FE) models to investigate biomechanical differences in ROM and stress on the neighboring structures after TLIF cages insertion in conjunction with posterior fixation. Methods: A validated finite-element (FE) model of L1-S1 was established to implant three types of cages (TLIF with a single moon-shaped cage in the anterior or middle portion of vertebral bodies, and TLIF with a left diagonally placed ogival-shaped cage) from the left L4-5 level after unilateral decompressive surgery. Further, the effects of unilateral versus bilateral pedicle screw fixation (UPSF vs. BPSF) in each TLIF cage model was compared to analyze parameters, including stresses and ROM on the neighboring annulus, cage-vertebral interface and pedicle screws. Results: All the TLIF cages positioned with BPSF showed similar ROM (<5%) at surgical and adjacent levels, except TLIF with an anterior cage in flexion (61% lower) and TLIF with a left diagonal cage in left lateral bending (33% lower) at surgical level. On the other hand, the TLIF cage models with left UPSF showed varying changes of ROM and annulus stress in extension, right lateral bending and right axial rotation at surgical level. In particular, the TLIF model with a diagonal cage, UPSF, and contralateral facet screw fixation stabilize segmental motion of the surgical level mostly in extension and contralaterally axial rotation. Prominent stress shielded to the contralateral annulus, cage-vertebral interface, and pedicle screw at surgical level. A supplementary facet screw fixation shared stresses around the neighboring tissues and revealed similar ROM and stress patterns to those models with BPSF. Conclusions: TLIF surgery is not favored for asymmetrical positioning of a diagonal cage and UPSF used in contralateral axial rotation or lateral bending. Supplementation of a contralateral facet screw is recommended for the TLIF construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was designed to derive the theoretical formulae to predict the pullout strength of pedicle screws with an inconstant outer and/or inner diameter distribution (conical screws). For the transpedicular fixation, one of the failure modes is the screw loosening from the vertebral bone. Hence, various kinds of pedicle screws have been evaluated to measure the pullout strength using synthetic and cadaveric bone as specimens. In the literature, the Chapman's formula has been widely proposed to predict the pullout strength of screws with constant outer and inner diameters (cylindrical screws). Methods: This study formulated the pullout strength of the conical and cylindrical screws as the functions of material, screw, and surgery factors. The predicted pullout strength of each screw was compared to the experimentally measured data. Synthetic bones were used to standardize the material properties of the specimen and provide observation of the loosening mechanism of the bone/screw construct. Results: The predicted data from the new formulae were better correlated with the mean pullout strength of both the cylindrical and conical screws within an average error of 5.0% and R² = 0.93. On the other hand, the average error and R2 value of the literature formula were as high as -32.3% and -0.26, respectively. Conclusion: The pullout strength of the pedicle screws was the functions of bone strength, screw design, and pilot hole. The close correlation between the measured and predicted pullout strength validated the value of the new formulae, so as avoid repeating experimental tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined effects of hyaluronate and indomethacin in the treatment of rabbits with antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) were evaluated by assessing joint swelling, C-reactive protein (CRP) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels with periodic intra-articular (ia) injections of hyaluronate alone (HA group) and with either a low or high concentration of indomethacin (LI-HA or HI-HA group). End-point analyses included matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP-3) activity and macroscopic and histological joint examinations. Results demonstrated that treatment in LI-HA and HI-HA groups resulted in statistically significant suppression of CRP, PGE2, and MMP-3 in comparison with those of HA group. Inhibition of serum CRP was only observed in LI-HA group. The order of serum MMP-3 inhibition was LI-HA>HI-HA>HA. Based on macroscopic and histological analyses of pannus formation, hyperplasia, inflammation, joint leakage and erosion, and loss of proteoglycan, the only statistically significant improvement was shown in LI-HA group compared to HA group and HI-HA group compared to control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finely tuned balance of angiogenic inhibitors and inducers controls the activity of angiogenesis characterized by proliferation, migration and differentiation of endothelial cells. Among many angiogenic factors, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was first identified to be angiogenic whereas vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) is an endothelial cell specific mitogen. In addition to being a specific mitogen, VEGF-A is also known as a vascular permeability factor. The majority of growth factors transduce their mitogenic signals from cell surface to nucleus where gene expression occurs. Whether these ligands utilize a distinct or a common molecular pathway to exert their biological effects on human endothelial cells remains elusive. We thus studied the expression profile of 884 human genes under the influence of either bFGF or VEGF-A alone in the context of human endothelial cells. A total of ninety-four genes were differentially regulated by more than two folds. The expression patterns of 32 genes are similar between the treatment of either factor alone whereas those of the remaining 62 genes are only regulated by one but not the other factor. Their function in the control of angiogenesis will be discussed and apoptotic signaling in the regulation of angiogenesis is also implicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate, for the first time, an integration- friendly selective PMOSFET fully silicided (FUSI) gate process. In this process, a millisecond-anneal (MSA) technique is utilized for the nickel silicide phase transformation. A highly tensile FUSI gate electrode is created and hence exerts compressive stress in the underlying channel. The highly flexible integration scheme successfully, and exclusively, implements uniform P+ FUSI gates for PMOSFETs while preserving a FUSI-free N+ poly-Si gate for NMOSFETs with the feature size down to 30 nm. A 20% improvement in FUSI-gated PMOSFET 'on'off is measured, which can be attributed to the enhanced hole mobility and the elimination of P+ poly-gate depletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]