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When the total jet gas flow rate increases from 16 L/min to 40 L/min, the stiffness of the air plasma jet is increased by nearly 73.3 %, and that of the pre-combustion plasma jet is increased by nearly 27.2 %. When the total jet gas flow rate reaches around 40 L/min, the jet stiffness tends to be stable, indicating that the increase of the total jet gas flow rate in the range has a significant effect on improving the jet stiffness. It can be seen from Figure 10(a), the jet lengths of the different jet gases decrease, and the length of the pre-combustion plasma jet is longer than the air plasma jet. The flame outside the plasma jet is blown off, and the arc in the plasma jet is blown, resulting in a large deformation of the plasma jet and a reduction of the jet length. [Extracted from the article]

Patellar inferior pole fracture is difficult to treat due to the inherent weakness of small comminuted distal fragments. However, suture fixation was recently introduced and reported. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the clinical outcomes of two suture techniques, transosseous tunnel suture (TTS) and anchor suture (AS), for the fixation of patellar inferior pole fracture. A total of 35 patients with patellar inferior pole fracture treated at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University (Nanchang, China) between June 2014 and April 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 14 were treated with the TTS technique and 21 using AS fixation. The operation time, incision length and total cost were determined and compared. Functional outcomes were analyzed with the visual analog scale (VAS), Bostman and Lysholm scores and knee joint ranges of motion (ROMs). Postoperative complications were also observed and recorded. The mean follow-up was 22.6±9.7 and 18.7±5.9 months for TTS and AS, respectively. The groups were similar regarding age, sex, operative side and time to surgery. A smaller incision length and shorter operation time but higher hospital costs were observed in the AS group (P<0.01). For functional evaluation, there was no significant difference in VAS, Bostman and Lysholm scores or ROM between the 2 groups (P>0.05). No postoperative complications were observed in the TTS group. Only one patient in the AS group experienced a superficial minor wound infection. The TTS and AS techniques provided similarly satisfactory clinical outcomes for treating patellar inferior pole fracture. TTS had the advantage of cost-effectiveness due to saving anchors, while AS had a shorter operation time and a smaller incision length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronaviruses have been responsible for numerous viral outbreaks in the past two decades due to the high transmission rate of this family of viruses. The deadliest outbreak is the recent Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in over 7 million deaths worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PL Pro ) plays a key role in both viral replication and host immune suppression and is highly conserved across the coronavirus family, making it an ideal drug target. Herein we describe a fragment-based screen against PL Pro using protein-observed NMR experiments, identifying 77 hit fragments. Analyses of NMR perturbation patterns and X-ray cocrystallized structures reveal fragments bind to two distinct regions of the protein. Importantly none of the fragments identified belong to the same chemical class as the few reported inhibitors, allowing for the discovery of a novel class of PL Pro inhibitors., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)