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Abstract Background Pectus excavatum, the most common chest wall deformity, is frequently treated with Nuss procedure. Here we will describe non-invasive procedure and analyze the variables associated vacuum bell therapy for patients with pectus excavatum. Methods Retrospective case–control study in a single center between July 2018 and February 2022, including patients with pectus excavatum treated with vacuum bell. Follow-up was continued to September 2022. The Haller index and Correction index was calculated before and after treatment to analysis the effectiveness of vacuum bell therapy. Results There were 98 patients enrolled in the treatment group, with 72 available for analysis, and the follow-up period ranged from 1.1 to 4.4 years (mean 3.3 years). When analyzing with the Haller Index, 18 patients (25.0%) showed excellent correction, 13 patients (18.1%) achieved good correction, and 4 patients (5.6%) had fair correction. The remaining patients had a poor outcome. Characteristics predicting a non-poor prognosis included initial age ≤ 11 years (OR = 3.94, p = 0.013) and patients with use over 24 consecutive months (OR = 3.95, p = 0.013). A total of 9 patients (12.5%) achieved a CI reduction below 10. Patients who started vacuum bell therapy at age > 11 had significantly less change compared to those who started at age ≤ 11 (P

Abstract When electrons moving in two dimensions (2D) are subjected to a strong uniform magnetic field, they form flat bands called Landau levels (LLs). LLs can also arise from pseudomagnetic fields (PMFs) induced by lattice distortions. In three-dimensional (3D) systems, there has been no experimental demonstration of LLs as a type of flat band thus far. Here, we report the experimental realization of a flat 3D LL in an acoustic crystal. Starting from a lattice whose bandstructure exhibits a nodal ring, we design an inhomogeneous distortion corresponding to a specific pseudomagnetic vector potential (PVP). This distortion causes the nodal ring states to break up into LLs, including a zeroth LL that is flat along all three directions. These findings suggest the possibility of using nodal ring materials to generate 3D flat bands, allowing access to strong interactions and other attractive physical regimes in 3D.

Abstract Band topology of materials describes the extent Bloch wavefunctions are twisted in momentum space. Such descriptions rely on a set of topological invariants, generally referred to as topological charges, which form a characteristic class in the mathematical structure of fiber bundles associated with the Bloch wavefunctions. For example, the celebrated Chern number and its variants belong to the Chern class, characterizing topological charges for complex Bloch wavefunctions. Nevertheless, under the space-time inversion symmetry, Bloch wavefunctions can be purely real in the entire momentum space; consequently, their topological classification does not fall into the Chern class, but requires another characteristic class known as the Stiefel-Whitney class. Here, in a three-dimensional acoustic crystal, we demonstrate a topological nodal-line semimetal that is characterized by a doublet of topological charges, the first and second Stiefel-Whitney numbers, simultaneously. Such a doubly charged nodal line gives rise to a doubled bulk-boundary correspondence—while the first Stiefel-Whitney number induces ordinary drumhead states of the nodal line, the second Stiefel-Whitney number supports hinge Fermi arc states at odd inversion-related pairs of hinges. These results experimentally validate the two Stiefel-Whitney topological charges and demonstrate their unique bulk-boundary correspondence in a physical system.

Sea buckthorn is a kind of berry rich in nutritional and industrial value. Due to its thin skin, juicy pulp, and short shelf life, it is usually preserved via freezing methods or directly processed into sea buckthorn puree after harvest. It can also be dried and processed into products such as dried sea buckthorn fruit, freeze-dried sea buckthorn powder, and sea buckthorn oil. This review, therefore, provides an overview of the existing state of drying and high-quality processing of sea buckthorn. The effects of different pretreatment and drying techniques on the drying characteristics and quality of sea buckthorn and the existing problems of superior-quality processing of sea buckthorn products are summarised. The development trend of sea buckthorn drying methods and the ways to achieve high-quality processing of sea buckthorn products are indicated. These ways are mainly related to the following: (1) The application of combined pretreatment and drying techniques to find a balance between economy, ecology, and efficiency; (2) Introducing new online measurement and control technology into drying equipment; (3) Optimising the existing process to form a complete sea buckthorn industrial chain and develop the sea buckthorn deep-processing industry.

Abstract Background Controversy remains despite several studies have discussed the role of bariatric surgery in improving male’s sexual function. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of bariatric surgery in promoting male’s erectile function. Methods PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI and Clinical Trails.gov were searched from database inception to May 2019. The language of publication was limited in English. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score and Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI) score were set as the primary outcome. Results Eleven studies with a total of 370 patients were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The results showed significant improvement in the IIEF score (erectile function: MD = 5.33, 95% CI 4.12–6.54; intercourse satisfaction: MD = 2.57, 95% CI 1.19–3.94; orgasmic function: MD = 0.50, 95%CI 0.60–0.94; overall satisfaction: MD = 1.67, 95% CI 0.78–2.56; sexual desire: MD = 1.27, 95% CI 0.61–1.93; total erectile function: MD = 7.21, 95% CI 4.33–10.10) and the BSFI score (erection: MD =2.53, 95% CI 2.39–2.67; ejaculation: MD = 1.40, 95% CI 1.28–1.51; desire: MD =1.40, 95% CI 1.32–1.49; problem assessment: MD = 2.20, 95% CI 2.06–2.34; sexual satisfaction: MD = 0.70, 95% CI 0.60–0.76) in obese individuals after bariatric surgery. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that bariatric surgery could be effective in promoting males’s sexual function for obese individuals.

Non-Hermiticity may significantly influence the topology of a photonic/electronic lattice, giving rise to point gaps, which have attracted much attention in recent years. While the influences of the point-gap topology on the bulk-boundary correspondence for the line gap have been widely studied, the topological lattice that simultaneously processes the line-gap and point-gap topological transitions has not been reported. Here, a strategy to simultaneously manipulate the line-gap and point-gap topologies in non-Hermitian lattices is proposed. By introducing the asymmetric intercell coupling, the line-gap topological transition process is demonstrated. By further considering the nonreciprocal coupling between the nearest neighboring unit cells, the point-gap and line-gap topological transitions can be simultaneously realized. Finally, the influence of the next nearest coupling on non-Hermitian line-gap and point-gap topologies is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin and valley are two fundamental properties of electrons in crystals. The similarity between them is well understood in valley-contrasting physics established decades ago in two-dimensional (2D) materials like graphene-- with broken inversion symmetry, the two valleys in graphene exhibit opposite orbital magnetic moments, similar to the spin-1/2 behaviors of electrons, and opposite Berry curvature that leads to a half topological charge. However, valley-contrasting physics has never been explored in 3D crystals. Here, we develop a 3D acoustic crystal exhibiting 3D valley-contrasting physics. Unlike spin that is fundamentally binary, valley in 3D can take six different values, each carrying a vortex in a distinct direction. The topological valley transport is generalized from the edge states of 2D materials to the surface states of 3D materials, with interesting features including robust propagation, topological refraction, and valley-cavity localization. Our results open a new route for wave manipulation in 3D space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]