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In the present work, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were deposited on PET fabrics by a green method. The fabric samples were firstly treated by ambient air cold plasma. Then, the Ag2O nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the samples assisted by ultrasonic spraying technology. Finally, the Ag2O nanoparticles were in-situ reduced into Ag NPs by H2 DBD cold plasma. Results of SEM, EDS, high-resolution XPS and TEM analyses confirmed that Ag2O were completely reduced into Ag NPs. Thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and tensile test were used to evaluate the thermodynamic properties and mechanical properties of the Ag NPs deposited PET fabrics. The antibacterial experiments indicted that the as-prepared Ag NPs-deposited fabrics exhibited considerable antibacterial activity against both S. aureus and E. coli. Therefore, these materials have promising applications in the medicinal filed as well as in human daily life to relieve the many problems caused by bacteria.

Lawson has obtained an Ehresmann–Schein–Nambooripad theorem (ESN theorem for short) for Ehresmann semigroups which states that the category of Ehresmann semigroups together with (2,1,1)-homomorphisms is isomorphic to the category of Ehresmann categories together with admissible mappings. Recently, Jones introduced P-Ehresmann semigroups as generalizations of Ehresmann semigroups. In this paper, we shall study P-Ehresmann semigroups by “category approach”. In spirit of Lawson’s methods, we introduce the notion of lepe-generalized categories by which locally Ehresmann P-Ehresmann semigroups are described. Moreover, we show that the category of locally Ehresmann P-Ehresmann semigroups together with (2,1,1)-homomorphisms is isomorphic to the category of lepe-generalized categories over local semilattices together with admissible mappings. Our work may be regarded as extending the ESN theorem for Ehresmann semigroups. Some special cases are also considered.

Generalized restriction P-restriction semigroups are common generalizations of restriction semigroups and generalized inverse $$*$$ -semigroups. Gomes and Szendrei (resp. Ohta and Imaoka) have shown that every restriction semigroup (every generalized inverse $$*$$ -semigroup) can be embedded in a complete, infinitely distributive restriction semigroup (resp. a $$*$$ -complete, infinitely distributive generalized inverse $$*$$ -semigroup). The main aim of this paper is to obtain an entirely corresponding result for generalized restriction P-restriction semigroups. Specifically, among other things, we show that every generalized restriction P-restriction semigroup can be (2,1,1)-embedded in a complete, infinitely distributive generalized restriction P-restriction semigroup. Our results generalize and enrich the corresponding results of Gomes, Szendrei, Ohta and Imaoka.

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been deposited on the surface of cotton fabrics by a facile two-step method involving liquid precipitation and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma reduction. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution TEM show that Ag exists only in the metallic state form on the surface of the cotton fibers after DBD plasma treatment, demonstrating that DBD plasma is a promising technique for metallic oxide in situ reduction. The Ag NPs-modified cotton fabrics exhibit the significant antibacterial property against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which have potential applications in the healthcare and medicine fields.

As generalizations of inverse semigroups, restriction semigroups and regular $$*$$ -semigroups are investigated by many authors extensively in the literature. In particular, Lawson and Hollings have proved that the category of restriction semigroups together with prehomomorphisms (resp. (2,1,1)-homomorphisms) is isomorphic to the category of inductive categories together with ordered functors (resp. strongly ordered functors), which generalizes the well-known Ehresmann–Schein–Nambooripad theorem (ESN theorem for short) for inverse semigroups. On the other hand, Imaoka and Fujiwara have also obtained an ESN-type theorem for locally inverse regular $$*$$ -semigroups. Recently, Jones generalized restriction semigroups and regular $$*$$ -semigroups to P-restriction semigroups from a varietal perspective and considered the constructions of P-restriction semigroups by using Munn’s approach. In this paper, we shall study the class of P-restriction semigroups by using “category approach.” We introduce the notion of inductive generalized categories over local semilattices by which a class of P-restriction semigroups called locally restriction P-restriction semigroups is described. Moreover, we show that the category of locally restriction P-restriction semigroups together with (2,1,1)-prehomomorphisms (resp. (2,1,1)-homomorphisms) is isomorphic to the category of inductive generalized categories over local semilattices together with preadmissible mappings (resp. admissible mappings). Our work may be regarded as extending the ESN-type theorems for restriction semigroups and locally inverse regular $$*$$ -semigroups, respectively.

The celebrated construction by Munn of a fundamental inverse semigroup \(T_E\) from a semilattice E provides an important tool in the study of inverse semigroups and ample semigroups. Munn’s semigroup \(T_E\) has the property that a semigroup is a fundamental inverse semigroup (resp. a fundamental ample semigroup) with a semilattice of idempotents isomorphic to E if and only if it is embeddable as a full inverse subsemigroup (resp. a full subsemigroup) into \(T_E\). The aim of this paper is to extend Munn’s approach to a class of abundant semigroups, namely abundant semigroups with a multiplicative ample transversal. We present here a semigroup \(T_{(I,\Lambda , E^{\circ }, P)}\) from a so-called admissible quadruple\((I,\Lambda , E^{\circ }, P)\) that plays for abundant semigroups with a multiplicative ample transversal the role that \(T_E\) plays for inverse semigroups and ample semigroups. More precisely, we show that a semigroup is a fundamental abundant semigroup (resp. fundamental regular semigroup) having a multiplicative ample transversal (resp. multiplicative inverse transversal) whose admissible quadruple is isomorphic to \((I,\Lambda , E^{\circ }, P)\) if and only if it is embeddable as a full subsemigroup (resp. full regular subsemigroup) into \(T_{(I,\Lambda , E^{\circ }, P)}\). Our results generalize and enrich some classical results of Munn on inverse semigroups and of Fountain on ample semigroups.

Let \(S\) be a semigroup and “\(*\)” a unary operation on \(S\) which satisfies the following identities $$\begin{aligned} xx^*x=x, x^*x x^*=x^*, x^{***}=x^*, (xy^*)^*=y^{**}x^*, (x^*y)^*=y^*x^{**}. \end{aligned}$$ Then, \(S^*=\{x^*|x\in S\}\) is called a regular\(*\)-transversal of \(S\) in the literatures. Following Munn and Hall’s idea, in this paper we construct fundamental regular semigroups with quasi-ideal regular \(*\)-transversals by which fundamental representations of regular semigroups with quasi-ideal regular \(*\)-transversals are obtained.

Serum Epstein-Barr virus DNA has been approved for diagnosing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The goal of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the clinical value of the serum Epstein-Barr virus DNA in the diagnosis of NPC. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Knowledge, Chinese Wanfang Med Online, and National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were searched to identify suitable studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (LR+), negative likelihood ratio (LR-), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of the serum Epstein-Barr virus DNA for the diagnosis of NPC were calculated. Summary receiver operating characteristic curves were used to summarize overall test performances. Meta-Disc 1.4 and Stata 12.0 softwares were used to analyze the data. A total of 2,520 patients from ten trials were subjected to meta-analysis. The summary estimates of the serum Epstein-Barr virus DNA for NPC diagnosis were as follows: sensitivity 0.69 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.65-0.72), specificity 0.84 (95 % CI = 0.82-0.86), LR + 4.81 (95 % CI = 2.94-7.88), LR - 0.25 (95 % CI = 0.13-0.48), DOR 24.65 (95 % CI = 12.64-48.07), and area under the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve (AUC) was 0.8979. Our study demonstrates that the serum Epstein-Barr virus DNA could be a useful tumor marker for NPC diagnosis.

The pelvis as the biomechanical foundation of spine, plays an important role in the balance of the stance and gait through the multi-link spinal-pelvic system. If the pelvic axial rotation (PAR) exists in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients, it should theoretically have some effects on the body balance.To explore the probable effects of preoperative PAR on the spinal balance in coronal plane in AIS patients with main thoracolumbar/lumbar (TL/L) curve after posterior spinal instrumentation.Thirty-eight AIS patients (age: 15 ± 1.5 years) with main TL/L curve (51° ± 6.2°) were recruited retrospectively into this study. The mean follow-up period was 27 months (24-36 months). Standing full spine posteroanterior radiographs were taken preoperatively, 3 month and 1 year postoperatively, and at last follow-up. The convex/concave ratio (CV/CC ratio) of the anterior superior iliac spine laterally and the inferior ilium at the sacroiliac joint medially was measured on posteroanterior radiographs. According to the preoperative CV/CC ratios, the patients were divided into two groups: normal group (N-group: 0.95 ≤ CV/CC ≤ 1.05); and the asymmetrical group (A-group: CV/CC0.95, or1.05).In all the patients, the 3-month-postoperative CV/CC ratio (1.026 ± 0.087) was significantly different from the preoperative CV/CC ratio (0.969 ± 0.095, P0.001), indicating that the pelvis had rotated in the opposite direction of the corrective derotation load applied to the TL/L spine after surgery. No significant change was found in the CV/CC ratio from 3-month-postoperative to the last follow-up (1.013 ± 0.103, P0.05). There was no significant difference in the demographic, phenotypic, and treatment variables between the N- (n = 16) and A-groups (n = 22) (P0.05). However, more coronal decompensation occurred in the A-group after surgery (36.4 vs. 0.0 %, P = 0.013): two patients having trunk translation, three having lower instrumented vertebra (LIV) translation, and one having LIV tilt; meanwhile, one patient having both LIV translation and LIV tilt, and one having both trunk translation and LIV tilt.The present study confirmed the existence of PAR in AIS patients, and indicated that the pelvis would experience an active rebalancing in the transverse plane within 3 months after spinal correction, and since then, its position would remain stable. Moreover, TL/L-AIS patients with preoperative asymmetrical PAR probably had greater risk of coronal decompensation postoperatively.

Objective As a widely used instrument for patients with extremity sarcoma, the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS) has never been cross-culturally adapted for Chinese population. The objective of our study was to investigate the comprehensibility, reliability and validity of the Chinese version of TESS for use in patients with extremity sarcoma. Methods A consensus version of the Chinese TESS was developed under the review of a committee according to international guidelines. 64 patients were recruited to complete the Chinese TESS, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) Rating Scale, and the Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30). Reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s α. Validity was assessed with Pearson’s correlation between the similar domains of the two questionnaires. Results The ICCs for the test–retest reliability was 0.932 for the upper extremity questionnaire and 0.893 for lower extremity questionnaire, respectively. The Cronbach’s α was 0.953 for the lower extremity questionnaire and 0.921 for the upper extremity questionnaire, respectively. Convergent validity of the TESS based on Pearson correlation coefficients indicated significantly moderate to high correlations between the TESS and the MSTS as well as the QLQ-C30, with r ranging from 0.535 to 0.782. Conclusions The Chinese TESS is a comprehensible, reliable, and valid instrument that can be utilized for future cross-cultural international studies of extremity sarcoma.

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of uni- and polyaxial locking osteosynthesis systems in the management of proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients, totally 76 cases were reviewed including 18 cases of two-part (Neer classification), 36 cases of three-part, and 22 cases of four-part fractures. All the patients received open reduction and internal fixation with proximal humerus internal locking osteosynthesis system (PHILOS) or Numelock systems designed for proximal humerus. Results showed no significant difference between groups considering the Constant–Murley scores assessed at 6 and 12 months, postoperatively. Satisfactory outcomes were achieved in 73.7 and 75.0% of the patients from the PHILOS and Numelock groups, respectively. Complications included four cases of varus malunion, one case of screw cut-out, and another case of avascular necrosis. Both of the PHILOS and Numelock systems showed equally good results considering fixation stability and functional outcomes of proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients.

The overexpression of the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) has been reported to be associated with malignant transformation, tumor development and chemo- or radioresistance of tumor cells. Previously, we have reported that inhibition of IGF-1R could reverse the radioresistance of human osteosarcoma cells. However, whether inhibition of IGF-1R could enhance chemosensitivity of ostesosarcoma cells is unclear. In this study, lentivirus-mediated shRNA was employed to downregulate endogenous IGF-1R expression to study the function of IGF-1R in chemoresistance of osteosarcoma cells. Results showed that lentivirus-mediated shRNA targeting IGF-1R combined with chemotherapy (CDDP or DTX) could lead to growth suppression of osteosarcoma cells not only in vitro but also in vivo. Moreover, inhibition of IGF-1R gene combined with chemotherapy also synergistically enhanced Caspase-3-mediated apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. The synergistical enhancement of apoptosis might be associated with downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax in osteosarcoma cells induced by IGF-1R inhibition. Therefore, the overexpression of IGF-1R gene might play important roles in chemoresistance of osteosarcoma cells, and lentivirus-mediated RNAi targeting IGF-1R would be an attractive anti-cancer strategy to chemosensitization of osteosarcoma cell.

Background Abnormal longitudinal growth has been identified in the early pubertal stage of idiopathic scoliosis (IS) and is thought to contribute to the development of scoliosis. This phenotype may be caused by abnormal endochondral ossification, but histological evidence is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is abnormal endochondral ossification in IS patients at early stage of puberty by histomorphometric analysis of their iliac cartilage. Methods Fifty-two patients with IS and 19 controls were recruited and grouped according to their Risser grade (Group A: Risser grade 0 with Oxford stage 2–3; Group B: Risser grade 2). Group A consisted of 20 IS patients (mean age: 12.3 years) and 9 controls (mean age: 12.0 years), while Group B included 32 IS patients (mean age: 13.8 years) and 10 controls (mean age: 13.7 years). Biopsies of the iliac cartilage were harvested intra-operatively and prepared using routine histological methods. Histomorphometric analysis was performed to quantify the thickness of the hypertrophic zone, the area and number of chondrocytes in the cell-nest, and the number of chondrocytes in the proliferative zone using Image-Pro Plus software. Results In Group A, a significantly thicker hypertrophic zone and larger cell-nest area and number of cells within the cell-nest, and in the proliferative zone, were found in iliac cartilages from IS patients compared with those of controls (all P