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Intervertebral discs (IVDs) are rhythmic tissues that experience daily low‐load recovery. Notably, aging and abnormal mechanical stress predispose IVDs to degeneration due to dysrhythmia‐induced disordered metabolism. Meanwhile, Rev‐erbα acts as a transcriptional repressor in maintaining biorhythms and homeostasis; however, its function in IVD homeostasis and degeneration remains unclear. This study assessed the relationship between low Rev‐erbα expression levels and IVD degeneration. Rev‐erbα deficiency accelerated needle puncture or aging‐induced IVD degeneration, characterized by increased extracellular matrix (ECM) catabolism and nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, Rev‐erbα knockdown in NP cells aggravated rhIL1β‐induced NOD‐like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, exacerbating the imbalanced ECM and NP cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation mitigated Rev‐erbα deficiency and needle puncture‐induced IVD degeneration. Particularly, Rev‐erbα mediated the transcriptional repression of the NLRP3 inflammasome via the ligand heme‐binding of nuclear receptor co‐repressor (NCoR) and histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) complex. Thus, the increased expression of Rev‐erbα in NP cells following short‐term rhIL1β treatment failed to inhibit NLRP3 transcription in vitro owing to heme depletion. Pharmacological activation of Rev‐erbα in vivo and in vitro alleviated IVD degeneration by altering the NLRP3 inflammasome. Taken together, targeting Rev‐erbα may be a potential therapeutic strategy for alleviating IVD degeneration and its related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing object detection remains a challenge under complex conditions such as low light, adverse weather, modality attacks or losses. Previous approaches typically alleviate this problem by enhancing visible images or leveraging multi‐modal fusion technologies. In view of this, the authors propose a unified framework based on YOLO‐World that combines the advantages of both schemes, achieving more adaptable and robust remote sensing object detection in complex real‐world scenarios. This framework introduces a unified modality modelling strategy, allowing the model to learn abundant object features from multiple remote sensing datasets. Additionally, a U‐fusion neck based on the diffusion method is designed to effectively remove modality‐specific noise and generate missing complementary features. Extensive experiments were conducted on four remote sensing image datasets: Multimodal VEDAI, DroneVehicle, unimodal VisDrone and UAVDT. This approach achieves average precision scores of 50.5%$\%$, 55.3%$\%$, 25.1%$\%$, and 20.7%$\%$, which outperforms advanced multimodal remote sensing object detection methods and low‐light image enhancement techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug‐target binding affinity (DTA) prediction is vital for drug repositioning. The accuracy and generalizability of DTA models remain a major challenge. Here, we develop a model composed of BERT‐Trans Block, Multi‐Trans Block, and DTI Learning modules, referred to as Molecular Representation Encoder‐based DTA prediction (MREDTA). MREDTA has three advantages: (1) extraction of both local and global molecular features simultaneously through skip connections; (2) improved sensitivity to molecular structures through the Multi‐Trans Block; (3) enhanced generalizability through the introduction of BERT. Compared with 12 advanced models, benchmark testing of KIBA and Davis datasets demonstrated optimal performance of MREDTA. In case study, we applied MREDTA to 2034 FDA‐approved drugs for treating non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC), all of which act on mutant EGFRT790M protein. The corresponding molecular docking results demonstrated the robustness of MREDTA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are commonly used as seed cells in tissue‐engineered vascular constructions. However, their variable phenotypes and difficult to control functions pose challenges. This study aimed to overcome these obstacles using a three‐dimensional culture system. Methods: Calf VSMCs were administered tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) before culturing in two‐ and three‐dimensional well plates and polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffolds, respectively. The phenotypic markers of VSMCs were detected by immunofluorescence staining and western blotting, and the proliferation and migration abilities of VSMCs were detected by CCK‐8, EDU, cell counting, scratch, and Transwell assays. Results: TNF‐α rapidly decreased the contractile phenotypic markers and elevated the synthetic phenotypic markers of VSMCs, as well as markedly increasing the proliferation and migration ability of VSMCs under two‐ and three‐dimensional culture conditions. Conclusions: TNF‐α can rapidly induce a phenotypic shift in VSMCs and change their viability on PGA scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muling River, situated amidst cultivated lands in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, has long been subjected to sand‐digging activities, resulting in severe damage to its riverbed. However, little research has been conducted on the impact of this disturbance on the status of fish community structure and trophic guilds in this river. In this study, environmental factors, fish community structure, and fish trophic guild biomass distribution patterns from the Muling River basin were investigated among seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) and sections (upper, middle, and lower stream) in 2015 and 2017. During the six sampling times periods, 46 species of five orders and 12 families of fish were classified into seven trophic guilds. Fish species number and biomass were higher upper reaches of the watershed. The insectivores (16.26%), phytoplanktivores (10.09%), benthivores (40.17%), and omnivores (11.86%) were the dominant trophic guilds. We found that fish trophic guilds biomass and environmental factors such as transparency, water depth, pH value, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand were highest in the upper section compared to other sections. Variation partitioning revealed that fish trophic guilds biomass was influenced more by environmental factors (61.2%), followed by section (0.7%) and season (0.1%). Partial RDA ordination showed that fish trophic guilds were positively correlated with water depth and transparency, while negative with turbidity. This study underscores the importance of considering trophic guilds of freshwater fishes to inform management strategies in regions experiencing significant environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Surgical decision‐making for congenital kyphosis (CK) with failure of anterior segmentation (type II) has been contradictory regarding the trade‐off between the pursuit of correction rate and the inherent risk of the osteotomy procedure. This study was designed to compare the clinical and radiographic measurement in type II CK underwent SRS‐Schwab Grade 4 osteotomy and vertebral column resection (VCR), the most‐adapted osteotomy techniques for CK, and to propose the strategy to select between the two procedures. Methods: This retrospective observational comparative study evaluated surgical outcomes in type II CK patients underwent VCR or SRS‐Schwab Grade 4 osteotomy at our institution between January 2015 and January 2020. Patients operated with VCR and SRS‐Schwab Grade 4 osteotomy were allocated to Group 1 and Group 2 respectively. Radiographic parameters and SRS‐22 quality of life metrics were assessed at pre‐operation, post‐operation, and during follow‐up visits for both groups, allowing for a comprehensive comparison of surgical outcomes. Results: Thirty‐one patients (19 patients in Group 1 and 12 patients in Group 2) aged 16.3 ± 10.4 years were recruited. Correction of segmental kyphosis was similar between groups (51.1 ± 17.6° in Group 1 and 48.4 ± 19.8° in Group 2, p = 0.694). Group 1 had significantly longer operation time (365.9 ± 81.2 vs 221.4 ± 78.9, p < 0.001) and more estimated blood loss (975.2 ± 275.8 ml vs 725.9 ± 204.3 mL, p = 0.011). Alert event of intraoperative sensory and motor evoked potential (SEP and MEP) monitoring was observed in 1 patient of Group 2. Both groups had 1 transient post operative neurological deficit respectively. Conclusion: SRS‐Schwab Grade 4 osteotomy was suitable for kyphotic mass when its apex is the upper unsegmented vertebrae or the neighboring disc, or when the apical vertebrae with an anterior/posterior (A/P) height ratio of vertebral body higher than 1/3. VCR is suitable when the apex is located within the unsegmented mass with its A/P height ratio lower than 1/3. Proper selection of VCR and SRS‐Schwab Grade 4 osteotomy according to our strategy, could provide satisfying radiographic and clinical outcomes in type II CK patients during a minimum of 2 years follow‐up. Patients undergoing VCR procedure might have longer operation time, more blood loss and higher incidence of peri‐ and post‐operative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxaliplatin (OXA) has shown high effectiveness in the treatment of cancers, but its anticancer clinical effects often induce neurotoxicity leading to neuropathic pain. Oxidative damage and NLRP3 inflammasome play important roles in neuropathic pain development. Here, neuropathic pain mouse model was constructed by continuous intraperitoneal injection of OXA. OXA administration induced mechanical pain, spontaneous pain, thermal hyperalgesia and motor disability in mice. The spinal cord tissues of OXA mice exhibited the suppressed antioxidative response, the activated NLRP3 inflammasome mediated inflammatory responses, and the increased GSK‐3β activity. Next, we injected curcumin (CUR) intraperitoneally in OXA mice for seven consecutive days. CUR‐treated mice showed increased mechanical pain thresholds, reduced number of spontaneous flinches, increased paw withdrawal latency, and restored latency to fall. While in the spinal cord, CUR treatment inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome mediated inflammatory response, increased Nrf2/GPX4‐mediated antioxidant responses, and decreased mitochondrial oxidative generation. Additionally, CUR combined with GSK‐3β through four covalent bonds and reduced GSK‐3β activity. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CUR treatment inhibits GSK‐3β activation, increases Nrf2 mediated antioxidant responses, inhibits oxidative damage and inflammatory reaction, and alleviates OXA‐induced neuropathic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has mainly focused on breeding, timber supply, and physiological–biochemical characteristics of Paulownia fortunei. However, there has been limited attention given to its endophytic rhizobia and its potential benefits for plant growth due to a lack of knowledge about the existence of root nodules. In this study, we isolated nine bacterial strains from the root nodules after occasionally discovering the nodular‐like structure in uncultivated three year P. fortunei roots and then sequenced the 16S rDNA and nifA sequencing to conduct the bacterial strain identifications. We then determined the carbon use capability and nitrogenase activity of the bacterial strains. The result of 16S rDNA sequencing indicated that the endophytic rhizobia belongs to the genus Agrobacterium, Rhizobium, Herbaspirillum and Burkholderia. The results of nifA sequencing indicated that the nifA gene was sequenced in strain PG‐3, PG‐5, PG‐6, PG‐7, PG‐8 and PG‐9 rather than in strain PG‐1, PG‐2 and PG‐4. Besides, the nitrogenase activity of strain PG‐9 was significantly higher than other bacterial strains. Redundancy analysis (RDA) results indicated that fructose, glucose, and sucrose were significantly related to the plant height, diameter, and biomass rather than other carbon sources and nitrogenase activity. Our research revealed that the majority of bacterial strains isolated from P. fortunei exhibited a broad carbon utilization pathway and have the potential to promote plant growth after re‐Inoculation. This study aims to investigate the phylogeny of endophytic rhizobia in P. fortunei, and expand the range of non‐legume hosts studied for future research on biological N‐fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tooth loss is closely related to cognitive impairment, especially affecting cognitive functions involving hippocampus. The most well‐known function of the hippocampus is learning and memory, and the mechanism behind is neuroplasticity, which strongly depends on the level of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). While research has delved into the possible mechanisms behind the loss of teeth leading to cognitive dysfunction, there are few studies on the plasticity of sensory neural pathway after tooth loss, and the changes in related indicators of synaptic plasticity still need to be further explored. Methods: In this study, the bilateral maxillary molars were extracted in Sprague–Dawley rats of two age ranges (young and middle age) to establish occlusal support loss model; then, the spatial cognition was tested by Morris Water Maze (MWM). Quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) and Western Blotting (WB) were used to detect BDNF, AKT, and functional proteins (viz., PSD95 and NMDAR) of hippocampal synapses. Golgi staining was used to observe changes in ascending nerve pathway. IF was used to confirm the location of BDNF and AKT expressed in hippocampus. Results: MWM showed that the spatial cognitive level of rats dropped after occlusal support loss. qPCR, WB, and IF suggested that the BDNF/AKT pathway was down‐regulated in the hippocampus. Golgi staining showed the neurons of ascending sensory pathway decreased in numbers. Conclusion: Occlusal support loss caused plastic changes in ascending nerve pathway and induced cognitive impairment in rats by down‐regulating BDNF and synaptic plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Loss of occlusal support due to tooth loss has been indicated as one of the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between tooth loss and cognitive dysfunction and illustrate the role of neuroinflammation in advancing Alzheimer's disease. Materials and Methods: Male 5‐month‐old senescence‐accelerated mouse strain P8 (SAMP8) mice were divided into three groups (n = 7): the C (control), S (sham‐operated), and TL (tooth loss) groups. The Morris water maze (MWM) test was performed to assess spatial memory. Additionally, histopathological and molecular assessments of hippocampal tissues were performed. Results: The TL groups exhibited impaired spatial memory in the water maze. Tooth loss induced higher protein expression levels of the neuroinflammation cytokine interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) in the hippocampus than in the S and C groups. Tooth loss activated the NLRP3 inflammasome and increased the expression of Caspase‐1 in the hippocampus. Conclusions: The findings indicated that tooth loss impairs cognitive function in SAMP8 mice and is closely related to the activation of NLRP3/Caspase‐1 in the hippocampus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are ongoing studies on the potential use of chromene derivatives in liver cancer therapy. They have shown promising results in preclinical studies for liver cancer, including inhibiting tumor growth and inducing apoptosis. Herein, the nanosized hybrid material zinc oxide (ZnO)–cadmium sulfide (CdS) is prepared using a green and ecofriendly procedure. The nanomaterial was characterized by FE‐SEM, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray, DRS, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic proficiency of ZnO–CdS was then scrutinized in the fabrication of some 4H‐chromenes in a mild condition. The outcomes of this study revealed that the nanophotocatalyst has high photocatalytic reactivity and acceptable reusability in the desired condensation reaction. Furthermore, a preliminary in vitro cellular toxicity assay was performed on ZnO–CdS nanoparticles using HepG2 cancer cell line through MTT assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a cardiovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality. We collected patients with AMI from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (v2.0) database and explored the association between serum albumin‐corrected anion gap (ACAG) level and mortality in patients with AMI. Methods and results: Data of adult patients with AMI were collected. According to the 360 day prognosis, patients were divided into survival and non‐survival groups. Based on the ACAG level, patients were then divided into normal and high ACAG groups. Cox hazard proportional models and restricted cubic splines (RCSs) were used to investigate the correlation between ACAG and mortality. Kaplan–Meier curves were created to compare the cumulative survival rates between the high and normal ACAG groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyse the predictive value of ACAG for the prognosis of patients with AMI. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were conducted to revalidate the results. Finally, 1783 patients were included. Elevated ACAG (>20 mmol/L) was significantly associated with 30 and 360 day mortality (P < 0.001). Adjusted for multiple confounding factors, the Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that elevated ACAG (>20 mmol/L) was an independent risk factor of increased all‐cause mortality in patients with AMI (hazard ratio 1.423, 95% confidence interval 1.206–1.678, P < 0.001). RCS analysis further showed that there was a non‐linear trend relationship between ACAG and the risk of all‐cause mortality at 30 and 360 days (χ2 = 10.750, P = 0.013; χ2 = 13.960, P = 0.003). Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that the 30 and 360 day cumulative survival rates of patients with AMI were significantly lower (log‐rank test, χ2 = 98.880, P < 0.001; χ2 = 105.440, P < 0.001) in the high ACAG group. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of ACAG was 0.651, while the AUC of anion gap (AG) was 0.609, indicating that ACAG had a higher predictive value for 360 day mortality than AG. When combined with Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, the predictive performance of ACAG for 360 day mortality was better, with an AUC of 0.699. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were conducted suggesting the stability of our results. Conclusions: Elevated serum ACAG (≥20 mmol/L) is an independent risk factor for short‐term and long‐term mortality in critically ill patients with AMI, and it may assist clinicians and nurses identifying high‐risk patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Clinical and radiographic degenerative spondylolisthesis (CARDS) classification was proposed to differentiate homogenous lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (LDS) subgroups. The sitting radiograph exhibited lumbar malalignment with maximum lumbar kyphosis, intervertebral kyphosis, and spondylolisthesis.This study aimed to assess the sitting radiograph for distribution of clinical and radiographic degenerative spondylolisthesis classification, and to elucidate its significance for exhibiting kyphotic alignment (CARDS type D) and segmental instability. Methods: A cohort of 101 patients with symptomatic lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (LDS) between September 2018 and December 2020 were recruited. The distribution and relibility of CARDS classification with or without sitting radiograph was assessed. The translational and angular range of motion and segmental instability was also evaluated. Univariate analysis of variance was used for multiple groups, and the least significant difference for two groups. Kappa consistency test of intrarater and interrater was evaluated for CARDS classification with or without sitting radiograph. Chi‐square test was used to compare paried categorical data. Results: Utility of sitting radiographs for CARDS classification revealed higher percentage of type D than that without the sitting radiograph (p < 0.001). The sitting radiograph revealed a larger slip distance than the flexion radiograph (p = 0.003), as well as a lower slip angle than flexion radiograph (p < 0.001). The sitting‐supine modality demonstrated the largest translational range of motion compared to the sitting‐extension (p < 0.001) and flexion‐extension modalities (p < 0.001). The sitting‐supine modality showed larger angular range of motion than the flexion‐extension modality (p < 0.001). The percentage of flexion, extension, upright, supine, and sitting radiograph to identify translational instability was higher than that without sitting radiograph (p < 0.001), as well as taking angular motion ≥10° as an additional criterion for segmental instability (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The CARDS classification was reliable for LDS. The sitting radiograph showed maximal slip distance and kyphotic slip angle. Application of the sitting radiograph was necessary for evaluating segmental instability and kyphotic alignment of LDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the neuroprotective potential of hyperforin and elucidate its underlying molecular mechanisms involved in its therapeutic effects against vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Methods: The active compounds and possible targets of Hypericum perforatum L. that may be effective against VCI were found by network pharmacology in this research. We utilized bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) surgery to induce a VCI mouse model. Morris water maze (MWM) and Y‐maze tests were used to assess VCI mice's cognitive abilities following treatment with hyperforin. To evaluate white matter lesions (WMLs), we utilized Luxol fast blue (LFB) stain and immunofluorescence (IF). Neuroinflammation was assessed using IF, western blot (WB), and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The effects of hyperforin on microglia were investigated by subjecting the BV2 microglial cell line to oxygen–glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) stimulation. The expressions of VEGFR2, p‐SRC, SRC, VEGFA, and inflammatory markers including IL‐10, IL‐1β, TNF‐α, and IL‐6 were subsequently assessed. Results: The VEGFR2/SRC signaling pathway is essential for mediating the protective properties of hyperforin against VCI according to network pharmacology analysis. In vivo findings demonstrated that hyperforin effectively improved BCCAO‐induced cognitive impairment. Furthermore, staining results showed that hyperforin attenuated WMLs and reduced microglial activation in VCI mice. The hyperforin treatment group's ELISA results revealed a substantial decrease in IL‐1β, IL‐6, and TNF‐α levels. According to the results of in vitro experiments, hyperforin decreased the release of pro‐inflammatory mediators (TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐1β) and blocked microglial M1‐polarization by modulating the VEGFR2/SRC signaling pathway. Conclusion: Hyperforin effectively modulated microglial M1 polarization and neuroinflammation by inhibiting the VEGFR2/SRC signaling pathways, thereby ameliorating WMLs and cognitive impairment in VCI mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal transcriptional regulatory circuits are expected to exhibit stringent control, maintaining silence in the absence of inducers while exhibiting a broad induction dynamic range upon the addition of effectors. In the Plac/LacI pair, the promoter of the lac operon in Escherichia coli is characterized by its leakiness, attributed to the moderate affinity of LacI for its operator target. In response to this limitation, the LacI regulatory protein underwent engineering to enhance its regulatory properties. The M7 mutant, carrying I79T and N246S mutations, resulted in the lac promoter displaying approximately 95% less leaky expression and a broader induction dynamic range compared to the wild‐type LacI. An in‐depth analysis of each mutation revealed distinct regulatory profiles. In contrast to the wild‐type LacI, the M7 mutant exhibited a tighter binding to the operator sequence, as evidenced by surface plasmon resonance studies. Leveraging the capabilities of the M7 mutant, a high‐value sugar biosensor was constructed. This biosensor facilitated the selection of mutant galactosidases with approximately a seven‐fold improvement in specific activity for transgalactosylation. Consequently, this advancement enabled enhanced biosynthesis of galacto‐oligosaccharides (GOS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus has highlighted the need for a benefit‐cost framework to guide unconventional public health interventions aimed at reducing close contact between infected and susceptible individuals. In this paper, we propose an optimal control problem for an infectious disease model, wherein the social planner can control the transmission rate by implementing or lifting lockdown measures. The objective is to minimize total costs, which comprise infection costs, as well as fixed and variable costs associated with lockdown measures. We establish conditions concerning model primitives that guarantee the existence of a straightforward optimal policy. The policy specifies two switching points (a,b)$$ \left(a,b\right) $$, whereby the social planner institutes a lockdown when the percentage of infected individuals exceeds b$$ b $$, and reopens the economy when the percentage of infected individuals drops below a$$ a $$. We subsequently extend the model to cases where the social planner may implement multiple lockdown levels. Finally, numerical studies are conducted to gain additional insights into the value of these controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS) is distinguished by a congenital defect or acquired fracture of the pars interarticularis. Numerous studies on L5 low‐grade IS have been carried out; however, there is a paucity of data regarding the condition of L5 IS concomitant with L4/5 disc herniation. This study aimed to identify the incidence rate and to illustrate the possible risk factors for L4/5 disc herniation in L5 low‐grade IS patients. Methods: A total of 268 consecutive patients diagnosed as L5/S1 low‐grade IS between May 2017 and May 2022 were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Depending on the presence of L4/5 disc herniation or not, patients were divided into an L4/5 disc herniation group (L4/5 DH) and an L4/5 non‐disc herniation group (L4/5 non‐DH). Radiographic parameters were measured, and the ratios of L4–S1 segmental lordosis (SL) to lumbar lordosis (LDI), L4 inferior endplate (IEP) to L5 superior endplate (SEP) (L4 IEP/L5 SEP), and L5 IEP to S1 SEP (L5 IEP/S1 SEP) were compared between groups. The Pfirrmann grade of the L4/5 disc and the L5/S1 disc, and Roussouly classifications of each patient were also recorded. Univariate analysis (including independent‐samples t‐test and χ2‐test) and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. Results: There were 40 patients (14.9%) in the L4/5 DH group. The Roussouly classification differed significantly between groups. As demonstrated by the Pfirrmann grade, the L4/5 DH group showed more advanced disc degeneration at L4/5 than the L4/5 non‐DH group. In contrast to the L4/5 non‐DH group, the L4/5 DH group had a significantly larger L4 IEP, L4 IEP/L5 SEP, S1 SEP, and LDI while smaller L4/5 disc angle, L4/5 disc height, slip percentage, lumbar lordosis, and sacral slope. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that higher L4/5 disc Pfirrmann grade (p = 0.004), decreased L4/5 disc height (p < 0.001), and lower L5 slip percentage (p = 0.022) were significantly associated with the occurrence of L4/5 DH. Conclusions: L4/5 disc herniation is not unusually accompanied by L5/S1 low‐grade IS. Advanced L4/5 disc degeneration, decreased L4/5 disc height, and lower L5 slip percentage might be significantly associated with L4/5 disc herniation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Cell death can be executed through distinct subroutines. PANoptosis is a unique inflammatory cell death modality involving the interactions between pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis, which can be mediated by multifaceted PANoptosome complexes assembled via integrating components from other cell death modalities. There is growing interest in the process and function of PANoptosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that PANoptosis occurs under diverse stimuli, for example, viral or bacterial infection, cytokine storm, and cancer. Given the impact of PANoptosis across the disease spectrum, this review briefly describes the relationships between pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis, highlights the key molecules in PANoptosome formation and PANoptosis activation, and outlines the multifaceted roles of PANoptosis in diseases together with a potential for therapeutic targeting. We also discuss important concepts and pressing issues for future PANoptosis research. Improved understanding of PANoptosis and its mechanisms is crucial for identifying novel therapeutic targets and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most unsupervised or semisupervised hyperspectral anomaly detection (HAD) methods train background reconstruction models in the original spectral domain. However, due to the noise and spatial resolution limitations, there may be a lack of discrimination between backgrounds and anomalies. This makes it easy for the autoencoder to capture the low‐level features shared between the two, thereby increasing the difficulty of separating anomalies from the backgrounds, which runs counter to the purpose of HAD. To this end, the authors map the original spectrums to the fractional Fourier domain (FrFD) and reformulate it as a mapping task in which restoration errors are employed to distinguish background and anomaly. This study proposes a novel frequency‐to‐spectrum mapping generative adversarial network for HAD. Specifically, the depth separable features of backgrounds and anomalies are enhanced in the FrFD. Due to the semisupervised approach, FTSGAN needs to learn the embedded features of the backgrounds, thus mapping and restoring them from the FrFD to the original spectral domain. This strategy effectively prevents the model from focussing on the numerical equivalence of input and output, and restricts the ability of FTSGAN to restore anomalies. The comparison and analysis of the experiments verify that the proposed method is competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbitrary‐oriented object detection is widely used in aerial image applications because of its efficient object representation. However, the use of oriented bounding box aggravates the imbalance between positive and negative samples when using one‐stage object detectors, which seriously decreases the detection accuracy. We believe that it is the anchor learning strategy (ALS) used by such detectors that needs to take the responsibility. In this study, three perspectives on ALS design were summarised and ALS—Performance Releaser with Smart Anchor Learning (PRSAL) was proposed. Performance Releaser with Smart Anchor Learning is a dynamic ALS that utilises anchor classification ability as an equivalent indicator to anchor box regression ability, this allows anchors with high detection potential to be filtered out in a more reasonable way. At the same time, PRSAL focuses more on anchor potential and it is able to automatically select a number of positive samples that far exceed that of other methods by activating anchors that previously had a low spatial overlap, thereby releasing the detection performance. We validate the PRSAL using three remote sensing datasets—HRSC2016, DOTA and UCAS‐AOD as well as one scene text dataset—ICDAR 2013. The experimental results show that the proposed method gives substantially better results than existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Considering spinal deformity patients with pre‐operative neurological deficit were associated with more intra‐operative iatrogenic neurological complications than those without, intra‐operative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) has been used for detecting possible iatrogenic injury timely. However, the IONM waveforms are often unreliable. To analyze the performance of intra‐operative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) including somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) and motor evoked potentials (MEP) in patients with pre‐operative neurological deficit undergoing posterior spinal correction surgery, and to identify the high‐risk factors for failed IONM. Methods: Patients with pre‐operative neurological deficit undergoing posterior spinal correction surgery between October 2017 and January 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The presence or absence of SEP and MEP of target muscles were separately recorded. The P37/N50 latency and amplitude of SEP, and the MEP amplitude were measured. Any IONM alerts were also recorded. The IONM performance was compared among patients with different etiologies, levels responsible for neurological deficit, and strength of IONM‐target muscles. Patients' demographics were analyzed using the descriptive statistics and were presented with mean ± standard deviation. Comparison analysis was performed using χ2‐test and statistically significant difference was defined as p < 0.05. Results: A total of 270 patients (147 males, 123 females) with an average age of 48.4 ± 36.7 years were involved. The SEP records were available in 371 (68.7%) lower extremities while MEP records were available in 418 (77.4%). SEP alerts were reported in 31 lower extremities and MEP alerts in 22, and new neurological deficit at post‐operation was observed in 11. The etiologies of neuromuscular and syndromic indicated relatively lower success rates of IONM, which were 44.1% and 40.5% for SEP, and 58.8% and 59.5% for MEP (p < 0.001). In addition, patients with pre‐operative neurological deficit caused by cervical spine and muscle strength lower than grade 4 suffered from higher risk of failed IONM waveforms (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Patients with pre‐operative neurological deficit suffered from a higher incidence of failed IONM results. The high‐risk for failed IONM waveforms included the neuromuscular and syndromic etiologies, neurological deficit caused by cervical spine, muscle strength lower than grade 4 in patients with pre‐operative neurological deficit undergoing posterior spinal correction surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was to investigate the underlying mechanism of the antitumor effect of curcumin in colorectal cancer cells, focusing on the M2 polarization of tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs). The effect of curcumin on the malignant behavior of colorectal cancer cells was investigated by WST assay for cell growth, and Transwell assay for cell migration/invasion. THP‐1 cells were differentiated into macrophages and coculture with colorectal cancer cells to study the influence of curcumin on M2 polarization, presenting as the levels of ARG1 mRNA, IL‐10, and CD163‐positive cells. GEO database was searched for the shared altered gene of curcumin in colorectal cells and human monocytes. Molecular docking was used to visualize the binding between curcumin and MACC1. Curcumin restricted the proliferation, apoptosis, and migration/invasion of HCT 116 and SW620 cells. Curcumin attenuated levels of the M2 macrophage markers, CD163 + cells, IL‐10 secretion, and ARG1 mRNA. MACC1 was a target of curcumin in colorectal cancer cells, relating to macrophage. Rescue experiments showed that MACC1 overexpression can reverse the antitumor effect of curcumin in colorectal cancer cells and M2 polarization of TAMs. Curcumin's antiproliferative and anti‐migratory effects in colorectal cancer cells may be mediated by MACC1 and inhibition of M2 polarization of TAMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is characterized by osteophytes in the anterior vertebrae, and the presence of aorta may have an impact on their formation. However, the anatomical positional relationship between the aorta and osteophytes in patients with DISH remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the position of osteophytes in relation to aorta in DISH, and the influence of aortic pulsation on the formation of osteophytes from the perspective of morphology. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 101 patients diagnosed with DISH and symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis between June 2018 and December 2021. A total of 637 segments with heterotopic ossification in DISH were used for quantitative measurements on CT scans. The Cartesian coordinate system was built up on the axial CT scans to reflect the relative position between aorta and osteophytes. Osteophytes were divided into adjacent aorta group (AD group) and non‐adjacent aorta group (N‐AD group). In terms of the morphology, osteophytes in the AD group were further divided into convex, flat, and concave types. The relative position between aorta and osteophytes, and the aorta‐osteophyte distance and morphology of osteophytes were compared. Univariate analysis of variance was performed for multiple groups, and two independent‐samples t‐tests were used for two groups. Results: From T5 to L4, aorta gradually descended from left side to middle of vertebrae, and osteophytes gradually shifted from right side of vertebrae (T5‐T10) to bilateral sides (T11‐L4). Of 637 osteophytes in DISH, 60.1% (383/637) were in AD group, including convex type 0.6% (4/637), flat type 34.7% (221/637), and concave type 24.8% (158/637). The N‐AD group accounted for 39.9% (254/637). Flat osteophytes were concentrated in T5‐T12, while concave osteophytes in T11‐L4. Overall, the aorta‐osteophyte distance of concave type was significantly smaller than that of flat type. Conclusion: Osteophytes are not always located on the right side of vertebrae, but move with the position of the descending aorta. Furthermore, the morphology of osteophytes varies by vertebral segment in DISH, which is related to aorta descending anteriorly in the spine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of surgical techniques exist for deep burn wounds in the shin at low temperature reconstruction after appropriate debridement, but limited high‐quality data exist to inform treatment strategies. Using multi‐institutional data, the authors evaluated the length of healing time, cost, and outcomes of three common surgical reconstructive modalities. All subjects with deep burn wounds in the shin caused by low temperature who received direct suture repair, skin grafting, or local flap reconstruction were retrospectively reviewed (from 2015.01 to 2021.03). Mean operation time, mean blood loss in operation, postoperative healing time, whether there is scar depression after operation were the primary outcomes; patient satisfaction score, Vancouver scar scale (VSS) score and average costs were secondary outcomes. Two hundred subjects (68 suture, 87 skin‐grafting, and 45 local flap coverage patients) were evaluated. Matched patients (n = 200; 3/groups) were analysed. The average operation time, average operation blood loss, and postoperative healing time were statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Readmissions and reoperations were greater for direct suture and local flaps, if achievable, direct suture provided success at low cost. Skin grafting was effective with large burn wounds but at higher costs and longer length of stay. Local flaps successfully treated smaller burn wounds unable to suture directly, with less pigmentation and scars, even suitable for older patients. Deep low heat burn wounds in the shin healing can be performed effectively using multiple modalities with varying degrees of success and costs. Direct suture or local skin flap reconstruction, if achievable, provides successful coverage at minimal costs, no skin contractures, and reducing length of hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid identification and analysis of pesticide residue on real‐world sample by a portable platform is of growing interest for monitoring food safety and safeguarding human health. Herein, we developed a robust surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensor based on ZrO2@TiO2/Ag substrate for the analysis of pesticide residues. The synergetic effects of the metal organic framework (MOF)‐derived porous ZrO2@TiO2 heterostructure induced charge transfer enhancement and the electromagnetic enhancement from the plasmonic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) hotspot generate significant SERS enhancement signal. The SERS substrate exhibits superior long‐term stability and signal homogeneity for SERS quantitative analysis. The platform has the capability to detect not only model molecule of 4‐ATP but also pesticides of triazophos and fonofos at the extremely low concentration of 10−8 M. Moreover, we simulate the quantitative detection of pesticide residue on real objects by spraying pesticides on dendrobium and chrysanthemum leaves, followed by transferring to the SERS platform to perform analysis. The nearly linear fitting curve with a wide concentration range suggests the superior qualitative detection capability. Remarkably, two components and three components of the pesticides are readily identified in a rapid way. The approach provides the rapid analysis, low‐cost device, and portable and quantitative pesticide identification and offers a clear path to multicomponent analysis at a trace level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Three‐column osteotomy (3CO) is considered valuable and increasingly utilized in the surgical treatment of severe spine deformity while associated with high implant‐related complications and revision risks. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and clinical outcomes of satellite rod fixation used around the rod‐fracture area in revision surgery due to rod fracture after 3CO. Methods: Twenty‐five patients applying satellite rod fixation in revision surgery from August 2012 to May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed as the SR group. Patients undergoing revision surgery with traditional strategy after 3CO due to rod‐fracture were selected as the TR group. Cobb angle, distance between C7 plumb line and center sacral vertical line (C7PL‐CSVL), global kyphosis (GK) and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) were assessed. Patients were required to fulfill the Scoliosis Research Society‐22 questionnaire (SRS‐22) at pre‐revision and the last follow‐up. The paired t test was used to analyze the difference among pre‐revision, post‐revision and last follow‐up. Results: There was no statistical difference in terms of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), fusion level at 1st surgery, and follow‐up period between SR and TR group (all P > 0.05). The operation time (1.5 ± 0.7 h vs 3.2 ± 0.9 h, P < 0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (178 ± 51 mL vs 324 ± 96 mL, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the TR group. Patients in both groups obtained obvious deformity correction after revision surgery. For patients in SR group, the coronal Cobb angle significantly improved from 27.9 ± 21.5° at pre‐revision to 21.8 ± 16.6° at post‐revision (P = 0.034). The C7PL‐CSVL decreased from 22.6 ± 14.3 mm to 21.3 ± 10.9 mm (P = 0.719). Similarly, improvement was attained in post‐revision GK (25.8 ± 17.0° vs 20.2 ± 15.1°, P = 0.061). SVA was corrected from 35.6 ± 33.9 mm to 30.8 ± 24.3 mm after revision (P = 0.182). At the last follow‐up, no significant correction loss was observed in both coronal and sagittal parameters (all P > 0.05). All patients responded to the SRS‐22 questionnaire and all the domains showed improvements in different levels. As compared to the TR group, the SR group had significantly better pain and management satisfaction scores (all P < 0.05). Additionally, there was no reoccurrence of implant failure during follow‐up and all patients achieved solid bony fusion in SR group. Conclusion: Satellite rod fixation around rod‐fracture area is indicated for patients in the requirement of revision surgeries due to rod fracture after 3CO. Compared with traditional revision strategies, revision surgery with satellite rods, if patients are selected adequately, is a simpler procedure with less intraoperative blood loss and shorter operating time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Post-renal transplant patients have a high likelihood of developing renal cancer. However, the underlying biological mechanisms behind the development of renal cancer in post-kidney transplant patients remain to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the underlying biological mechanism behind the development of renal cell carcinoma in post-renal transplant patients. Methods. Next-generation sequencing data and corresponding clinical information of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) database. The microarray data of kidney transplant patients with or without rejection response was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. In addition, statistical analysis was conducted in R software. Results. We identified 55 upregulated genes in the transplant patients with rejection from the GEO datasets (GSE48581, GSE36059, and GSE98320). Furthermore, we conducted bioinformatics analyses, which showed that all of these genes were upregulated in ccRCC tissue. Moreover, a prognosis model was constructed based on four rejection-related genes, including PLAC8, CSTA, AIM2, and LYZ. The prognosis model showed excellent performance in prognosis prediction in a ccRCC cohort. In addition, the machine learning algorithms identified 19 rejection-related genes, including PLAC8, involved in ccRCC occurrence. Finally, the PLAC8 was selected for further research, including its clinical and biological role. Conclusion. In all, our study provides novel insight into the transition from the rejection of renal transplant to renal cancer. Meanwhile, PLAC8 could be a potential biomarker for ccRCC diagnosis and prognosis in post-kidney transplant patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Considering the high risk of postoperative neurological complications for patients with thoracic spinal stenosis (TSS), intra‐operative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) has been used for detecting possible iatrogenic injury timely. However, the IONM waveforms are often unreliable. This article is designed to determine the test performance of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) and motor evoked potentials (MEP) during surgical thoracic decompression in patients with TSS, and to investigate the risk factors associated with deteriorated neurologic function at immediate postoperation. Methods: Patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion from February 2009 to December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into the deteriorated neurologic function (DNF) group and the improved/intact neurological function (INF) group based on the postoperative neurological status. Demographic parameters such as gender, age, height, weight, etiology and IONM data were compared between groups. Demographics and IONM data between DNF and INF groups were compared by independent t or nonparametric tests. The incidence of abnormal SEP was analyzed by Chi‐square test. Results: A total of 108 patients (63 males, 45 females) with an average age of 53.5 ± 14.0 years were included. The SEP and MEP records were available in 94 and 98 patients, with the overall success rates being 87.0% and 90.7%, respectively. The sensibilities and specificities were 100% and 88.2% for SEP, 100% and 98.8% for MEP, respectively. There were 17 patients in DNF group and 91 patients in INF group. High weight (79.1 ± 14.6 vs 69.7 ± 15.7 kg, P = 0.024), high inter‐side difference of MEP amplitude (899.1 ± 997.5 vs 492.3 ± 512.4 μV, P = 0.013) and high incidence of abnormal SEP (94.1% vs 64.8%, P = 0.024) were observed in the DNF group. Fourteen (82.4%) patients in the DNF group showed improvement in neurological status during follow‐up. Conclusions: The overall success rates were 87.0% for SEP and 90.7% for MEP in patients with TSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MXene can be used to create bifunctional materials for supercapacitors and electromagnetic wave absorbers by logical composition arrangement and microstructure design. The layered structure, high electrical conductivity, high capacitance, mechanical strength, and flexibility of Ti3C2Tx MXene all make it ideal for use as flexible energy storage devices and electromagnetic wave absorbers. In this study, MXene was innovatively intercalated with g‐C3N4 and CNTs to produce MXCN/CNTs ternary hybrid film. The restacking is successfully avoided, and the layer spacing is increased. Meanwhile, g‐C3N4 makes the interlayer charge density increase, and CNTs establish the interlayer conducting network, both of which greatly improve the charge transfer efficiency. These ternary hybrid films exhibit superior performance for both supercapacitor electrodes and electromagnetic wave absorbers. The specific capacitance of MXCN/CNTs electrode reaches 477.4 F/g at 1 A/g. The energy density of flexible symmetrical all‐solid supercapacitor achieves 25.28 Wh/Kg at 449.99 W/Kg. When bent 180°, the electrochemical performance remains constant. The MXCN/CNTs composites also show excellent electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) performance. It achieves an optimized absorption intensity of −43.44 dB at 2.6 mm and shows an extremely wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.94 GHz. This work enhances the application studies of Ti3C2Tx MXene‐based composite materials as multifunctional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Junctional kyphosis is a common complication after corrective long spinal fusion for adult spinal deformity. Whereas there is still a paucity of data on junctional kyphosis, specifically among late posttraumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis (LPTK) patients. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and risk factors of junctional kyphosis in LPTK patients receiving long segmental instrumented fusion. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a cohort of LPTK patients who had received long segmental instrumented fusion (>4 segments) in our center between January 2012 and January 2019. Radiographic assessments included the sagittal alignment, pelvic parameters, bone quality on CT images, and measurements of the cross‐sectional area (CSA, cross‐sectional area of muscle‐vertebral body ratio × 100) and fat saturation fraction (FSF, cross‐sectional area of fat‐muscle body ratio × 100) of paraspinal muscles. Patients in this study were divided into those with junctional kyphosis or failure (Group J) and those without (Group NJ) during follow‐up. Group J included patients with junctional kyphosis (Group JK) and patients with junctional failure (Group JF). Results: A total of 65 patients (16 males and 49 females, average age 56.5 ± 23.4 years) were enrolled in this study. After (32.7 ± 8.5) months follow‐up, 15 patients (23.1%) experienced junctional kyphosis, and four of them deteriorated into junctional failure. Eighty percent (12/15) of junctional kyphosis was identified within 6 months after surgery. In comparison with Group NJ, Group J were older (P = 0.026), longer fusion levels (P < 0.001), greater thoracic kyphosis (P = 0.01), greater global kyphosis (P = 0.023), lower bone quality (P < 0.001), less CSA (P = 0.005) and higher FSF (P <0.001) of paraspinal muscles. Preoperative global kyphosis more than 48.5° (P = 0.001, odds ratio 1.793) and FSF more than 48.4 (P = 0.010, odds ratio 2.916) were identified as independent risk factors of junctional kyphosis. Based on the statistical differences among Group NJ, Group JK and Group JF (P < 0.001), Group JF had lower bone quality than Group NJ (P < 0.001) and Group JK (P = 0.015). In terms of patient‐reported outcomes, patients in Group JF had worse outcomes in ODI and VAS scores, and PCS and MCS of SF‐36 than Group NJ and group JK Conclusion: The prevalence of junctional kyphosis was 23.1% in LPTK patients after long segmental instrumented fusion. Preoperative hyperkyphosis and advanced fatty degeneration of paraspinal muscles were independent risk factors of junctional kyphosis. Patients with lower bone quality were more likely to develop junctional failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation and control of ultrafast photocurrents on the surface of transition‐metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are essential for the development of advanced optoelectronic devices. A detailed understanding of the mechanism of ultrafast photocurrent generation is primarily needed to design functional devices. Here, it is reported that ultrafast photocurrents in multilayer PtSe2 are induced by the photon drag effect with high conversion efficiency. Particularly, under circularly polarized laser excitation, anisotropic in‐plane photon drag currents are generated, leading to the elliptically polarized terahertz (THz) radiation directly controlled by the helicity of the pump beam. Furthermore, a new model called "THz emission by the circular ac Hall effect" (TECacHE) is proposed to unveil the carrier transport process. It is observed that the origins of elliptically polarized THz emission controlled by helicity involve the pure circular photon drag current and the retardation induced by the Lorentz force. Besides, ultrafast ternary encoding is proposed and demonstrated by polarized THz emission. The results not only provide a new contactless detection model to study surface ultrafast photocurrents but also afford a fundamental investigation of the circular photon drag current in layered TMDs for THz telecommunication devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multisource fusion localization is a mainstream scheme for acquiring accurate locations in complex indoor scenes. To overcome the interference of indoor structures on radio and illumination variation on visual features, the semantic maps provide an effective way for multisource fusion localization. However, due to the lack of visual depth information, solutions of indoor semantic maps suffer from large semantic segmentation errors for similar objects, which leads to the unstable performance of localization systems. To overcome the issue in semantic and fusion localization, we develop a localization system to demonstrate the use of restudy semantic map and self‐adapting fusion localization would achieve centimeter‐level positioning accuracy, termed VISEL. VISEL uses the proposed spatial attention‐aware semantic model to enhance the discrimination of semantic features for capturing accurate semantic maps. On the basis of high‐precision semantic maps, VISEL completes an enhanced particle filter fusion localization module with adaptive reassign weight to different localization modules, which successfully improves accuracy through complementary advantages between different signals while overcoming the drawbacks of each signal and interference of complex environment. The extensive experimental results show that VISEL outperforms current state‐of‐the‐art positioning systems and achieves an average positioning accuracy of 0.4 m. VISEL utilizes semantic maps with depth features and enhanced particle filter to reduce the fusion localization error by 38%, which suggests the high‐precision semantic maps with depth features could provide a robust solution for the fusion localization system for indoor complex scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the clinicopathological features, optimal treatment patterns, and prognosis of breast metaplastic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are not fully understood and are still controversial. Here, we report a 56‐year‐old female patient with breast infiltrating ductal carcinoma with axillary lymph node metastasis of metaplastic SCC admitted to our hospital. Their homology was clarified by comparing the gene mutation results of the two lesions, that is, the axillary lymph node lesion was a metastasis of breast metaplastic SCC. We treated the patient with Poly ADP‐ribose Polymerase (PARP) inhibitors in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and found that she could achieve clinical benefit from the combination regimen. We reported a successful diagnosis and treatment of this rare refractory disease and reviewed the literature on the characteristics, pathogenesis, and advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast metaplastic SCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (PEG‐rhG‐CSF) in preventing neutropenia during multiple cycles of chemotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Method: In a multicenter, prospective, randomized trial, patients with NSCLC were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to treatment group (PEG‐rhG‐CSF as primary prophylactic therapy) or control group. Patients in the control group were administered rhG‐CSF when white blood cell count was <2.0 × 109/L or absolute neutrophil count <1.0 × 109/L. The primary endpoint was the incidence of grade 3/4 neutropenia. Secondary endpoints included the incidence and duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia in each cycle, the incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN), delay rate of chemotherapy, prolonged time of chemotherapy, and safety. Results: Between January 2019 and July 2021, 130 patients were enrolled (treatment group: n = 87, control group: n = 43). The incidence of grade 3/4 neutropenia in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (1.15% vs. 11.63%, p < 0.05). The mean duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia for the treatment and control group was 2.00 and 3.75 days, respectively. There were no statistical differences in the incidence of FN, delay rate of chemotherapy, prolonged time of chemotherapy, and antibiotic use between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Adverse events were reported in 47.13% of patients in the treatment group and 48.84% patients in the control group. Conclusions: Primary prophylactic treatment with PEG‐rhG‐CSF could reduce the incidence of neutropenia in patients with NSCLC during multiple cycles of chemotherapy, with acceptable safety and tolerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We formulate and solve a robust dynamic pricing problem for an ambiguity‐averse agent who faces an uncertain probabilistic law governing the realized demand for a single product. Specifically, the pricing problem is framed as a stochastic game that involves a maximizing player (the "agent") and a minimizing player ("nature") who promotes robustness by distorting the agent's beliefs within prescribed limits. Our methodology builds on the commonly used entropic approach in the literature but can be utilized to generate a much more versatile class of uncertainty sets. We derive the optimal pricing strategy and the corresponding value function by applying stochastic dynamic programming and solving a version of the Bellman–Isaacs equation. The usefulness of our framework is illustrated by two special cases. Finally, a carefully designed numerical example exposes the value of model robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to analyze the application of predictive nursing in the prevention of tendon adhesion, after the anastomosis of finger flexor tendon rupture, so as to provide a basis for clinical nursing.Methods: A total of 80 patients with anastomoses of flexor tendon ruptures, investigated in our hospital from December 2017 to December 2018, were enrolled in this study. Their data formed the basis of this research. They were divided into two groups, the routine (control) group (n = 40) and the nursing group (n = 40), by the random number table method. Basic nursing methods only were used in treating the routine group, while the nursing group received basic nursing in combination with early active function exercise. The contrast indices between the two groups were recovery quality of finger flexion and extension, incidence of tendon adhesion, and nursing satisfaction rate.Results: The probability of tendon rupture and adhesion in the (predictive) nursing group was lower than that found in the control group. The outcomes with predictive nursing were more desirable. The levels of finger flexion and extension in the nursing group were significantly better than those of the control group(P < 0.05).Conclusion: The application of predictive nursing, after the anastomosis of finger flexor tendon rupture, is good for preventing tendon adhesion. Better levels of finger flexion and extension after the operation are guaranteed, and the overall recovery outcomes are better. The satisfaction levels of patients who received predictive nursing were also high, and this method is highly valued and promoted within clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Growing rods surgery is the mainstay of treatment for early‐onset scoliosis (EOS) while proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is one of the most commonly reported postoperative complications. We sought to investigate the impact of the location of upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) in relation to the sagittal apex on proximal junctional kyphosis in EOS after traditional growing rods (GRs) treatment. Methods: A total of 102 EOS patients who received traditional growing rods treatment with a follow‐up of at least 2 years between 2009 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Radiographic measurements were performed before and after the index surgery and at the latest follow‐up. We investigated the coronal Cobb angle and spinopelvic parameters of the whole spine. The location of the UIV, apex, lower instrumented vertebra (LIV), inflection vertebra (IV), the number and distance of UIV‐apex, LIV‐apex and IV‐apex were also recorded. Risk factors for PJK were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results: PJK was observed in 21 patients (20.6%) during the follow‐up period. The PJK group showed a younger age at the index surgery (5.9 vs. 7.1 years, P = 0.042), more lengthening procedure times (5.0 vs. 4.0, P = 0.032), larger preoperative coronal Cobb angle (82.0 vs. 75.6°, P = 0.038), higher correction rate (51.2% vs. 44.4%, P = 0.047) and larger postoperative proximal junctional angle (PJA) (13.9 vs. 5.5°, P < 0.001) than the non‐PJK group. The ratio of the number and distance from UIV‐apex to IV‐apex also differed significantly between the two groups. The logistic regression revealed that age at the index surgery ≤ 7 years, the ratio of the number from UIV‐ apex to IV‐ apex ≤ 0.6 and the ratio of the distance from UIV‐ apex to IV‐ apex ≤ 0.6 were independent risk factors for postoperative PJK. Conclusion: Besides younger age, a closer location of UIV relative to the sagittal apex is identified to be an independent risk factor of postoperative PJK. Selection of UIV at a relatively farther location away from the sagittal apex might help prevent occurrence of PJK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) data of patients with intraspinal abnormalities undergoing posterior spinal fusion and to determine how intraspinal abnormalities influence IONM results. Methods: Patients with severe kyphoscoliosis and intraspinal abnormalities who underwent posterior spinal correction and fusion between September 2015 and January 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Candidate intraspinal abnormalities included Chiari malformation, syringomyelia, split cord malformation, and tethered cord syndrome. Total intravenous anesthesia was administered, and no muscle relaxant or inhalation anesthesia was used for maintenance. IONM data, including somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) and motor evoked potentials (MEP), were recorded. The P37 and N50 latencies and amplitude were recorded for SSEP, whereas only the amplitude was recorded for MEP. The possible high‐risk factors for abnormal IONM results were analyzed. Results: The current study included 87 patients (40 men, 47 women) with an average age of 20.2 ± 10.4 years. The etiologies were neuromuscular in 45 patients, idiopathic in four, and congenital in 38. A total of 136 intraspinal abnormalities were detected, including Chiari malformation in 33 patients, syringomyelia in 55, split‐cord malformation in 25, and tethered cord syndrome in 23. Forty patients had one intraspinal abnormality, whereas 47 patients had two or three intraspinal abnormalities. The monitorabilities were 87.4% and 97.7% for the SSEP and MEP, respectively. SSEP alerts were reported in five patients and MEP alerts in four patients, and new neurological deficits were observed in three patients postoperatively. The sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 97.3% for SSEP, and 100% and 98.8% for MEP, respectively. A significant difference in MEP amplitude between the concave and convex sides was observed, while significantly higher SSEP latency was observed on the concave side in patients with preoperative neurological deficits. There were 52 (59.8%) patients with abnormal IONM data. Preoperative neurological deficits (χ2 = 7.715, p = 0.005) and more than one intraspinal abnormality (χ2 = 9.186, p = 0.004) indicated a higher risk of abnormal IONM data. Conclusions: IONM can be effectively used in patients with intraspinal abnormalities who undergo posterior spinal fusion. Patients with preoperative neurological deficits and more than one intraspinal abnormality have a higher risk of abnormal IONM monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightweight and low‐cost flexible thermoelectric (TE) materials improve the heat‐to‐electricity conversion efficiency compared to rigid materials by minimizing the heat loss between TE devices and heat sources in waste heat recovery. Multi‐walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) has excellent mechanical and electrical properties. However, the TE power factor (PF) of MWCNTs is much lower than single/double‐walled carbon nanotube (S/DWCNT), which is often lower than 40 µW m−1‐K−2. Herein an effective way to achieve high PFs of ≈1800 µW m−1‐K−2 for p‐type and ≈1000 µW m−1‐K−2 for n‐type in flexible MWCNT films is reported. The high power factor is achieved by taking advantage of the anisotropic electrical conductivity and isotropic Seebeck coefficient feature of 1D CNTs as well as the following doping and cold‐pressing to improve the electrical conductivity of MWCNT films. The PF values are comparable to that of state‐of‐the‐art S/DWCNT films and most inorganic TE materials. A Lego‐like TE generator (TEG) with an assembling structure is fabricated to show the heat‐to‐electricity ability of the materials, which exhibits the highest areal output power of ≈27 W m−2 among CNT‐based flexible TEGs. This method may be extended to other 1D‐material based composites to boost the development of high PF flexible TE materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) fingerprinting localization has become a hot research topic with encouraging results, it is difficult to predict the location depending on a short duration received signal strength indication (RSSI) sequence in realistic scenarios due to the severe fluctuation of RSSI. We introduce a new perspective to view the indoor positioning problem by radio map fingerprint. We argue that even though beacons may be independently deployed, the RSSI series bear certain spatial relation because of their copresence in the same physical space. The latent relation implicitly conveyed by the coexistence of their signals at various indoor locations. Unlike existing approaches that try to find a direct mapping between sensed signals and the corresponding location, we explore the spatial relation of beacons from the input data to estimate location. We propose a deep learning localization system, termed DRVAT, which is based on the distributed representation vector (DRV) and self‐attention (AT) among the pairs of MAC‐RSSI. First, we obtain DRVs which represent dense features in low dimensionality through pre‐training on all MAC‐RSSIs. Then we exploit self‐attention mechanism to learn the latent spatial relation of beacons. Finally, MAC‐RSSIs labeled with locations are used to fine‐tune the model for estimating location. Localization accuracy results demonstrated the superior performance as compared with other positioning methods, and the visualization of DRV and attention mechanism are consistent with the spatial deployment of BLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the causes of failed primary surgery and the revision strategies for congenital scoliosis (CS) patients with lower lumbar/lumbosacral (LL/LS) hemi‐vertebra (HV). Methods: Fifteen CS patients with LL/LS HV (seven females and eight males) with a mean age of 20.4 ± 10.4 years undergoing revision surgery in our center were retrospectively reviewed. The radiographic parameters including Cobb angle, distance between C7 plumb line and center sacral vertical line (C7PL‐CSVL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL) and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) were assessed at pre‐revision, post‐revision and the last follow‐up. The causes of failure in primary operation, and radiographic and clinical outcomes of revision procedures were analyzed. Results: The revision rate of patients undergoing LL/LS HV resection and correction surgery was 11.4%. The average time interval between primary surgery and revision surgery was 18.2 ± 10.6 months. The operation duration and estimated blood loss of revision surgery were 194 ± 56 min and 326 ± 74 ml, respectively. Reasons for failed primary operations were as follows: internal fixation fracture in 10 cases, curve progression in two cases, implant loose in two cases and post‐operative coronal imbalance in one case. The post‐revision Cobb angle was significantly improved from 29.9° ± 8.3° to 18.7° ± 6.7° (P < 0.001) with a correction rate of 37.5% ± 12.6%. At the final follow‐up, the average Cobb angle was 18.9° ± 6.2° and the correction was well maintained (P = 0.788). The C7PL‐CSVL at pre‐revision, post‐revision and at last follow‐up were 23.2 ± 9.3 mm, 14.8 ± 4.8 mm and 14.9 ± 5.4 mm, respectively. Significant improvements (P = 0.004) were observed after revision surgery and there was no evident loss of correction (P = 0.703). There was no significant difference in TK, LL and SVA before and after revision surgery (all P > 0.05). At the last follow‐up, no significant correction loss of above coronal and sagittal parameters were observed (all P > 0.05). The revision methods were individualized according to the primary surgical procedures and the reasons for revision. The recommended revision strategies include incision of pseudarthrosis with sufficient bone graft, fixation of satellite rods, thorough residual HV excision, prolonged fusion to S2 and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion at lumbosacral region. Solid bony fusion and no implant‐related complication were detected during the follow‐up. Conclusions: The causes of revision surgery for patients with congenital scoliosis (CS) due to lumbosacral HV were verified and implant failure with pseudarthrosis was the main reason for failed primary operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main objective is to compare the clinical efficacy of the early use of dynamic orthosis in patients with a finger extensor digitorum rupture.Methods: A total of 50 patients with hand and foot trauma who received surgical treatment in our hospital from March 2017 to February 2021 were selected, and two patients were excluded from the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (group A) was treated with plaster fixation and routine rehabilitation, and the study group (group B) underwent dynamic low-temperature thermoplastic plate fixation and routine rehabilitation. Total active motion (TAM) and total passive motion (TPM) of the injured finger before treatment, one month after treatment, two months after treatment, and after corrective treatment were compared.Results: After treatment following a finger extensor digitorum rupture, the TAM and TPM of the injured fingers increased significantly in both groups. The TAM and TPM in group B were significantly better than those in group A after one and two months of treatment (P < 0.05). After two months of treatment, the rates of improvement in TAM and TPM in group B were significantly higher than those in group A.Conclusion: The early use of dynamic orthosis can significantly improve the motor function and motion amplitude of the injured finger, increase the elasticity and extension of the finger extensor digitorum, and promote the recovery of muscle strength. It is an effective corrective method for tendon contracture after finger extensor digitorum rupture and has great value in clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once the slope in the near bank area enters the state of failure, a geological disaster chain caused by landslide and its generated surge occurs very likely. In this study, a two-layer depth-averaged model was used to describe the disaster chain. The HLL (Harten-Lax-van Leer) finite volume method was used for numerical simulation and analysis. Meanwhile, the linear interpolation technique was employed to obtain second-order accuracy. The numerical results of the analytical examples reflect the movement characteristics of the two-layer fluid and verify the correctness of the numerical model. On the basis of numerical verification, the Gongjiafang landslide and its surge were simulated and analyzed. In the early stage, the deformation of the underwater geomaterials disturbed the water, forming the prototype of the surge, and then the landslide movement promoted the rapid development of the surge. After the landslide was deposited, the surge continued to travel forward and formed the largest form near the opposite bank. The numerical simulation is applicable to complex terrain and reveals some mechanisms and characteristics of the disaster chain. Compared with empirical methods, the numerical model adopted could reproduce the process of disasters chain more accurately and effectively and then improve the understanding of the disaster chain. It is feasible that the proposed numerical model can be applied under approximate plane strain conditions but is no longer applicable under 3D conditions. This work can provide reference for further research on disaster chain caused by landslide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A water‐promoted synthesis methodology for constructing 3‐sulfone propionic acids from sulfonyl hydrazides and α, β‐unsaturated propionic acids with excellent yields were reported. The green synthesis methodology was promoted by water without any catalyst, ligand and organic solvent. The D2O control experiment sufficiently proved that the 2‐hydrogen atom of 3‐sulfone propionic acid come from water. Moreover, the 3‐sulfone propionic acid derivates could be directly purified by crystallization without column chromatography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]