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Robotics, once combined with cold atmospheric plasma, represent key elements of the next generation of personalized medicine and contribute to the effective yet immediate response to pandemics. Plasma robots can serve as CAP delivery vehicle to assist in tumor therapeutics and viral disease prevention in addition to the already prevalent utilities of robots in precision surgery, diagnosis, and risk prevention. Plasma robots may develop at either the macro- or the micro- scale, successful navigations at which require joint effort from multiple research domains.

Near fatal asthma is a life-threatening disorder that requires mechanical ventilation. Near fatal asthma and COPD with sudden cardiac arrest can worsen the outcomes. Previous studies demonstrated that ECMO is a live-saving measure for near fatal asthma that does not respond to traditional treatment.A patient with near fatal asthma (NFA) and COPD presented with high airway resistance, life-threatening acidemia and severe hypoxemia that failed to respond to conventional therapy. His hospital course was complicated by sudden cardiac arrest when preparing to initiate V-V mode extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The mode immediately changed from V-V to V-A, then to V-AV and finally to V-V mode in order to improve cardiac function and promote recovery of lung function.On the sixth day, ECMO was removed and on the ninth day, he was extubated and transferred to the ward. Finally, the patient was discharged home on the nineteenth day after admission to be followed up in the pulmonary clinic.The early application of ECMO and mode changing plausibly resulted in dramatic improvement in gas exchange and restoration of cardiac function. This case illustrates the critical role of ECMO mode changing as salvage therapy in NFA and COPD with sudden cardiac arrest.

Background: With the anti-cancer efficacies of cold atmospheric plasma being increasingly recognized in vitro, a demand on creating an effective tool feasible for in vivo animal treatment has emerged. Methods: Through the use of co-axial needles with different calibers in diameter, we designed a novel in situ ejection source of cold atmospheric plasma, namely invivoPen, for animal experiments. It punches just a single pinhole that could considerably ease the complexity of operating with small animals such as mouse. Results: We showed that invivoPen could deliver similar efficacies as plasma activated medium with reduced cost in suppressing cell proliferation and migration as well as potentially boosting the viabilities of mice receiving invivoPen treatment. Blood test, renal and liver functionalities tests all suggest that physical plasma could effectively return tumor-carrying mice to the healthy state without harm to body conditions, and invivoPen slightly outweighs PAM in boosting animal immunity and reducing inflammation. Conclusion: Our study contributes to the community in providing a minimal invasive in situ plasma source, having partly explained the efficacies of cold atmospheric plasma in treating triple negative breast cancers, and proposing the potential synergies between physical plasma and conventional drugs for cancer treatment.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO) has emerged as a viable treatment in severe cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute respiratory failure, and adult respiratory distress syndrome. However, thromboembolic events stemming from the use of ECMO devices results in significant morbidity and mortality rates; the inner surface of the ECMO tubing comes into contact with the blood and can readily initiate coagulation. In addition, the tubing needs to be continually replaced due to thromboses on the inner tube wall, which not only increases the risk of infection but also the economic burden. Despite considerable effort, a surface modification strategy that effectively addresses these challenges has not yet been realized. In this study, we developed an integrated hollow core-shell-shell hydrogel tube of gelatin/alginate/acrylamide-bacterial nanocellulose(GAA) that meets the anticoagulant requirements for the inner tubing layer as well as the highly elastic soft material needed for the outer layer. Using static blood from healthy volunteers, we confirmed that the platelets or coagulation is not stimulated by the GAA tubing. Importantly, experiments with dynamic blood also demonstrated that the inner layer of the tubing does not elicit blood clotting. The one-pot-synthesized process may provide guidance for the design of anticoagulation tubes used clinically. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s40242-021-1267-3.

Background Myocardial infarction (MI) contributes to high mortality and morbidity and can also accelerate atherosclerosis, thus inducing recurrent event due to status changing of coronary artery walls or plaques. The research aimed to investigate the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which may be potential therapeutic targets for plaques progression in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and ST-elevated MI (STEMI). Methods Two human datasets (GSE56885 and GSE59867) were analyzed by GEO2R and enrichment analysis was applied through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. To explore the seed genes, the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed and seed genes, as well as top30 ranking neighbours were screened out. To validate these findings, one human dataset GSE120521 was analyzed. Linear regression analysis and ROC curve were also performed to determine which seed genes above mentioned could be independent factors for plaques progression. Mice MI model and ELISA of seed genes were applied and ROC curve was also performed for in vivo validation. Results 169 DEGs and 573 DEGs were screened out in GSE56885 and GSE59867, respectively. Utilizing GO and KEGG analysis, these DEGs mainly enriched in immune system response and cytokines interaction. PPI network analysis was carried out and 19 seed genes were screened out. To validate these findings, GSE120521 was analyzed and three genes were demonstrated to be targets for plaques progression and stable CAD progression, including KLRD1, FOSL2 and LILRB3. KLRD1 and LILRB3 were demonstrated to be high-expressed at 1d after MI compared to SHAM group and FOSL2 expression was low-expressed at 1d and 1w. To investigate the diagnostic abilities of seed genes, ROC analysis was applied and the AUCs of KLRD1, FOSL2 and LILRB3, were 0.771, 0.938 and 0.972, respectively. Conclusion This study provided the screened seed genes, KLRD1, FOSL2 and LILRB3, as credible molecular biomarkers for plaques status changing in CAD progression and MI recurrence. Other seed genes, such as FOS, SOCS3 and MCL1, may also be potential targets for treatment due to their special clinical value in cardiovascular diseases.

Only problems that cannot be solved without representational changes can be regarded as pure insight problems; others are classified as pseudo-insight problems. Existing studies using neuroimaging ...

To meet the needs of wheelchair users who wish to change their body posture to facilitate their life and move freely in complex environments, this study designs a wheelchair with functions of posture adjustment and overcoming obstacles. After analysis of these specific needs, the wheelchair structure is designed based on modular design principle to include a chair and mobile module. The chair module comprises back-posture adjustment and sliding mechanisms, and the mobile module comprises front, main, and auxiliary wheel-leg mechanism. In particular, the main and auxiliary wheel-leg mechanisms are the main structures for wheelchair movement. The different schemes are then compared and analyzed. On this basis, the kinematic models of each mechanism are established and the motion performance, including posture adjustment and ability to overcome obstacles, is analyzed in detail. Analysis of the mechanical properties provides a basis for the selection of driving components. The control system is designed, and the prototype of multifunctional wheelchair is developed. Experimental results show that the wheelchair can realize the adjustment of body posture and complete the process of moving up and down steps with good user stability. The wheelchair can considerably facilitate the movement of the disabled or the elderly.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Although activator of HSP90 ATPase activity 1 (AHA1) is reported to be a potential oncogene, its role in osteosarcoma progression remains largely unclear. Since metabolism reprogramming is involved in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis, the relationship between AHA1 and cancer metabolism is unknown. In this study, we found that AHA1 is significantly overexpressed in osteosarcoma and related to the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients. AHA1 promotes the growth and metastasis of osteosarcoma both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, AHA1 upregulates the metabolic activity to meet cellular bioenergetic needs in osteosarcoma. Notably, we identified that isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) is a novel client protein of Hsp90-AHA1. Furthermore, the IDH1 protein level was positively correlated with AHA1 in osteosarcoma. And IDH1 overexpression could partially reverse the effect of AHA1 knockdown on cell growth and migration of osteosarcoma. Moreover, high IDH1 level was also associated with poor prognosis of osteosarcoma patients. This study demonstrates that AHA1 positively regulates IDH1 and metabolic activity to promote osteosarcoma growth and metastasis, which provides novel prognostic biomarkers and promising therapeutic targets for osteosarcoma patients.

Constrictive pericarditis in children is exceedingly rare, and may cause very problematic confusion of diagnosis and etiology identification. In this case, we examined a 14-year-old female patient who had developed signs of significant anasarca which was eventually turned out to be constrictive pericarditis. Affected by the experience of examiners, the patient was not diagnosed or even suspected with constrictive pericarditis when she was initially examined by echocardiography in the hospital where she visited before. Reexamination of echocardiography, cardiac catheterization and non-invasive image techniques were performed to establish the diagnosis finally. Open pericardectomy was ultimately performed and normal hemodynamic parameters and cardiac function were obtained postoperatively. In the determination of etiology, we inferred that chronic infection induced by local virus infection in the pericardium led to constrictive pericarditis. Parvovirus B19 (PVB19) and/or human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) were the two most likely viruses involved based on published literature reviews. Importantly, we learned that serological antibody testing may be false-negative and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or metagenomic next-generation sequencing for pericardial viral nucleic acid testing may be the gold standard for confirmation. Unfortunately, fresh pericardial tissue samples were not taken before paraformaldehyde fixation in our case, which made it impossible for us to detect suspicious viruses. We do hope that the lessons learned from this case will be helpful and instructive for the etiological diagnosis of similar patients in the future.

In today’s society, the Internet has penetrated into all aspects of daily life, and has become an indispensable part of people’s life. In the teaching of vocal music, teachers and students constantly put forward problems that need to be solved in teaching. For example, due to the lack of teaching time, teachers do not have enough classroom time to teach comprehensive vocal music skills for students. The homework assigned by teachers needs to be checked and scored uniformly. The workload is heavy, and there is no communication channel between teachers and students except classroom time. In this paper, the application of software engineering, computer network, web site architecture and other aspects of knowledge, the requirements of the system are analyzed, and on this basis, the overall architecture of the system and its internal modules are designed in detail. In the process of implementation, with the help of ThinkPHP, the mature software framework, on the basis of which, the data persistence layer and presentation layer of the system are realized, and the business logic layer of the system is set up between the two layers to realize the hierarchy and module structure of the system design. After the implementation of the system, we also use the system testing method to test the system in an all-round way to ensure the correct use of the system.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers in the world. An important causative factor of colorectal cancer is ulcerative colitis. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of piperlongumine (PL) on the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute colitis and azoxymethane (AOM)/DSS-induced colorectal cancer mouse models. Our results showed that PL could inhibit the inflammation of DSS-induced mouse colitis and reduce the number of large neoplasms (diameter >2 mm) of AOM/DSS-induced mouse colorectal cancer by downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines cyclooxygenase-2 and interleukin-6 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related factors, β-catenin, and snail expressions, but fail to improve the colitis symptoms and to decrease the incidence of colonic neoplasms and the number of small neoplasms (diameter

Overexpression of drug efflux transport ABCB1 is correlated with multidrug resistance (MDR) among cancer cells. Upregulation of ABCB1 accounts for the recurrence of resistance to docetaxel therapy in ovarian cancer with poor survival. Erastin is a novel and specific small molecule that targets SLC7A11 to induce ferroptosis. In the present research, we explored the synergistic effect of erastin and docetaxel in ovarian cancer. We confirmed that the co-delivery of erastin with docetaxel significantly decreased cell viability, promoted cell apoptosis, and induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M in ovarian cancer cells with ABCB1 overexpression. Mechanistically, erastin dominantly elevated the intracellular ABCB1 substrate levels by restricting the drug-efflux activity of ABCB1 without alteration of the expression of ABCB1. Consequently, erastin can reverse ABCB1-mediated docetaxel resistance in ovarian cancer, revealing that the combination of erastin and docetaxel may potentially offer an effective administration for chemo-resistant patients suffering from ovarian cancers.

ObjectiveUltrasound-guided lateral thoracolumbar interfascial plane block (US-TLIP block) is a novel regional technique for anesthesia or analgesia. However, there has been no prospective, randomized and controlled clinical trial investigating the perioperative analgesic effect of US-TLIP block on lumbar spinal fusion surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic effect of bilateral single-shot US-TLIP in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgery.MethodsA prospective and randomized comparative clinical study was conducted. A total of 60 patients (ASA classes: I–II), aged 21–74 years who were scheduled for lumbar spinal fusion surgery were randomized and divided into the TLIP group (Group T,n = 30) and control group (Group C,n = 30). The patients in Group T received preoperative bilateral single-shot US-TLIP with 30 ml of 0.375% ropivacaine at the third lumbar spine (L3) vertebral level, and the patients in Group C received an injection of 30 ml 0.9% saline through same technique. All patients received patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) after their operation. The frequency of PCA compressions and rescue analgesic administrations were recorded. Opioids (sufentanil and remifentanil), anesthetic consumption, the number of postoperative days spent in a hospital bed, overall hospital stay time and postoperative complications were recorded. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Bruggemann Comfort Scale (BCS) scores for pain and comfort assessment were recorded at 1, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours postoperatively.ResultsOpioids and anesthetic consumption in the perioperative period decreased significantly in the TLIP group compared to the control group (P P P ConclusionOur study findings show that bilateral US-TLIP block exhibits significant analgesia and safety in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA miR143HG in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Methods Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and paired t test were used to measure and compare expression levels of miR143HG and miR-21 in LSCC and nontumor tissues. To analyze the interactions between miR143HG and miR-21, UM-SCC-17A cells were transfected miR143HG expression vector or miR-21 mimic. The effects of miR143HG and miR-21 overexpression on UM-SCC-17A cell invasion and migration were analyzed by transwell assays. Results We found that miR143HG was downregulated in LSCC and inversely correlated with miR-21. In LSCC cells, miR143HG overexpression led to the downregulated expression of miR-21, whereas miR-21 overexpression failed to affect miR143HG. Methylation-specific PCR results showed that miR143HG overexpression led to increased methylation of miR-21. Low expression levels of miR143HG were correlated with poor survival. Overexpression of miR143HG led to decreased, whereas miR-21 overexpression resulted in increased rate of LSCC cell migration and invasion. In addition, miR-21 overexpression led to reduced effects of miR143HG on cell invasion and migration. Conclusion Therefore, miR143HG suppresses miR-21 via methylation to regulate cell behaviors in LSCC. Level of evidence NA Laryngoscope, 130:E640-E645, 2020.

Rescue robots can replace rescue workers in search and rescue missions in unknown environments and hence play an important role in disaster relief. To realize the advantages of high carrying capacity, easy control, and simple structure to adapt to a complex disaster scene, a novel wheel-legged rescue robot, integrated with rescue function modules, was designed for the present work. Three motion states were analyzed in detail. Mechanical properties were studied to provide basis for parameter optimization. The performance indices, which include mechanical properties, motion amplitudes and movement stability, were proposed, and the structural parameters were further analyzed and optimized based on these performance indices to make the overall performance of the robot achieve the best. Results show that the motion state of the wheel-legged rescue robot can perform real-time transformations and hence can be used in complex environments.

Triptolide and celastrol are two main active compounds isolated from Thunder God Vine with the potent anticancer activity. However, the anticancer effect of triptolide in combination with celastrol is still unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated that the combination of triptolide with celastrol synergistically induced cell growth inhibition, cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and apoptosis with the increased intracellular ROS accumulation in cancer cells. Pretreatment with ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine dramatically blocked the apoptosis induced by co-treatment with triptolide and celastrol. Treatment with celastrol alone led to the decreased expressions of HSP90 client proteins including survivin, AKT, EGFR, which was enhanced by the addition of triptolide. Additionally, the celastrol-induced expression of HSP70 and HSP27 was abrogated by triptolide. In the nude mice with xenograft tumors, the lower-dose combination of triptolide with celastrol significantly inhibited the growth of tumors without obvious toxicity. Overall, triptolide in combination with celastrol showed outstanding synergistic anticancer effect in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that this beneficial combination may offer a promising treatment option for cancer patients.

As the conventional reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO) has been deemed incapable of facilitating the patients’ passive movement with significant gait discrepancies and distortion, in addition to characteristics such as poor stability, and negligible knee joint rehabilitation, a power assisted reciprocating gait orthosis (PARGO) was designed. Drive devices were added to the hip and knee joints of the RGO. Through efficient implementation of structural components, the number of the required motors was reduced, therefore decreasing the weight of the orthosis. The PARGO knee joint’s structural principle was analyzed to characterize the effect of the PARGO’s single-axis knee joint design on wear comfort, thereby providing a basis for the wear of the PARGO. By analyzing the sagittal movement patterns of the hip and knee joints during normal human gait, kinematic analysis was carried out to obtain the input patterns of the PARGO hip and knee joint drive motors, enabling the patients to more accurately reproduce the normal gaits of hip and knee joints during the rehabilitation training with the aid of the PARGO, and the control process of the PARGO was studied. Finally, a prototype of the PARGO was developed, and experimentation was carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the improved orthosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second most frequent cause of cancer death. The aim of this study is to identify the association between the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MIR22HG and the clinical and tumor characteristics of patients with HCC, and to explore the prognostic significance of lncRNA MIR22HG on patients with HCC. We retrospectively reviewed 127 patients with HCC(42 female, 85 male) who were managed in our hospital between May 1st 2010 and June 30th 2016. The expressions of lncRNA MIR22HG were detected by real-time PCR. Prognostic factors were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. For the entire cohort of 127 patients, the normalized real-time PCR showed that the expression of lncRNA MIR22HG was lower in HCC tissues compared with corresponding nontumorous tissues. MTT assay showed that si-MIR22HG remarkably inhibited the proliferation tumor cells in three HCC cell lines including SMMC-7721, Huh-7 and Hep3B. Moreover, under-expression of MIR22HG was closely related to tumor encapsulation, microvascular invasion (MVI), and TNM stage. Cox proportional hazards analysis demonstrated that lncRNA MIR22HG under-expression was an independent risk factor associated with the prognosis of patients with HCC. In conclusion, we found that lncRNA MIR22HG expressed significantly lower in HCC tissues compared with non-tumorous tissues. Under-expression of lncRNAMIR22HG was an independent risk factor associated with the prognosis of patients with HCC.

Chemotherapeutic multidrug resistance (MDR) is a significant challenge to overcome in clinic practice. Several mechanisms contribute to MDR, one of which is the augmented drug efflux induced by the upregulation of ABCB1 in cancer cells. Regorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor targeting the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, was approved by the FDA to treat metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. We investigated whether and how regorafenib overcame MDR mediated by ABCB1. The results showed that regorafenib reversed the ABCB1-mediated MDR and increased the accumulation of [3H]-paclitaxel in ABCB1-overexpressing cells by suppressing efflux activity of ABCB1, but not altering expression level and localization of ABCB1. Regorafenib inhibited ATPase activity of ABCB1. In mice bearing resistant colorectal tumors, regorafenib raised the intratumoral concentration of paclitaxel and suppressed the growth of resistant colorectal tumors. But regorafenib did not induce cardiotoxicity/myelosuppression of paclitaxel in mice. Strategy to reposition one FDA-approved anticancer drug regorafenib to overcome the resistance of another FDA-approved, widely used chemotherapeutic paclitaxel, may be a promising direction for the field of adjuvant chemotherapy. This study provides clinical rationale for combination of conventional chemotherapy and targeted anticancer agents.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation has been studied to be a method of prophylaxis for deep venous thrombosis by activating the calf muscle pump. However, there is little evidence of the effects of different stimulating parameters on hemodynamics and comfort levels. The objective of this paper is to compare the effects of different stimulating parameters (current amplitude, pulse-width) on hemodynamic alterations of the popliteal vein and the comfort levels in a group of fourteen healthy subjects. Doppler ultrasound detection of peak venous velocity and blood volume were taken from baseline, twelve sequential electrical stimulations and foot dorsiflexion for each subject. A visual analogue scale was used to assess the subjects’ pain perception of neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The results showed that peak venous velocity and blood volume augmented as current amplitude and pulse-width increased while pain level also increased. A compromise was reached that parameters consisting of an amplitude of 10mA and a pulse-width of 500 μs would obtain a high-peak venous velocity and blood flow volume with a relatively comfortable perception. In addition, parameters consisting of an amplitude of 20mA and a pulse-width of 300 μs were also shown to be a promising choice. However, further studies need to be done to validate and enrich these findings.

The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of hypoxic preconditioning on the immunomodulatory properties of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) and the effect of cotransplantation of hUC-MSCs and human umbilical cord blood (hUCB)-derived CD34(+) cells in a rabbit model of myocardial infarction. hUC-MSCs with or without hypoxic preconditioning by cobalt chloride were plated in a 24-well plate, and then cocultured with hUCB-CD34(+) cells and PBMCs for 96 h at 37 °C in a 5% CO₂ incubator. For the negative control, hUC-MSCs were omitted. The groups were divided as follows: A1 = HP-MSCs + hUCB-CD34(+) cells + PBMC, A2 = hUC-MSCs + hUCB-CD34(+) cells + PBMC, Negative Control = hUCB-CD34(+) cells + PBMC. Culture supernatants of each group were collected, and the IL-10 and IFN-γ levels were measured by ELISA. A rabbit model of MI was established using a modified Fujita method. The animals were then randomized into three groups and received intramyocardial injections of 0.4 ml of PBS alone (n = 8, PBS group), hUC-MSCs in PBS (n = 8, hUC-MSCs group), or hUC-MSCs + CD34(+) cells in PBS (n = 8, Cotrans group), at four points in the infarct border zone. Echocardiography was performed at baseline, 4 weeks after MI induction, and 4 weeks after cell transplantation, respectively. Stem cell differentiation and neovascularization in the infracted area were characterized for the presence of cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) and CD31 by immunohistochemical staining, and the extent of myocardial fibrosis was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson's trichrome. IFN-γ was 27.00 ± 1.11, 14.20 ± 0.81, and 7.22 ± 0.14 pg/ml, and IL-10 was 31.68 ± 3.08, 61.42 ± 1.08, and 85.85 ± 1.80 pg/ml for the Control, A1 and A2 groups, respectively, which indicated that hUCB-CD34(+) cells induced immune reaction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, whereas both hUC-MSCs and HP-MSCs showed an immunosuppressive effect, which, however, was attenuated by hypoxic preconditioning. The Cotrans group had less collagen deposition in the infarcted myocardium and better heart function than the hUC-MSCs or PBS group. The presence of cTnI-positive cells and CD31-positive tubular structures indicated the differentiation of stem cells into cardiomyocytes and neovascularization. The microvessel density was 12.19 ± 3.05/HP for the hUC-MSCs group and 31.63 ± 2.45/HP for the Cotrans group, respectively (P0.01). As a conclusion, both hUC-MSCs and HP-MSCs have an immunosuppressive effect on lymphocytes, which, however, can be attenuated by hypoxic preconditioning. Cotransplantation of hUC-MSCs and hUCB-CD34(+) cells can improve heart function and decrease collagen deposition in post-MI rabbits. Thus, a combined regimen of hUC-MSCs and hUCB-CD34(+) cells would be more desirable than either cells administered alone. This is most likely due to the increase of cardiomyocytes and enhanced angiogenesis in the infarcted myocardium.

We investigated the effect of surface roughness on the electrical characteristics in amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricating high- κ Sm 2 O 3 gate dielectrics, prepared under different annealing temperatures. The high- κ Sm 2 O 3 a-IGZO TFT device annealed at 200 °C exhibited better electrical characteristics, including a large field effect mobility of 6.25 cm 2 /V s, small threshold voltage of 0.79 V, low subthreshold swing of 354 mV/decade, and high I on / I off ratio of 3.1×10 7 . These results are attributed to the formation of smooth surface at the oxide/channel interface. Furthermore, the reliability of a Sm 2 O 3 a-IGZO TFT device can be improved by oxygen annealing at low temperature.

Objectives We examined the level of agreement between biomedical and self-reported measurements of hypertension and diabetes in a Chinese national community sample, and explored associations of the agreement and possible contextual effects among provinces and geographic regions in China. Design Secondary analysis of a cohort sample. Setting and participants Community samples were drawn from the national baseline survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011–2012) through multistage probability sampling, which included households with members 45 years of age or above with a total sample size of 17 708 individuals. Outcome measures Sensitivity, specificity and κ were used as measurements of agreements or validity; variance of validity measures among provinces and communities was estimated using random-effects models. Results Self-reports for hypertension and diabetes showed high specificity (96.3% and 98.3%, respectively) but low sensitivity (56.3% and 61.5%, respectively). Agreement between self-reported data and biomedical measurements was moderate for both hypertension (κ 0.57) and diabetes (κ 0.65), with respondents who were older, of higher socioeconomic status, better educated and who had hospital admissions in the past 12 months showing stronger agreements than their counterparts. Large and significant variations in the sensitivity among provinces for hypertension, and among communities for both hypertension and diabetes, could neither be attributed to the effects of respondents’ characteristics nor to the contextual effects of city–village differences. Conclusions As a considerable number of people in the overall sample were unaware of their conditions, self-reports will lead to an underestimation of the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes. However, in more developed communities or provinces, self-reported data can be a reliable estimate of the prevalence of the two conditions. Further investigations of contextual effects at provincial and community levels could highlight public health strategies to improve awareness of the two conditions.

Despite transsexuals' dependence on the mental health system for referrals for medical treatment for gender transition, therapists generally lack training and experience with this population. This article introduces therapists to the concept of transgender and reviews the historical context of the transgender movement. The means for assessing transsexual clients' readiness for gender transition are reviewed. An assessment tool is proposed by incorporating existing literature, personal experiences with transsexual clients, and client feedback that can be used by any mental health professional to determine clients' readiness for gender transition.

Dexterity has significant influence on studies on rehabilitation robot. By researching the dexterity of lower limbs, the paper aimed at improving design mechanism, optimizing control and providing a reference for designs related to rehabilitation robot. Based on anatomy of human lower limbs, this paper not only studies its structure and extends conventional three-dimensional method to six-dimensional approach by virtue of spinor theory, but also builds up kinetics analysis model and analyzes manipulability and dexterity of lower limbs. With the help of experimental platform (powered RGO), feasibility of the foregoing analyses is verified. It is of much feasibility to analyze and evaluate the dexterity of human lower limbs. The experimental platform proves that the new method is useful for design of rehabilitation devices. In addition, there are some best motion points (BMPs) in human motion which is very helpful for construction of human analysis model and the design of such rehabilitation devices.

Exoskeleton of lower extremity, as a kind of wearable robot, can help people who have walking problems and offer rehabilitation training. In this work, through the analysis of human walking, the mechanical structure of an exoskeleton system was studied. By judging the user's intended movement with the measured pressure of the feet, the exoskeleton system works to assist the user. Then, surface EMG signal, directly reflecting the motion of muscles and joints, was collected during the action of standing up and sitting down on a chair. Finally, a kind of data algorithm was proposed to processing the signal. A control strategy is presented to control the Lower-Limb Exoskeleton based on the EMG signal. Future work will concentrate on developing a more reliable Exoskeleton System involved in EMG signals.

Overexpression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) has been shown to produce multidrug resistance (MDR) in various kinds of cancers, such as breast, colon, lung and ovarian cancers. Regorafenib, an oral multi-kinase inhibitor, was found to have inhibitory effects on BCRP-mediated MDR both in vitro and in vivo. Regorafenib significantly sensitized BCRP-overexpressing cancerous cells to BCRP substrates by increasing their intracellular accumulation. There are no significant changes in the expression level or the subcellular distribution of BCRP in the cells exposed to regorafenib. Our mechanism studies revealed that regorafenib inhibited the ATP-driven efflux function of BCRP. Our induced-fit docking and molecular dynamics simulations suggested the existence of strong and stable interactions between regorafenib and BCRP protein. Animal study revealed that the combination of regorafenib and topotecan resulted in great inhibitory effects on the growth of S1-M1-80 xenograft tumors. Regorafenib significantly increased the intratumoral concentration of topotecan but had no significant effects on topotecan plasma concentration. In conclusion, our study indicated that regorafenib could be useful in combating multidrug resistance in cancer treatments. Citation Format: Yun-Kai Zhang, Yi-Jun Wang, Guan-Nan Zhang, Wen-Ji Zhang, Meng-Ning Wei, Zhi Shi, Zhe-Sheng Chen. Regorafenib (Stivarga®) reverses BCRP-mediated multidrug resistance in vitro and in vivo [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1192. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1192

Patients suffering from paraplegia are special disabled groups in society. In order to help them with lower-limb rehabilitation, a kind of power-assisted gait orthosis is designed. In consideration of the crutches that are rather necessary to keep balance when walking, the effects of crutches on analysis of mechanism cannot be ignored. Based on the gait characteristics, this gait orthosis mechanism is designed, of which the structure is optimized by genetic algorithm and the dynamical model is generated. The periodic movement of hip joints, knee joints, and ankle joints in corrected gait are achieved and the torque can be transferred to the driving force of the back motor and the pushrod according to the orthosis structure. Finally, a verification test shows this design is reasonable and practical.

This paper describes the effect of annealing temperature on the structural properties and electrical characteristics of high–κ YbTixOy gate dielectrics for indium–gallium–zinc–oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). X-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study the structural, chemical and morphological features, respectively, of these dielectric films annealed at 200, 300 and 400 °C. The YbTixOy IGZO TFT that had been annealed at 400 °C exhibited better electrical characteristics, such as a small threshold voltage of 0.53 V, a large field-effect mobility of 19.1 cm2 V−1 s−1, a high Ion/Ioff ratio of 2.8 × 107, and a low subthreshold swing of 176 mV dec.−1, relative to those of the systems that had been subjected to other annealing conditions. This result suggests that YbTixOy dielectric possesses a higher dielectric constant as well as lower oxygen vacancies (or defects) in the film. In addition, the instability of YbTixOy IGZO TFT was studied under positive gate-bias stress and negative gate-bias stress conditions.

We investigate the electrical stress-induced instability in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with Sm2O3 gate dielectrics. Tow-step electrical degradation behavior in Sm2O3 a-IGZO TFT devices was found under high gate and drain voltage stress during 1000 s. A typical small positive shift followed by an unusual negative shift of threshold voltage is characterized in our TFT devices. We believe that the positive shift of the threshold voltage is due to charge trapping in the gate dielectric and/or at the channel/dielectric interfaces, while the negative shift of threshold voltage can be attributed to the generation of extra electrons from oxygen vacancies in the a-IGZO channel. We suggested that the amount of oxygen vacancies and the quality of the high-κ gate dielectric probably affect the degradation behavior of a-IGZO TFT devices.

We investigated the impact of Ti doping in the Sm2O3 dielectric on the electrical stress-induced instability in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). With increasing stress time in a-IGZO TFT devices, a small initial positive shift followed by a negative shift of threshold voltage is characterized in the Sm2O3 dielectric, whereas only positive shift of threshold voltage is observed for Ti-doped Sm2O3 dielectric. The positive shift of the threshold voltage can be explained by charge trapping in the Sm2O3 film and/or the Sm2O3/IGZO interfaces, while the negative shift of threshold voltage is probably due to the extra charges from the IGZO channel by self-heating effect.