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Morphing wing is one of the important development directions of future aircraft design, and the study of in-plane deformation of the morphing wing surface has received widespread attention. In this paper, four aspects in-cluding variable span length, variable sweep angle, variable chord length and combined deformation are analyzed to describe the current status of domestic and international research on in-plane morphing wings, summarize the defor-mation mechanism and its advantages and disadvantages, and analyze the future development trend of morphing wing. In view of the current research situation and the application requirements of the morphing wing, the key tech-nologies of the morphing wing are proposed, including the morphing skin technology, morphing mechanism, intelli-gent actuator, sensor and control network. The application requirements of each key technology and the existing problems are analyzed furthermore. The future development direction is summarized, which can provide some references for the design and application realization of in-plane morphing wings.

BACKGROUND: Steroids have strong anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic and analgesic effects and are widely used in perioperative analgesia. Studies have shown that periarticular injection of steroid-containing cocktail analgesic therapy in knee arthroplasty can relieve postoperative pain, improve knee activity, and reduce complications. However, the other studies show that steroids can increase the risk of postoperative infection, and tendon rupture. Therefore, the safety and efficacy of steroid-containing cocktail periarticular injection in knee arthroplasty is still controversial. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of steroid-containing cocktail periarticular injection after knee arthroplasty by meta-analysis. METHODS: The published literatures were searched on the databases of PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE until April 2019. All randomized controlled trials of topical steroid analgesia after knee arthroplasty were collected and eligible articles were screened. Two researchers independently assessed the risk of bias and methodological quality of included studies by the Cochrane 5.0. The outcome data were extracted and a meta-analysis was conducted by Review Manager 5.2 software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) A total of 10 randomized controlled articles involving 820 patients were included. (2) The meta-analysis showed that visual analogue scale score was lower in the steroid group than in the control group at postoperative 1 day [MD=-1.52, 95%CI(-2.94, -0.1 0}, P=0.04]. Motion range was higher in the steroid group than in the control group at postoperative 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days [MD=11.57, 95%CI(9.85, 13.30}, P< 0.000 01; MD-9.03, 95%CI(6.67, 11.38}, P< 0.000 01; MD-5.73, 95%CI(0.85, 10.60}, P=0.02; MD-5.53, 95%CI(0.68, 10.38), P=0.03}; MD=5.90, 95%CI(0.87, 10.93), P=0.02]. Morphine use was less in the steroid group than in the control group [MD=-7.94, 95%CI(-14.35, -1.53), P=0.02]. Hospital stay was shorter in the steroid group than in the control group [MD=-<>.98, 95%CI(-1.25, -0.71 ), P < 0.000 01]. Straight leg raising took less time in the steroid group than in the control group [MD=0.65, 95%CI(-0.86, 0.44), P < 0.000 01]. Postoperative C-reactive protein level was lower in the steroid group than in the control group [WMD=-4.82, 95%CI(7.41, 2.23), P=0.000 3]. Knee society score and complication rate were not significantly different between the two groups. (3) To conclude, the periarticular injection of steroid-containing cocktails after knee arthroplasty is safe and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Primary osteoarthritis (OA) is a polygenic disease. To investigate the gene expression profile of cartilage and synovium from osteoarthritis and healthy rats using cDNA microarray is beneficial to recognize the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and provide evidence for gene therapy of osteoarthritis. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the gene expression profile of the cartilage and synovium of chronic arthritis and healthy rats through cDNA microarray assay, and identify the differentially expressed genes. This study may be helpful for understanding the role of differentially expressed genes in osteoarthritis and the gene polymorphism of osteoarthritis. Methods: A total of 24 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group and osteoarthritis group (n == 12 per group). The synovial and cartilage were obtained and total RNA was extracted. cDNA microarray assay was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes, and cluster analysis was conducted. Results and Conclusion: A total of 82 differentially expressed genes were identified, among which 27 were up-regulated and 55 down-regulated. Gene microarray assay is effective to identify differentially expressed genes and may find out novel osteoarthritis associated genes. Multiple genes are involved in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. The differentially expressed genes provide important information for further studies on the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and gene therapy of osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Youhua Kuijie prescription (YHKJ) is a hospital preparation that is composed of nine kinds of herbs. Sulfasalazine (SASP) is widely used as a first-line clinical treatment for UC. Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine have their own advantages in the treatment of UC, and the mechanism of YHKJ combined with SASP in the treatment of UC needs to be investigated., Methods: In this study, the therapeutic mechanism of YHKJ combined with SASP in the treatment of UC was predicted by network pharmacology and molecular docking. The chemical components and related targets of YHKJ were obtained from the TCMSP database. The chemical structure of SASP was obtained from the PubChem server, and related targets of SASP molecules were identified using the PharmMapper database. UC-related targets were obtained from the DisGeNET, GeneCards, OMIM, TTD, DrugBank and PharmGkb databases., Results: In total, 197 shared targets were identified by constructing a Venn diagram. PPI network data obtained from the STRING database were imported into Cytoscape to visualize the "drug-disease" target network, and STAT3 was selected as the core target by topological analysis. Gene Ontology revealed the biological functions of target genes, and KEGG analysis revealed that the core target STAT3 was differentially expressed in Th17 cells and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Thus, the core target STAT3 was subjected to molecular docking with the top 10 components, including nine YHKJ components (quercetin, luteolin, ursolic acid, daidzein, kaempferol, wogonin, myricetin, formononetin, indirubin) and SASP (C18H14N4O5S). The molecular docking results showed that STAT3 had favorable binding with the nine YHKJ components and SASP; STAT3 had the strongest binding with ursolic acid (-10.26 kcal/mol), followed by SASP (-8.54 kcal/mol). Qualitative analysis of the chemical constituents of YHKJ by HPLC revealed that sitosterol, ursolic acid, myricetin, daidzein, quercetin, kaempferol and formononetin were the main components. Additional experiments verified that YHKJ combined with SASP inhibited activation of the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 pathway and alleviated inflammation in UC model rats., Discussion: Our results showed that seven chemical components in YHKJ cooperate with SASP to interfere with activation of the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 pathway, thus playing a role in the treatment of UC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Tang, Liu, Tao, Feng, Ren, Shu, Luo and Wang.)

Tongxie Yaofang (TXYF), a classical traditional Chinese medicine, is commonly used in China to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). The aim of this study was to integrate network pharmacology with molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to explore the mechanism of Tongxie Yaofang in the treatment of UC. The traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database was used to retrieve the relevant chemical compositions of the herbs contained in TXYF. The DisGeNET, GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, and Therapeutic Target Database databases were used to retrieve UC-related targets. To construct protein-protein interaction networks and screen for key targets, gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses of the key targets of TXYF in the treatment of UC were performed using R 4.3.2 software. AutoDock Tools 1.5.7 was used for molecular docking. Molecular dynamics simulations of protein complexes and complexes of proteins with small-molecule ligands and eutectic ligands were carried out with Gromacs 2022 software. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that TXYF could act on UC through multiple targets and pathways. It may exert therapeutic effects mainly through the AGE/RAGE, TOLL, JAK/STAT, and Th17 signaling pathways. The possible targets of TXYF in the treatment of UC could be AKT1, BCL2, EGFR, HMOX1, HSP90AA1, and TGFβ1. Molecular docking analysis revealed that AKT1 had the highest binding energy (-10.55 kcal/mol). Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the complexes formed by the AKT1 protein and the chemical compounds MOL001910 and MOL00035 had good stability and high binding strength. AKT1 may be the most critical target of TXYF in treating UC, and the key chemical components of TXYF in treating UC may include β-sitosterol (MOL000358) and 11alpha,12alpha-epoxy-3beta-23-dihydroxy-30-norolean-20-en-28,12beta-olide (MOL00 1910). This study revealed that TXYF may exert therapeutic effects on UC through multiple targets, multiple biological functions, and multiple signaling pathways. This study provides a new insight into the pharmacological mechanism of TXYF in treating UC., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent a groundbreaking approach to cancer therapy. Inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) have emerged as potential indicators strongly associated with tumor prognosis, albeit their prognostic significance remains contentious. The predictive value of NLR, PLR, LMR in patients with gastric cancer (GC) treated with ICIs has not been fully explored; therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the potential of inflammatory markers NLR, PLR, and LMR as survival predictors in this population., Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases, with the search cut-off date set as March 2024. Hazard ratios (HR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the prognostic significance of NLR, PLR, and LMR for both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS)., Results: Fifteen cohort studies involving 1336 gastric cancer patients were finally included in this meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that high levels of NLR were associated with poorer OS and PFS in GC patients receiving ICIs, with combined HRs of OS [HR=2.01, 95%CI (1.72,2.34), P<0.01], and PFS PFS[HR=1.59, 95%CI (1.37,1.86), P<0.01], respectively; high levels of PLR were associated with poorer OS and PFS, and the combined HR was OS [HR=1.57, 95%CI (1.25,1.96), P<0.01], PFS [HR=1.52,95%CI (1.20, 1.94), P<0.01], respectively; and there was an association between elevated LMR and prolonged OS and PFS, and the combined HR was OS [HR=0.62, 95%CI (0.47,0.81), P<0.01], and PFS [HR=0.69, 95%CI (0.50,0.95), P<0.01]., Conclusion: In gastric cancer (GC) patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were associated with poorer overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), while high lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) was linked to improved OS and PFS. Subgroup analyses suggested that NLR might be particularly pertinent to the prognosis of GC patients. In conclusion, the inflammatory markers NLR, PLR, and LMR serve as effective biomarkers for prognostic assessment in GC patients, offering valuable insights for therapeutic decision-making in the realm of GC immunotherapy. Prospective studies of high quality are eagerly awaited to validate these findings in the future., Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/#myprospero, identifier CRD42024524321., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Tan, Zheng, Zhang, Zhou, Xia and Feng.)

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between the Mohawk (MKX) expression level and the collagen fiber diameter of autologous hamstring tendon graft during the stable graft remodeling phase after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction., Methods: Between January 2018 and August 2018, patients who underwent arth-roscopic single-bundle anatomical ACL reconstruction with autologous hamstring tendons for at least 48 months and also underwent second-look arthroscopy were enrolled in study. During the second-look arthroscopic procedures, ACL graft biopsies were performed from the surface of central part of the ligament. MKX expressions of ACL grafts were analysed by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). The ultrastructure of collagen fibers of grafts were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, which included average diameter of collagen fibers (D c ), average diameter of large-diameter collagen fibers (D L ), average diameter of small-diameter collagen fibers (D S ), and large-small collagen fibers ratio (R L/S ). The correlation between MKX expression level and graft collagen fiber diameter was calculated., Results: Twenty-six patients met the selection criteria and their ACL graft specimens were enrolled in the study. The interval between ACL reconstruction and second-look arthroscopy was 52-128 months, with an average of 78.6 months. Arthroscopic graft remodeling score was 3-6 (mean, 4.8). There were 17 cases of excellent remodeling and 9 cases of fair remodeling. All ACL grafts showed typical bimodal distributions of both large-diameter collagen fibers and small-diameter collagen fibers, but the ultrastructural characteristics of the graft collagen fibers were different according to different remodeling status under arthroscopy. The D C , D L , D S , and R L/S of the graft specimens were (65.2±9.3) nm, (91.6±10.5) nm, (45.7±8.6) nm, and 0.73±0.12, respectively. The relative expression level of MKX was 1.42±0.11, which was positively linearly correlated with D C , D L , and R L/S , and the correlation coefficient was statistically significant ( r =0.809, P =0.000; r =0.861, P =0.000; r =0.942, P =0.000), while there was no significant correlation between D S and relative expression level of MKX ( r =0.147, P =0.238). Regression analysis showed that the relative expression level of MKX could predict the D C , D L , and R L/S results of the ACL graft specimens ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: After autologous hamstring tendon grafts stepped into stabilized remodeling phase, MKX expression level could predict the diameter measurement results of collagen fibers and be used as an important evaluation basis for graft collagen anabolic metabolism.

Objective: To investigate the effect of isokinetic training of thigh muscle group on graft remodeling after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, and summarize the relevant rules to guide the clinic., Methods: Between August 2016 and December 2016, forty patients underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction using hamstring tendon were randomly divided into isokinetic group and control group ( n =20). The two groups of patients underwent staged rehabilitation treatment. The isokinetic group replaced the traditional intervention with the corresponding isokinetic strength training from 3 to 6 months after operation, and the traditional rehabilitation intervention was used in the control group. Finally, 12 cases of isokinetic group and 12 cases of control group with complete follow-up were enrolled in study. There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, side of injury, the interval between injury and operation, and preoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score between the two groups ( P >0.05). The peak torque (PT) of knee extension and flexion and hamstring quadriceps ratio (H/Q) were measured at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and the second-look arthroscopy. The MRI examination was performed at the same time to evaluate graft remodeling. The shape, tension, and degree of vascularization of grafts were observed under arthroscopy. The grafts were harvested and observed by HE staining., Results: The invertal between ACL reconstruction and the second-look arthroscopy was (23.57±3.23) months in isokinetic group and (23.22±3.56) months in control group, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( P >0.05). At the second-look arthroscopy, the IKDC score was 90.45±4.73 in isokinetic group and 89.32±4.54 in control group, showing significant differences when compared with preoperative scores in the two groups ( P <0.05). But there was no significant difference between the two groups ( t =0.868， P =0.404). At 3 months after operation, there was no significant difference in the PT of knee extension and flexion between the two groups ( P >0.05). At 6 months, 12 months, and the second-look arthroscopy, the PT of knee extension and flexion in isokinetic group were higher than those in control group ( P <0.05). The H/Q at 6 months and 12 months were higher in isokinetic group than in control group, and the differences were significant ( P <0.05). There was no significant difference in MRI score between the two groups at 3 months, 6 months, and the second-look arthroscopy ( P >0.05). The MRI score at 12 months was significantly higher in isokinetic group than in control group ( P <0.05). At the second-look arthroscopy, there was no significant difference in the arthroscopic score between the two groups ( P >0.05), and the histological score of the isokinetic group was superior to the control group ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: On the basis of regular rehabilitation training, using the isokinetic training system to develop a suitable post-surgical isokinetic rehabilitation training program is helpful in early muscle strength recovery, early graft remodeling, and even long-term histological results after ACL reconstruction.

Objective: To explore the best flexion angle of the transplantation tendon for fixing joint in simultaneously reconstructing of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) using semitendinosus tendon as autologous graft., Methods: Twenty-four clean level New Zealand White rabbits [(aged 6-8 months, male or female, and weighing (2.5 +/- 0.2) kg] were selected and divided randomly into 3 groups (n = 8) according to fixation angle of the reconstructed ligaments. The bilateral semitendinosus tendons of hind legs were used to reconstruct the PCL and ACL of right hind leg, and the reconstructed ligaments were fixed at knee flexion angles of 90 degrees (group A), 60 degrees (group B), and 30 degrees (group A). The rabbit general situation was observed after operation, and the specimens of the knee joints (including 10 cm distal end and 10 cm proximal end) were harvested for testing extension and flexion, displacement, and internal and external rotation at 3 months after operation., Results: All the rabbits survived to the end of experiment. There was no significant difference in maximal displacements of ACL and PCL among 3 groups (P > 0.05). The anterior and posterior displacements of shift in 3 groups were less than 1 mm, suggesting good stability. The anterior displacement and the posterior displacement at 30 degrees flexion and 90 degrees flexion in group A were significantly larger than those in group C (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in internal rotation angle and external rotation angle between group A and group C (P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference among other groups (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: When simultaneously reconstructing ACL and PCL, the knee flexion angle of 60 degrees for fixing the reconstructed ligaments can achieve the best effect.