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Background The completeness of the intervertebral disc proteome is fundamental to the integrity and functionality of the intervertebral disc. Methods The 20 experimental rats were placed into two groups randomly, normal group (NG) and acupuncture pathological degeneration group-2 weeks (APDG-2w). The ten 24-month-old rats were grouped into physiological degeneration group (PDG). Magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray examination, histological staining (hematoxylin & eosin, safranin-O cartilage, and alcian blue staining), and immunohistochemical examination were carried out for assessing the degree of disc degradation. Intervertebral disc was collected, and protein composition was determined by LC- MS, followed by bioinformatic analysis including significance analysis, subcellular localization prediction, protein domain prediction, GO function and KEGG pathway analysis, and protein interaction network construction. LC-PRM was done for protein quantification. Results Physiological degeneration and especially needle puncture decreased T2 signal intensity and intervertebral disc height. Results from hematoxylin & eosin, safranin-O, and alcian blue staining revealed that the annulus fibrosus apparently showed the wavy and collapsed fibrocartilage lamellas in APDG-2w and PDG groups. The contents of the nucleus pulposus were decreased in physiological degeneration group and APDG-2w group compared with NG. Results from immunohistochemical analysis suggested the degeneration of intervertebral disc and inflammation in APDG-2w and PDG groups. The protein composition and expression between needle puncture rat models and the physiological degeneration group showed significant difference. Conclusions Our studies produced point-reference datasets of normal rats, physiological degeneration rats, and needle puncture rat models, which is beneficial to subsequent pathological studies. There is differential expression of protein expression in degenerative discs with aging and acupuncture, which may be used as a potential discriminating index for different intervertebral degenerations.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in induction of inflammatory response and cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis (OA). Melatonin has been shown to improve the chondrogenic differentiation and promote cartilage matrix synthesis in mesenchymal stem cells. However, the underlying mechanisms of melatonin-regulated antioxidant activity in OA cartilage are not known. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of melatonin on nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), a key antioxidant transcription factor, and its target antioxidant genes in early-stage OA cartilage. Primary chondrocytes were isolated from rats with surgically induced OA. In vitro treatment of melatonin significantly increased cartilage matrix synthesis and upregulated antioxidant enzymes, mainly heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), while decreasing matrix degradation enzymes and intracellular ROS. In vivo intraarticular injection of melatonin effectively ameliorated cartilage degeneration in an experimental rat OA model. Inhibition of melatonin membrane receptors by Luzindole or 4-P-PDOT reversed the beneficial effects of melatonin on cartilage matrix synthesis, implying that melatonin receptor-mediated pathway is involved in its anti-arthritic effects. Interestingly, melatonin showed no significant effect on the mRNA level of Nrf2 but significantly increased its protein level. Silencing of Nrf2 or HO-1 expression abolished the protective effects of melatonin, as shown by increased ROS levels and matrix degradation enzyme expression. Microarray assays revealed that miR-146a, a predicted target for Nrf2, was significantly upregulated in OA chondrocytes but was markedly reduced by melatonin treatment. Overexpression of miR-146a diminished the protective effects of melatonin by inhibiting NRF2 expression and aggravating OA-induced cartilage degradation. These findings demonstrate that melatonin supports the anabolic metabolism of cartilage matrix in OA chondrocytes by enhancing the protein levels of NRF2 via suppressing miR-146a. Melatonin-mediated activation of the NRF2/HO-1 axis prevents cartilage degeneration and represents a promising therapeutic target for treatment of early-stage OA. © 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Introduction. This is a retrospective comparative study that aims to compare the benefits of different surgical approaches for patients with multilevel cervical canal stenosis (CCS) without cervical fracture or dislocation of acute traumatic central cord syndrome (ATCCS). Methods. From January 2015 to December 2018, 59 patients were included in the study. Among them, 35 patients (Group A) received anterior surgery and 24 patients (Group B) received posterior surgery. Primary outcome measures were American Spinal Cord Injury Association (Asia) grade, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and recovery rate (RR). Secondary outcome measures included operation time, intraoperative blood loss, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, cervical sagittal parameters, and complications. Multivariate linear regression was used to analyze prognostic determinants. Results. Compared with Group B, Group A had longer operation time and more intraoperative blood loss ( P < 0.05 ). However, the VAS score of Group B was higher than that of Group A at discharge ( P < 0.05 ). There was no significant difference in cervical sagittal plane parameters between the two groups ( P > 0.05 ). Postoperative complications were different in the two groups. During follow-up, the Asia grade, the JOA score, and RR of both groups improved ( P < 0.05 ), but there were no significant differences between the two groups ( P > 0.05 ). Younger age, earlier surgery, and better preoperative Asia grade were correlated with better prognosis. Conclusions. For patients with multilevel CCS without cervical fracture or dislocation of ATCCS, both surgical approaches had good outcomes. Although no significant differences were found in the primary outcome measures between the two groups, there were different recommendations for the secondary outcome measures. Younger age, earlier surgery, and better preoperative Asia grade were protective factors for better prognosis.

The reasonable design of the composition of the composite materials is of great significance to optimized the electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption performance. Herein, the Ni/NiO@C hybrid composites with tunable Ni proportion were successfully synthesized through a two-step process. With the assistance of X-ray diffraction with refinement treatment, the specific proportion of Ni of as-obtained hybrid composites could be obtained. Employing controlling calcination time to adjust the Ni content of Ni/NiO@C hybrid composites, it has been found that the composite carbonized at 500 °C exhibited remarkable EM wave absorption with the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -49.1 dB at 4.9 mm and the widest effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) of 4.56 GHz at 2.1 mm. Moreover, by adjusting the Ni source, the optimal EM wave absorption performance could be achieved. Results illustrated that the N3PC with the Ni proportion of 13.17 % showed the RLmin as low as -51.1 dB at 2.4 mm and the EABmax was 5.12 GHz at 2.7 mm. It is worth noting that this work demonstrates the relevance of the composition and EM wave absorption performance of hybrid composites, which offers a feasible reference for the absorption mechanism of absorber.

Metallic nanocrystals with specific morphologies are of great interest to various applications, in particular for nanocages with well-defined and controllable surface due to high surface-to-volume ratio with high utilization efficiency of atoms. In the present work, Ru decahedral nanocages were synthesized via a combination of seed-mediated growth and chemical etching approach over Pd decahedra seeds. To be specific, the Pd decahedra were synthesized via a standard procedure, on which the Ru out layers were grown by seed-mediated growth with a few nanometers. Subsequently, Ru decahedral nanocages were formed with selective chemical etching of Pd cores in acidic aqueous solution. The present work suggests an effective strategy towards synthesis of hollow nanocages.

A series of NiCo/CoNiO2@C hybrid composites were successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method and subsequent heat-treatment process. Porous carbon was synthesized through a fabric carbonization process derived from fish skin. The micro-morphology and minor component of NiCo/CoNiO2@C hybrid composites could be tuned by controlling the adjunction amount of Co2+ and Ni2+. The NiCo/CoNiO2@C hybrid composite exhibited strong electromagnetic wave absorption performance when the adjunction amount of Co2+ and Ni2+ was 0.4 mmol and 0.2 mmol. The optimal reflection loss could up to −74.3 dB at the matching thickness of 3.8 mm, while the corresponding widest effective absorption bandwidth (reflection loss values lower than −10 dB) is up to 6.32 GHz covering from 11.78 GHz to 18.0 GHz at the matching thickness of 2.4 mm. Based on the Maxwell-Garnet theory, the pore size of porous carbon materials could influence the dielectric constant which has a great effect on impedance. Previous work has illustrated that porous carbon carbonized at 650 °C processes the proper pore size for excellent impedance matching. Besides, NiCo alloy nanosphere and CoNiO2 nanoflower would provide magnetic loss and interface polarization for attenuating electromagnetic wave energy. Moreover, the conductive loss derived from porous carbon and dipolar loss which originated from the defects are also beneficial to decay electromagnetic energy. This work indicates that the as-prepared NiCo/CoNiO2@C hybrid composites accompanied with excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance could act as a promising absorber to deal with the increasingly serious electromagnetic pollution.

The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) but were contraindicated for resection and radiofrequency ablation. Patients between 20 and 80 years of age with 1–3 liver metastases from colorectal cancer were selected. Included patients have had their primary lesions removed with no evidence of extrahepatic metastasis prior to the study. Ultrasound-guided HIFU was employed and target regions’ ablation was achieved with repeated sonications from the deep to shallow regions of the tumors section by section. Thirteen patients were enrolled. The most common adverse events (AEs) were pain (n = 8), followed by fatigue (n = 7), increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (n = 7), increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (n = 5), and skin edema (n = 4). No grade ≥ 3 AEs occurred and while most patients (76.9%) achieved a complete response, three patients achieved a partial response. The objective response rate was 100% after the first HIFU treatment. Nine patients relapsed but the tumors were mostly isolated to the liver (8/9). The median follow-up period was 25 months. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 16.7%, and the median PFS was 9 months. Notably, the 2-year overall survival (OS) was 77.8%, and the median OS was 25 months. This study indicates that the HIFU treatment is safe, is able to achieve a good tumor response rate and long-term prognosis even when the foci were in high-risk locations, and should be considered for patients who were considered unsuitable for other local treatments.

Red ginseng is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has long been used to treat diabetes, and its blood sugar-lowering activity has been confirmed. However, the mechanism of action of red ginseng on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at the metabolic level is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of red ginseng extract in the treatment of T2DM rats based on untargeted metabolomics. The rat model of T2DM was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) combined with streptozotocin (STZ), and serum samples were collected after four weeks of treatment. The ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive HF-X Mass Spectrometer was used to analyze the level of metabolites in serum to evaluate the differences in metabolic levels between different groups. The results of biochemical analysis showed that red ginseng extract intervention significantly improved the levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), serum glucose (GLU), and fasting insulin (FINS) after four weeks. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis was used to study the overall changes of rat metabolomics. After the intervention of red ginseng extract, 50 biomarkers showed a callback trend. Metabolic pathway enrichment analysis showed that the regulated pathways were D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, and tryptophan metabolism. Generally, the results demonstrated that red ginseng extract had beneficial effects on T2DM, which could be mediated via ameliorating the metabolic disorders.

Accumulation of senescent bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) has led to an age-related bone loss. However, the role of stem cell senescence in estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis remains elusive. Though melatonin plays a vital role in bone metabolism regulation, the underlying mechanisms of melatonin-mediated antiosteoporosis are partially elucidated. Therefore, this study purposed to explore (1) whether estrogen deficiency causes cellular senescence of BMMSCs, and if so, (2) the potential of melatonin in preventing bone loss via senescence signaling inhibition. BMMSCs derived from ovariectomized (OVX) rats (OVX BMMSCs) showed an impaired osteogenic capacity, albeit having comparable levels of senescence biomarkers than the sham cells. When exposed to low levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), OVX BMMSCs rapidly exhibited senescence-associated phenotypes such as the increased activity of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) and upregulation of cell cycle inhibitors. Notably, the in vitro treatment with melatonin hindered H2O2-induced senescence in OVX BMMSCs and restored their osteogenic capacity. Treatment with either SIRT1 inhibitor (sirtinol) or melatonin receptor antagonists (luzindole and 4-P-PDOT) eliminated melatonin protective effects, thus indicating its potential in preventing stem cell senescence via SIRT1 activation through the melatonin membrane receptors. Following in vivo intravenous administration with melatonin, it successfully protected the bone microstructure and preserved the antisenescence property of BMMSCs in OVX rats. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that melatonin protected against estrogen deficiency-related bone loss by improving the resistance of BMMSCs to cellular senescence. Therefore, melatonin-mediated antisenescence effect on stem cells provides vital information to facilitate the development of a novel and effective strategy for treating postmenopausal OP.

Background Postoperative delirium (POD) is widely reported as a common postoperative complication following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) of the hip and knee in elderly patients, leading to many adverse effects. We sought to investigate predictors of delirium after TJA. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched up to 2020 for studies examining POD following TJA in elderly patients. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) of those who experienced delirium compared to those who did not were calculated for each variable. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used for the study quality evaluation. Results Fifteen studies with 31 potential factors were included. In the primary analysis, 9 factors were associated with POD, comprising advanced age (MD 3.81; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80–5.83), dementia (OR 24.85; 95% CI 7.26–85.02), hypertension (OR 2.26; 95% CI 1.31–3.89), diabetes (OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.15–3.55), stroke (OR 14.61; 95% CI 5.26–40.55), psychiatric illness (OR 2.72; 95% CI 1.45–5.08), use of sedative-hypnotics (OR 6.42; 95% CI 2.53–16.27), lower preoperative levels of hemoglobin (MD − 0.56; 95% CI − 0.89−− 0.22), and lower preoperative mini-mental state examination score (MD − 0.40; 95% CI − 0.69−− 0.12). Twelve studies were included in the systematic review, of which 24 factors were additionally correlated with POD using single studies. Conclusions Strategies and interventions should be implemented for the elderly patients receiving TJA surgeries with potential predictors identified in this meta-analysis.

Osteoporosis is a major health concern worldwide. The present study aimed to identify effective biomarkers for osteoporosis detection. In osteoporosis, 559 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and Foxo signaling pathway. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis showed that green, pink, and tan modules were clinically significant modules, and that six genes (VEGFA, DDX5, SOD2, HNRNPD, EIF5B, and HSP90B1) were identified as “real” hub genes in the protein–protein interaction network, co-expression network, and 559 DEGs. The sensitivity and specificity of the support vector machine (SVM) for identifying patients with osteoporosis was 100%, with an area under curve of 1 in both training and validation datasets. Our results indicated that the current system using the SVM method could identify patients with osteoporosis.

The novel three-dimensional (3D) co-doped carbon foam was fabricated via a facile hydrothermal and subsequent pyrolysis process using fish skin as carbon precursor. The fish-derived carbon foam (CFs) obtained at 650 °C (CFs-650) possesses large specific surface area of 1369.3 m2/g with natural inherited micropore-dominate porosity. Moreover, the heteroatoms O and N in the fish skin are uniformly planted into the carbon frameworks, which is highly advantageous for the attenuation of microwave energy. The unique architecture endows the 3D carbon foam with impressive microwave absorbing property. Especially, the broadest bandwidth (RL

The development of simple and effective methods for the rapid preparation of electrocatalysts for overall water splitting from earth-abundant elements is an important and challenging task. A facile and ultrafast two-step method was developed to prepare a Ni/NiO@CoFe layered double hydroxide hierarchical nanostructure (NCF) within a few minutes by femtosecond laser ablation and electrodeposition. In 1 m KOH solution, the optimized NCF catalysts show a low overpotential of 230 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with a low Tafel slope of 34.3 mV dec-1 , indicating fast and efficient OER kinetics. Owing to the synergistic effect between NiO and CoFe layered double hydroxide, the hydrogen evolution reaction performance of the NCF was also improved. The synthesized electrocatalysts were further utilized in overall water splitting with a potential of only 1.56 V at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and excellent durability, better than that of the commercial RuO2 (+)//Pt/C(-) system. The present work provides new insights on the rapid and facile preparation of efficient electrocatalysts for overall water splitting on a large scale.

BACKGROUND: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) has posed STAT4 as a promising susceptibility gene for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the most significant variant in this GWAS, rs7574865, yielded inconsistent results. OBJECTIVE: This study, in a Southern Chinese population, was aimed to clarify the roles in HCC incidence of the rs7574865 and other two potentially functional variants, rs897200 and rs1031507 in STAT4. METHODS: This study enrolled 631 new HCC cases and 631 cancer-free controls. The genetic association was estimated using the multivariate logistic regression model. The pairwise gene-environment interactions were assessed using the multiplicative term in regression model and the “Delta” method for the additive scale. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, the rs7574865 TT genotype conferred a decreased risk of HCC compared to the GG genotype (adjusted OR = 0.62, 95%CI = 0.38∼0.99). The significant association of rs7574865 was also observed under the additive genetic model, with an adjusted OR of 0.81 (95%CI = 0.65∼0.99). Nevertheless, other two variants alone showed no significant association, as well as the haplotypes and genetic risk scores. Further analysis indicated a potential interaction between the rs897200 and alcohol drinking (P= 0.048 and 0.072 for additive and multiplicative interactions, respectively). Drinkers with the rs897200 CT+CC genotypes presented an increased disease-risk, as compared with non-drinkers carrying the TT genotype (adjusted OR = 1.68, 95%CI = 1.11∼2.54). CONCLUSIONS: The variant in STAT4, rs7574865, serves as a potential marker for predicting incidence of HCC. The rs897200 variant possibly interplays with alcohol drinking to alter HCC risk in the Southern Chinese, but warrants further investigation.

Background The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with zero-profile anchored spacer-ROI-C-fixation (ROI-C) vs combined intervertebral cage and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Material/Methods We retrospectively analyzed 87 patients who underwent operations between January 2015 and January 2019, including 42 patients that underwent ROI-C treatment (group A) and 45 that were treated by the ACDF approach (group B). Operative duration, blood loss, dysphagia, Neck Disability Index scores (NDI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores (JOA), and other complications were compared between these groups. In addition, implant settlement, fusion, and cervical Cobb angle were assessed via imaging analyses. Results Patients in group A and group B were followed for 22.6±3.3 months and 27.1±3.5 months, respectively (range: 13–30 months). Relative to preoperative values, JOA scores were increased and NDI scores were reduced in both groups following treatment (P0.05). However, operative duration, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications did differ significantly between these groups (P

Objective: A study was conducted to explore the clinical efficacy and radioactive results of the bridge-type ROI-C interbody fusion cage (ROI-C) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with plating and cage system (ACDF) for cervical spondylopathy.Methods: From January 2014 to January 2018, 45 patients who underwent operations were retrospectively analyzed, including 24 cases of ROI-C (group A) and 21 cases of ACDF (group B). The operation time, blood loss, Neck Disability Index (NDI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (JOA), postoperative complications, imaging results including cervical Cobb angle, and fusion were compared between groups.Results: All patients were successfully treated with surgery. No cerebrospinal fluid leakage, esophageal fistula, or hoarseness occurred after the surgery. The operation time and blood loss in group A were lower than those in group B (P0.05). In group A, the incidence of postoperative dysphagia was 12.5%, which returned to normal after 1 month. In group B, the incidence of postoperative dysphagia was 38.1%, which was 19% after 1 month and 4.8% at the final follow-up. In group A, the fusion rate was 83.3% at 3 months after surgery and 100% at the last follow-up. The rate of adjacent level ossification development was 12.5%. In group B, the fusion rate was 85.7% at 3 months after surgery and 100% at the last follow-up. The rate of adjacent level ossification development was 23.8%.Conclusion: Both ROI-C and ACDF achieved satisfactory results, but ROI-C had a shorter operation time, less bleeding, and lower incidence of dysphagia in the short term.

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy and radioactive results of the bridge-type ROI-C interbody fusion cage (ROI-C) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with plating and cage system (ACDF) for cervical spondylopathy.Methods: From January 2014 to January 2018, 45 patients undergoing ACDF were retrospectively analyzed, including 24 cases of ROI-C (group A) and 21 cases of ACDF (group B). The operation time, blood loss, Neck Disability Index (NDI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (JOA), postoperative complications, imaging results including cervical Cobb angle and fusion were compared between groups.Results: All patients were successfully treated with surgery, and no cerebrospinal fluid leakage, esophageal fistula, or hoarseness occurred after surgery. The operation time and blood loss in group A were lower than those in group B (P0.05). The incidence of dysphagia in group A was lower than that in group B at 1 month and 3 months after operation (P0.05). In group A, the fusion rate was 83.3% 3 months after surgery and 100% at the last follow-up. The rate of adjacent level ossification development was 12.5%. In group B, the fusion rate was 85.7% 3 months after surgery and 100% at the last follow-up. The rate of adjacent level ossification development was 23.8%.Conclusion: Both ROI-C and ACDF can achieve satisfactory results, but ROI-C has shorter operation time, less bleeding and lower incidence of dysphagia in the short term.

Fe

Background The present study aimed to summarize the predictors of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients after hip surgery. Methods A literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for studies assessing the predictors of AKI after hip fracture surgery. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) of those who experienced AKI compared to those who did not were calculated for each variable. Evidence was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results Ten studies with 34 potential factors were included in the meta-analysis. In the primary analysis, 12 factors were associated with AKI, comprising males (OR 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–1.36), advanced age (MD 2.28; 95% CI 0.80–3.75), myocardial infarction (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.18–1.63), hypertension (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.13–1.89), diabetes (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.40–2.42), chronic kidney disease (OR 3.66; 95% CI 2.21–6.07), hip arthroplasty (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.22–1.50), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers use (OR 2.28; 95% CI 1.68–3.08), more intraoperative blood loss (MD 44.06; 95% CI 2.88–85.24), higher preoperative blood urea nitrogen levels (MD 5.29; 95% CI 3.38–7.20), higher preoperative serum creatinine levels (MD 0.4; 95% CI 0.26–0.53), and lower preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (MD −19.59; 95% CI −26.92–−12.26). Another 13 factors related to AKI in individual studies were identified in the systematic review. Conclusion Related prophylaxis strategies should be implemented in patients involved with the above-mentioned characteristics to prevent AKI after hip surgery.

Herein, uniform multi-shelled ZnO hollow spheres were synthesized, especially hedgehog-like and triple-shelled ZnO hollow spheres were synthesized for the first time by a simple hydrothermal method capable of controlling the number of internal multishells, which are achieved by controlling the calcination process. Used as anodes for lithium ion batteries, the hedgehog-like ZnO hollow spheres show excellent rate capacity, good cycling performance, and high initial specific capacity. A superior capacity, up to 109 mAh g−1 with minimal irreversible capacity (i.e., coulomb efficiency of 99.1%) after 100 cycles is achieved at a current rate of 100 mA g−1, and a capacity of 98.8 mAh g−1 is obtained at a current rate of 1 A g−1. However, a high discharge of 253.6 mA h g−1 for the hedgehog-like ZnO hollow spheres can still be achieved when the current rate is reduced back to 100 mA g−1.

A series of NiCo/CoNiO

Platinum and palladium (PtPd) alloy nanoparticles (NPs) are excellent catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells. In this study, we developed PtPd alloy NPs through the co-reduction of K2PtCl4 and Na2PdCl4 in a polyol synthesis environment. During the reaction, the feed molar ratio of the two precursors was carried over to the final products, which have a narrow size distribution with a mean size of approximately 4 nm. The catalytic activity for methanol oxidation reactions possible depends closely on the composition of as-prepared PtPd alloy NPs, and the NPs with a Pt atomic percentage of approximately 75% result in higher activity and stability with a mass specific activity that is 7 times greater than that of commercial Pt/C catalysts. The results indicate that through composition control, PtPd alloy NPs can improve the effectiveness of catalytic performance.

With the extensive development of electrical communication equipment, the requirements for electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption materials have become more stringent to eliminate electromagnetic interference issues. Rational regulation of permittivity is an efficacious path to optimal EM wave absorption performance. NiCo based spinel materials (NiCo2X4, X = O, S, Se, Te) have been regarded as promising EM wave absorbing materials due to the advantage of controllable structure, inexpensive procedure and excellent dielectric property. Particularly, the element of anionic sites acts as a considerable role in determining the conductivity and permittivity of materials. Herein, spiny globose like NiCo2X4 (X = O, S, Se, Te) are successfully prepared through hydrothermal and subsequent oxidation, sulfidation, selenization and tellurization methods, respectively. Due to the difference in electronegativity of the anion site elements, NiCo2Se4 and NiCo2Te4 show ameliorative conductivity and dielectric loss. An optimal reflection loss (RL) of −78.5 dB at 2.8 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.28 GHz at 2.3 mm can be achieved for NiCo2Se4. Moreover, due to enhanced dielectric performance, the matching thickness of NiCo2Te4 is greatly improved, which the RL is −54.3 dB at 1.8 mm and EAB of 4.88 GHz at 1.6 mm. The synthesis of NiCo2Se4 and NiCo2Te4, with remarkable absorption performance, is expected to provide an important reference for broadening the application of NiCo-based spinel in the field of EM wave absorption.

Highly efficient and low-cost non-noble metal based electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have attracted more and more attention in recent years. However, the current research has been focused on the construction of novel OER electrocatalysts themselves, little attention has been paid to the modification of the substrates. In this work, a different strategy is proposed via laser ablation to fabricate the Cu foams with rich micro/nano-structures as OER substrates. Later, the precipitation conversion method was utilized to grow cobalt hydroxide on the laser fabricated Cu foams. The as-produced Cu/Cu oxides/Co(OH)2 electrocatalysts exhibit high OER activity in 1 M KOH, requiring an overpotential of only 259 mV at a current density of 50 mA cm−2 with excellent mild-term durability. The improved catalytic performance of the prepared samples can be attributed to the increased surface area, rich active sites, and the superhydrophilicity of the laser produced micro/nano-structures.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by the progressive destruction of articular cartilage, which is involved in the imbalance between extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and degradation. MicroRNA-140-5p (miR-140) is specifically expressed in cartilage and plays an important role in OA-induced matrix degradation. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) whether intra-articular injection of melatonin could ameliorate surgically induced OA in mice and (2) whether melatonin could regulate matrix-degrading enzymes at the posttranscriptional level by targeting miR-140. In an in vitro OA environment induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), melatonin treatment improved cell proliferation of human chondrocytes, promoted the expression of cartilage ECM proteins (e.g., type II collagen and aggrecan), and inhibited the levels of IL-1β-induced proteinases, such as matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), MMP13, ADAMTS4 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 4), and ADAMTS5. Both the microarray and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) experiments revealed that miR-140 was a melatonin-responsive microRNA and melatonin upregulated miR-140 expression, which was suppressed by IL-1β stimulation. In vivo experiments demonstrated that intra-articular injection of melatonin prevented disruptions of cartilage matrix homeostasis and successfully alleviated the progression of surgery-induced OA in mice. Transfection of miR-140 antagomir completely counteracted the antiarthritic effects of melatonin by promoting matrix destruction. Our findings demonstrate that melatonin protects the articular cartilage from OA-induced degradation by targeting miR-140, and intra-articular administration of melatonin may benefit patients suffering from OA.

This study explored the predictive value of coagulation and fibrinolysis markers with acute pancreatitis (AP)-related mortality and organ failure. We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed coagulation and fibrinolysis markers and clinical outcomes of the patients with AP. A total of 273 patients with AP were enrolled, 7 patients died and 28 patients suffered from organ failure. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression identified the differences of all of the coagulation and fibrinolysis markers as risk factors for AP-related mortality. The differences of APTT value, TT value, D-dimmer level, FDP level, and AT III level were risk factors for organ failure. Furthermore, the OR of the differences of platelet, PT, APTT, TT, fibrinogen, D-dimmer, FDP, and AT III was substantially improved by grouping with intervals of 10 × 109/L, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 3 seconds, 0.5 g/L, 3 mg/L FEU, 5 mg/L and 10%, respectively. The risk of mortality can increase up to 1.62, 5.17, and 5.60 fold for every 10 × 109/L, 2 seconds and 5 seconds of increase in platelet, PT and APTT, respectively. There is approximate 2-fold increase in risk of organ failure for every 2 seconds of TT increase. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, there is no difference in the predictive power of bedside index for severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP) with them in mortality or organ failure. In patients with AP, the dynamic changes of coagulation and fibrinolysis markers are good predictors for AP-related mortality and organ failure, especially platelet, PT and APTT in mortality and TT in organ failure.

Metastasis suppressor 1 (MTSS1) or missing in metastasis (MIM) is an actin- and membrane-binding protein with tumor suppressor functions. MTSS1 is important for cell morphology, motility, metastasis. The role of MTSS1 in cell morphology has been widely investigated in non-neuronal tissues; however the role of MTSS1 in neurite outgrowth remains unclear. Here we investigated the effect of MTSS1 on neurite outgrowth in primary cerebellar granule and hippocampal neurons of mouse. We found that overexpression of MTSS1 in cerebellar granule neurons significantly enhanced dendrite elaboration but inhibited axon elongation. This phenotype was significantly reduced by deletion of the Wiskott-Aldrich homology 2 (WH2) motif and point mutation in the insulin receptor substrate p53 (IRSp53) and MIM/MTSS1 homology (IMD) domain. Furthermore, inhibition of Rac1 activity or blocking of phosphatidyl inositol phosphates (PIPs) signaling decreased the effect of MTSS1 markedly. In accordance with the over-expression data, knockdown of MTSS1 in cerebellar granule neurons could increase the axon length but decrease the dendrite length and the number of dendrites. In addition, MTSS1 knock down in embryonic hippocampal neurons suppressed neurite branching and reduced dendrite length. Our findings have demonstrated that MTSS1 modulates neuronal morphology, possibly through a Rac1-PIPs signaling pathway.

Using biomass as raw materials to fabricate porous carbon (PC) absorbing materials has become a hotspot. However, the effective medium to regulate the porous structure is often limited to control the heat treatment conditions including heating temperature, insulation time and heating rate. In this work, the pinecone was decided as raw materials and four different activators (KOH, NaOH, K2CO3 and ZnCl2) were chosen to investigate the effect of the type of activator on the porous structure. Meanwhile, the activation mechanisms were revealed as well. SEM results illustrate that the variety of activators has a remarkable influence on the pore size of porous. Based on Maxwell-Garnet theory, the size of the aperture will affect the impedance matching of absorber. According to the electromagnetic (EM) parameters, the porous carbon activated by KOH (KOH-PC), NaOH (NaOH-PC) and K2CO3 (K2CO3-PC) exhibited excellent impedance matching compared to other absorbers. Thus, the KOH-PC, NaOH-PC and K2CO3-PC exhibit sterling EM wave absorption performance. Particularly, the minimum reflection loss of K2CO3-PC could be up to −76.0 dB at the matching thickness of 2.1 mm and the broadest effective absorption bandwidth was 5.92 GHz covering from 11.92 to 17.84 GHz at 2.3 mm. The excellent EM wave absorption performance could ascribe to the synergistic effect of conductive loss, space charge polarization and dipolar loss. Besides, the influence of the addition amount of activators to the porous structure was also investigated. This work offers a reference for the structural control of biomass porous carbon absorber.

Biomass-derived porous carbon materials have attracted considerable attention as promising electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbers due to their lightweight characteristic, ultra large surface area as well as high dielectric loss. However, the dielectric loss alone is difficult to achieve high EM wave absorption performance. In this work, core-shell Co@Co3O4/porous carbon composites are designed and synthesized by a facile hydrothermal and subsequent pyrolysis process through using fish scale as carbon precursor, Co(NO3)2·6H2O as Co source, aiming to offer more loss mechanism and achieve high EM wave absorption performance. As expected, the as-prepared composite showed strong absorption (−89.3 dB at 2.4 mm) with broadened bandwidth (11.92–18 GHz at 2 mm). Such excellent absorption performance could be attributed to the reasonable design of composite. Special porous structure not only is beneficial to the impedance matching to allow EM wave to enter absorber as much as possible, but also could offer a conductive path for electronic, booming conductive loss. Besides, the designed unique core-shell structure provides Co-Co3O4 interfaces along with Co3O4-C, C-void interfaces are propitious to enhance interface polarization loss. Moreover, Co@Co3O4 nanoparticles could also supply the magnetic loss to composites to further absorb EM wave from another point. Although there are many previous works about Co@Co3O4 have been reported, little works have been done on the composites of biomass porous carbon with core-shell Co@Co3O4 with such excellent EM wave absorption performance. This work indicates that the as-obtained core-shell Co@Co3O4/C could be a candidate for dealing with the increasing EM wave pollution.

In the environment of big data and ethnic intelligence, there are new innovations in all walks of life, and various industries and fields have put forward higher requirements for talents. Especially in the emerging computer-related fields and industries, the requirements of various enterprises for computer professionals have gradually increased and increased. Revolutionary changes have taken place in computer education in universities. In this case, as an important place for training technical talents, universities need to effectively innovate and reform computer software teaching based on school-enterprise cooperation in order to train computer talents more suitable for the development needs of the era of big data and artificial intelligence. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to study the reform of computer software course teaching system in the context of big data and artificial intelligence. Conclusions are reached through data analysis, experimental research and other methods. The necessity of reforming the teaching system of computer software courses in universities under big data is analyzed. Then carry out analysis and research from teaching ideas, teaching content, curriculum evaluation and feedback adjustment, and resource construction. Experiments show that the reform of the computer software course teaching system accounts for 65.4% of the verification, and it is more applicable to students. The data in this article provides a reference for the reform of computer software course teaching system.

Background. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs). However, the role of miRNAs in liver CSCs has not been fully elucidated. Methods. Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-miR-28-5p in liver cancer stem cells (CSCs). The impact of miR-28-5p on liver CSC expansion was investigated both in vivo and in vitro. The correlation between miR-28-5p expression and sorafenib benefits in HCC was further evaluated in patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). Results. Our data showed that miR-28-5p was downregulated in sorted EpCAM- and CD24-positive liver CSCs. Biofunctional investigations revealed that knockdown miR-28-5p promoted liver CSC self-renewal and tumorigenesis. Consistently, miR-28-5p overexpression inhibited liver CSC’s self-renewal and tumorigenesis. Mechanistically, we found that insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was a direct target of miR-28-5p in liver CSCs, and the effects of miR-28-5p on liver CSC’s self-renewal and tumorigenesis were dependent on IGF-1. The correlation between miR-28-5p and IGF-1 was confirmed in human HCC tissues. Furthermore, the miR-28-5p knockdown HCC cells were more sensitive to sorafenib treatment. Analysis of patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) further demonstrated that the miR-28-5p may predict sorafenib benefits in HCC patients. Conclusion. Our findings revealed the crucial role of the miR-28-5p in liver CSC expansion and sorafenib response, rendering miR-28-5p an optimal therapeutic target for HCC.

Despite the tremendous efforts on the preparation of efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts, it is still a challenge to fabricate stable OER electrocatalysts with good performance on a large scale in a simple, fast, green, and environment-friendly way. Herein, we report a simple way via femtosecond laser ablation to fabricate Cu oxide micro/nano-structures on Cu foams by fine-tuning of the laser parameters. The present method is ultrafast, non-contact, high efficiency, easy control, sustainable, and environment-friendly. The fabricated catalysts exhibit remarkable OER activity and excellent durability in 1 M KOH.

Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) hybrids are a promising high-performance electromagnetic (EM) absorber with the merits of wideband, thin thickness and lightweight etc. Even so, it remains a challenge to achieve a wideband absorption under a thickness (d