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The present study examined the necessity of cement-augmented pedicle screw fixation in osteoporotic patients with single-segment isthmic spondylolisthesis.Fifty-nine cases were reviewed retrospectively. Thirty-three cases were in the polymethylmethacrylate-augmented pedicle screw (PMMA-PS) group, and the other 26 cases were in the conventional pedicle screw (CPS) group. Evaluation data included operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization cost, hospitalization days, rates of fusion, screw loosening, bone cement leakage, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, Oswestry disability index (ODI), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic tilt (PT) and sacral slope (SS).The operation time and blood loss in the CPS group decreased significantly compared to those in the PMMA-PS group. The average hospitalization cost of the PMMA-PS group was significantly higher than that of the CPS group. There was no significant difference in the average hospital stay between the 2 groups. The initial and last follow-up postoperative VAS and ODI scores improved significantly in the two groups. There were no significant differences in VAS and ODI between the 2 groups at each time point. The last postoperative spine-pelvic parameters were significantly improved compared with those preoperatively. In the PMMA-PS group, the fusion rate was 100%. The fusion rate was 96.15% in the CPS group. No significant difference was found between the two groups for the fusion rate. Nine patients in the PMMA-PS group had bone cement leakage. There was no screw loosening in the PMMA-PS group. There were 2 cases of screw loosening in the CPS group. There were no significant differences in screw loosening, postoperative adjacent segment fractures, postoperative infection or postoperative revision between the 2 groups. The use of PMMA-PS on a regular basis is not recommended in posterior lumbar interbody fusion for the treatment of single-segment isthmic spondylolisthesis with osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly investigates the bipartite fixed-time consensus problem with or without disturbances of multi-agent systems. Firstly, we propose a novel bipartite fixed-time consensus algorithm based on event-triggered mechanism. Secondly, we use Lyapunov stability theory to guarantee that all agents states can reach a consensus of bipartite fixed-time. Then, the fixed-time stability theory is used to estimate the settling time, which shows that the settling time has nothing to do with the initial state of all agents. Furthermore, it is proved that under this consensus protocol, no zeno behavior is occurred. Finally, two numerical examples are finally presented to illustrate the theoretical analysis correctness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene oxide (GO) wrapped Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by coating the Fe3O4 NPs with a SiO2 layer, and then modifying by amino groups, which interact with the GO nanosheets to form covalent bonding. The SiO2 coating layer plays a key role in integrating the magnetic nanoparticles with the GO nanosheets. The effect of the amount of SiO2 on the morphology, structure, adsorption, and regenerability of the composites was studied in detail. An appropriate SiO2 layer can effectively induce the GO nanosheets to completely wrap the Fe3O4 NPs, forming a core-shell Fe3O4@SiO2@GO composite where Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs are firmly encapsulated by GO nanosheets. The optimized Fe3O4@SiO2@GO sample exhibits a high saturated adsorption capacity of 253 mg·g−1 Pb(II) cations from wastewater, and the adsorption process is well fitted by Langmuir adsorption model. Notably, the composite displays excellent regeneration, maintaining a ∼90% adsorption capacity for five cycles, while other samples decrease their adsorption capacity rapidly. This work provides a theoretical guidance to improve the regeneration of the GO-based adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accommodate volume change of sulfur particles, confine lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) within conductive matrix, as well as accelerate transference of electrons/ions, the sulfur@reduced graphene oxide (S@RGO) yolk-shell particles wrapped by polyaniline (PANI) nanowires were prepared in this work. Meanwhile, PANI nanowires are synthesized by in situ polymerization of aniline monomers. Importantly, many nanoscale holes are generated on the RGO nanosheets forming three-dimensional channels for ion transportation within the obtained composite material. LiPSs can be firmly confined in the composite material by the polar oxygen-containing groups on the surface of the RGO shells and the protonated nitrogen-containing groups on the PANI nanowires. Benefiting from the unique structure, the S@RGO/PANI particles exhibit an improved electrochemical performance. It can deliver an initial capacity of 1021 mAh·g−1 at 0.1C rate and a high initial coulombic efficiency up to 95.4%. Even at 2.0C rate, a discharge capacity of 501 mAh·g−1 can be retained after 500 cycles. Results indicate that the S@RGO/PANI can be promisingly exploited as a kind of high-energy density cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies in detail the effect of fuel/oxidant (citric acid/nitrate) ratio on the crystal structure and electrochemical performance of CuFe2O4 prepared by combustion method. The electrochemical tests results show that when the ratio of citric acid to nitrate is 0.6, CuFe2O4 exhibits the best electrochemical performance. After 80 cycles, the discharge specific capacity can still reach 336.2 mAh g−1. In the rate test, after 10 cycles at 2000 mA g−1, the average specific capacity can still maintain at 404.5 mAh g−1. Through the analysis of chemical properties and electrochemical properties, it is believed that the superior performance may stem from the porous structure, appropriate crystallinity, and the suitable grain size induced by the suitable citric acid–nitrate molar ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the tracking performance of networked control systems (NCSs) under energy constraints with time-delay and encoding-decoding is studied. Through spectral factorization and partial decomposition techniques, we can obtain the explicit representation of the optimal performance. It is shown that the optimal performance is affected by non minimum phase (NMP) zeros, unstable poles and other multiple communication constraints such as time-delay, encoding-decoding and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). At the same time, the obtained result shows that a two-parameter compensator is superior to a one-parameter compensator. In addition, it is found that time-delay, encoding-decoding and AWGN affected the tracking capability of NCSs. Finally, an example is given for verifying the correctness of the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence, type and risk factors of cement leakage (CL) with cement-augmented pedicle screw instrumentation (CAPSI) in degenerative lumbosacral disease.Methods: Two hundred and two patients using a total of 950 cement-augmented screws were enrolled. CL was classified into three types: type S: leakage via segmental veins; type B: leakage via basivertebral veins; and type I: leakage via pedicle screw instrumentation to paravertebral soft tissue. The age, gender, operation stage (primary or later stage), body mass index, bone mineral density, the number and type of augmented screw, the position of the tip of screw (lateral or internal part of vertebral body), the position of screw (left or right side), the volume of bone cement, location of the augmented vertebra (lumbar or sacrum), the type of CL and complications were recorded. Binary logistic regression correlation was used to analyze risk factors of veins leakage (type S and type B).Results: The CL was observed in 165 patients (81.68%) and 335 screws (35.26%), leakage types of S, B and I were seen in 255 (76.12%), 77 (22.99%), and 30 (8.96%) of screws, respectively. Besides, double or multiple routes of leakage were seen in 27 screws. Number of augmented screw was a risk factor for vein leakage (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.44-0.77; P = 0.000). Furthermore, the doses of cement (OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.61-0.99; P = 0.038) and the position of screw (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.29-0.53; P = 0.000) were identified as risk factors for type S, and the doses of bone cement (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.25-0.54; P = 0.000) and the position of the tip of screw (OR 0.07; 95% CI 0.04-0.13; P = 0.000) were risk factors for type B.Conclusions: CAPSI bears a high risk of asymptomatic CL, with a higher rate of leakage into segmental veins and basivertebral veins. As is known, more augmented screws and larger doses of cement are risk factors for veins leakage (type S and type B), while the tip of screw approaching to the midline of the vertebral body is another risk factor to type B. Thus, the CL could be reduced by the amelioration of operative techniques and procedures. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent advances in the assembly of organic nanotubes, conferral of sequence-defined engineering and dynamic response characteristics to the tubules remains a challenge. Here we report a new family of highly designable and dynamic nanotubes assembled from sequence-defined peptoids through a unique “rolling-up and closure of nanosheet” mechanism. During the assembly process, amorphous spherical particles of amphiphilic peptoid oligomers crystallize to form well-defined nanosheets before folding to form single-walled nanotubes. These nanotubes undergo a pH-triggered, reversible contraction–expansion motion. By varying the number of hydrophobic residues of peptoids, we demonstrate tuning of nanotube wall thickness, diameter, and mechanical properties. Atomic force microscopy-based mechanical measurements show peptoid nanotubes are highly stiff (Young’s Modulus ~13–17 GPa). We further demonstrate the precise incorporation of functional groups within nanotubes and their applications in water decontamination and cellular adhesion and uptake. These nanotubes provide a robust platform for developing biomimetic materials tailored to specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of defects on the relaxation properties of bilayered graphene (BLG) has been studied by molecular dynamics simulation in nanometre sizes. Type and position of defects were taken into account in the calculated model. The results show that great changes begin to occur in the morphology after introducing defects into BLG sheets. Compared with point defects, line defects have a significant effect on the relaxation properties of BLG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two kinds of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) including untreated APP and surface-modified APP treated by a silane coupling agent were microencapsulated by MF resin. Then PP/MCAPP flame-retardant material was prepared. The results indicated that the coating of MF microencapsulated surface-modified APP was more uniform and complete, and its thermal stability was higher than that of MF-microencapsulated untreated APP. Furthermore, the LOI value of PP/MCAPP (MF-microencapsulated surface-modified APP) composites was 30 and it could pass the UL-94 V-0 test; moreover, the water resistance of the composites was better than that of PP/MCAPP (MF-microencapsulated untreated APP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluorescence property of bovine serum albumin was investigated in the presence of PEGs of different molecular weights. Based on our results, we propose that PEGs of different molecular weights bind to albumin in the pH 7.4 aqueous solution, but only when the polymer size is larger than the protein size, one polymer chain may bind to multiple proteins and cause the proteins to aggregate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, atomic structure of single-layered graphene oxide (GO) and chemically reduced graphene oxide (CRGO) nanosheets was investigated using atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy (AFM and STM). Furthermore, friction properties of the graphene and GO nanosheets were studied by frictional force microscopy (FFM). STM imaging provided direct evidence and the morphology was influenced by oxygen-containing groups and defects. The atomic scale structural disorder in a hexagonal two-dimensional network of carbon atoms changes the surface condition, which also caused the frictional property variations of the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of lowering crude protein level and fish-meal inclusion rate by using commercially available synthetic amino acid supplements in practical diets on the growth performance of Litopenaeus vannamei. In experiment 1, three diets were formulated to assess whether 50% of fish meal could be replaced by soybean meal with synthetic amino acid supplementation. Diet 1 was formulated as the normal control with 20% fish meal and 36% crude protein; diet 2 was the negative control with 34% crude protein and half of the fish meal was replaced with soybean meal; and diet 3 was similar to diet 2 but was supplemented with amino acids to ensure the level of lysine, methionine plus cystine, and threonine similar to that in the diet 1. After a 70-day feeding trial, weight gain and specific growth rate of shrimps fed diet 2 were significantly lower than those fed diet 3, and numerically lower than those fed diet 1. Feed intake of shrimps fed diet 3 was significantly higher than those fed diets 1 and 2. There were no significant differences in feed conversion ratio among shrimps fed different diets. In experiment 2, four diets were prepared with diet 1 as the normal control with 41.26% crude protein, diets 2–4 were formulated to contain 39.81, 38.40, and 35.52% of crude protein with synthetic amino acids were added to simulate the amino acid levels of the diet 1. After a 70-day feeding trial, it was found that reducing dietary crude protein from 41.26 to 35.52% did not affect weight gain or feed conversion ratio. The survival of crude protein 35.52% treatment was significantly lower than other treatments. No difference was observed in body protein, lipid composition, and apparent digestibility coefficient among dietary treatments. Results of this study suggested that dietary crude protein could be reduced from 41.26 to 35.52% in the diets of L. vannamei as long as synthetic amino acids were supplemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The purpose of this research is to identify the probable mitochondrial factor associated with cytoplasmic male sterility (cms) by comparative analysis of cms and its isogenic maintainer lines in stem mustards. Dramatic variations in the morphology of floral organs were observed in cms stem mustard. Mitochondrial atpA gene was shown to be altered in cms compared with that in its maintainer line, of which mitochondrial atpA gene from its maintainer line was sequenced to encode 507 amino acids. It was indicative of high homology with mitochondrial atpA genes from other species, even as high as 94% in similarity with Oryza sativa in terms of amino acid constituents. However, only 429 amino acids were deduced in cms showing 83% similarity with atpA gene from its maintainer line. Two copies were observed in its maintainer line, but only one was found in cms. Such numerous differences of mitochondrial atpA gene between cms and its maintainer lines may not be the results of evolutionary divergence but the rearrangements of mitochondria. Expression of mitochondrial atpA gene was shown to be down-regulated in cms by using Northern blot. Consequently, mitochondrial ATP synthesis was severely decreased more than one fold in cms stem mustard indicating deficiency in mitochondrial ATP synthesis in this type of cms. Therefore, we deduced that mitochondrial atpA gene altered in cms could be associated with male-sterility in this type of cms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]