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Stereo matching is a key technology for many autonomous driving and robotics applications. Recently, methods based on Convolutional Neural Network have achieved huge progress. However, it is still difficult to find accurate matching points in inherently ill-posed regions such as areas with weak texture and reflective surfaces. In this paper, we propose a multi-level pyramid fusion volume (MPFV-Stereo) which contains two prominent components: multi-scale cost volume (MSCV) and multi-level cost volume (MLCV). We also design a low-parameter Gaussian attention module to excite cost volume. Our MPFV-Stereo ranks 2nd on KITTI 2012 (Reflective) among all published methods. In addition, MPFV-Stereo has competitive results on both Scene Flow and KITTI datasets and requires less training to achieve strong cross-dataset generalization on Middlebury and ETH3D benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The literature is scarce in exploring the role of imaging parameters like ultrasound (US) as a biomarker for surgical outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the associations between skin US parameters and revision surgery following spine lumbar fusion. Methods: Posterior lumbar fusion patients with 2-years follow-up were assessed. Previous fusion or revision not due to adjacent segment disease (ASD) were excluded. Revisions were classified as cases and non-revision were classified as controls. US measurements conducted at two standardized locations on the lumbar back. Skin echogenicity of the average dermal (AD), upper 1/3 of the dermal (UD), lower 1/3 of the dermal (LD), and subcutaneous layer were measured. Echogenicity was calculated with the embedded echogenicity function of our institution's imaging platform (PACS). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 128 patients (51% female, age 62 [54–72] years) were included in the final analysis. 17 patients required revision surgery. AD, UD, and LD echogenicity showed significantly higher results among revision cases 124.5 [IQR = 115.75,131.63], 128.5 [IQR = 125,131.63] and 125.5 [IQR = 107.91,136.50] compared to the control group 114.3 [IQR = 98.83,124.8], 118.5 [IQR = 109.28,127.50], 114 [IQR = 94.20,126.75] respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate a significant association between higher echogenicity values in different layers of the dermis and requiring revision surgery. The results provide insights into the potential use of skin US parameters as predictors for revision surgery. These findings may reflect underlying alterations in collagen. Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms driving these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Effective tools to evaluate bone quality preoperatively are scarce and the standard method to determine bone quality requires an invasive biopsy. A non-invasive, and preoperatively available method for bone quality assessment would be of clinical value. The purpose of this study is to investigate the associations of bone formation marker, serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), and bone resorption marker, urine collagen cross-linked N-telopeptide (uNTX) to volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), fluorescent advanced glycation endproducts (fAGEs) and bone microstructure. Materials and methods: A cross-secional analysis using prospective data of patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion was performed. BAP and uNTX were preoperatively collected. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) was performed at the lumbar spine (vBMD ≤ 120 mg/cm3 osteopenic/osteoporotic). Bone biopsies from the posterior superior iliac spine were obtained and evaluated with multiphoton fluorescence microscopy for fAGEs and microcomputed tomography (µCT) for bone microarchitecture. Correlations between BAP/uNTX to vBMD, fAGEs and µCT parameters were assessed with Spearman's ρ. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated BAP and uNTX as predictors for osteopenia/osteoporosis. Multivariable linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, BMI, race and diabetes mellitus determined associations between BAP/uNTX and fAGEs. Results: 127 prospectively enrolled patients (50.4% female, 62.5 years, BMI 28.7 kg/m2) were analyzed. uNTX (ρ=-0.331,p < 0.005) and BAP (ρ=-0.245,p < 0.025) decreased with cortical fAGEs, and uNTX (ρ=-0.380,p < 0.001) decreased with trabecular fAGEs. BAP and uNTX revealed no significant correlation with vBMD. ROC analysis for BAP and uNTX discriminated osteopenia/osteoporosis with AUC of 0.477 and 0.561, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, uNTX decreased with increasing trabecular fAGEs after adjusting for covariates (β = 0.923;p = 0.031). Conclusion: This study demonstrated an inverse association of bone turnover markers and fAGEs. Both uNTX and BAP could not predict osteopenia/osteoporosis in the spine. uNTX reflects collagen characteristics and might have a complementary role to vBMD, as a non-invasive tool for bone quality assessment in spine surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of sarcopenia and lumbar paraspinal muscle composition (PMC) on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after lumbar fusion surgery with 12-month follow-up (12 M-FU). Methods: A prospective investigation of patients undergoing elective lumbar fusion was conducted. Preoperative MRI-based evaluation of the cross-sectional area (CSA), the functional CSA (fCSA), and the fat infiltration(FI) of the posterior paraspinal muscles (PPM) and the psoas muscle at level L3 was performed. Sarcopenia was defined by the psoas muscle index (PMI) at L3 (CSAPsoas [cm2]/(patients' height [m])2). PROs included Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), 12-item Short Form Healthy Survey with Physical (PCS-12) and Mental Component Scores (MCS-12) and Numerical Rating Scale back and leg (NRS-L) pain before surgery and 12 months postoperatively. Univariate and multivariable regression determined associations among sarcopenia, PMC and PROs. Results: 135 patients (52.6% female, 62.1 years, BMI 29.1 kg/m2) were analyzed. The univariate analysis demonstrated that a higher FI (PPM) was associated with worse ODI outcomes at 12 M-FU in males. Sarcopenia (PMI) and higher FI (PPM) were associated with worse ODI and MCS-12 at 12 M-FU in females. Sarcopenia and higher FI of the PPM are associated with worse PCS-12 and more leg pain in females. In the multivariable analysis, a higher preoperative FI of the PPM (β = 0.442; p = 0.012) and lower FI of the psoas (β = −0.439; p = 0.029) were associated with a worse ODI at 12 M-FU after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions: Preoperative FI of the psoas and the PPM are associated with worse ODI outcomes one year after lumbar fusion. Sarcopenia is associated with worse ODI, PCS-12 and NRS-L in females, but not males. Considering sex differences, PMI and FI of the PPM might be used to counsel patients on their expectations for health-related quality of life after lumbar fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), often found incidentally on lateral lumbar radiographs, is increasingly recognized for its association with adverse outcomes in spine surgery. As a marker of advanced atherosclerosis affecting cardiovascular dynamics, this study evaluates AAC's impact on perioperative blood loss in posterior spinal fusion (PSF). Methods: Patients undergoing PSF from March 2016 to July 2023 were included. Estimated blood loss (EBL) and total blood volume (TBV) were calculated. AAC was assessed on lateral lumbar radiographs according to the Kauppila classification. Predictors of the EBL-to-TBV ratio (%EBL/TBV) were examined via univariable and multivariable regression analyses, which adjusted for parameters such as hypertension and aspirin use. Results: A total of 199 patients (47.2% female) were analyzed. AAC was present in 106 patients (53.3%). AAC independently predicted %EBL/TBV, accounting for an increase in blood loss of 4.46% of TBV (95% CI 1.17–7.74, p = 0.008). Conclusions: This is the first study to identify AAC as an independent predictor of perioperative blood loss in PSF. In addition to its link to degenerative spinal conditions and adverse postoperative outcomes, the relationship between AAC and increased blood loss warrants attention in patients undergoing PSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic control of electromagnetic waves is a persistent pursuit in modern industrial development. The state-of-the-art dynamic devices suffer from limitations such as narrow bandwidth, limited modulation range, and expensive features. To address these issues, we fuse origami techniques with metamaterial design to achieve ultra-wideband and large-depth reflection modulation. Through a folding process, our proposed metamaterial achieves over 10-dB modulation depth over 4.96 – 38.8 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 155% and tolerance to incident angles and polarizations. Its ultra-wideband and large-depth reflection modulation performance is verified through experiments and analyzed through multipole decomposition theory. To enhance its practical applicability, transparent conductive films are introduced to the metamaterial, achieving high optical transparency (>87%) from visible to near-infrared light while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Benefiting from lightweight, foldability, and low-cost properties, our design shows promise for extensive satellite communication and optical window mobile communication management. The researchers fuse metamaterials and origami technical to achieve ultra-wideband and large-depth reflection modulation. Flexible electronics amplify its lightweight, transparency, and cost-effectiveness, making it ideal for satellite communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intervertebral vacuum phenomenon (IVP) and paraspinal muscular atrophy are age-related changes in the lumbar spine. The relationship between both parameters has not been investigated. We aimed to analyze the correlation between IVP and paraspinal muscular atrophy in addition to describing the lumbar vacuum severity (LVS) scale, a new parameter to estimate lumbar degeneration. Methods: We analyzed patients undergoing spine surgery between 2014 and 2016. IVP severity was assessed utilizing CT scans. The combination of vacuum severity on each lumbar level was used to define the LVS scale, which was classified into mild, moderate and severe. MRIs were used to evaluate paraspinal muscular fatty infiltration of the multifidus and erector spinae. The association of fatty infiltration with the severity of IVP at each lumbar level was assessed with a univariable and multivariable ordinal regression model. Results: Two hundred and sixty-seven patients were included in our study (128 females and 139 males) with a mean age of 62.6 years (55.1—71.2). Multivariate analysis adjusted for age, BMI and sex showed positive correlations between LVS-scale severity and fatty infiltration in the multifidus and erector spinae, whereas no correlation was observed in the psoas muscle. Conclusion: IVP severity is positively correlated with paraspinal muscular fatty infiltration. This correlation was stronger for the multifidus than the erector spinae. No correlations were observed in the psoas muscle. The lumbar vacuum severity scale was significantly correlated with advanced disc degeneration with vacuum phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of coal chemical industries, the production of solid waste gasification slag is increasing year by year. How to efficiently utilize gasification slag has become an urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, residual carbon (RC) obtained from coal gasification fine slag was activated by KOH wet method under different temperatures. The effects of activation temperature on the structure and electrochemical performance of activated residual carbon materials (RC-X) have been systematically studied. Compared with the specific surface area of 286 m2/g for RC, the specific surface area of the optimal activated carbon (RC-150) is up to 787 m2/g. RC-150 exhibited a remarkable specific capacitance of 109 F/g at 0.5 A/g in a three-electrode system. A symmetric supercapacitor was fabricated with RC-150 electrolyte, delivering an energy density of 3.78 Wh/kg and a power density of 254 W/kg. The supercapacitor displayed excellent cycle stability, maintaining 103.81% of the initial capacitance after 10,000 cycles. The results suggest that the cheap RC activated by the KOH wet method at 150 °C can be used as carbon electrode materials, which can provide ideas for the effective utilization of gasification slag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammatory disease associated with alveolar injury, subsequent macrophage activation, inflammatory cell infiltration, and cytokine production. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are beneficial for application in the treatment of inflammatory diseases due to their immunomodulatory effects. However, the mechanisms of regulatory effects by MSCs on macrophages in ALI need more in-depth study. Lung tissues were collected from mice for mouse lung organoid construction. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) derived from bronchoalveolar lavage and interstitial macrophages (IMs) derived from lung tissue were co-cultured, with novel matrigel-spreading lung organoids to construct an in vitro model of lung organoids–immune cells. Mouse compact bone-derived MSCs were co-cultured with organoids–macrophages to confirm their therapeutic effect on acute lung injury. Changes in transcriptome expression profile were analyzed by RNA sequencing. Well-established lung organoids expressed various lung cell type-specific markers. Lung organoids grown on spreading matrigel had the property of functional cells growing outside the lumen. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced injury promoted macrophage chemotaxis toward lung organoids and enhanced the expression of inflammation-associated genes in inflammation-injured lung organoids–macrophages compared with controls. Treatment with MSCs inhibited the injury progress and reduced the levels of inflammatory components. Furthermore, through the nuclear factor-κB pathway, MSC treatment inhibited inflammatory and phenotypic transformation of AMs and modulated the antigen-presenting function of IMs, thereby affecting the inflammatory phenotype of lung organoids. Lung organoids grown by spreading matrigel facilitate the reception of external stimuli and the construction of in vitro models containing immune cells, which is a potential novel model for disease research. MSCs exert protective effects against lung injury by regulating different functions of AMs and IMs in the lung, indicating a potential mechanism for therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuously increasing applications of robot technologies in unstructured environments put higher requirements on the robotic grippers' performance, such as interaction capability, output force range, and controllability. However, currently, it is hard for either rigid or soft grippers to meet these requirements, as single soft or rigid structures alone are difficult to effectively overcome/alleviate their inherent defects, e.g., low compliance of rigid structures and low output force of soft structures. To deal with these difficulties, soft-rigid coupling grippers, or hybrid grippers are proposed. Technically, the soft-rigid coupling is a promising design that combines soft and rigid structures, in order to exploit their respective advantages, such as the strength of rigid structures and compliance of soft structures, in the same set of the gripper system. For the first time, herein, this paper systematically discusses the collaboration strategies of the existing hybrid robotic grippers, by classifying them as Rigid-active-soft-passive, Rigid-passive-soft-active, and Rigid-active-soft-active. At the same time, we introduce the integrated fabrication methods of hybrid grippers, through which the soft and rigid structures with great stiffness and property differences can be coupled together to construct a stable system. Also, possible performance improvements on soft-rigid coupling design for gripper systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is associated with lower back pain, reduced bone mineral density of the spine. Vascular changes could also affect the already sparsely perfused intervertebral endplate and intervertebral disc. Methods: Lumbar MRIs and lateral radiographs of patients with lower back pain were retrospectively analyzed. AAC was assessed on lateral lumbar radiographs according to the Kauppila score, with a maximum score of 24. Patients were grouped into no (AAC = 0), moderate (AAC 1 to ≤ 4), and severe AAC (AAC ≥ 5). Endplate and disc degeneration were classified according to the total endplate score (TEPS) and Pfirrmann classification. The associations between AAC and degenerative changes was analyzed with a generalized mixed model and was adjusted for age, sex, body mass index as well as diabetes mellitus, and smoking status. Results: A total of 217 patients (47.9% female) were included in the analysis, totaling 1085 intervertebral levels. Of those, 45 (20.7%) patients had moderate, and 39 (18%) had severe AAC. The results of the generalized mixed model showed no significant association between AAC and disc degeneration (p > 0.05). In contrast, a significant positive association between AAC and the severity of TEPS (β: 0.51, 95% CI: 1.92—2.12, p = 0.004) was observed in the multivariable analysis. Conclusions: This study demonstrates an independent association between AAC and endplate degeneration. These findings expand our knowledge about the degenerative cascade of the lumbar spine and suggest that AAC might be a modifiable risk factor for endplate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aortic abdominal calcification (AAC) is associated with spine-related conditions, such as lower back pain and reduced bone mineral density. Similar to peripheral vascular disease, AAC possibly reduces blood flow to the lumbar posterior paraspinal muscles (PPM) which may lead to atrophy and increased fatty infiltration. Methods: Imaging of patients with lower back pain was analyzed. AAC was assessed on lateral lumbar radiographs according to the Kauppila classification. The cross-sectional area of the PPM was measured on a T2-weighted axial MRI sequence and the functional cross-sectional area (fCSA) and fatty infiltration (FI) were calculated with custom software. The association of AAC and FI as well as AAC and fCSA was assessed by multivariable linear regression, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, and smoking. Results: Two hundred and thirty patients (47.8% female) with a median age of 60 years (IQR 48–68) were analyzed. In patients, without AAC the median FI of the PPM was 33.3% (IQR 29.1–37.6%), compared to 44.6% (IQR 38.5–54.3%) in patients with AAC (p < 0.001). In the multivariable linear regression, both fCSA and FI of the PPM were significantly and independently associated with the degree of AAC (p = 0.037 and p = 0.015, respectively). Conclusions: This is the first study to demonstrate a significant and independent association between AAC and PPM morphology. The results of this study improve our understanding of the interaction between AAC and spinal musculature, with AAC being a reason for atrophy of the PPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paste flow patterns and microscopic particle structures were studied in a pressurized environment generated by a pulse pump. Complex loop-pipe experiments and fluid–solid coupling-based simulations were conducted. The scanning electron microscopy technique was also applied. Results revealed that flow resistance is closely related to pipeline curvature and angle in a complex pipe network. The vertical downward–straight pipe–inclined downward combination was adopted to effectively reduce the loss in resistance along with reducing the number of bends or increasing the radius of bend curvature. The maximum velocity ratio and velocity offset values could quantitatively characterize the influences of different pipeline layouts on the resistance. The correlation reached 96%. Particle distribution and interparticle forces affected flow resistance. Uniform particle states and weak interparticle forces were conducive to steady transport. Pulse pump pressure led to high flow resistance. It could improve pipe flow stability by increasing flow uniformity and particle motion stability. These results can contribute to safe and efficient paste filling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) is a widely used method to analyze the properties of deep defects in semiconductors. However, it has been rarely reported to measure the deep-levels of highly-doped silicon because the large leakage current badly affects the transient capacitance signal of DLTS technique, due to the trap occupancy dominated by thermal emission instead of capture of carriers. Herein, by employing an asymmetric structure to reduce leakage current, we observed two deep-level defect states of highly phosphorus-doped silicon (7 × 1017 cm−3) in the DLTS spectrum, corresponding to the E-center (vacancy-P trap) and doubly negative charged states. Furthermore, the photocurrent spectrum of the sample under 4 K shows two mid-infrared response peaks, arising from the photoexcitation behavior of the above two defects. This finding provides a new route to measure the deep-level defect properties of highly-doped semiconductor materials using DLTS method. It also suggests potential applications of photoexcitation activity of defects in photoelectric detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the influence of vertebral endplate defects and subchondral bone marrow changes on the development of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration (DD). Methods: Patients > 18 y/o without any history of lumbar fusion who had repeat lumbar magnetic resonance imaging scans primarily for low back pain (LBP) performed at a minimum of 3 years apart at a single institution, and no spinal surgery in between scans were included. Total endplate score (TEPS), Modic changes (MC), and Pfirrmann grading (PFG) per lumbar disc level were assessed. DD was defined as PFG ≥ 4. Results: Three hundred and fifty-three patients (54.4% female) were included in the final analysis, comprising 1765 lumbar intervertebral discs. The patient population was 85.6% Caucasian with a median age of 60.1 years and a body mass index (BMI) of 25.8 kg/m2. A cutoff score of 5 was identified for the TEPS above which both the prevalence of DD and the odds of developing DD increased. The probability of developing DD did not differ significantly between lumbar disc levels (P = 0.419). In the multivariable analysis with adjustments for age, sex, race, body mass index (BMI), MC, TEPS cutoff > 5, and spinal level, only age (OR = 1.020; P = 0.002) was found to be an independent risk factor for developing intervertebral DD. Conclusion: Our results suggest that TEPS does not unequivocally predict intervertebral DD in patients with LBP, since higher degrees of endplate defects might also develop secondarily to DD, and MC tend to occur late in the cascade of degeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sagittal spinal malalignment often leads to surgical realignment, which is associated with major complications. Low bone mineral density (BMD) and impaired bone microstructure are risk factors for instrumentation failure. This study aims to demonstrate differences in volumetric BMD and bone microstructure between normal and pathological sagittal alignment and to determine the relationships among vBMD, microstructure, sagittal spinal and spinopelvic alignment. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study of patients who underwent lumbar fusion for degeneration was conducted. The vBMD of the lumbar spine was assessed by quantitative computed tomography. Bone biopsies were evaluated using microcomputed tomography (μCT). C7-S1 sagittal vertical axis (SVA; ≥ 50 mm malalignment) and spinopelvic alignment were measured. Univariate and multivariable linear regression analysis evaluated associations among the alignment, vBMD and μCT parameters. Results: A total of 172 patients (55.8% female, 63.3 years, BMI 29.7 kg/m2, 43.0% with malalignment) including N = 106 bone biopsies were analyzed. The vBMD at levels L1, L2, L3 and L4 and the trabecular bone (BV) and total volume (TV) were significantly lower in the malalignment group. SVA was significantly correlated with vBMD at L1–L4 (ρ = -0.300, p < 0.001), BV (ρ = − 0.319, p = 0.006) and TV (ρ = − 0.276, p = 0.018). Significant associations were found between PT and L1–L4 vBMD (ρ = − 0.171, p = 0.029), PT and trabecular number (ρ = − 0.249, p = 0.032), PT and trabecular separation (ρ = 0.291, p = 0.012), and LL and trabecular thickness (ρ = 0.240, p = 0.017). In the multivariable analysis, a higher SVA was associated with lower vBMD (β = − 0.269; p = 0.002). Conclusion: Sagittal malalignment is associated with lower lumbar vBMD and trabecular microstructure. Lumbar vBMD was significantly lower in patients with malalignment. These findings warrant attention, as malalignment patients may be at a higher risk of surgery-related complications due to impaired bone. Standardized preoperative assessment of vBMD may be advisable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The sole determination of volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) is insufficient to evaluate overall bone integrity. The accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) stiffens and embrittles collagen fibers. Despite the important role of AGEs in bone aging, the relationship between AGEs and vBMD is poorly understood. We hypothesized that an accumulation of AGEs, a marker of impaired bone quality, is related to decreased vBMD. Methods: Prospectively collected data of 127 patients undergoing lumbar fusion were analyzed. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) measurements were performed at the lumbar spine. Intraoperative bone biopsies were obtained and analyzed with confocal fluorescence microscopy for fluorescent AGEs, both trabecular and cortical. Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated to examine relationships between vBMD and fAGEs, stratified by sex. Multivariable linear regression analysis with adjustments for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), race, diabetes mellitus and HbA1c was used to investigate associations between vBMD and fAGEs. Results: One-hundred and twenty-seven patients (51.2% female, 61.2 years, BMI of 28.7 kg/m2) with 107 bone biopsies were included in the final analysis, excluding patients on anti-osteoporotic drug therapy. In the univariate analysis, cortical fAGEs increased with decreasing vBMD at (r = −0.301; p = 0.030), but only in men. In the multivariable analysis, trabecular fAGEs increased with decreasing vBMD after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, race, diabetes mellitus and HbA1c (β = 0.99;95%CI=(0.994,1.000); p = 0.04). Conclusion: QCT-derived vBMD measurements were found to be inversely associated with trabecular fAGEs. Our results enhance the understanding of bone integrity by suggesting that spine surgery patients with decreased bone quantity may also have poorer bone quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lumbar fusion surgery has become a standard procedure in spine surgery and commonly includes the posterior placement of pedicle screws. Bone quality is a crucial factor that affects pedicle screw purchase. However, the relationship between paraspinal muscles and the bone quality of the pedicle is unknown. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between paraspinal muscles and the ex vivo bony microstructure of the lumbar pedicle. Methods: Prospectively, collected data of patients undergoing posterior lumbar fusion for degenerative spinal conditions was analyzed. Pre-operative lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were evaluated for a quantitative assessment of the cross-sectional area (CSA), functional cross-sectional area (fCSA), and the proportion of intramuscular fat (FI) for the psoas muscle and the posterior paraspinal muscles (PPM) at L4. Intra-operative bone biopsies of the lumbar pedicle were obtained and analyzed with microcomputed tomography (µCT) scans. The following cortical (Cort) and trabecular (Trab) bone parameters were assessed: bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), connectivity density (CD), bone-specific surface (BS/BV), apparent density (AD), and tissue mineral density (TMD). Results: A total of 26 patients with a mean age of 59.1 years and a mean BMI of 29.8 kg/m2 were analyzed. fCSAPPM showed significant positive correlations with BV/TVTrab (ρ = 0.610; p < 0.001), CDTrab (ρ = 0.679; p < 0.001), Tb.NTrab (ρ = 0.522; p = 0.006), Tb.ThTrab (ρ = 0.415; p = 0.035), and ADTrab (ρ = 0.514; p = 0.007). Cortical bone parameters also demonstrated a significant positive correlation with fCSAPPM (BV/TVCort: ρ = 0.584; p = 0.002; ADCort: ρ = 0.519; p = 0.007). FIPsoas was negatively correlated with TMDCort (ρ = − 0.622; p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights the close interactions between the bone microstructure of the lumbar pedicle and the paraspinal muscle morphology. These findings give us further insights into the interaction between the lumbar pedicle microstructure and paraspinal muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a type of regulated cell death (RCD) which was discovered to activate adaptive immunity. To date, the effect of ICD on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. In this research, we will study the role of ICD-related genes (ICDG) in LUAD. Methods: RNA sequencing and clinical data were gathered from TCGA-LUAD cohorts and GEO database. Using unsupervised cluster analysis, three clusters were identified with distinctive immune characteristics and significant overall survival based on 18 ICDG. Using LASSO Cox regression, three genes were identified and used to construct the prognosis signature. The association between the 3-ICDG risk signature and immune microenvironment analysis, somatic mutation, and enriched molecular pathways was investigated. Results: Consensus clustering separated the LUAD samples into three clusters (ICDcluster A, B and C), and ICDcluster B had the best prognosis. Different TME cell infiltration characteristics and biological behavior were found in three ICD clusters. Prognostic risk model was contrasted based on the 3 best prognostic ICD-related genes. Subsequently, vitro experiments verified the above analysis results. The high-risk group showed a poor prognosis and enrichment of cancer promoting signal pathway. Multivariate analysis indicated that this 3-ICDG prognostic model might be an accurate prediction parameter for LUAD. Moreover, conducting immune related analysis, we found that the 3-ICDG risk signature was characterized by an immune-active subtype on account of the high infiltration of immune-active cells. Conclusion: This study expands our cognition of ICD in LUAD microenvironment, excavated prognostic biomarkers, and provided potential value for guiding immunotherapy and chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate whether (1) there is a difference between patients with normal or sagittal spinal and spinopelvic malalignment in terms of their paraspinal muscle composition and (2) if sagittal malalignment can be predicted using muscle parameters. Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing posterior lumbar fusion surgery was conducted. A MRI-based muscle measurement technique was used to assess the cross-sectional area, the functional cross-sectional area, the intramuscular fat and fat infiltration (FI) for the psoas and the posterior paraspinal muscles (PPM). Intervertebral disc degeneration was graded for levels L1 to S1. Sagittal vertical axis (SVA; ≥ 50 mm defined as spinal malalignment), pelvic incidence (PI) and lumbar lordosis (LL) were measured, and PI-LL mismatch (PI-LL; ≥ 10° defined as spinopelvic malalignment) was calculated. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to determine the specificity and sensitivity of the FIPPM for predicting sagittal malalignment. Results: One hundred and fifty patients were analysed. The PI-LL and SVA malalignment groups were found to have a significantly higher FIPPM (PI-LL:47.0 vs. 42.1%; p = 0.019; SVA: 47.7 vs. 41.8%; p = 0.040). ROC analysis predicted sagittal spinal malalignment using FIPPM (cut-off value 42.69%) with a sensitivity of 73.4% and a specificity of 54.1% with an area under the curve of 0.662. Conclusion: Significant differences in the muscle composition between normal and malalignment groups with respect to FIPPM in both sagittal spinal and spinopelvic alignment were found. This work underlines the imminent impact of the paraspinal musculature on the sagittal alignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsically disordered proteins, which do not adopt well-defined structures under physiological conditions, are implicated in many human diseases. Small molecules that target the disordered transactivation domain of the androgen receptor have entered human trials for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), but no structural or mechanistic rationale exists to explain their inhibition mechanisms or relative potencies. Here, we utilize all-atom molecular dynamics computer simulations to elucidate atomically detailed binding mechanisms of the compounds EPI-002 and EPI-7170 to the androgen receptor. Our simulations reveal that both compounds bind at the interface of two transiently helical regions and induce the formation of partially folded collapsed helical states. We find that EPI-7170 binds androgen receptor more tightly than EPI-002 and we identify a network of intermolecular interactions that drives higher affinity binding. Our results suggest strategies for developing more potent androgen receptor inhibitors and general strategies for disordered protein drug design. In this work the authors report atomically detailed computer simulations revealing the binding mechanisms of small molecule drugs to an intrinsically disordered region of the androgen receptor, a castration-resistant prostate cancer drug target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bandgap engineering of two-dimensional (2D) materials is essential for the design of photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices. Gallium(II) sulfide (GaS), a layered semiconductor material with a direct bandgap of approximately 3.05 eV, has recently gained extensive attention owing to its unique photoresponse property. However, its bandgap tunability relative to the number of layers has not been experimentally confirmed; thus, the effect of bandgap on the photoresponse has not been explored yet. Herein, few-layered GaS nanosheets (Ns) are prepared using a simple liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) approach. After centrifuging at different speeds, GaS Ns with defined layers are obtained, which enable verification of the tunable bandgap from 2.02 to 3.15 eV. When applied as a PEC-type photodetector, the responsivity of the photodetector is 4.77 mA W−1 and 33.7 μA W−1 under bias voltages of 0.6 and 0 V, respectively. Theoretical models of the electronic structure suggest that a reduction in the number of layers, leading to a decrease of the effective mass at the valence band maximum (VBM), can enhance the carrier mobility of GaS Ns. This results in high photocurrents and indicates that 2D GaS Ns are ideal materials for future high-performance optoelectronic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of age on the psoas and posterior paraspinal muscles (PPM; multifidus muscle and erector spinae) and to evaluate potential sex-related differences.Methods: MRI-based quantitative assessments of the cross-sectional area (CSA), the functional cross-sectional area (fCSA), the fat area (FAT) and the proportion of intramuscular fat (FI) were conducted on patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery between 2014 and 2021. The regions of interest were the psoas muscle and the PPM at the superior endplate of L4. The left and right sides of the muscle groups were summarized and normalized by the patient's height (cm2/m2). The relationships between age and muscular parameters were analyzed stratified by sex.Results: A total of 195 patients (57.9%female) with a median age of 64.2 years and a body mass index of 28.3 kg/m2 were analyzed. The CSAPsoas was 7.7 cm2/m2 and differed significantly between females and males (p < 0.001); likewise, the fCSAPsoas differed significantly between the sexes. The CSAPPM was 18.8 cm2/m2 with no sex-specific differences. Significant differences were found in the FIPPM (males: 41.1% vs. females: 47.9%; p < 0.001), but not in the FIPsoas (males: 3.7% vs. females: 4.5%; p = 0.276). Considering the effect of age on FI, a significant positive correlation was observed for the PPMs for both sexes. Only in women, there was a negative correlation between age and CSAPsoas (ρ =  - 0.248; p = 0.008), FATPsoas (ρ =  - 0.421; p < 0.001) and FIPsoas (ρ =  - 0.371; p < 0.001).Conclusion: This study demonstrated sex-specific differences in spinal muscle morphology in relation to patient age. With increasing age there was a decrease in FIPsoas in women only, unlike in the PPMs in which there was increased FI that was significantly higher in women compared to men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broad output force and speed ranges are highly desired for actuators to endow soft robots with high performance, thereby increasing the range of tasks they can accomplish. However, limited by their low structural stiffness and single actuation method, most of the existed soft actuators are still difficult to achieve a broad force and speed range with a relatively compact body structure. Here, we propose a pneumatic and tendon actuation coupled soft actuator (PTCSA) with multiple actuation modes, mainly composing of a multi-joint thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU)-made skeleton sealed in a film sleeve. The TPU skeleton with certain structural stiffness combined with soft joints allows PTCSA to output small force and respond rapidly under pneumatic actuation, as well as output high force and flexibly regulate response speed under tendon actuation, therefore achieving a broad force and speed range with a compact structure. The multiple modes constructed from the two actuation methods with different force and speed properties can cover diverse application scenarios. To demonstrate its performance, PTCSA is further used to construct a soft robotic arm (with a maximum lifting speed of 198°/s and can easily lift a load of 200 g), an inchworm-inspired wheel-footed soft robot (moves at a high speed of 2.13 cm/s when unload or pulls a load of 300 g forward), and a soft gripper (can grasp diverse objects, from 0.1 g potato chips to an 850 g roll of Sn-0.7Cu wire, from a high-speed moving tennis ball to an upright pen). This work indicates the potential of combining multiple complementary actuation methods to improve the force and speed range of soft actuators, and may provide inspiration for related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a decision-making pathway for primary SA-LLIF. Furthermore, we analyzed the agreement of this pathway and compared outcomes of patients undergoing either SA-LLIF or 360-LLIF. Method: A decision-making pathway for SA-LLIF was created based on the results of interviews/surveys of senior spine surgeons with over 10 years of experience. Internal validity was retrospectively evaluated using consecutive patients undergoing either SA-LLIF or 360-LLIF between 01/2018 and 07/2020 with 3D-printed Titanium cages. An outcome assessment looking primarily at revision surgery and secondary at cage subsidence, changes in disk and foraminal height, global and segmental lumbar lordosis, duration of surgery, estimated blood loss, and length of stay was carried out. Results: 78 patients with 124 treated levels (37 SA-LLIF, 41 360-LLIF) were retrospectively analyzed. The pathway showed a direct agreement (SA-LLIF) of 100.0% and an indirect agreement (360-LLIF) of 95.1%. Clinical follow-up averaged 13.5 ± 6.5 months including 4 revision surgeries in the 360-LLIF group and none in the SA-LLIF group (p = 0.117). Radiographic follow-up averaged 9.5 ± 4.3 months, with no statistically significant difference in cage subsidence rate between the groups (p = 0.440). Compared to preoperative images, patients in both groups showed statistically significant changes in disk height (p < 0.001), foraminal height (p < 0.001), as well as restoration of segmental lordosis (p < 0.001 and p = 0.018). The SA-LLIF group showed shorter duration of surgery, less estimated blood loss and shorter LOS (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The proposed decision-making pathway provides a guide to adequately select patients for SA-LLIF. Further studies are needed to assess the external applicability and validity. Level of evidence III: Diagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with consistently applied reference standard and blinding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benefit from multi-scale feature pyramid methods, recently single-stage object detectors have achieved promising accuracy and fast inference speed. However, the majority of existing feature pyramid detection techniques only simply describe complex contextual relationships from different scales. Not only are there no effective modules that adaptively extend appropriate semantic information from deeper layers, but the finer spatial localization cues from lower layers are often ignored. In this paper, we present a Local Enhancement and Bidirectional Feature Refinement Network (LFBFR), which includes two optimization methods to achieve remarkable improvements in detection accuracy. Firstly, to make the backbone more suitable for detection task, we modify the pre-trained classification backbone to mitigate the loss of details in small objects due to consecutive decrease of the image resolution. Then we propose a Bidirectional Feature Refinement Pyramid, which can effectively utilize the inter-channel relationship of higher-level features and fine appearance cues from lower-level features by using the attention residual refinement module and the feature reuse module. Ultimately, to assess the performance of the proposed LFBFR, we design a powerful end-to-end single-stage detector called LFBFR-SSD by embedding it into the framework of SSD. Extensive experiments on the PASCAL VOC and MS COCO verify that our LFBFR-SSD outperforms a lot of state-of-the-art detectors while maintaining a real-time speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Anterior (ALIF) and lateral (LLIF) lumbar interbody fusion is associated with significant postoperative pain, opioid consumption and length of stay. Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks improve these outcomes in other surgical subtypes but have not been applied to spine surgery. A retrospective study of 250 patients was performed to describe associations between TAP block and outcomes after ALIF/LLIF. Methods: The electronic medical records of 129 patients who underwent ALIF or LLIF with TAP block were compared to 121 patients who did not. All patients were cared for under a standardized perioperative care pathway with comprehensive multimodal analgesia. Differences in patent demographics, surgical factors, length of stay (LOS), opioid consumption, opioid-related side effects and pain scores were compared in bivariable and multivariable regression analyses. Results: In bivariable analyses, TAP block was associated with a significantly shorter LOS, less postoperative nausea/vomiting and lower opioid consumption in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). In multivariable analyses, TAP block was associated with significantly shorter LOS (β − 12 h, 95% CI (− 22, − 2 h); p = 0.021). Preoperative opioid use was a strong predictive factor for higher opioid consumption in the PACU, opioid use in the first 24 h after surgery and longer LOS. We did not find significant differences in pain scores at any times between the groups. Conclusion: TAP block may represent an effective addition to pain management and opioid-reducing strategies and improve outcomes after ALIF/LLIF. Prospective trials are warranted to further explore these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to compare the early subsidence rate (6-12 months) of standalone novel 3D-printed titanium (Ti) versus polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody cages after lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF).Method: A retrospective study of 113 patients (186 levels) who underwent LLIF surgery with Ti or PEEK cages was conducted. Early subsidence was measured in each treated level using the Marchi et al. classification in radiographs or CT scans acquired at 6-12 months follow-up. Multivariate logistic regression analyses with generalized mixed models, setting subsidence as the outcome variable and including cage type (Ti vs PEEK) as well as significant and trending variables (p < 0.10) in univariate analyses, were conducted.Results: In total, 51 female and 62 male patients were analyzed. The median [IQR] age at surgery was 60.0 [51.0-70.0] years. Of the 186 levels, 119 levels were treated using PEEK and 67 levels with Ti cages. The overall subsidence rate for Grades I-III was significantly less in the Ti versus the PEEK group (p = 0.003). For high-grade subsidence (Grade II or III), Ti cages also demonstrated a subsidence rate (3.0%) that was significantly less compared to PEEK cages (18.5%) (p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that patients treated with Ti cages were less likely to develop severe subsidence compared to those treated with PEEK (OR = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.30) (p = 0.001).Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that 3D-printed novel Ti cages had a significantly lower early subsidence rate compared to PEEK cages in standalone LLIF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial attribute editing has gained increasing attention recently. Previous methods tackle this challenge by incorporating encoder–decoder and generative adversarial networks. However, the bottleneck layer in encoder–decoder of these methods often leads to blurry and low-quality editing results. And skip connections are used between deep and shallow layers to improve image quality but suffer from a limited ability to manipulate attribute. To address these issues, we propose a novel Facial Attribute Editing Generative Adversarial Networks from a selective refinement perspective, which is capable of focusing on editing the image attributes to be changed while preserving its unique details. Specifically, our method first learns a spatially varying function that maps a high-level feature map to an appropriate parameter map of the normalization layer. Then, by utilizing the residual block, the low-level feature map is added to the feature map after modulation, making the attribute refinement task easier. Experimental results show the superiority of our method in both performances of the attribute manipulation accuracy and perception quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yttrium oxide film is an important dielectric material, which has been widely used in the scientific and engineering fields. The microstructures of yttrium oxide films can be modified effectively by adjusting the substrate temperature and bias voltage, which also have effects on dielectric properties of yttrium oxide films. In this work, the dielectric properties of yttrium oxide films grown on Pt film, which exhibit the distinct microstructures with cubic-phase and monoclinic-phase domination manipulated by different substrate temperatures and bias voltages, have been investigated systematically. High substrate temperature as well as large bias voltage can decrease the loss tangent and enhance the dielectric constants up to 56 and 40, respectively. Furthermore, the driven force of temperature is more favorable than that of bias voltage for enhanced dielectric constant due to fewer defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional crystals-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates are a research hot spot in the realm of chemistry and biology. Herein, a novel hybrid substrate based on AuNPs/GaTe/Au-film is proposed and fabricated for SERS activity. Finite-difference time-domain numerical simulations demonstrate that the plasmonic coupling in the hybrid structure, particularly the LSPs coupling of AuNPs and Au-film, promotes an enhanced electric field and consequently, greatly enhances the Raman activity. Impressively, the enhancement factor of 3 × 105 and the limiting detection concentration of 10−14 M have been achieved for the rhodamine 6G molecules, which are equivalent to the best results achieved from the patterned graphene substrates. Due to its simple structure, cost-effectiveness, good uniformity, reproducibility, and stability, it is expected that such a SERS substrate will open up a new way toward the ultrasensitive detection of molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of VO2 films with different thicknesses (from about 25 nm to 250 nm) were prepared on sapphire substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The deposition times varied from 15 min to 150 min. The metal to insulator transitions (MIT) of the films were studied. The optical transmittance of the films to infrared light (with a wavelength of 4.0 µm) at room temperature (30°C) varied significantly with film thickness, ranging from 86.53% to 41.01%. The modulation property also changes with thickness, decreasing from 22.89% to 14.74%. The phase transition temperature remained approximately 70°C during heating, and approximately 53°C during cooling, despite a tenfold increase in the deposition time, and the resulting thickness of the films. Raman spectroscopy of the films indicated that the intensities of the characteristic peaks corresponding to V2O5 increase with the increasing of film thickness. Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy indicated that the peaks corresponding to VO2 undergo reversible changes during heating and cooling of the films, while the peaks corresponding to V2O5 remain unchanged throughout. Careful control of the V2O5 content of the films (by varying the duration of the deposition process) allows control over their transmittance and optical modulation properties without changes in the phase transition temperature. This provides a new method of controlling the optical properties of these materials and shows promise for their potential applications in thermochromic windows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical properties of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) with varying degrees of artificial scratches have been studied with the aim of reproducing the change of visibility of an aircraft's PMMA optical windows after being damaged in their service environment. A novel maintenance method that can perfectly restore the optical property of PMMA has been identified and employed in the repair of the scratches that are formed on the surface of PMMA. This convenient and low-cost method entails polishing PMMA with different types of sandpaper to remove the scratches, and then spin-coating the repair solution in order to restore the optical properties of PMMA. The effect of this repair mechanism and parameters of the repair process were studied. The results indicated that the optical performance of PMMA is closely related to the mesh size of sandpaper, and improper parameter selection destroys the general effect of the repair. When the number of sandpaper mesh is low, the size of the abrasive particle is relatively larger, which can cause deeper friction marks on the surface of PMMA optical windows. Surface treatment using 5000 mesh sandpaper lowers surface roughness (Ra=0.566 nm), and optical transmittance in visible range can be restored to more than 88%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general approach, which can efficiently and automatically derive dispersion relations for infinite layered structures with any number of piezoelectric and elastic layers, is proposed in this paper. Based on the Stroh formalism and the dual variable and position method, the general relationship between top and bottom variables of a single layer is obtained first. Considering the different layups possibly appearing in multi-structures, three base cases are presented in detail. By combining these base cases repeatedly from the bottom of the plates to the top, we can easily write programming codes to derive dispersion relations for any general multilayered structure automatically. To verify this approach, dispersion curves and mode shapes for the film bulk acoustic resonator and the stacked crystal filter are presented in this paper. The results show good conformity with reported works and simultaneously prove the ability of our approach for complex and generally anisotropic multilayered structure. Above all, this general approach is efficient and superior to get the dispersion relations, which is convenient for further study of wave propagation characteristics in general multilayered structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nanoscale control of heating processes in the Au nanostructures from the aspects of light sources, nanoparticle morphologies, multi-layer Au shells, and nanoparticle dimers. The spatiotemporal evolution of the temperature profile inside and around the Au nanoparticles is computed using a numerical framework based on the finite element method. One-temperature model and two-temperature model are used for the calculation of continuous-wave and picosecond pulse laser, respectively. Results show that the maximum temperature increase is linear with the laser energy density, the slopes of which are various for continuous-wave laser and picosecond pulse laser. For the Au cube, ellipsoid, ring, and sphere with the same volume, the maximum resonance wavelengths locate in ~ 580 nm, 610 nm, 500 nm, and 530 nm, respectively. The trend of the maximum temperature increase agrees well with the absorption cross section. With increasing the number of the shell, a red shift occurs from 665 to 690 nm and the total absorption cross section also increases. What needs to be emphasized is that it does not need to heat the surrounding environment while the core region remains a very high temperature, which is very interesting and suitable for photothermal applications such as photothermal catalysis and nanoreaction oven. For the nanoshell dimers, it can be heated selectively by adjusting the incident angle and light wavelength for this dimer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we present a high-performance tunable plasmonic absorber based on metal-insulator-metal nanostructures. High absorption is supported over a wide range of wavelengths, which is retained well at a very wide range of incident angles too. The coupling process occurs with high absorption efficiency of ∼ 99% by tuning the thickness of the dielectric layer. In addition, a complex trapezoidal nanostructure based on simple metal-insulator-metal structures by stacking different widths of Cu strip-nanostructures in the vertical direction has been put forward to enhance light absorption based on selective absorption. A trapezoidal sample has been designed with a solar absorption as high as 95% at wavelengths ranging from 300 nm to 2000 nm for different operating temperatures. Furthermore, the optical absorber has a very simple geometric structure and is easy to integrate into complex photonic devices. Perfect absorption and easy fabrication of the metal-insulator-metal structure make it an attractive device in numerous photonic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report a facile cation-exchange method to synthesize three different metal@dual sulfide hybrid nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic properties. Starting from clusters of Au@Ag2S with a poorly crystalline shell, excess amounts of Cd2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ are used to promote the thermodynamically unfavored cation-exchange under elevated temperature. The change of shell compositions accompanies the disassembly of Au@Ag2S clusters into monodisperse ternary core–shell nanostructures with modulated optical properties. Interestingly, it is found that Au@Ag2S–CdS outperforms Au@Ag2S–ZnS and Au@Ag2S–PbS in the visible-light-driven photodegradation of methylene blue, which can be largely attributed to the improved shell crystallinity, enhanced visible light absorption and appropriate band alignment for charge transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the finite element method and two-temperature model were used to optimize the near electric field, photothermal conversion efficiency, and local heating of SiO2@Au core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) using water as the dispersion medium. The optimal core-shell sizes to achieve maximum near electric field enhancement, photothermal conversion efficiency, and local heating were 14 nm/6 nm, 8 nm/3 nm, and 24 nm/12 nm. The optimized core-shell ratio decreased with increasing the optimized wavelength for both near electric field and photothermal conversion optimizations. In the local heating or temperature increase, due to the existence of thermal boundary conductance, a temperature drop was observed between the electrons and the lattice, the electrons and the dielectrics, and the NP and the surrounding water. All these barriers and high absorption ability led to a temperature increase in the NP region. All optimized core-shell NPs achieved surface plasmon resonance for different targets. Comparison between different optimized targets with a normalized processing function indicated a smaller optimized core-shell size and core-shell ratio were obtained with a consideration of greater effect of the NP radius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lossy mode resonance (LMR) is the resonance of the lossy mode with a specific type of guided mode. LMR can be generated both for TE and TM polarizations; hence, it can overcome the problem of the polarization and make up for deficiencies in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). However, conventional LMR sensors get much lower figure of merit (FOM) by comparison with SPR sensors. Based on the deficiency of LMR sensor in FOM performance, a new type of graphene thin layer LMR sensor is proposed in this paper to greatly improve FOM performance and enhance the detection sensitivity of the target in practical applications. In particular, the maximum value of FOM as high as 410 RIU−1 has been reached in TM mode for the LMR sensor which is nearly 10 times that of SPR sensor. It is believed that the proposed LMR sensor will be widely used in biological detection, chemical inspection, and environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review: The management of the malignant axilla remains a controversial topic. Although many issues have been resolved with the results of randomised controlled trials, there are still areas where evidence is lacking. This review will focus on the current diagnostic methods used to detect lymph node (LN) metastases as well as the impact of volume of LN disease on the choice of axillary management. The roles of surgical excision, radiotherapy and systemic therapy as treatment modalities for LN metastases will also be explored with particular emphasis on the use of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Lastly, new innovations in contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) will be discussed as a potential test for precise and personalised axillary staging.Recent Findings: The results of the ACOSOG Z011 trial are widely accepted and axillary conservation is now part of mainstream practice in many parts of the World for patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases and clinical T1/ T2 N0 M0 tumours who had breast-conserving surgery alongside adjuvant whole breast radiotherapy and systemic therapy. Determining the volume of metastatic disease in the axilla is important for treatment decisions and de-escalation of axillary surgery after NACT in patients with biopsy proven pretreatment LN metastases may become part of routine practice for selected patients once long-term outcomes are known. Novel methods to identify LN metastases have been developed over the last 10 years including the use of injected microbubbles and CEUS to locate and biopsy sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). Technological advances including ultrafast and super-resolution ultrasound have the potential to increase the diagnostic accuracy of axillary CEUS.Summary: The main drawback to current axillary management is the lack of a reliable objective test to quantify LN metastases. The de-escalation of axillary surgery is timely but without an objective non-invasive imaging test to replace the axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), clinicians are reliant on predictive medicine rather than precision diagnostics to plan individual treatment. New innovations in CEUS have the potential to provide a reproducible non-invasive test, which can be used in the future to investigate LN metastases in patients with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and effective strategy is introduced for the direct growth of SiC nanowires, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and graphene on target substrates via a solid-state process based on the use of a solid amorphous carbon source. The desired products were synthesized in large quantities via the thermal treatment of laminated sandwich film precursors at 900 °C under a protective Ar atmosphere. The growth mechanisms and evolution models of the SiC nanowires, CNTs, and graphene were studied in detail and were proposed to be a combination of a dissolution-precipitation process and a confined reaction from a laminated sandwich film precursor. The combination of this fabrication process (which also enables the simultaneous patterning of the proposed nanostructures) with the inherent properties of SiC nanowires, CNTs, and graphene therefore represents significant progress in the functional patterning of nanomaterials for use in a range of potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmons in metals have great impact on light emission, propagation, and detection in visible and infrared light wave frequencies. To explore plasmonic effect on the THz detection, both a backside-illuminated and a topside-illuminated blocking impurity band (BIB) THz detectors are developed and significant influence of plasmonic effect on the performance of BIB THz detectors is observed. The plasmonic effect in the heavily doped semiconductor layer of BIB THz detectors causes high reflectance of THz radiation which curtails the detection frequencies of the backside-illuminated BIB detectors. However, due to the advantages of flip-chip package and high quantum efficiency, the dark current, the responsivity, and the detectivity of the backside-illuminated detector shows superior characteristics to the topside-illuminated detector. The performance of the THz detector could be further improved with the suppression of the plasmonic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]