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The Li−CO2 batteries utilizing greenhouse gas CO2 possess advantages of high energy density and environmental friendliness. However, these batteries following Li2CO3‐product route typically exhibit low work voltage (<2.5 V) and energy efficiency. Herein, we have demonstrated for the first time that cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) as homogeneous catalyst can elevate the work plateau towards 2.98 V, which is higher than its theoretical discharge voltage without changing the Li2CO3‐product route. This unprecedented discharge voltage is illustrated by mass spectrum and electrochemical analyses that CoPc has powerful adsorption capability with CO2 (−7.484 kJ mol−1) and forms discharge intermediate of C33H16CoN8O2. Besides high discharge capacity of 18724 mAh g−1 and robust cyclability over 1600 hours (1000 mAh g−1 cut‐off) at a current density of 100 mA g−1, the batteries show high temperature adaptability (−30–80 °C). Our work is paving a promising avenue for the progress of high‐efficiency Li−CO2 batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Directly coupling N2 and CO2 to synthesize urea by photocatalysis paves a sustainable route for urea synthesis, but its performance is limited by the competition of photogenerated electrons between N2 and CO2, as well as the underutilized photogenerated holes. Herein, we report an efficient urea synthesis process involving photogenerated electrons and holes in respectively converting CO2 and N2 over a redox heterojunction consisting of WO3 and Ni single‐atom‐decorated CdS (Ni1‐CdS/WO3). For the photocatalytic urea synthesis from N2 and CO2 in pure water, Ni1‐CdS/WO3 attained a urea yield rate of 78 μM h−1 and an apparent quantum yield of 0.15 % at 385 nm, which ranked among the best photocatalytic urea synthesis performance reported. Mechanistic studies reveal that the N2 was converted into NO species by ⋅OH radicals generated from photogenerated holes over the WO3 component, meanwhile, the CO2 was transformed into *CO species over the Ni site by photogenerated electrons. The generated NO and *CO species were further coupled to form *OCNO intermediate, then gradually transformed into urea. This work emphasizes the importance of reasonably utilizing photogenerated holes in photocatalytic reduction reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Directly coupling N2 and CO2 to synthesize urea by photocatalysis paves a sustainable route for urea synthesis, but its performance is limited by the competition of photogenerated electrons between N2 and CO2, as well as the underutilized photogenerated holes. Herein, we report an efficient urea synthesis process involving photogenerated electrons and holes in respectively converting CO2 and N2 over a redox heterojunction consisting of WO3 and Ni single‐atom‐decorated CdS (Ni1‐CdS/WO3). For the photocatalytic urea synthesis from N2 and CO2 in pure water, Ni1‐CdS/WO3 attained a urea yield rate of 78 μM h−1 and an apparent quantum yield of 0.15 % at 385 nm, which ranked among the best photocatalytic urea synthesis performance reported. Mechanistic studies reveal that the N2 was converted into NO species by ⋅OH radicals generated from photogenerated holes over the WO3 component, meanwhile, the CO2 was transformed into *CO species over the Ni site by photogenerated electrons. The generated NO and *CO species were further coupled to form *OCNO intermediate, then gradually transformed into urea. This work emphasizes the importance of reasonably utilizing photogenerated holes in photocatalytic reduction reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas sensors for ammonia (NH3) play a crucial role in the maintenance of air quality, preservation of the atmosphere, and evaluation of human health. However, the endeavor to attain a high level of sensitivity in detecting NH3 under ambient conditions remains a challenging task. In this work, poly(3‐hexylthiophene)s and titanium dioxide (P3HT‐TiO2) heterostructure NH3 gas‐sensitive material was prepared, and by drop‐casting the material onto a substrate with Au interdigital electrodes, a sensor for high‐response detection of NH3 at room temperature was constructed. The designed gas sensor exhibited a high response signal of 114.61 % toward 15 ppm NH3 at room temperature (25 °C) with good reproducibility, strong long‐term stability, and excellent selectivity. Moreover, by analyzing the response law of the sensor under different humidity conditions, it has been noted that both excessively high and excessively low levels of humidity adversely affect the sensor's response. The remarkable increase in NH3 sensing properties is attributed to the synergistic enhancement effect of P−N heterojunction formed between P3HT and TiO2. This NH3 gas sensor exhibits tremendous potential for use due to its straightforward structure and outstanding ammonia sensing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Currently, anterior‐only (AO), posterior‐only, and combined anterior–posterior spinal fusions are common strategies for treating cervical kyphosis in patients with neurofibromatosis‐1 NF‐1. Nevertheless, the choice of surgical strategy remains a topic of controversy. The aim of our study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of anterior decompression and spinal reconstruction for the treatment of cervical kyphosis in patients with NF‐1. Methods: Twelve patients with NF‐1‐associated cervical kyphotic deformity were reviewed retrospectively between January 2010 and April 2020. All patients underwent AO correction and reconstruction. The X‐ray was followed up in all these patients to assess the preoperative and postoperative local kyphosis angle (LKA), the global kyphosis angle (GKA), the sagittal vertical axis, and the T1 slope. The visual analog scale score, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, and neck disability index (NDI) score were used to evaluate the improvement inclinical symptoms. The results of the difference in improvement from preoperatively to the final follow‐up assessment were assessed using a paired t‐test or Mann–Whitney U‐test. Results: The LKA and GKA decreased from the preoperative average of 64.42 (range, 38–86) and 35.50 (range, 10–81) to an average of 16.83 (range, −2 to 46) and 4.25 (range, −22 to 39) postoperatively, respectively. The average correction rates of the LKA and GKA were 76.11% and 111.97%, respectively. All patients had achieved satisfactory relief of neurological symptoms (p < 0.01). JOA scores were improved from 10.42 (range, 8–16) preoperatively to 15.25 (range, 11–18) at final follow‐up (p < 0.01). NDI scores were decreased from an average of 23.25 (range, 16–34) preoperatively to an average of 7.08 (range, 3–15) at the final follow‐up (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Anterior‐only correction and reconstruction is a safe and effective method for correcting cervical kyphosis in NF‐1 patients. In fixed cervical kyphosis cases, preoperative skull traction should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To analyze and summarize the clinicopathological features, risk factors for cervical nodal metastasis, and prognostic factors of malignant sublingual gland tumors (MSLGT). Methods: Patients diagnosed with MSLGT were retrospectively reviewed from January 2005 to December 2017 at Shanghai Ninth Hospital. The clinicopathological features were summarized, and the correlations between clinicopathological parameters, cervical nodal metastasis, and local–regional recurrence were evaluated using the Chi‐square test. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis were performed to assess the survival and independent prognostic factors. Results: Seventy‐nine patients were included, and the 5‐year overall survival and disease‐free survival rates was 85.7% and 71.7%, respectively. Gender and clinical tumor stage were risk factors for cervical nodal metastasis. Tumor size and pathological lymph node (LN) stage were independent prognostic factors for adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the sublingual gland; while age, pathological LN stage, and distant metastasis were prognostic factors for patients with non‐ACC of the sublingual gland. Patients with higher clinical stage were more likely to undergo tumor recurrence. Conclusions: Malignant sublingual gland tumors are rare, and neck dissection should be performed in male MSLGT patients with higher clinical stage. Among patients with both ACC and non‐ACC MSLGT patients, pN+ indicate a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: There is no consensus on the treatment of moderate‐to‐severe rigid scoliosis. Anterior release and three‐column osteotomy are excessively traumatic, whereas posterior column osteotomy (PCO) alone results in poor outcomes. An emerging surgical technique, posterior intervertebral release (PR), can release the rigid spine from the posterior approach. This study was performed to compare the multi‐segment apical convex PR combined with PCO and PCO alone in patients with moderate‐to‐severe rigid scoliosis. Methods: From June 2021 to June 2022, this prospective study of moderate‐to‐severe (Cobb: 70–90°) rigid scoliosis (flexibility of main curve <25%) involved two groups defined by surgical procedure: the PR group, the patients undergoing PR combined with PCO; and the PCO group, the patients undergoing PCO alone. Follow‐up was at least 12 months. Radiographic results mainly included main curve Cobb, correction of per PR/PCO segment, apical vertebra rotation (AVR) and apical vertebra translation (AVT). Demographics, surgical data, complications were also recorded. Student's independent samples t test and Pearson's chi‐square test were used to compare the differences between groups. Results: Forty patients with an average age of 16.65 years were included (PR group, n = 20; PCO group, n = 20). The main curves averaged 77.56° ± 5.86° versus 78.02° ± 5.72° preoperatively and 20.07° ± 6.73° versus 33.58° ± 5.76° (p < 0.001) at the last follow‐up in the PR and PCO groups, respectively. The mean correction rates were 74.30% and 56.84%, respectively (p < 0.001). The average coronal curve correction was 13.49° per release segment, which was significantly higher than the PCO correction of 6.20° (p < 0.001). The correction of apical vertebra rotation and translation in the main thoracic curve was significantly better in the PR group than in the PCO group (p < 0.05). Several minor complications in the two groups improved after conservative treatment. Conclusion: The multi‐segment apical convex PR combined with PCO offers more advantages than PCO alone in the treatment of patients with moderate‐to‐severe rigid scoliosis. Owing to its excellent corrective effect and few complications, this is a high benefit–risk ratio surgical strategy for rigid scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special work involves hot work, confined space, blinding‐pipeline operation with stop plate, work at height, lifting work, temporary electricity, excavation work, work for road breaking, and other work, which may cause harm or damage to the operators themselves, surrounding buildings, equipment, and facilities. In this article, we conducted a statistical investigation on 154 large and above hazardous chemical accidents that occurred between 2008 and 2021 in China, and found that there were 58 accidents that occurred in special work alone, accounting for 37.7% of the total number of accidents. However, at present, no statistical analysis has been conducted on the characteristics of special work accidents in China. Therefore, this paper analyzes the special work accidents in terms of six aspects: categories of special work, industry distribution, enterprise scales, provincial location distribution, time‐volatility characteristics, and accident causes. Moreover, this article puts forward countermeasures and suggestions, aiming to provide useful information for the prevention of special work accidents in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a retrospective study on myelodysplastic syndrome-associated haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (MDS-HLH), a rare condition characterized by blood disorders and immune system abnormalities. The study found that MDS-HLH is underexplored in previous literature and provided insights into its clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes. Patients in the study exhibited bone marrow dysplasia and karyotypic abnormalities, and the timing of HLH onset correlated with the risk of MDS. Treatment should prioritize controlling HLH, although the prognosis for MDS-HLH remains poor. The study was conducted ethically and the raw data will be available for non-commercial use. [Extracted from the article]

A gradient current collector (GCC) can encourage preferential Li metal deposition on the more lithiophilic/conductive bottom of 3D anodes, enhancing the reversibility of the battery. However, as the deposition proceeds, the reduction of lithophilicity/conductivity easily causes the disturbance of Li+ flux. Herein, a brand‐new bicomponent‐bidirectional gradient current collector (BGCC) is proposed. The BGCC constructs slow‐release additives with reverse gradient distribution (SA gradient) based on GCC, allowing it to build a position‐responsive solid electrolyte interface layer. Additionally, as the deposition amount increases, the slow‐release additives will release more and present a stronger ability to regulate Li+ flux, ensuring the anodereversibility under large deposition amounts conditions. Consequently, asymmetric cells can exhibit high reversibility with an average coulomb efficiency (CE) of 97.8% and sustain over 200 cycles using carbonate‐based electrolytes. The Li@BGCC||LiFePO4 full cells hold a capacity retention of 94.8% over 400 cycles with thin Li. Notably, even at low temperatures, the Li@BGCC anodes can exhibit a CE as high as 98.46% and excellent capacity retention of 97.8% after 100 cycles paired with NCM811 cathodes. This strategy opens up a new direction for the development of 3D current collectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Recently, the MRI‐based vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score has been shown to correlate with Hounsfeld units (HU) value, dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) T‐score and predict osteoporotic fractures. Preoperative cervical HU value is an independent correlative factor for early titanium mesh cage (TMC) subsidence after anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF). However, to date the direct association between cervical VBQ score and TMC subsidence has not been studied. This study aims to investigate the predictive effect of cervical VBQ score derived from sagittal non‐contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted MRI on the early TMC subsidence after ACCF. Methods: Patients who underwent one‐level ACCF from January 2016 to January 2020 were included. We retrospectively collected baseline data on age, sex, body mass index (BMI), disease type, level of surgery and radiology parameters. The cervical VBQ score was measured using preoperative non‐contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted MRI. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to screen the independent risk factors of TMC subsidence. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC) were performed to assess the predictive ability of TMC subsidence based on the cervical VBQ score. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the correlations between the cervical VBQ score and TMC subsidence. Results: A total of 134 patients who underwent one‐level ACCF were included in this study, and 46 (34.33%) patients had TMC subsidence. Univariable analyses demonstrated that the age, TMC placement depth and VBQ score were associated with subsidence. The cervical VBQ score in the subsidence group was significantly higher than that in the no subsidence group (3.75 ± 0.45 vs. 3.20 ± 0.42, p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis proved that the higher VBQ score (odds ratio[OR] = 13.563, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.968 ‐ 37.031, p < 0.001) was the only variable that significantly predicted subsidence. Using a VBQ score cutoff value of 3.445, the cervical VBQ score yielded a sensitivity of 69.6% and a specificity of 85.2% with an AUC of 0.810 to differentiate patients with subsidence and with no subsidence. Conclusion: Preoperative higher cervical VBQ score is an independent risk factor for TMC subsidence after ACCF. The cervical VBQ score may be a valuable tool for assisting in distinguishing the presence of TMC subsidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The treatment of scoliosis with a severe rib hump remains a major challenge. Traditional vertebral rotation techniques are not satisfactory, and thoracoplasty has many pulmonary complications that limit its application. A novel surgical device, the multiple screw distraction reducer (MSDR) system, provides longitudinal distraction during the corrective operation while at the same time providing lateral translation and axial derotation, which may facilitate the correction of a rib hump. This study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of the MSDR system for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) with a severe rib hump. Methods: This was a case‐matched study of patients with retrospectively collected data from our hospital between January 2017 and December 2021. Sixty‐eight patients who underwent one‐stage posterior pedicle screw‐instrumented spinal fusion were matched by the Cobb angle of the main curve and rib hump. All patients underwent a minimum of 2 years of follow‐up. The patients were divided into two groups: the MSDR group (using the MSDR system, n = 34) and the DVR group (using direct vertebral derotation, n = 34). The patients were evaluated for the height of the rib hump, deformity correction, complications, and SRS‐30 scores. The unpaired Student's t‐test and Pearson's χ2‐test were used to compare the outcome measures between the two groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the variables that affected the correction of a rib hump. Results: The rib hump was 30.21 ± 6.21 mm versus 29.35 ± 6.52 mm (p = 0.583) preoperatively and 9.18 ± 4.06 mm versus 13.82 ± 5.54 mm (p < 0.001) at the last follow‐up in the MSDR and DVR groups, respectively. The correction rates were 70.83% and 53.56%, respectively (p < 0.001). Preoperatively, the main thoracic curve was 58.43° ± 7.97° and 57.84° ± 6.32° (p = 0.736) and was corrected to 10.92° ± 5.47° and 19.14° ± 5.32° (p < 0.001) at last follow‐up in the MSDR and DVR group, respectively. Thoracic kyphosis was restored from 18.24° ± 5.19° and 17.98° ± 5.28° (p = 0.836) in the MSDR and DVR group to 24.59° ± 4.41° and 19.32° ± 4.96° (p < 0.001), respectively. Correction of apical vertebra rotation and translation in the main thoracic curve were significantly better in the MSDR group than in the DVR group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the Lenke type, implant density, estimated blood loss, or follow‐up duration between the two groups, whereas the operation time in the DVR group was significantly less than that in the MSDR group. There were only two minor pulmonary complications in the MSDR group. At the last follow‐up, the MSDR group scored higher in terms of appearance and satisfaction (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The MSDR system, enabling better coronal alignment, thoracic kyphosis, and axial derotation, could be a safe and effective technique for severe rib hump correction in AIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have confirmed that the nanohydroxyapatite/polyamide‐66 (n‐HA/PA66) cage is an ideal alternative material for degenerative lumbar disease (DLD) comparable to the polyether ether ketone (PEEK) cage due to its similar radiographic fusion, subsidence rate, and clinical results. However, these studies were restricted to one‐level surgery. The aim of this study was to analyze the long‐term clinical and radiologic outcomes between n‐HA PA66 cage and PEEK cage for patients with multi‐level degenerative lumbar diseases (DLDs). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent multi‐level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) from June 2010 to December 2016 with a minimum 6‐year follow‐up. Matched‐pair analysis was performed using a 1‐to‐1 closest neighbor approach to match patients who received an n‐HA PA66 cage with those who received a PEEK cage. Clinical outcomes and radiographic evaluations were compared between the two groups. The independent student's t‐test and χ2‐test were applied to compare the differences between groups. Results: At the end of the propensity score matching (PSM) analysis, 48 patients from n‐HA/PA66 group were matched to 48 patients in the PEEK group. No significant difference was observed in cage subsidence and bony fusion except for adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). The occurrence of ASD was 14.58% (7/48) in the n‐HA/PA 66 group, which was significantly less than that in the PEEK group (33.33% [16/48]) (p = 0.031). Although the intervertebral space height (IH), segmental angle (SA) and lumbar lordosis (LL) significantly increased after surgery in both groups, there was no significant difference at any time point after surgery (p > 0.05). The visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores significantly improved in both groups at 3m postoperative, 1y postoperative and at final follow‐up. However, there were no significant differences in the VAS and ODI score at any time point (p > 0.05). The total complications and re‐admission rate were not different between the two groups. Conclusion: Overall, our data suggest that the outcomes of n‐HA/PA66 cage group are comparable to those of the PEEK cage group, with a similar high fusion rate and low cage subsidence rate as PEEK cages, except its lower rate of ASD occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power prediction enables advance prediction of the future capacity of wind farms to improve production, increase capacity and reduce costs, however, wind power generation data are highly unstable, making it difficult to achieve high‐precision prediction. Signal decomposition methods and optimization algorithms allow for data smoothing and optimization of parameter settings, but the limitations of parameter dependency and the slow optimization search process prevent existing research from being applied in a practical setting. To address these issues, this article proposes a multiscale ultra‐short‐term wind power prediction model based on particle swarm optimization based on greedy dynamic and integrated fitness evaluation method (GD‐IFEM‐PSO) and variational mode decomposition and back propagation network (VMD‐BP). First, this article improves the velocity update formula in the particle swarm optimization algorithm by the proposed GD weight and sets up a fitness function using multiple evaluation metrics by the proposed integrated fitness evaluation method (IFEM), so that the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm achieves high efficiency in the optimization search while ensuring the comprehensiveness of the evaluation. Second, the variable mode decomposition (VMD) decomposition algorithm is used to decompose the historical wind power data to achieve smoothing of the wind power data, and the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to optimize the K and ⍺ values in the VMD decomposition algorithm to improve the comprehensive performance of the decomposition. Then, to achieve data reduction and fast model training, the components are divided into trend components, low‐frequency vibration components, high‐frequency vibration components, and random noise components according to the central frequency, so that the model can better grasp the data trend while reducing the number of components and achieving high prediction accuracy. Finally, the different components are predicted by the BP neural network and the predicted values of the different categories of components are reconstructed into the final wind power prediction values. To demonstrate the rationality and progressiveness of the proposed model, several models are compared on several data sets, and the results show that the proposed model has faster prediction speed and higher prediction performance, and is more suitable for application in real‐world environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have found satisfactory clinical results with the nano‐hydroxyapatite/polyamide 66 (n‐HA/PA66) cage to reconstruct the stability of anterior cervical column. However, studies evaluating the long‐term outcomes of the n‐HA/PA66 cage in multi‐level degenerative cervical myelopathy (MDCM) have not been reported. This study aims to compare the outcomes of corpectomy anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) hybrid procedures between the n‐HA/PA66 cage and titanium mesh cage (TMC) to treat MDCM. Methods: After the screening for eligibility, this retrospective study involved 90 patients who underwent corpectomy ACDF hybrid (CACDFH) procedure from June 2013 to June 2018. The CACDFH procedure is the combination of ACDF and anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF). According to the cage utilized, we categorized patients into a n‐HA/PA66 cage group and a TMC group. Then, stepwise propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to maintain comparable clinical data between groups. All the patients were followed up ≥4 years and the longest follow‐up time was 65.43 (±11.49) months. Cage subsidence, adjacent segment degeneration (ASD), segmental height (SH), segmental angle (SA), cervical lordosis (CL), and clinical data (visual analogue scale [VAS] and Japanese Orthopaedic Association [JOA] score) was evaluated preoperatively, at 1 week, and at the final surgery follow‐up. The independent student's t test and chi‐square test were applied to compare the differences between groups. Results: Through PSM analysis, 25 patients from the n‐HA/PA66 group were matched to 25 patients in the TMC group. The occurrence of ASD was 16.0% (4/25) in the n‐HA/PA 66 group, which was significantly less than in the TMC group at 44.0% (11/25) (p = 0.031). Moreover, the cage subsidence rate was significantly higher in the TMC group as compared to the n‐HA/PA 66 group (40.0% vs. 12.0%, p = 0.024). But there was no significant difference in SH, SA, and CL at any time after surgery as determined through follow‐up. The VAS and JOA scores significantly improved in both groups at 3 months postoperative and at final follow‐up. However, there were no significant differences in the VAS and JOA score at any time between the two groups in preoperative (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The n‐HA/PA66 cage is associated with lower rate of cage subsidence and ASD than the TMC in the treatment of MDCM. The n‐HA/PA66 cage could be superior to the TMC in corpectomy ACDF hybrid procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Decreased bone mineral density (BMD) is associated with complications in implantation surgery for severe spinal deformity. In this quantitative study, we aimed to investigate the impact of halo‐pelvic traction on vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) and identify the risk factors for a decrease in BMD. Methods: Patients who underwent halo‐pelvic traction at our hospital between 2019 and 2022 were included in the study. Patients' data, including height, weight, and BMD pre‐ and post‐traction, were collected and analyzed. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) was used to determine the BMD. The paired rank sum test was used to evaluate the changes in each measurement parameter. Linear regression was used to identify risk factors for a decrease in BMD. Results: Fifteen patients were included in the study, nine women and six men, with an average age of 21.2 ± 7.3 years. Eleven patients had severe rigid scoliosis, while four had tuberculotic kyphosis. One expert measured the BMD values of 345 vertebrae using QCT. The average traction time was 143.3 ± 44.4 days. The average pre‐traction BMD was 183.1 ± 73.8 mg/cm3, and the average post‐traction BMD was 140.5 ± 61.3 mg/cm3 (p < 0.01) Patients' height increased from an average of 151.3 ± 12.8 cm pre‐traction to 165.5 ± 13.7 cm post‐traction (p < 0.01), with traction length averaging 14.3 ± 6.2 cm (p < 0.01). The Cobb angle of the main curve declined from an average of 112.5° ± 24.4° pre‐traction to 67.7° ± 19.8° post‐traction (p < 0.01). Linear regression revealed a positive correlation between BMD loss and traction length and a negative correlation between BMD loss and correction rate. Conclusions: Halo‐pelvic traction can lead to a decrease in the BMD of the spinal vertebrae, with traction length positively correlated with BMD loss and correction rate negatively correlated with BMD loss. To prevent osteoporosis, physicians should ensure a limited traction length while utilizing better management techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The therapeutic regimen of submandibular gland carcinoma (SGC) has not reached consensus, especially for the neck treatment of patients with cN0. Materials and methods: Patients with SGC were identified from the medical database of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital. Kaplan–Meier analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression were employed to evaluate the survival and independent prognostic factors. Results: Two hundred and fifteen patients with SGC were retrospectively reviewed. The 5‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 71.5% and 77.8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that histological grade, cT classification, cN classification, and perineural invasion (PNI) were independent prognostic factors for DFS, while histological grade, cT classification, cN classification, and age were those for OS. The neck dissection showed no significant survival benefit for patients with cN0. Lung was the most common site of distant metastasis (16.7%). Conclusions: Histological grade, cT classification, cN classification, age, and PNI were independent prognostic factors of patient with SGC, which should be the main considerations for making therapeutic regimens. Our study also verifies the neck dissection of patient with cN0 is unnecessary, and postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) is vital for patients with pN+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Unmanned Aerial Spraying System (UASS) has emerged as an advanced, precise, and efficient tool for pesticide application in numerous nations in recent years. Despite this, there is a noticeable gap in research advocating viable, quantifiable methodologies for application parameter optimization. This investigation was primarily oriented toward identifying optimal UASS application parameters. It did so by exploring the effects of varying spray volumes and flight parameters on spray performance in a comprehensive manner, and by assessing the biological potency of aerial insecticide application against Rice Planthopper (RPH) using the optimal parameters, aided by two types of nozzles in rice field settings. RESULTS: Increased spray volume increased the spray deposition. Working height impacted the distribution of spray deposition, with a higher working height leading to superior distribution uniformity. Both spray volume and working height were observed to influence spray deposition and its percentage in tandem. Upon factor analysis, the optimal parameters determined for rice at the heading stage were an application volume of 15.0 L·ha−1, a working height of 2.0 m, and a driving speed of 5.0 m·s−1. Under these parameters, the air‐induction twin flat fan nozzle IDKT120‐015 demonstrated approximately 5% higher spray deposition than the flat fan nozzle SX11001VS, albeit with inferior distribution uniformity. Both nozzle types achieved over 93.0% control efficacy against RPH using triflumezopyrim, persisting for up to 40 days post‐treatment. CONCLUSION: This study furnishes invaluable insights and data for controlling rice planthopper via UASS pesticide application, contributing to the progress of modern intensive and sustainable agriculture. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although direct isthmic repair, such as PSVPH, did not affect the mobility of the fixed segment and adjacent segment, it has a relatively low rate of isthmic fusion compared with conventional fusion. The Isobar TTL dynamic internal fixation system has been widely used in clinical practice and has achieved satisfactory clinical results. However, the use of the Isobar TTL system in combination with direct isthmic repair for lumbar spondylolysis has rarely been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and radiologic outcomes between patients who underwent Isobar TTL system and PSVPH with direct repair of defect for lumbar spondylolysis. Methods: Stepwise propensity score matching (PSM) for age and sex were performed to keep comparable clinical data between groups in this retrospective and matched‐pair case control study. A total of 50 patients diagnosed with lumbar spondylolysis underwent surgical implantation of the Isobar TTL group (n = 25) or PSVPH group (n = 25) from June 2009 to June 2016. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Oswestry disability index (ODI), and visual analog score (VAS). Radiographic evaluations included range of motion (ROM) and the disc heights of stabilized segment and adjacent segment, adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) and bony fusion. Three‐dimensional reconstruction of lumbar CT scan was obtained to evaluate bone fusion of the isthmic at final follow‐up. The independent Student's t test and chi‐square test were applied to compare the differences between groups. Results: A total of 25 patients from TTL group were matched to 25 patients in PSVPH group for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), defect side, spondylolisthesis meyerding, and follow‐up duration. The intervertebral space height (IH) of stabilized segment at postoperative 1 week and final follow‐up in the TTL group was higher than those in the PSVPH group, respectively (P = 0.030; P = 0.013). The ROM of stabilized segment at final follow‐up in the TTL group was significantly lower than that in the PSVPH group (P < 0.001). The bony fusion rate at the final follow‐up was 88.0% (22/25 cages) in the TTL group and 80.0% (20/25 cages) in the PSVPH group. The ODI score at final follow‐up in the TTL group was significantly lower than that in the PSVPH group (P = 0.007). Conclusion: Overall, our data suggest that the Isobar TTL system outcomes are comparable to those in the PSVPH, with a similar high bony fusion rate as PSVPH, especially its wider indications as a new surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: At present, the influence of Modic changes (MCs) on postoperative fusion rate of lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is mainly focused on the medium‐ and long‐term fusion rate, while the short‐term fusion rate has not been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the short‐term fusion rate of lumbar degenerative disease patients with and without MCs after single level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Methods: In this retrospective and matched‐pair case control study, we included 100 patients who underwent TLIF from January 2017 to January 2020 and had at least two follow‐up visits over a two‐year period. Fifty patients with MCs (MCs group) were matched with 50 patients without MCs (non MCs group) for age, sex, surgical level, diagnosis, operative time, and intraoperative blood loss. We collected the X‐ray and computed tomography (CT) data of patients from 3 months to 2 years after the operation to assess bony fusion and the cage union ratio. According to the type of cage, the MCs group was further divided into the nano‐hydroxyapatite/polyamide 66 (n‐HA/PA66) group and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) group, and the fusion performance between the two groups was compared. Finally, age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking and cage type were included in the logistic regression model for risk factor analysis. Results: The bony fusion rates in the MCs group at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after surgery were significantly lower than those in the non MCs group (P < 0.05) (23.8% vs 62.5%, 52.6% vs 78.9%, 61.1% vs 83.3%, 74.0% vs 90.0%). The average coronal cage union ratios of the upper and lower endplates in the MCs group were significantly lower than those in the non MCs group (54.3% ± 17.5% vs 75.0% ± 17.2%, P < 0.05; 73.3% ± 12.0% vs 84.9% ± 8.0%, P < 0.05). Similarly, analogous results were obtained by comparing the MCs and non MCs groups' three‐dimensional CT sagittal plane images (62.5% ± 16.5% vs 76.1% ± 12.4%, P < 0.05; 67.0% ± 13.9% vs 79.8% ± 11.5%, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Short‐term fusion rates were lower in the MCs group than in the non MCs group. The coronal and sagittal cage union ratio in the MCs group was lower than that in the non MCs group. The fusion performance of n‐HA/PA66 and PEEK cages in the MCs group was comparable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease with limited therapeutic options at present, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is recognized as a major cause of lung fibrosis. Our previous work has confirmed that total extract of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge [Asparagaceae] exerted the effect of anti‐PF. As a main constituent of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge [Asparagaceae], the effect of timosaponin BII (TS BII) on drug‐induced EMT process in PF animals and alveolar epithelial cells remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effect of TS BII on bleomycin (BLM)‐induced PF. The results showed that TS BII could restore the structure of lung architecture and MMP‐9/TIMP‐1 balance in fibrotic rat lung and inhibit collagen deposition. Moreover, we found that TS BII could reverse the abnormal expression of TGF‐β1 and EMT‐related marker proteins including E‐cadherin, vimentin, and α‐SMA. Besides, aberrant TGF‐β1 expression and phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3 in BLM‐induced animal model and TGF‐β1‐induced cell model were downregulated by TS BII treatment, indicating that EMT in fibrosis was suppressed by inhibition of TGF‐β/Smad pathway both in vivo and in vitro. In summary, our study suggested that TS BII could be a promising candidate for PF treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conjecture of breast cancer is uncertain because of its explosive growth and the complicated molecular mechanisms. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are regulatory RNA sequences present in the genome and their regulatory mechanism involves the sponging of microRNAs (miRNAs). In this study, we explored the regulation between circular forms of dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (circDOCK1) (hsa_circ_0007142) and miR‐128‐3p, and its implication on the pathogenesis of breast cancer modulated by never in mitosis (NIMA) related kinase 2 (NEK2). We revealed an increase in circDOCK1 and NEK2 expression, and a decrease in miR‐128‐3p expression in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation indicated a positive correlation between circDOCK1 and NEK2 expression but a negative correlation was recorded between miR‐128‐3p and circDOCK1 or NEK2, respectively. Furthermore, inhibition of circDOCK1 expression was followed by an increase in miR‐128‐3p and a decrease in NEK2 levels in vitro and in vivo. The luciferase assay concluded that miR‐128‐3p was a direct target of circDOCK1 while NEK2 was the direct target of miR‐128‐3p. Furthermore, circDOCK1 inhibition hindered breast cancer development by repressing NEK2 and thus promoting the increased expression of miR‐128‐3p both in vitro and in vivo. We therefore conclude that circDOCK1 promotes breast cancer progression by targeting miR‐128‐3p‐mediated downregulation of NEK2 and that the circDOCK1/hsa‐miR‐128‐3p/NEK2 axis may be a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Multiple hemivertebrae (MHV) is defined as three or more hemivertebrae, and is relatively uncommon among patients with congenital scoliosis. This study aimed to compare the natural history of different kinds of MHV and describe the surgical outcome of MHV. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 50 patients diagnosed with MHV were enrolled from June 2007 to June 2018. The medical records and radiographs of these patients were reviewed to summarize the characteristics of MHV. Patients with MHV were divided into the unbalanced (UB) group, partially unbalanced (PUB) group, and completely balanced (CB) group. Medical records and radiographs of MHV patients were reviewed to collect HV position, natural history, coronal and sagittal parameters. A Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the radiographical data, such as the cobb angle of main curve and secondary curve, and Fisher's exact test was used to compare the patients in different kinds of MHV with surgical indication or not. Results: The average number of hemivertebrae was 3.6 and the average main curve was 57.5°. Twenty‐four of 50 patients had associated anomalies, including four patients with sacral agenesis, one with tetralogy of Fallot, two with congenital imperforate anus, and 17 with Klippel‐Feil syndrome. In 22 patients who underwent MRI imaging, three patients had mild syringomyelia and three patients had diastematomyelia. The UB and PUB groups had a larger main curve and compensatory curve than the CB group. Of the 25 patients with follow‐up before surgery, the curve progression rate was highest in the UB group (12.1°/year) but similar in the PUB group (4.2°/year) and CB group (3.6°/year). All patients in the UB and PUB group met the criteria for surgery. In contrast, only 10 of 23 patients in the CB group had surgical indications. Eighteen of the 37 patients with surgical indications chose to undergo surgery and the correction rate of the main curve was 51.4%. Conclusions: Early surgical intervention should be considered for most patients with UB or PUB MHV. For patients with CB MHV, surgical treatment may not be urgently needed at the first visit. Posterior hemivertebrectomy could be used for the treatment of MHV with satisfying radiographic outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimodal abstractive summarisation (MAS) aims to generate a textual summary from multimodal data collection, such as video‐text pairs. Despite the success of recent work, the existing methods lack a thorough analysis for consistency across multimodal data. Besides, previous work relies on the fusion method to extract multimodal semantics, neglecting the constraints for complementary semantics of each modality. To address those issues, a multilayer cross‐fusion model with the reconstructor for the MAS task is proposed. Their model could thoroughly conduct cross‐fusion for each modality via layers of cross‐modal transformer blocks, resulting in cross‐modal fusion representations with consistency across modalities. Then the reconstructor is employed to reproduce source modalities based on cross‐modal fusion representations. The reconstruction process constrains the fusion representations with the complementary semantics of each modality. Comprehensive comparison and ablation experiments on the open domain multimodal dataset How2 are proposed. The results empirically verify the effectiveness of the multilayer cross‐fusion with the reconstructor structure on the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic and locoregional metastatic features of carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of submandibular gland (SMG‐CXPA) and improve the understanding of this uncommon condition. Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who were diagnosed with SMG‐CXPA. The survival data of SMG‐CXPA patients were statistically analyzed using Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier method. The associations between cervical metastasis and clinicopathological parameters were evaluated using chi‐squared test. Additionally, two different histological categories (histological grade and invasiveness) and their combination were evaluated with the Kaplan–Meier method and receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: In total, 86 patients were diagnosed: 38 clinically node‐negative, 31 pathologically node‐negative, and 17 node‐positive patients. Clinical tumor stage and histological grade were two independent prognostic factors for SMG‐CXPA. There were significant correlations between sex, tumor size, clinical tumor stage, clinical lymph node stage, histological grade, invasiveness, malignant components, perineural invasion, and no specific criteria exist for the clinical outcome. Conclusion: SMG‐CXPA is a high‐grade malignancy with an unfavorable prognosis. Elective neck dissection should be performed in SMG‐CXPA patients with a risk of locoregional metastasis. Histological grade seems to be a more valuable predictor of lymph node involvement than invasiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin is highly susceptible to foreign pathogens when damaged. Infections usually lead to serious damage to wounds and hinder wound healing, which results in nonhealing and inflammation of the wounds. Herein, a kind of fibrous membrane incorporated with calcium peroxide nanoparticles (n‐CaO2) is fabricated by electrospinning the polymer blend solution of polycaprolactone and gelatin. The obtained membranes show a randomly distributed nanofibrous structure with n‐CaO2 particles embedded in each fiber. Such a structure endows the membranes with medium hydrophilicity and improves blood clotting in comparison with the commonly used gauze, while the loading of n‐CaO2 achieves the in situ generation and rapid release of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), enabling FM‐10 to display a robust bacteria inhibition of over 90% elimination to E. coli. The in vitro cytocompatibility experiment on the fibrous membranes demonstrates low cytotoxicity to L929 fibroblasts. The in vivo assessment indicates that the fibrous membranes can distinctly accelerate the wound healing, of which FM‐5 exhibits the highest wound closure rate (>95%) after 14 days. This study provides a versatile approach, simply by varying the loading dosage of n‐CaO2 into fiber matrix, to fulfill different functions to meet the multiple needs of wound care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rechargeable Li-CO2 battery represents a sustainable technology by virtue of CO2 recyclability and energy storage capability. Unfortunately, the sluggish mass transport and electron transfer in bulky high-crystalline discharge product of Li2CO3, severely hinder its practical capacity and rechargeability. Herein, a heterostructure of isolated metalloid Te atomic cluster anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets is designed (TeAC@NCNS) as a metal-free cathode for Li-CO2 battery. X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis demonstrates that the abundant and dispersed Te active centers can be stabilized by C atoms in form of the covalent bond. The fabricated battery shows an unprecedented full-discharge capacity of28.35 mAh cm-2 at 0.05 mA cm-2 and long-term cycle life of up to 1000 h even at a high cut-off capacity of 1 mAh cm-2. A series of ex situ characterizations combined with theoretical calculations demonstrate that the abundant Te atomic clusters acting as active centers can drive the electron redistribution of carbonate via forming Te-O bonds, giving rise to poor-crystalline Li2CO3 film during the discharge process. Moreover, the efficient electron transfer between the Te centers and intermediate species is energetically beneficial for nucleation and accelerates the decomposition of Li2CO3 on the TeAC@NCNS during the discharge/charge process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incomplete Multi‐View Clustering aims to enhance clustering performance by using data from multiple modalities. Despite the fact that several approaches for studying this issue have been proposed, the following drawbacks still persist: (1) It is difficult to learn latent representations that account for complementarity yet consistency without using label information; (2) and thus fails to take full advantage of the hidden information in incomplete data results in suboptimal clustering performance when complete data is scarce. In this study, Contrastive Incomplete Multi‐View Image Clustering with Generative Adversarial Networks (CIMIC‐GAN), which uses Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to fill in incomplete data and uses double contrastive learning to learn consistency on complete and incomplete data is proposed. More specifically, considering diversity and complementary information among multiple modalities, we incorporate autoencoding representation of complete and incomplete data into double contrastive learning to achieve learning consistency. Integrating GANs into the autoencoding process can not only take full advantage of new features of incomplete data, but also better generalise the model in the presence of high data missing rates. Experiments conducted on four extensively used data sets show that CIMIC‐GAN outperforms state‐of‐the‐art incomplete multi‐View clustering methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The undesirable interactions between the charge carriers (Li+) and various objects in the special microenvironment of batteries would cause uneven lithium (Li) metal deposition behavior, which severely impedes the application of Li metal batteries (LMBs). In recent years, many works focus on optimizing these interactions by functional molecules/ions modification. Nevertheless, related reviews are still absent. Here, this review introduces the regulation methods of Li metal deposition from molecular/ionic designs, which is a new perspective including Li+ flux homogenization, the de‐solvation process regulation, optimizing the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in conventional solvation structure and anion‐rich solvation structure. Also, the general design principles are studied in each mechanism and some suggestions are proposed in the prospective future directions, aiming to guide the development of molecular/ionic designs and the actual application of LMBs with high energy densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a meta‐analysis to evaluate the effect of prophylactic central neck dissection following total thyroidectomy on surgical site wound infection, hematoma, and haemorrhage in subjects with clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinoma. A systematic literature search up to April 2022 was performed and 3517 subjects with clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinoma at the baseline of the studies; 1503 of them were treated with prophylactic central neck dissection following total thyroidectomy, and 2014 were using total thyroidectomy. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the effect of prophylactic central neck dissection following total thyroidectomy on surgical site wound infection, hematoma, and haemorrhage in subjects with clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinoma using the dichotomous method with a random or fixed‐effect model. The prophylactic central neck dissection following total thyroidectomy subjects had a significantly lower surgical site wound infection (OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20–0.78, P =.007) in subjects with clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinoma compared with total thyroidectomy. However, prophylactic central neck dissection following total thyroidectomy did not show any significant difference in hematoma (OR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.43–2.71, P =.87), and haemorrhage (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.26–1.97, P =.52) compared with total thyroidectomy in subjects with clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinoma. The prophylactic central neck dissection following total thyroidectomy subjects had a significantly higher surgical site wound infection, and no significant difference in hematoma, and haemorrhage compared with total thyroidectomy in subjects with clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinoma. The analysis of outcomes should be with caution because of the low number of studies in certain comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aberrant differentiation of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells plays an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the mechanism of regulating Tfh cells differentiation remains unclear. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as important regulators in the processes of innate and adaptive immune response. Whether lncRNAs are involved in regulating Tfh cell differentiation and autoimmune responses need to be further identified. Methods: The characters and functions of human IL21‐AS1 and its mouse homologous lncRNA (mIl21‐AS) were investigated by a series of biochemical assays and cell transfection assay. mIl21‐AS1 regulating humoral immune response in vivo was explored by keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) and chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) model. Results: Human IL21‐AS1 and its mouse homologous lncRNA (mIl21‐AS) were identified and cloned. We uncovered that IL21‐AS1 was highly expressed in CD4+ T cells of SLE patients and Tfh cells, which promoted differentiation of Tfh cells. Mechanistically, IL21‐AS1 bound heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U and recruited acetyltransferases CREB‐binding protein to the promoter of IL21, leading to the transcriptional activation of IL21 and Tfh cells differentiation through increasing Histone H3 acetylation level on IL21 promoter. Moreover, Tfh proportion and antibodies production were significantly increased in mIl21‐AS knock‐in mice immunized with KLH. mIl21‐AS1 overexpression also exacerbated the lupus‐like phenotype in cGVHD mice model. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that IL21‐AS1 activates IL21 transcription via epigenetic mechanism to promote germinal centre response, adding insight into the molecular regulation of autoimmune pathogenesis and providing a novel target for SLE treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep multi‐model clustering is a challenging task for data analysis since it learns a universal semantic representation to find correct clusters from heterogeneous samples. However, most existing methods 1) lack an effective approach to getting a global representation of visual instances, which results in a huge semantic gap between visual and textual space. 2) hardly consider partial multi‐modal, where each instance is represented by only one modality. In reality, the pairing information for modalities is not available for all instances. To tackle the above issues, we propose a novel model called the Two‐Stage Partial Image‐Text Clustering (TPIT‐C) model. Firstly, we build an interpretable reasoning network to obtain the salient regions and semantic concepts of the scene in order to generate global semantic concepts. Secondly, we construct an adversarial learning module to align textual and visual instances into a unified space by virtue of cycle‐consistency. The experimental evaluations on public unpaired multi‐model datasets illustrated that the proposed method has better performance and the effectiveness of our algorithm in the partial image‐text clustering task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex shaped bone defects that need to be filled are very common in clinic. But after filling, gaps are inevitably left between substitutes and host bone due to the poor conformability of preformed implants, hence hindering bone regeneration. Therefore, based on our previous study, we here used the bioink (named PPG) composed of polyurethane, polyacrylamide, and gelatin with optimized composition ratio to three‐dimensionally (3D) print an inorganic/organic composite hydrogel scaffold with self‐expandability to fill irregular bone defects and bioactivity to accelerate bone healing through adjusting the content of bioactive ceramic (BC). The results indicated that, the 3D printed BC/PPG scaffold had a rough surface on each fiber; with the incorporation of BC powders, the composite hydrogel scaffolds in swelling experiments could perform a comparable self‐adaptability to PPG hydrogel scaffold; the bioactive ions including Ca, Mg, and Si could be released from the composite scaffold and induce the rapid deposition of bone‐like apatite. The mechanical tests proved that the BC(10%)/PPG scaffold was the top performer under compression. The in vitro cell assessment illustrated that compared with PPG hydrogel scaffold, the BC/PPG composite scaffolds were more favorable to the proliferation and spreading of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high activation barrier, inferior rate performance, and short cycling life severely constrain the practical applications of the high‐capacity Li2S cathode. Herein, we fabricate a Li2S−Cu nanocomposite with a drastically reduced activation potential, fast rate capability, and extraordinary cycling stability even under a practically relevant areal capacity of 2.96 mAh cm−2. Detailed experimental investigations aided by theoretical calculations indicate that instead of converting to S8 via troublesome soluble lithium polysulfides, Li2S is thermodynamically and kinetically more favorable to react with Cu by the displacement reaction, which alters the redox couple from Li2S/S to Cu/Cu2S, leading to the excellent electrochemical performance. Moreover, the stability of the composite is demonstrated in the full‐cell configuration consisting of commercial graphite anodes. This work provides an innovative and effective approach to realize highly activated and stable Li2S cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sluggish kinetics of CO2 reduction and evolution reaction (CRR and CER) on the Li–CO2 battery cathode seriously hindered its practical application. Rational design of the Ru/C interface is expected to simultaneously decrease the free energy barrier of intermediate species and create a favorable electronic structure, effectively promoting the catalytic reaction kinetics of the CRR and CER. Herein, a 3D self‐supporting cellulose carbon aerogel (CCA) with well‐defined Ru/C interfaces (Ru@CCA) is synthesized as an advanced CO2‐breathing cathode for Li–CO2 batteries. The results show that the energy efficiency significantly improves to 80% with a high discharge capacity of 10.71 mA h cm−2 at 20 µA cm−2, and excellent cyclic stability of 421 cycles at 100 µA cm−2. These outstanding performances are highly competitive compared with state‐of‐art Li–CO2 cathodes. In addition, the unique interface design strategy is applied to other non‐noble metal@CCA cathodes, which confirms the advantages of constructing nanostructure metal/C interfaces for improving the kinetics of CRR and CER. This fundamental understanding of the structure–performance relationship provides new inspiration for designing highly efficient cathode catalysts for Li–CO2 batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general silhouette‐based gait recognition methods usually rely on binary human silhouette, which is easily affected by external factors, making it unsuitable for situations while wearing heavy clothes or carrying objects, etc. In this study, a new skeleton‐based gait recognition model is proposed. The model first extracts the spatial and temporal features of gait using the space and time relationship between body joints, and second, it eliminates redundant features by decomposing the feature map, to achieve a better recognition accuracy in the presence of external factors. Through abundant experiments on two common datasets, CASIA‐B and OUMVLP‐Pose, the proposed model has been proved to have higher recognition accuracy and remarkable robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncontrolled dendrite formation in the high energy density of lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) may pose serious safety risks. While numerous studies have attempted to protect separators, these proposed methods fail to effectively inhibit upward dendrite growth that punctures through the separator. Here, we introduce a novel "orientated‐growth" strategy that transfers the main depositional interface to the anode/current collector interface from the anode/separator interface. We placed a layer of cellulose/graphene carbon composite aerogel (CCA) between the current collector and the anode (LCL‐bottom). This layer works as a charge organizer that induces a high current density and encourages Li to deposit at the anode/current collector interface. Both in situ and ex situ images of the electrode demonstrate that the anode part of the cell has been flipped; with the newly deposited particles facing the current collector and the smooth surface facing the separator. The electrode in half and full cells showed outstanding cyclic stability and rate capability, with the LCL‐bottom/LFP full cell capable of maintaining 94 % of its initial capacity after 1000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hence, we quantitatively investigated the changes in vascular density (VD) of the superficial capillary plexuses (SCP), deep capillary plexuses (DCP) and choriocapillaris within the macula, and the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT), in patients with VKH after glucocorticoid therapy. GLO:FQR/01jul21:ceo13932-fig-0003.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): 3 Changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA); subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT); and vascular densities (VD) of superficial capillary plexuses (SCP), deep capillary plexuses (DCP), and choriocapillaris. The thickened choroid usually causes oedema and compresses the choroidal vessels in the acute stage of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH), leading to impaired blood flow, which is attributed to inflammatory cell infiltration and necrotising granuloma.1 Choroidal microcirculation disturbance is a critical issue related to the treatment outcome. [Extracted from the article]

CD44, a cell‐surface glycoprotein, functions as a receptor for hyaluronic acid. Our research group has previously shown that CD44 is a biomarker for the CD44hi cells (tumor‐initiating cells; TICs) in murine salivary gland tumors. However, little is known concerning the biological roles of CD44 in the tumorigenesis of pleomorphic adenoma. The present study is aimed to investigate the effects of CD44 on the proliferation, invasive capability, and apoptosis of TICs in vitro, as well as the tumorigenicity of TICs in vivo. The results demonstrated that knockdown of CD44 attenuated the malignant phenotype of TICs. Furthermore, in vivo xenograft studies indicated that CD44 knockdown inhibited tumorigenesis of pleomorphic adenoma. In addition, neither the CD44low cells nor the CD44‐modified CD44low cells developed neo‐tumors, which indicated that overexpression of CD44 did not enable the CD44low cells to be transformed into TICs. Taken together, these data demonstrate that CD44 not only acts as a biomarker, but also functions as a key player in the tumor‐initiating capacity of TICs. These results shed light on the pathogenesis of salivary gland tumors and provide a potential therapeutic target for treating pleomorphic adenoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients on peritoneal dialysis are at risk of developing peritoneal fibrosis and angiogenesis, which can lead to dysfunction of the peritoneal membrane. Recent evidence has identified cross‐talk between transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) and the WNT/β‐catenin pathway to induce fibrosis and angiogenesis. Limited evidence exists describing the role of non‐canonical WNT signalling in peritoneal membrane injury. Non‐canonical WNT5A is suggested to have different effects depending on the receptor environment. WNT5A has been implicated in antagonizing canonical WNT/β‐catenin signalling in the presence of receptor tyrosine kinase‐like orphan receptor (Ror2). We co‐expressed TGFB and WNT5A using adenovirus and examined its role in the development of peritoneal fibrosis and angiogenesis. Treatment of mouse peritoneum with AdWNT5A decreased the submesothelial thickening and angiogenesis induced by AdTGFB. WNT5A appeared to block WNT/β‐catenin signalling by inhibiting phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B) and reducing levels of total β‐catenin and target proteins. To examine the function of Ror2, we silenced Ror2 in a human mesothelial cell line. We treated cells with AdWNT5A and observed a significant increase in fibronectin compared with AdWNT5A alone. We also analysed fibronectin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a TGFB model of mesothelial cell injury. Both fibronectin and VEGF were significantly increased in response to Ror2 silencing when cells were exposed to TGFB. Our results suggest that WNT5A inhibits peritoneal injury and this is associated with a decrease in WNT/β‐catenin signalling. In human mesothelial cells, Ror2 is involved in regulating levels of fibronectin and VEGF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The replacement of normal endometrial epithelium by fibrotic tissue is the pathological feature of intrauterine adhesion (IUA), which is caused by trauma to the basal layer of the endometrium. COL5A2 is a molecular subtype of collagen V that regulates collagen production in fibrotic tissue. Here, we investigated the roles of Foxf2 and Smad6 in regulating the transcription of COL5A2 and their involvement in the pathogenesis of IUA. Small interference‐mediated Foxf2 (si‐Foxf2) silencing and pcDNA3.1‐mediated Smad6 (pcDNA3.1‐Smad6) up‐regulation were performed in a TGF‐β1‐induced human endometrial stromal cell line (HESC) fibrosis model. Assessment of collagen expression by Western blotting, immunofluorescence and qRT‐PCR showed that COL5A2, COL1A1 and FN were significantly down‐regulated in response to si‐Foxf2 and pcDNA3.1‐Smad6. Transfection of lentivirus vector‐Foxf2 (LV‐Foxf2) and pcDNA3.1‐Smad6 into HESCs and qRT‐PCR showed that Foxf2 promoted COL5A2 expression and Smad6 inhibited Foxf2‐induced COL5A2 expression. Co‐immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual‐luciferase reporter assays to detect the interaction between Foxf2 and Smad6 and their role in COL5A2 transcription showed that Foxf2 interacted with Smad6 and bond the same promoter region of COL5A2. In a rat IUA model, injection of ADV2‐Foxf2‐1810 and ADV4‐Smad6 into the uterine wall showed that Foxf2 down‐regulation and Smad6 up‐regulation decreased fibrosis and the expression of COL5A2 and COL1A1, as detected by haematoxylin/eosin, Masson trichrome staining and immunohistochemistry. Taken together, these results suggested that Foxf2 interacted with Smad6 and co‐regulated COL5A2 transcription in the pathogenesis of IUA, whereas they played opposite roles in fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxia‐induced extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition is an important cause of renal fibrosis that is triggered by unknown mechanisms. Human epididymis secretory protein 4 (HE4) is a newly discovered key molecule that causes ECM deposition. We used the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mouse model to investigate the expression and mechanisms of HE4 in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis. Results were confirmed in the HK2 cell line and in human donors of kidney tissue with chronic kidney disease. Hypoxia significantly increased HE4 in renal tubular epithelial cells. HE4 overexpression activated the NF‐κB pathway through the NF‐κB transcription‐activating group P65 by phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. NF‐κB upregulated tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases 1, which may inhibit ECM degradation through inhibition of matrix metallopeptidase 2 activity. Silencing HE4 inhibited hypoxia‐induced ECM deposition and alleviated fibrosis in UUO mice in vivo and blocked NF‐κB activation in vitro. Expression of HE4 in the tubulointerstitium was positively correlated with tubulointerstitial fibrosis in tissue samples from patients with chronic kidney disease. Our results suggest that hypoxia induces renal fibrosis by upregulating HE4 and activating the HIF‐1α/HE4/NF‐κB signaling pathway. Uncovering the molecular mechanisms and function of HE4 overexpression in hypoxia‐induced renal fibrosis will provide important insights into understanding renal fibrosis and antifibrotic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]