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Context Ferulic acid ethyl ester (FAEE) is abundant in Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (Apiaceae) and grains, and possesses diverse biological activities; but the effects of FAEE on osteoporosis has not been reported. Objective This study investigated whether FAEE can attenuate osteoclastogenesis and relieve ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis via attenuating mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Materials and methods We stimulated RAW 264.7 cells with receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) followed by FAEE. The roles of FAEE in osteoclast production and osteogenic resorption of mature osteoclasts were evaluated by tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, expression of osteoclast-specific genes, proteins and MAPK. Ovariectomized (OVX) female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered FAEE (20 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks to explore its potential in vivo, and then histology was undertaken in combination with cytokines analyses. Results FAEE suppressed RANKL-induced osteoclast formation (96 ± 0.88 vs. 15 ± 1.68) by suppressing the expression of osteoclast-specific genes, proteins and MAPK signalling pathway related proteins (p-ERK/ERK, p-JNK/JNK and p-P38/P38) in vitro. In addition, OVX rats exposed to FAEE maintained their normal calcium (Ca) (2.72 ± 0.02 vs. 2.63 ± 0.03, p

The super large data scale and complex structure of deep models show excellent performance in processing and application of Internet data,but reduce the interpretability of AI systems.Counterfactual Explanations(CE) has received much attention from researchers as a special kind of explanation approach in the field of interpretability research.Counterfactual Explanations can be regarded as a kind of generated data in addition to being an explanation.From the viewpoint of application,this paper proposes an approach for generating counterfactual explanations with high data fidelity,called generative link tree(GLT),which uses a partitioning strategy and a local greedy strategy to construct counterfactual explanations based on the cases appearing in the training data.Moreover,it summarizes the generation methods of counterfactual explanations and select popular datasets to verify the GLT method.In addition,the metric of “Data Fidelity (DF)” is proposed to evaluate the fidelity and potential application of the counterfactual explanation as data from an experimental perspective.Compared with the baseline method,the data fidelity of the counterfactual explanation generated by the GLT method is significantly higher than that of the counterfactual explanation gene-rated by the baseline model.

Urea electrosyntehsis from CO2 and NOx is a challenging reaction that is becoming increasingly important. This work uses ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the origin of C-N coupling mechanisms and reaction networks in urea synthesis.

Precise synthesis of high‐quality, sophisticated heterostructures by ordered assembly of small nanomaterials is a key step to gain advanced materials that have elaborate functionalities, collective properties, and enhanced stabilities for mitigating the energy and environment crisis. Intricating in the structure, size, and shape of nanomaterials, ordered assembly of isotropic or anisotropic nanoscale building blocks to create specified heterostructures remains challenging, owing to the extraordinary challenges in design of lattice topology of distinct nanounits and in control of their crystallization, growth, and assembly mechanism/kinetics. Herein, the emerging methodologies to prepare a diversity of ordered heterostructures with strengthened particle–particle interaction are examined and synergistic properties are enhanced. It is aimed to unlock the principles to regulate the geometrical and electronic properties of these intriguing kinds of heterostructures for respective sustainable energy and environmental applications. Current challenges and opportunities in customization of ordered heterostructure at the nanoscale and atomic level are also discussed.

Room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) has been achieved in Mn-doped InSb nanowires (NWs) through experiment. However, the underlying cause of RTFM remains unclear. In this paper, using first-principles calculations, the distribution of Mn ions and magnetic properties of Mn-doped wurtzite and zinc blend InSb NWs have been investigated. Our results indicate that wurtzite (In,Mn)Sb NWs can exhibit superior ferromagnetic behavior compared to zinc blend (In,Mn)Sb NWs. The distribution of Mn ions and magnetic properties in the (In,Mn)Sb NWs is influenced by their size, surface passivation and crystal structure. Furthermore, the ferromagnetic coupling is short-range in passivated (In,Mn)Sb NWs, and as the size of the NW decreases, the Mn-3d level becomes a deep acceptor in the band gap, resulting in an enhancement of ferromagnetism.

The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a ligand-activated cytoplasmic receptor.Activation of MR in different cells can cause cardiovascular inflammation, oxidative stress, tissue remodeling ,and even function change the activity of ion channels resulting in incidence of arrhythmia through various mechanisms.MR antagonists are effective medicine to treat hypertension,coronary heart disease,and heart failure. In addition, the role of MR in arrhythmia and pulmonary hypertension also provides new perspectives for future clinical medication.

While light-driven water splitting offers a renewable means to produce fuel, the limited availability of high-performance materials inspires the search for new photocatalysts. Here, authors demonstrate two-dimensional NiPS3 to enhance semiconductor photocatalytic H2 evolution activities.

Objective To verify the accuracy and cost of the value of serum sodium fluctuation in predicting adverse clinical outcomes, and to propose a warning value of serum sodium fluctuations for early warning of in-hospital death and summarize the methodology for setting warning values. Methods This investigation covered all patients admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. Patients with normal serum sodium at the time of admission and older than 18 years old were included. Patients without serum sodium retested during the hospitalization were excluded. Clinical characteristics including gender, age, primary diagnosis, and causes of death were documented and laboratory examinations were collected including all serum sodium values during hospitalization. The highest and lowest values among all measurements of serum sodium during hospitalization were identified. The difference between the highest and lowest serum sodium value was defined as the fluctuation value of serum sodium level.The area under the curve (AUC) of sodium fluctuations predicting in-hospital death was calculated. The specificities and sensitivities were calculated with the cut-off points of 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 mmol/L. A warning related to death in the hospital was defined as a true warning, and a warning unrelated to death in the hospital was defined as a false warning. The number of false warnings was defined as the cost of warning.The ratio of the true warnings to the total warnings was defined as the efficiency of warning. An appropriate cut-off point was selected for combined accuracy, cost, and efficiency of warning. Results In total, 33 323 hospitalization records met the inclusion criteria, of which 191 patients (0.57%) died. 148 records of death were analyzed. Among these patients, 53 died from tumor (35.6%), 52 died from infection (34.9%), 46 died from respiratory failure (30.9%), and 26 died from heart failure (17.4%), 6 died from sudden death (4.0%), 5 died from cerebral hemorrhage (3.4%), 6 died from bleeding from other parts (4.0%), and 1 died from cerebral herniation (0.7%).There were 75 patients (50.7%) experienced serum sodium fluctuations within 10 days before death. The average serum sodium fluctuation was (13.36±8.62)mmol/L, and the highest was 35 mmol/L. Serum sodium fluctuation predicted in-hospital death with an AUC of 85.2% (95% CI:81.8%-88.5%). Predicting in-hospital death with a serum sodium fluctuation greater than 20 mmol/L had a specificity of 99.0% and a sensitivity of 28.8%. If serum sodium fluctuation greater than 20 mmol/L was set as a warning value, 28.8% of hospital deaths would be identified, the number of warnings would be 397, the number of true warnings would be 55, the cost of warning would be 342, and the efficiency of warning would be 13.9%. Conclusions Serum sodium fluctuation greater than 20 mmol/L could be used as a biomarker value for early warning of in-hospital death with high accuracy and low management cost. Serum sodium fluctuations greater than 20 mmol/L is a warning value point and can be potentially used as a predicting warning to suppot the identification of critically ill patients and thus to improve the management of inpatients at high risk of death.

Abstract Purpose To explore the relationship between the genotype and renal phenotype in a Chinese cohort and guide clinical decision-making for treating tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Materials and methods We reviewed 173 patients with definite TSC at three centers in China from September 2014 to September 2020. All the patients underwent TSC1 and TSC2 genetic testing as well as renal phenotypic evaluation. All analyses were performed using the SPSS software, version 19.0, with a cut-off P value of 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results We identified variants in 93% (161/173) cases, including 16% TSC1 and 77% TSC2 variants. Analysis of the relationship between the genotype and renal phenotype, revealed that those with TSC2 variants were more likely to develop severe renal AML (> 4) (P = 0.044). In terms of treatment, TSC2 variants were more likely to undergo nephrectomy/partial nephrectomy (P = 0.036) and receive mTOR medication such as everolimus (P

Abstract Objective To establish a digital model of the ankle joint through 3D imaging technology and explore the preoperative placement of ankle replacement prostheses. Methods Computed tomography images of intact ankle joints from 54 cases in the outpatient and inpatient departments of our hospital were collected; according to the INBONE® total ankle system surgery process, the surgery model and surgical osteotomy were finished using MIMICS based on computer simulation method. The shortest distance was measured between the center point and the anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral, respectively, to ensure the precise position of the ankle replacement prosthesis by digital simulation surgery. The relationship between the two variables was analyzed by bivariate correlation analysis. Results The dataset of this study included 48 cases of the sub‐data set (26 males and 22 females) and included 27 cases of left ankle and 21 cases of right ankle. The average medial malleolar angle was 18.67°± 2.87°, the average amount of bone resection was 12.13 ± 1.86 cm3, the mid‐anterior distance was 1.72 ± 0.19 cm, the mid‐posterior distance was 2.00 ± 0.19 cm, the ratio of mid‐anterior to mid‐posterior was 0.87, the mid‐medial distance was 1.26 ± 0.17 cm, the mid‐lateral distance was 1.19 ± 0.16 cm, and the ratio of mid‐medial to mid‐lateral was 1.06. After osteotomy, the anteroposterior diameter was 3.73 ± 0.32 cm, the transverse diameter was 2.46 ± 0.27 cm, and the ratio of anteroposterior diameter to transverse diameter was 1.53. In the bottom view, the shape after osteotomy is rectangular. The mid‐anterior distance was strongly negatively correlated with age, the mid‐anterior distance and the amount of bone resection, the mid‐medial distance and the amount of bone resection, the mid‐lateral distance and the amount of bone resection, the mid‐lateral distance and the anteroposterior diameter, the anteroposterior diameter and the transverse diameter were all strongly positively correlated. Conclusion The projection point of the lower tibia centerline on the tibial horizontal osteotomy surface is located at a position slightly anterior to the midpoint of the transverse diameter after ankle arthroplasty. The rational positioning of the total ankle replacement is located at both a position slightly anterior to the midpoint of the transverse diameter and midpoint of the anteroposterior diameter, which can be used as a reference method before total ankle arthroplasty surgery.

It is of high interest to convert CO2 into valuable ethanol product. Here the authors demonstrate the asymmetric C-C coupling triggered on Ag-modified oxide-derived Cu sites can accelerate and steer the reaction pathway for ethanol production with high faradaic efficiency and current density.

Introduction: Adipose tissue deposited on the viscera is the main culprit in the development of insulin resistance (IR) and cardiometabolic diseases, whereas subcutaneous adipose tissue may have a protective role. This study aimed to propose a new predictive index – the visceral-fat area (VFA)-to-hip-circumference ratio (VHR) and explore its efficacy for prediction of IR in a Chinese population with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: A total of 643 patients with newly diagnosed diabetes were enrolled in this study. Body composition, anthropometrical, and biochemical measurements were performed. IR was defined as homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) > 2.69. The association between VHR and IR was analyzed. Results: Regardless of gender, subjects in the IR group had higher VHR, body mass index (BMI), VFA, body fat percentage, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, triglyceride (TG), uric acid (UA), homocysteine, and aminotransferases than those in the non-IR group. The other concomitant metabolic disorders were more common in the IR group. Further analysis showed that with the increase of VHR, the levels of HOMA-IR, BMI, VFA, DBP, TG, UA and the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty-liver disease, hypertension, and hyperuricemia increased continuously (p trend

Zn dendrite growth and water-related side reactions have been criticized to hinder actual applications of aqueous Zn-ion batteries. To address these issues, a series of Zn interfacial modifications of building solid/electrolyte interphase (SEI) and nucleation layers have been widely proposed, however, their effectiveness remains debatable. Here, we report a boron nitride (BN)/Nafion layer on the Zn surface to efficiently solve Zn problems through combining the hybrid working mechanisms of SEI and nucleation layers. In our protective layer, Nafion exhibits the SEI mechanism by blocking water from the Zn surface and providing abundant channels for rapid Zn2+ transmission, whilst BN nanosheets induce Zn deposition underneath with a preferred (002) orientation. Accordingly, dendrite-free and side-reaction-free Zn electrode with (002) deposition under the protective layer is realized for the first time, as reflected by its high reversibility with average Coulombic efficiency of 99.2% for > 3000 ​h. The protected Zn electrode also shows excellent performance in full cells when coupling with polyaniline cathode under the strict condition of lean electrolyte addition. This work highlights insights for designing highly reversible metal electrodes towards practical applications.

Abstract Owing to the large built‐in field for efficient charge separation, heterostructures facilitate the simultaneous realization of a low dark current and high photocurrent. The lack of an efficient approach to engineer the depletion region formed across the interfaces of heterojunctions owing to doping differences hinders the realization of high‐performance van der Waals (vdW) photodetectors. This study proposes a ferroelectric‐controlling van der Waals photodetector with vertically stacked two‐dimensional (2D) black phosphorus (BP)/indium selenide (In2Se3) to realize high‐sensitivity photodetection. The depletion region can be reconstructed by tuning the polarization states generated from the ferroelectric In2Se3 layers. Further, the energy bands at the heterojunction interfaces can be aligned and flexibly engineered using ferroelectric field control. Fast response, self‐driven photodetection, and three‐orders‐of‐magnitude detection improvements are achieved in the switchable visible or near‐infrared operation bands. The results of the study are expected to aid in improving the photodetection performance of vdW optoelectronic devices.

Hesperetin is a natural flavonoid with many biological activities. In view of hyperuricemia treatment, the effects of hesperetin in vivo and in vitro, and the underlying mechanisms, were explored. Hyperuricemia models induced by yeast extract (YE) or potassium oxonate (PO) in mice were created, as were models based on hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase (XOD) in L-O2 cells and sodium urate in HEK293T cells. Serum level of uric acid (UA), creatinine (CRE), and urea nitrogen (BUN) were reduced significantly after hesperetin treatment in vivo. Hesperetin provided hepatoprotective effects and inhibited xanthine oxidase activity markedly, altered the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and catalase (CAT), downregulated the XOD protein expression, toll-like receptor (TLR)4, nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, interleukin-18 (IL-18), upregulated forkhead box O3a (FOXO3a), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in a uric acid-synthesis model in mice. Protein expression of organic anion transporter 1 (OAT1), OAT3, organic cationic transporter 1 (OCT1), and OCT2 was upregulated by hesperetin intervention in a uric acid excretion model in mice. Our results proposal that hesperetin exerts a uric acid-lowering effect through inhibiting xanthine oxidase activity and protein expression, intervening in the TLR4-NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway, and up-regulating expression of FOXO3a, MnSOD, OAT1, OAT3, OCT1, and OCT2 proteins. Thus, hesperetin could be a promising therapeutic agent against hyperuricemia.

Abstract Exploring the photoelectric performance of emerging materials represented by graphene, black phosphorus and transition metal dichalcogenides is attracting enormous research interest for a wide range of electronic and photonic applications. The realization of low-power consuming photodetectors with high sensitivity and fast photoresponse in the terahertz band remains one of the profound challenges in optoelectronics. In this study, a material-EuSn2As2 has been successfully implemented to realize highly sensitive terahertz photodetectors. The non-equilibrium dynamics in a two-dimensional plane allow an optionally switching between different styles of direct photon-conversions: the analogous photoconductive and photovoltaic modes spontaneously supported by the intrinsic electronic system. The prototype devices exhibited excellent sensitivity of 0.2–1.6 A/W (0.3–2.4 kV/W) from 0.02 to 0.30 THz at room temperature, corresponding to a noise-equivalent power

Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC) shows high metastasis and low survival. RNA modification writers play critical roles in tumor development. This study examined the clinical significance of RNA modification writers in GC prognosis based on four types of adenosine modifications (m1A, m6A, APA and A-to-I). Results Writers demonstrated high mutation and expression in GC patients. Different expressions of 26 RNA modification writers were differentially associated with GC prognosis. High-WM score group appeared worse overall survival, higher immune infiltration and activation of EMT pathways than low-WM score group. WM score was correlated with both miRNAs-targeted signaling pathways and patients’ sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs and efficacy of immunotherapy. Conclusions This study further revealed the close association between adenosine-related RNA modifications and progression of GC. A cross talk between EMT and RNA modification was identified to be one of the mechanisms underlying GC development. Our WM scoring system could serve as a clinical indicator for predicting GC prognosis. Importantly, the WM score could guide personalized treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy for GC patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of autophagy expression levels of different weight‐bearing states and different stages of osteoarthritis in animal models, as well as the corresponding mechanisms. Methods We used the male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats (12‐week‐old, SPF) to establish the OA animal models by modified Hulth method, and grouped animal models according to the length of time after surgery and different weight‐bearing areas. RT‐qPCR was carried out for detection of autophagy‐related genes such as Atg7, Atg12, P62, etc. Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression levels of corresponding autophagy‐related proteins such as LC3B, P62, etc. T test was performed for statistical analysis to compare different groups, while the differences were deemed statistically significant with P

Abstract Converting CO2 into high‐value fuels and chemicals by renewable‐electricity‐powered electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CRR) is a viable approach toward carbon‐emissions‐neutral processes. Unlike the thermocatalytic hydrogenation of CO2 at the solid‐gas interface, the CRR takes place at the three‐phase gas/solid/liquid interface near the electrode surface in aqueous solution, which leads to major challenges including the limited mass diffusion of CO2 reactant, competitive hydrogen evolution reaction, and poor product selectivity. Here we critically examine the various methods of surface and interface engineering of the electrocatalysts to optimize the microenvironment for CRR, which can address the above issues. The effective modification strategies for the gas transport, electrolyte composition, controlling intermediate states, and catalyst engineering are discussed. The key emphasis is made on the diverse atomic‐precision modifications to increase the local CO2 concentration, lower the energy barriers for CO2 activation, decrease the H2O coverage, and stabilize intermediates to effectively control the catalytic activity and selectivity. The perspectives on the challenges and outlook for the future applications of three‐phase interface engineering for CRR and other gas‐involving electrocatalytic reactions conclude the article.

Copper‐based halide perovskite, as an ideal alternative to lead‐based halide perovskite, has attracted much attention in many applications owing to its earth‐abundant element, non‐toxicity, and excellent optical properties. In this report, magnetic Mn‐incorporated lead‐free copper halide perovskite (Cs3Cu2Br5) nanocrystal (NC) is for the first time designed and prepared using a one‐pot hot‐injection route, resulting in a new emission band at ≈540 nm accompanied with self‐trapped exciton (STE) emission centered at ≈445 nm from Cs3Cu2Br5 NC. In situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and in situ kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) confirm that the Mn2+ incorporation causes efficient electron–hole separation and extended charge lifetime in Mn‐doped Cs3Cu2Br5 NC, which exhibits significantly raised selectively photocatalytic biomass conversion coupled with obviously enhanced H2O2 evolution. With an external magnetic field, the spin‐polarized electrons in Mn‐doped Cs3Cu2Br5 NC arouses reduced charge recombination and more available electrons/holes for surface redox reaction, further raising the photocatalytic performance. This is confirmed by in situ steady‐state/transient‐state photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, in situ transient photocurrent measurement, and in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with external magnetic field. In situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra reveal the radical‐involved reaction pathway for biomass conversion. This research exhibits the great potential of spin‐polarization‐enhanced photocatalysis by an external magnetic field without additional energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic-derived fungus Eutypella sp. D-1 can produce numerous secondary metabolites, and some compounds exhibit excellent biological activity. Seven pimarane-type diterpenes, including three new compounds eutypellenone F (1), libertellenone Y (2), and libertellenone Z (3), and four known compounds (4–7), were isolated from fermentation broth of Eutypella sp. D-1 by the OSMAC strategy of adding ethanol as a promoter in the culture medium. Compound 2 has a rare tetrahydrofuran-fused pimarane diterpene skeleton. The anti-inflammatory activity of all compounds was evaluated. Compounds 3–6 showed a significant inhibitory effect on cell NO release at 10 μmol/L by in vitro experiments, of which 3–5 had inhibitory rates over 60% on nitric oxide (NO) release. Subsequently, the anti-inflammatory activity of 3–5 was evaluated based on a zebrafish model, and the results showed that 3 had a significant inhibitory effect on inflammatory cells migration at 40 μmol/L, while 4 and 5 had a significant inhibitory effect at 20 μmol/L. Moreover, compounds 3–5 have the same conjugated double bond structure, which may be an important group for these compounds to exert anti-inflammatory activity.

Abstract Background Sepsis is a highly heterogeneous syndrome with stratified severity levels and immune states. Even in patients with similar clinical appearances, the underlying signal transduction pathways are significantly different. To identify the heterogeneities of sepsis from multiple angles, we aimed to establish a combined risk model including the molecular risk score for rapid mortality prediction, pathway risk score for the identification of biological pathway variations, and immunity risk score for guidance with immune-modulation therapy. Methods We systematically searched and screened the mRNA expression profiles of patients with sepsis in the Gene Expression Omnibus public database. The screened datasets were divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort. In the training cohort, authentic prognostic predictor characteristics (differentially expressed mRNAs, pathway activity variations and immune cells) were screened for model construction through bioinformatics analysis and univariate Cox regression, and a P value less than 0.05 of univariate Cox regression on 28-day mortality was set as the cut-off value. The combined risk model was finally established by the decision tree algorithm. In the validation cohort, the model performance was assessed and validated by C statistics and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Additionally, the current models were further compared in clinical value with traditional indicators, including procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). Results Datasets from two sepsis cohort studies with a total of 585 consecutive sepsis patients admitted to two intensive care units were downloaded as the training cohort (n = 479) and external validation cohort (n = 106). In the training cohort, 15 molecules, 20 pathways and 4 immune cells were eventually enrolled in model construction. These prognostic factors mainly reflected hypoxia, cellular injury, metabolic disorders and immune dysregulation in sepsis patients. In the validation cohort, the AUCs of the molecular model, pathway model, immune model, and combined model were 0.81, 0.82, 0.62 and 0.873, respectively. The AUCs of the traditional biomarkers (PCT and IL-8) were 0.565 and 0.585, respectively. The survival analysis indicated that patients in the high-risk group identified by models in the current study had a poor prognosis (P

Transferring the contralateral C7 nerve root to the median or radial nerve has become an important means of repairing brachial plexus nerve injury. However, outcomes have been disappointing. Electroencephalography (EEG)-based human-machine interfaces have achieved promising results in promoting neurological recovery by controlling a distal exoskeleton to perform functional limb exercises early after nerve injury, which maintains target muscle activity and promotes the neurological rehabilitation effect. This review summarizes the progress of research in EEG-based human-machine interface combined with contralateral C7 transfer repair of brachial plexus nerve injury. Nerve transfer may result in loss of nerve function in the donor area, so only nerves with minimal impact on the donor area, such as the C7 nerve, should be selected as the donor. Single tendon transfer does not fully restore optimal joint function, so multiple functions often need to be reestablished simultaneously. Compared with traditional manual rehabilitation, EEG-based human-machine interfaces have the potential to maximize patient initiative and promote nerve regeneration and cortical remodeling, which facilitates neurological recovery. In the early stages of brachial plexus injury treatment, the use of an EEG-based human-machine interface combined with contralateral C7 transfer can facilitate postoperative neurological recovery by making full use of the brain’s computational capabilities and actively controlling functional exercise with the aid of external machinery. It can also prevent disuse atrophy of muscles and target organs and maintain neuromuscular junction effectiveness. Promoting cortical remodeling is also particularly important for neurological recovery after contralateral C7 transfer. Future studies are needed to investigate the mechanism by which early movement delays neuromuscular junction damage and promotes cortical remodeling. Understanding this mechanism should help guide the development of neurological rehabilitation strategies for patients with brachial plexus injury.

IntroductionAutoantibodies against inflammatory cytokines may be used for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Preclinical studies consider colony-stimulating factor 2 (CSF2) as an essential cytokine with a causal relationship to atherosclerosis and cancer. We examined the serum anti-CSF2 antibody levels in patients with atherosclerosis or solid cancer.MethodsWe measured the serum anti-CSF2 antibody levels via amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay-linked immunosorbent assay based on the recognition of recombinant glutathione S-transferase-fused CSF2 protein or a CSF2-derived peptide as the antigen.ResultsThe serum anti-CSF2 antibody (s-CSF2-Ab) levels were significantly higher in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with healthy donors (HDs). In addition, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were associated with intima-media thickness and hypertension. The analyzes of samples obtained from a Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study suggested the utility of s-CSF2-Ab as a risk factor for AIS. Furthermore, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were higher in patients with esophageal, colorectal, gastric, and lung cancer than in HDs but not in those with mammary cancer. In addition, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were associated with unfavorable postoperative prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). In CRC, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were more closely associated with poor prognosis in patients with p53-Ab-negative CRC despite the lack of significant association of the anti-p53 antibody (p53-Ab) levels with the overall survival.ConclusionS-CSF2-Ab was useful for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis-related AIS, AMI, DM, and CKD and could discriminate poor prognosis, especially in p53-Ab-negative CRC.

BackgroundRecently, a locking plate (LP) combined with a suture button was applied for distal clavicle Neer type IIb fractures. However, to our knowledge, there is limited information on clinical outcomes surrounding locking plates combined with a suture button in the treatment of Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes among three different fixation techniques for the treatment of Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures.MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study of 53 patients with Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures who were treated with a hook plate (HP group, 16 patients), a locking plate alone (LP group, 18 patients), or a locking plate with a suture button (LPSB group, 19 patients) in our hospital between March 2014 and August 2019. The clinical and radiological outcomes were evaluated, including union time, postoperative complications, and function of the shoulder joint.ResultsThe follow-up period was at least 2 years for all patients. All patients in the LPSB group achieved bone healing at the final follow-up. No significant differences were observed, including age, sex, side, time to surgery, duration of surgery, and mean follow-up period among the three groups (p > 0.05). The union time was shorter in the LPSB group than in the other two groups (p

Recently, black arsenic has joined the novel 2-dimensional van der Waals layered material family as a promising candidate for electronic and photonic applications owing to the tunable bandgap with layers, high carrier mobility, and anisotropic transport feature. To date, the extraordinary technological potential of black arsenic engineering nanophotoelectronic devices in the range from visible to near-infrared wavelength has not been reported. Here, we succeed in devising black arsenic visible–infrared detectors at the range from 520 to 1,550 nm, exhibiting a photoresponsivity of 0.4 A·W−1 and a detective of 1.37 × 108 Jones. Our studies underscore black arsenic as an emerging 2-dimensional van der Waals layered material for optoelectronic applications such as near-infrared sensing and imaging.

PurposeThis study aimed to summarize the characteristics of the 100 most-cited articles on adult spinal deformity (ASD) and to analyze past and current research hotspots and trends.MethodsLiterature searches (from inception to 28 April 2022) using Web of Science databases were conducted to identify ASD-related articles. The top 100 most-cited articles were collected for further analysis. Meanwhile, author keywords from articles published in the last 5 years were selected for further analysis.ResultsThe top 100 most-cited articles on ASD were selected from 3,354 papers. The publication year ranged from 1979 to 2017, and all papers were written in English. The citation count among them ranged from 100 to 1,145, and the mean citation number was 215.2. The foremost productive first author was Schwab F. University of Washington had the largest number of publications. The United States of America had the largest number of published articles (n = 84) in this field. Spine was the most popular journal. Complications were the most studied themes. The visualization analysis of author keywords from the literature in the recent 5 years showed that complications, sagittal plane parameters, and surgical techniques are still the research hotspots, and minimally invasive surgery will continue to develop rapidly.ConclusionBased on a comparative analysis of the results of bibliometric and visualization, complications and sagittal plane parameters are still the major topics of research at present and even later, and minimally invasive surgery has a growth trend in this field of ASD.

OBJECTIVES:To evaluate a quantitative radiomic approach based on high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) to differentiate acute/sub-acute symptomatic basilar artery plaque from asymptomatic plaque. METHODS:Ninety-six patients with basilar artery stenosis underwent HR-MRI between January 2014 and December 2016. Patients were scanned with T1- and T2-weighted imaging, as well as T1 imaging following gadolinium-contrast injection (CE-T1). The stenosis value, plaque area/burden, lumen area, minimal luminal area (MLA), intraplaque haemorrhage (IPH), contrast enhancement ratio and 94 quantitative radiomic features were extracted and compared between acute/sub-acute and asymptomatic patients. Multi-variate logistic analysis and a random forest model were used to evaluate the diagnostic performance. RESULTS:IPH, MLA and enhancement ratio were independently associated with acute/subacute symptoms. Radiomic features in T1 and CE-T1 images were associated with acute/subacute symptoms, but the features from T2 images were not. The combined IPH, MLA and enhancement ratio had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.833 for identifying acute/sub-acute symptomatic plaques, and the combined T1 and CE-T1 radiomic approach had a significantly higher AUC of 0.936 (p = 0.01). Combining all features achieved an AUC of 0.974 and accuracy of 90.5%. CONCLUSIONS:Radiomic analysis of plaque texture on HR-MRI accurately distinguished between acutely symptomatic and asymptomatic basilar plaques. KEY POINTS:• High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging can assess basilar artery atherosclerotic plaque. • Radiomic features in T1 and CE-T1 images are associated with acute symptoms. • Radiomic analysis can accurately distinguish between acute symptomatic and asymptomatic plaque. • The highest accuracy may be achieved by combining radiomic and conventional features.

Incomplete conversion of sodium polysulfides represents a significant issue in room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries. Here, the authors propose Mo5N6 as an electrocatalyst for efficient Na2S electrodeposition and improved cell cycling performances.