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Abstract Background Spinal fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) mainly present as instability, involving all three columns of the spine, and surgical intervention is often considered necessary. However, in AS patients, the significant alterations in bony structure and anatomy result in a lack of identifiable landmarks, which increases the difficulty of pedicle screw implantation. Therefore, we present the clinical outcomes of robotic-assisted percutaneous fixation for thoracolumbar fractures in patients with AS. Methods A retrospective review was conducted on a series of 12 patients diagnosed with AS. All patients sustained thoracolumbar fractures between October 2018 and October 2022 and underwent posterior robotic-assisted percutaneous fixation procedures. Outcomes of interest included operative time, intra-operative blood loss, complications, duration of hospital stay and fracture union. The clinical outcomes were assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). To investigate the achieved operative correction, pre- and postoperative radiographs in the lateral plane were analyzed by measuring the Cobb angle. Results The 12 patients had a mean age of 62.8 ± 13.0 years and a mean follow-up duration of 32.7 ± 18.9 months. Mean hospital stay duration was 15 ± 8.0 days. The mean operative time was 119.6 ± 32.2 min, and the median blood loss was 50 (50, 250) ml. The VAS value improved from 6.8 ± 0.9 preoperatively to 1.3 ± 1.0 at the final follow-up (P

Abstract The clinical effects of Schisandra chinensis against human disease are well-documented; however, studies on its application in controlling plant pathogens are limited. Here, we investigated its inhibitory effect on the growth of Alternaria alternata, a fungus which causes significant post-harvest losses on apples, known as black spot disease. S. chinensis fruit extract exhibited strong inhibitory effects on the growth of A. alternata with an EC50 of 1882.00 mg/L. There were 157 compounds identified in the extract by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, where benzocaine constituted 14.19% of the extract. Antifungal experiments showed that the inhibitory activity of benzocaine on A. alternata was 43.77-fold higher than the crude extract. The application of benzocaine before and after A. alternata inoculation on apples prevented the pathogen infection and led to mycelial distortion according to scanning electron microscopy. Transcriptome analysis revealed that there were 4226 genes differentially expressed between treated and untreated A. alternata-infected apples with benzocaine. Metabolomics analysis led to the identification of 155 metabolites. Correlation analysis between the transcriptome and metabolome revealed that benzocaine may inhibit A. alternata growth via the beta-alanine metabolic pathway. Overall, S. chinensis extract and benzocaine are environmentally friendly plant-based fungicides with potential to control A. alternata.

Abstract The vaginal microbiota plays an important role in the health of the female reproductive tract and is closely associated with various pregnancy outcomes and sexually transmitted diseases. Plenty of internal and external factors have strong influence on the changes in a woman's vaginal microbiome. However, the effect of a high-altitude on female vaginal microbiota has not been described. In this study, we characterized the vaginal bacteriome and virome of 13 and 34 healthy women living in high-altitude and sea-level areas, using whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing of their vaginal mucus samples. The results revealed that the vaginal bacteriomes of high-altitude individuals are featured by a significant increase of species diversity, depletion of Lactobacillus crispatus, and more abundant of some anaerobic bacteria, such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Mageeibacillus indolicus, Dialister micraerophilus, and Sneathia amnii). In addition, the vagina samples of sea-level subjects harbor more Lactobacillus strains, whereas the anaerobic bacteroidetes strains mostly appeared in high-altitude subjects. Identified and assembled 191 virus operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), there were significant differences in the abundance of 107 vOTUs between the two groups. Together, the results of this study raised the understanding of bacteriome and virome in the vagina of women at different elevations, and demonstrated that the vaginal microbiome is related to the high-altitude geographic adaptation.

Appropriate industrial agglomeration has several benefits, including reducing environmental pollution, promoting innovation and enhancing grain green total factor productivity (GTFP). It is an effective strategy for promoting high-quality and sustainable development in the grain industry. In this study, the slacks-based measure of the global Malmquist–Luenberger (SBM-GML) model is used to estimate China's grain GTFP using the panel data of 31 provinces from 2001 to 2020. Furthermore, a dynamic spatial econometric model is employed to empirically investigate the impact of grain industry agglomeration on grain GTFP and its regional heterogeneity. The results show that GTFP exhibits a fluctuating growth tendency, with advancements in green technology serving as the primary engine of that expansion. (2) The deepening of grain industrial agglomeration has a long-term promoting effect on the grain GTFP of local and neighbouring areas, with the long-term effect being more significant than the short-term effect, as revealed by the dynamic spatial Durbin model. (3) According to the heterogeneity analysis, industrial agglomeration's impact on grain GTFP is most noticeable in the production and sales balance. Therefore, encouraging regional cooperation and communication while raising the grain industrial agglomeration standard is crucial. The degree of regional economic growth, the state of the agricultural infrastructure and the conditions of the natural resources should all be considered by policymakers when developing distinct and focused policy assistance for each region.

Objective To examine breast-feeding among neonatal inpatients in neonatal departments before and after normalized containment of coronavirus disease – 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Guangdong province. Methods With convenient sampling and a self-designed questionnaire, we conducted a retrospective survey on breast-feeding and its associates among neonatal inpatients in neonatal departments of 40 hospitals at provincial or municipal/county or district level before the COVID-19 pandemic (October – December, 2019) and after normalized containment of the pandemic (October – December, 2020) in Guangdong province. Chi-square test and corrected Chi-square test were used in data analysis. ResultsBefore the COVID-19 outbreak, the breast-feeding rate was less than 50% among the neonatal inpatients in 20 neonatal departments and the rate was higher than 70% only in 5 (12.5%) of the 40 departments surveyed. During the period of normalized containment of the pandemic, the breast-feeding rates declined significantly compared to those before the pandemic among the neonatal inpatients in the departments of the hospitals at various administrative levels, with the rates of higher than 30% in only in 10.0% (4) of the 40 departments and lower than 10% in 60% (24) of the 40 departments (all P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the breast-feeding rate among the neonatal inpatients in the neonatal departments of hospitals at various administrative levels before the pandemic and during the normalized containment of the pandemic (P > 0.05 for all) . The proportions of the implementation of 15 measures for promoting breast-feeding ranged 5.0% – 87.5% among the 40 neonatal departments, with the proportions of less than 25.0% for the implementations of 6 measures including breastfeeding education before delivery (22.5%), breast-feeding-related oral hygiene (17.5%), and collection of breast milk donation (5.0%). During the normalized containment of the pandemic, only 8 (20.0%) of the 40 neonatal departments continued to collect donated breast milk and the decreased donated breast milk was associated with the declined breast-feeding rate among the neonatal inpatients (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe breast-feeding rate was low among neonatal inpatients in neonatal departments of hospitals in Guangdong province and the rate decreased significantly during the period of normalized containment of COVID-19 pandemic.

To clarify the species of the pathogens of soft rot of 'East Red' kiwifruit and the effect of melatonin on its control, using naturally disease 'East Red' kiwifruit as test material, the pathogenic bacteria of soft rot were isolated and cultured using a tissue isolation method. The pathogenic bacteria isolated were tested for pathogenicity according to Koch's rule, and identified based on fungal morphological identification and rDNA-ITS sequence analysis. The effect of melatonin at different concentrations (0, 100, 300 and 500 μmol/L) on the control of the two pathogenic strains isolated was also investigated. The results showed that Diaporthe phaseolorum and Botryosphaeria dothidea were the main pathogenic bacteria causing soft rot of 'East Red' kiwifruit during storage. The in vitro inhibition test showed that melatonin significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of both pathogens (P

In this paper, all super-skewsymmetric super-biderivations of twisted N = 1 Schrödinger-Neveu-Schwarz algebra are determined. It is shown that all the super-biderivations are inner. Furthermore, the linear super-commuting maps of twisted N = 1 Schrödinger-Neveu-Schwarz algebra are standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing functional adhesives combining strong adhesion, good recyclability and diverse harsh‐condition adaptability is a grand challenge. Here, we introduce a general dendritic molecule doping strategy to activate commercial polymers into a new family of supramolecular adhesives integrating high adhesion strength, ultralow temperature, water resistant and multi‐reusable properties. Our method involves rational design of a new rigid‐flexible coupled dendritic molecule—M4C8OH as a versatile dopant, while simple M4C8OH doping into commercial polymers can modulate internal and external non‐covalent interaction to enable H‐bonding enhanced interchain cross‐linking for tough cohesion along with enhanced interphase interaction. This endows 20 wt % M4C8OH‐doped polycaprolactone (PCL) adhesives (PCL‐M4C8OH) with improved adhesion strength on various substrates with the maximum increase up to 2.87 times that of PCL. In particular, the adhesion strengths of PCL‐M4C8OH on polymethyl methacrylate at 25 °C and −196 °C reach 4.67 and 3.58 MPa—1.9 and 2.3 times those of PCL and superior to diverse commercial adhesives and most reported adhesives. PCL‐M4C8OH also displays markedly‐improved multi‐usability and tolerance against ultralow temperature and diverse wet environments. Mechanism studies reveal the crucial role of M4C8OH molecular structures toward superior adhesion. Our method can be expanded to other polymer matrices, yielding diverse new supramolecular adhesives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to analyze the effect of Cl- concentration on the electrochemical corrosion of steel commonly used for the final stage blade of steam turbine, the electrochemical corrosion behavior of 14Cr12Ni3WMoV martensitic stainless steel in simulated solutions with different chloride ion concentrations was investigated by various methods including potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS), Mott-Schottky(M-S)curves, laser scanning confocal microscope(LSCM)and scanning electron microscope(SEM).Results showed that with the increase of Cl- concentration, the point defect inside the stainless steel passivation film increased, the stability became weaker, the pit corrosion sensitivity increased and its protection ability to material substrate declined.The diameter of corrosion pit on the surface of stainless steel increased significantly with the increase of Cl- concentration, but the depth of the corrosion pit did not increase significantly, indicating that corrosion pits were more likely to develop along the material surface.When pitting corrosion occurred in stainless steel, the elements of Fe, Cr , Ni, W, Mo and V of materials were selectively dissolved.Specifically, Fe and Ni migrated to the solution in the form of ions, while Cr, W, Mo and V deposited in the corrosion pit in the form of oxides.

BackgroundIn high altitude areas, like Tibet, most fetuses in breech presentation at term are delivered vaginally owing to a variety of reasons, but this has not been published.ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide references and evidence for the delivery of breach presentation term fetuses in high altitude areas, through comparing and analyzing the data of full-term singleton fetuses with breech or cephalic presentation in Naqu People’s Hospital, Tibet.Study designWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 451 breech presentation fetuses mentioned above over a period of 5 years (2016–2020). A total of 526 cephalic presentation fetuses’ data within 3 months (1 June to 1 September 2020) of the same period were collected too. Statistics were compared and assembled on fetal mortality, Apgar scores, and severe neonatal complications for both planned cesarean section (CS) and vaginal delivery. In addition, we also analyzed the types of breech presentation, the second stage of labor, and damage to the maternal perineum during vaginal delivery.ResultsAmong the 451 cases of breech presentation fetuses, 22 cases (4.9%) elected for CS and 429 cases (95.1%) elected for vaginal delivery. Of the women who chose vaginal trial labor, 17 cases underwent emergency CSs. The perinatal and neonatal mortality rate was 4.2% in the planned vaginal delivery group and the incidence of severe neonatal complications was 11.7% in the transvaginal group, no deaths were detected in the CS group. Among the 526 cephalic control groups with planned vaginal delivery, the perinatal and neonatal mortality was 1.5% (p = 0.012), and the incidence of severe neonatal complications was 1.9%. Among vaginal breech deliveries, most of them were complete breech presentation (61.17%). Among the 364 cases, the proportion of intact perinea was 45.1%, and first degree lacerations accounted for 40.7%.ConclusionIn the Tibetan Plateau region, vaginal delivery was less safe than cephalic presentation fetuses for full-term breech presentation fetuses delivered in the lithotomy position. However, if dystocia or fetal distress can be identified in time and then encouraged to convert to cesarean, its safety will be greatly improved.

This paper aims to construct a simple and rapid method for analyzing trace amounts of erythromycin (ERY) in meat products by magnetic molecular imprinted solid-phase extraction combined with imprinted electrochemical sensors. Using ERY as the template molecule, dopamine (DA) as the functional monomer, and functionalized magnetic graphene-carbon nanotube composite as the modified carrier, erythromycin magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) with good selectivity and sensitivity to ERY was prepared by using a novel surface imprinting technology. Then, the magnetic imprinted solid-phase extraction combined with imprinted electrochemical sensor (MMISPE-MMIP-sensor) for rapid detection system was constructed by using MMIP as solid phase extraction agent and electrochemical sensor element, respectively. The methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used to discuss its electrical properties of the sensor with K3[Fe (CN)6] solution, and its structure and morphology were characterized by fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that the surface of the carbon nanotube-graphene composite was covered with an imprinted polymer shell layer, and the shell layer have many nanoparticles on the surface. The effects of pH value of buffer solution and response time on the imprinted electrode were investigated. The results showed that the best buffer pH was 7.5, and the enrichment time was 10 min. Under this optimal conditions, the experimental conditions were optimized, the response current △IR and the negative logarithm (-logC[ERY]) of ERY concentration showed a good linear relationship in the range of 1.0×10−10~1.0×10−5 mol/L, the correlation coefficient was 0.991, and the lowest detection limit was 1.0×10−10 mol/L. The selectivity experiments of ERY on the imprinted electrode were studied by using three structural analogues AZI、STM and ROX as interferers. The results showed that the imprinted electrode only had a specific recognition effect on ERY and showed a maximum response value (0.72 mA); The results of reproducibility and stability experiments suggested that the electrode had good reproducibility and stability. The detection results suggested that the concentration of ERY enrichment in the samples were increased 9~12 times by the magnetic imprinted solid-phase extraction combined with imprinted electrochemical sensor preconcentration process.

Background: Spontaneous perforation of pyometra is a rare clinical emergency with high mortality. As pyometra perforation is difficult to recognize pre-operatively, many cases are mis-diagnosed as gastrointestinal (GI) rupture. This study aimed to develop a strategy to improve diagnostic accuracy of spontaneous uterine perforation in female patients with acute abdomen. Methods: Twenty-two women with spontaneous rupture of the uterus (twenty cases previously reported in the literature plus two cases from the authors’ hospital) were included in the study group, another 22 menopausal patients with GI perforation were selected as the control group. Radiologists carefully reviewed the CT images and reports and summarized some common signs in patients with spontaneous perforation of pyometra. GI patients’ CT images were also scrutinized for these characteristic signs. The occurrence of these features was calculated in both groups. All patients underwent abdominal surgical exploration and most of patients diagnosed with spontaneous perforation of pyometra received hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy. Results: Five characteristics were specifically detected in patients with uterine spontaneous perforation: (1) Fluid collected in the cul-de-sac, incidence 95.5%; (2) Fluid in the uterine cavity, incidence 100%; (3) Intra-uterine free air, incidence 90.9%; (4) Free air around the uterus, incidence 77.2%; (5) Defects on the uterine wall, incidence 72.7%. However, these five signs were rarely observed in control patients with GI perforation. A dignostic strategy combined clinical findings with raidiological features were developed to help identify these patients. Conclusions: The above five CT characteristics and the developed dignostic algorithm could be used as a tool to facilitate the preoperative diagnosis of spontaneous perforation of pyometra, although more tests are needed in large samples of cases.

Pulverized coal (PC) blending with iron-bearing dust (IBD) injection technology in blast furnace (BF) iron-making process was proposed to valorize the IBD. Three aspects containing the co-flow property of PC and IBD, thermal reactivity and corresponding kinetics during the PC combustion process, as well as thermal variation and unburned PC distribution in BF were the main focuses of the present work. It has found that the Carr-flowability indexes of PC and IBD appear little difference. Their blends can be smoothly transported when adding portion of the IBD is less than 6%. In addition, comprehensive combustibility index (S), ignition index (Ci), and burnout index (Db) of the PC are improved when the mass fraction of the IBD enhances from 0% to 3%, and 6%, which proves that blending with the IBD can accelerate the PC combustion process. Moreover, the combustion activation energy (E) decreases after adding the IBD, which supports the improved thermal reactivity. Also, the accumulation of unburned PC in BF presents a decline tendency, which may promote the permeability of BF and help enhancing the pulverized coal injection dosage.

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly disabling neurodevelopmental disorder, and the burden is high. Data on the burden of ASD are limited in China, especially in the southwest. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the intervention status and burden of children with ASD in Southwest China.Materials and methodsFamilies of children with ASD were recruited from hospitals, special education schools, and private rehabilitation centers; they participated in the survey and completed the questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was conducted on the questionnaire results, which included basic demographic characteristics, rehabilitation status, and burden. Multivariate analysis was used to analyze the association of basic family demographic characteristics, rehabilitation status, and costs of ASD.ResultsA total of 231 families of children with ASD participated in this survey, and 78.35% (181/231) of the children with ASD were male. The mean age was 4.34 ± 2.09 years. A total of 55.84% (129/231) of the children with ASD had an intellectual disability. Only 46.32% (107/231) started receiving intervention within 1 month after diagnosis. The institutions for rehabilitation interventions for children with ASD were mainly tertiary hospitals (39.39%), special education schools (29.87%) and private rehabilitation institutions (21.64%). For a total of 42.86% (99/231) of the children with ASD, the duration of the intervention was less than 10 h per week. A total of 74.89% (173/231) of the children with ASD received a rehabilitation intervention at home. A total of 66.67% of the parents were satisfied with the treatment. The monthly cost of medical intervention for the patients of children with autism was 7,225 ± 474 RMB ($1,134 ± 74), and the non-medical intervention cost was 2,133 ± 107 RMB ($334 ± 17). The annual burden of patients with autism was 86,700 ± 5,688 RMB ($13,596 ± 892). The estimated total annual burden of ASD was 5.548 billion RMB ($870 million) in Guizhou province.ConclusionThe results revealed that rehabilitation resources are limited and that the burden of ASD is high in Guizhou province; therefore, improving the rehabilitation status and easing the burden of children with ASD is urgent in these regions.