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Abstract Background The direct anterior approach (DAA) for total hip arthroplasty (THA) has gained popularity due to perceived advantages in achieving better early outcomes. However, the theoretical benefits such as precise implant positioning and accurate leg length restoration are still inconsistent. In this study, we compared implant position and leg length discrepancy (LLD) of the DAA and posterolateral approach (PLA) conducted by a single surgeon who had mastered both approaches. Methods This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records and radiographic images of 244 patients who underwent THA between 2012 and 2021 by a single experienced surgeon using either the DAA (n = 120) or PLA (n = 124). Postoperative pelvic anteroposterior radiographs at 6 months follow-up were used to assess acetabular component inclination and anteversion, as well as LLD. Mann-Whitney U tests and Chi-squared test were performed to compare outcomes between the two approaches. Results No significant differences were observed in patient demographics between the two groups. The DAA group demonstrated significantly lower postoperative LLD (0.00 mm) compared to the PLA group (5.00 mm, p

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complicated disease that causes irreversible visual impairment. Increasing evidences pointed retinal pigment epithelia (RPE) cells as the decisive cell involved in the progress of AMD, and the function of anti-oxidant capacity of PRE plays a fundamental physiological role. Nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a significant transcription factor in the cellular anti-oxidant system as it regulates the expression of multiple anti-oxidative genes. Its functions of protecting RPE cells against oxidative stress (OS) and ensuing physiological changes, including inflammation, mitochondrial damage and autophagy dysregulation, have already been elucidated. Understanding the roles of upstream regulators of Nrf2 could provide further insight to the OS-mediated AMD pathogenesis. For the first time, this review summarized the reported upstream regulators of Nrf2 in AMD pathogenesis, including proteins and miRNAs, and their underlying molecular mechanisms, which may help to find potential targets via regulating the Nrf2 pathway in the future research and further discuss the existing Nrf2 regulators proved to be beneficial in preventing AMD.

Fluorine-19 (19F) is a nucleus of great importance in the field of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy due to its high receptivity and wide chemical shift dispersion. 19F NMR plays crucial roles in both organic synthesis and biomedicine. Herein, a machine learning-based comprehensive 19F NMR chemical shift prediction model was established based on the experimental 19F NMR dataset from the book by Dolbier and the open NMR database nmrshiftdb2. Fluorine radical SMILES (Fr-SMILES) that reflected the fluorine chemical equivalence, was designed as the representation of fluorine in the molecule. Model trained with the graph convolution network (GCN) algorithm gave a low mean absolute error (MAE) of 3.636 ppm on the testing set. This model exhibits broad applicability and can effectively predict 19F NMR shifts for a wide range of organic fluorine molecules. We believe that the current work will provide a powerful tool for not only predicting 19F NMR shifts but also aiding in the analysis and identification of these shifts in diverse organic fluorine compounds. An online prediction platform was constructed based on the current model, which can be found at https://fluobase.cstspace.cn/fnmr.

Background: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary renal disease leading to end-stage renal disease. Total kidney volume (TKV) measurement has been considered as a surrogate in the evaluation of disease severity and prognostic predictor of ADPKD. However, the traditional manual measurement of TKV by medical professionals is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and human error prone. Materials and methods: In this investigation, we conducted TKV measurements utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The dataset consisted of 30 patients with ADPKD and 10 healthy individuals. To calculate TKV, we trained models using both coronal- and axial-section MRI images. The process involved extracting images in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format, followed by augmentation and labeling. We employed a U-net model for image segmentation, generating mask images of the target areas. Subsequent post-processing steps and TKV estimation were performed based on the outputs obtained from these mask images. Results: The average TKV, as assessed by medical professionals from the testing dataset, was 1501.84 ± 965.85 mL with axial-section images and 1740.31 ± 1172.21 mL with coronal-section images, respectively (p = 0.73). Utilizing the deep learning model, the mean TKV derived from axial- and coronal-section images was 1536.33 ± 958.68 mL and 1636.25 ± 964.67 mL, respectively (p = 0.85). The discrepancy in mean TKV between medical professionals and the deep learning model was 44.23 ± 58.69 mL with axial-section images (p = 0.8) and 329.12 ± 352.56 mL with coronal-section images (p = 0.9), respectively. The average variability in TKV measurement was 21.6% with the coronal-section model and 3.95% with the axial-section model. The axial-section model demonstrated a mean Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) of 0.89 ± 0.27 and an average patient-wise Jaccard coefficient of 0.86 ± 0.27, while the mean DSC and Jaccard coefficient of the coronal-section model were 0.82 ± 0.29 and 0.77 ± 0.31, respectively. Conclusion: The integration of deep learning into image processing and interpretation is becoming increasingly prevalent in clinical practice. In our pilot study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the performance of a deep learning model alongside corresponding axial- and coronal-section models, a comparison that has been less explored in prior research. Our findings suggest that our deep learning model for TKV measurement performs comparably to medical professionals. However, we observed that varying image orientations could introduce measurement bias. Specifically, our AI model exhibited superior performance with axial-section images compared to coronal-section images.

Background: Previous studies have documented important roles for microRNA-147 (miR-147) in inflammation, radiation-induced injury, cancer, and a range of other diseases. Murine lungs exhibit high levels of miRNA, mRNA, and lncRNA expression. However, very little research to date has focused on the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks associated with miR-147, and the regulation of lncRNAs and miRNAs in this setting remains poorly understood.Methods: After establishing a miR-147−/− model mouse, samples of lung tissue were harvested for RNA-sequencing, and differentially expressed lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs were identified. The miRNA targets of these lncRNAs and the identified miRNAs were first overlapped to facilitate the prediction of target mRNAs, with analyses then examining the overlap between these targets and mRNAs that were differentially expressed. Then, these target mRNAs were subjected to pathway enrichment analyses. These results were ultimately used to establish a miR-147-related ceRNA network.Results: Relative to wild-type mice, the lungs of miR-147−/− mice exhibited 91, 43, and 71 significantly upregulated lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs, respectively, together with 114, 31, and 156 that were significantly downregulated. The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network established based on these results led to the identification of Kcnh6 as a differentially expressed hub gene candidate and enabled the identification of a range of regulatory relationships. KEGG pathway enrichment showed that the mRNA targets of differentially expressed lncRNAs and miRNAs in the mice were associated with tumor-related signaling, endometrial cancer, bladder cancer, and ErbB signaling.Conclusion: These results suggest that the identified ceRNA network in miR-147−/− mice shapes tumor-associated signaling activity, with miR-147 potentially regulating various lncRNAs and miRNAs through Kcnh6, ultimately influencing tumorigenesis. Future studies of the lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA regulatory targets shown to be associated with miR-147 in the present study may ultimately lead to the identification of novel clinically relevant targets through which miR-147 shapes the pathogenesis of cancer and other diseases.

Abstract We report a case of an unusually located site of acute localized exanthematous pustulosis in the right lower limb of a patient treated with beta‐lactams which resolved upon cessation. This case report highlights the need for vigilance as well as an index of suspicion for atypical presentations.

Abstract Background Baricitinib, an oral selective JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of adults with severe alopecia areata (AA). Objective To evaluate differences in response up to week 52 among subgroups based on the baseline severity of AA assessed with the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score. Methods Data were pooled from BRAVE-AA1 and BRAVE-AA2, two randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials, which enrolled adults with a SALT score ≥ 50. Patients were subdivided by the degree of AA severity at baseline. Results Among the 855 patients treated with baricitinib 2 mg and 4 mg, improvements in scalp hair growth continued through to week 52. A superior response was observed in patients with a SALT score of 50–94 versus a score of 95–100. Patients on baricitinib 4 mg had a faster and higher response rate compared to baricitinib 2 mg. Conclusion Across all degrees of severity for baricitinib 2 mg and 4 mg doses, the proportion of patients responding was yet to plateau up to week 52. Response to treatment was longer for patients with a baseline SALT score 95–100. Further studies are needed to analyze other parameters that may impact observed response rates.

Organic solar cells (OSCs) enjoy a huge market and public attention as an emerging renewable and clean energy source due to their accessibility, sustainability, translucency, good flexibility, non-toxicity, and low preparation cost. However, the choice of an acceptor material is now the pivotal factor restricting the development of OSCs. To continuously improve stability and increase power conversion efficiency (PCE) for better performance, high-performance acceptor materials are an important part of enabling OSCs. From fullerenes and their derivatives and non-fullerenes, we sum up the latest research progress on high-performance acceptor materials for OSCs and then introduce the synthesis methods of non-fullerenes. The latest strategies to enhance the performance of organic solar cells and the wide range of applications of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) on different OSCs are also discussed. In addition, challenges faced by OSCs in improving their performance and the prospects for future development are revealed, providing new ideas for designing the next generation of high-performance OSCs.

The COVID-19 pandemic related measures had augmented the rise of online education. While online teaching had mitigated the negative impacts from educational institutional closures, it was unable to displace hands-on biomedical laboratory practical lessons effectively. Without practical sessions, there was concern over the imparting of laboratory skills even with video demonstrations. To investigate the effectiveness of different delivery modes in imparting laboratory skills, theoretical and practical student assessments were analyzed alongside an anonymous survey on their motivation and prior experience. The undergraduate students were exposed to (1) instructor-live demonstration; (2) video demonstration or (3) no demonstration prior to the practical test which was a plasmid extraction. Significantly higher mini-prep yields and purity were found for both instructor-live and video demonstrations compared to no demonstration. Comparison with pre-pandemic theoretical assessment performance showed no significant differences despite longer contact hours during pre-pandemic times. Prior lab experience and motivation for selecting the course did not significantly affect student mini-prep yields. In conclusion, our findings suggest that video demonstrations were as effective as instructor-live demonstrations during the pandemic without noticeably compromising the teaching and learning of biomedical laboratory skills.

Non-radiative traps and structures are present on the graphene quantum dots doped with nitrogen and functionalized with amino groups (amino-N-GQDs) and multiple crystalline layers because of cross-link-enhanced emission. Secondary and tertiary amines, which are potential fluorophores, have also been observed on the polyethylenimine (PEI) coating of amino-N-GQDs. Cross-linked PEI coating reduced rotation and vibration, thereby enhancing the photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY). Introduced nitrogen atoms from N dopants, amino-functionalized groups and PEI, as well as sulfur from polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) enhanced the cooperative effect on the properties of heteroatom-doped materials among electrons captured by new surface states. This enhanced radiative recombination and subsequently enhanced PL QY, therefore, surface conjugation improved the amino-N-GQD surfaces by increasing the quantum confinement of their emissive energy, evidenced by the increased PL QY of amino-N-GQD-PSS-PEI (or amino-N-GQD-polymer composites). In some situations, the maximum available power required for delivery to the two-photon imaging plane without damaging tissues limits imaging depth but the additional brightness provided by amino-N-GQD-polymer composites in this study extended the maximum imaging depth to 240 μm. Amino-N-GQD-polymer composites had favorable two-photon properties under two-photon excitation (self-developed femtosecond Ti–sapphire laser optical system; power: 23.93 nJ pixel−1, 160 scans, approximately 1.09 s of total exposure time; excitation wavelength: 980 nm, near-infrared-II region), indicating that cells treated with amino-N-GQD-polymer composites and the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody can achieve two-photon luminescence with 1/81 of the power required for similar-intensity two-photon autofluorescence (1938.33 nJ pixel−1 with 800 scans, total exposure time of ∼5.44 s). The materials can serve as contrast agents for the non-invasive detection of biological specimens and interior tissues using a two-photon excitation wavelength in the near-infrared region.