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Objective Methods Results Conclusion Currently, there is no established guideline on whether to opt for percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) or traditional transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) surgery based on specific types of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Based on the Michigan State University (MSU) classification system, this study conducted a medium‐ to long‐term follow‐up analysis of two surgical methods over 5 years for the first time, aiming to provide empirical evidence to assist in making more informed decisions before surgery for LDH treatment.This was a retrospective study that included 273 patients with single‐level LDH who underwent PELD or TLIF treatment at our hospital between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Detailed metrics included preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and Oswestry disability index (ODI) at 1‐day, 1‐week, 1‐year, and 5‐year follow‐ups. Complications, recurrences, and 5‐year postoperative modified MacNab criteria scores were also recorded. Statistical methods included independent sample t‐tests, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), and χ2 tests.Classified into seven groups according to the MSU classification, it was found that there was an improvement in the VAS and ODI scores at four postoperative follow‐ups (p < 0.001). PELD showed better results than TLIF in reducing pain and improving the ODI scores in the classifications of 3B, 2B, and 2C (p < 0.05). TLIF demonstrated consistent superiority over PELD in 2A, 2AB, 3A, and 3AB classifications (p < 0.05). The total recurrence rate in the PELD group (11.05%) within 5 years after surgery was higher (p < 0.05) than that in the TLIF group (3.96%). These were mainly concentrated in the 2A, 2AB, 3A, and 3AB types. Moreover, the rate of excellent and good outcomes in the PELD was higher than in the TLIF but no significant difference (χ2 = 1.0568, p = 0.5895).This study suggests that PELD and TLIF may relieve LDH, but have advantages under different MSU classifications. The MSU classification has specific guiding significance and could aid in the surgical selection of PELD or TLIF to achieve optimal treatment outcomes for patients with lumbar disc herniation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using ultrasonic non-destructive testing technology,when detecting the surface crack of the shaft,the micro crack echo signal is often covered by various noises,which causes the crack to be unrecognizable and positioned. In order to solve this problem,in this paper,a general cross-validation thresholding in synchrosqueezing wavelet domain approach is proposed to analyze the ultrasonic echo signals,and the characteristics of the crack echo signals are extracted from the time-frequency domain and localized. Based on synchrosqueezing transformation,the paper uses the general cross-validation method to estimate the threshold level of noise reduction,and does not depend on any prior knowledge. Specifically,by adding a preprocessing step based on kurtosis measurement and a post-processing step based on adaptive hard threshold processing,the efficiency of the threshold processing and the noise reduction effect in the time-frequency domain are improved,thereby realizing a useful distinction between noise and characteristic signals. Finally,the method is applied to the feature recognition of microcrack ultrasonic echo signals,and compared with the results of continuous wavelet transform. The results show that the method can identify the crack more accurately and extract the time point of crack occurrence,and then determine the specific location of the micro crack.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a multifactorial skeletal disease involving mechanical, genetic, systemic, and biological factors, and it is characterized by apoptosis of the nucleus pulposus cells and breakdown of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which will impair the structure and function of the intervertebral disc (IVD), and cause low back pain. Recently, the piezo1 is recognized as a critical mechanically activated ion channel of IDD. Numerous studies have reported that the piezo1 ion channel was aberrantly activated in the degenerated disc tissues and deeply participated in the pathogenesis of IDD. Inactivating or interfering with the piezo1 channel could effectively prevent the progression of IDD under the experimental conditions. It may be a promising target for the prevention and treatment of the disabling disease. Therefore, we have to make a comprehensive investigation and understanding of the mechanisms and functions of the piezo1 in the biomechanics of the spine. This study mainly elucidates the role of the piezo1 channel in IDD, which may facilitate the development of therapeutic targets for this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcomas are prevalent in children and young adults and have a high recurrence rate. Cisplatin, doxorubicin, and methotrexate are common adjuvant chemotherapy drugs for treatment of osteosarcoma, but multidrug resistance is a growing problem. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma cells is crucial for developing new therapeutic approaches and ultimately improving the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients. To identify genes associated with cisplatin resistance in osteosarcoma, we screened a large‐scale mutant library generated by transfecting human osteosarcoma cells with a piggyBac (PB) transposon‐based gene activation vector. Several candidate genes were identified by using Splinkerette‐PCR paired with Next Generation Sequencing. We created a disease‐free survival predictor model, which includes ZNF720, REEP3, CNNM2, and CGREF1, using TARGET (Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments) datasets. Additionally, the results of our enrichment analysis between the Four_genes_high group and Low_group suggested that these four genes may participate in cisplatin resistance in osteosarcoma through cross talk between various signaling pathways, especially the signaling pathway related to bone formation. These data may help guide future studies into chemotherapy for osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the charged colloidal system, with the aid of the hyper-sphere method, the effective interactions between two like-charged macro-ions are studied through Monte Carlo simulations. Numerical results show that the depletion interactions dominate the total Coulomb interactions in the region while the two macro-ions are near. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For a closed thermodynamic system of ideal gas, the entropic force is studied in this paper. The results show that the entropic force arises when the entropy is deviated from its equilibrium maximum value by an external force. This entropic force resists the entropy deviation enlarging, and will drive the entropy back to its maximum value if the external forces disappear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary aim was to determine the risk of infection after knee arthroscopy and to evaluate the risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI)., Methods: The PubMed/Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched, as were the reference lists of previous systematic reviews and meta-analysis manual studies. A random-effects model was used to calculate the estimated pooled odds ratio (OR)., Results: A total of 38,321 potential articles met the initial inclusion criteria. After a review of the titles, abstracts and full texts, the remaining 41 articles were included in the final analysis. We identified 9,089,578 patients who underwent knee arthroscopy in 41 articles. High-quality (class I) evidence showed that autografts (cruciate ligament reconstruction) (OR, 2.66% CI, 1.84-3.86) or high procedure complexity (OR, 2.02;95% CI, 1.69-2.43) had a higher risk of infection, while medium-quality (class II or class III) evidence showed that obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.08-1.49) or male (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.32-1.75) or diabetes (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.36-2.14) or tobacco use (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.38-1.97) or preoperative steroid use (OR, 3.41; 95% CI, 2.10-5.54) had a higher risk of infection. The meta-analysis showed that there was no association between age or antibiotic prophylaxis and infection incidence., Conclusions: The meta-analysis showed that significant risk factors for infection after knee arthroscopy included obesity, male sex, diabetes, tobacco use, high procedure complexity, graft type, and preoperative steroid use., Level of Evidence: Level IV, systematic review of Level III and Level IV studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In the system with two large spheres confined between two parallel plates, there are depletion interactions between the two large spheres and between one large sphere and the closely placed plate. Obviously, the depletion interactions exerted on one large sphere will be strongly affected by the presence of the closely placed plate or the other large sphere. This prediction is confirmed by the numerical results obtained through the acceptance ratio method (ARM) or density integration method (DIM), i.e., they are strengthened when two large spheres are contacted. Furthermore, it is found that the influences on the depletion forces are also sensitive to the angle of the centers' connection line between the two large spheres and the confining walls. In addition, the numerical results show that the total depletion force exerted on one large sphere from both the other large sphere and the closely placed plate can be determined through ARM or DIM from the interactions between the two large spheres or between one large sphere and the corresponding closely placed plate.