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Central and peripheral nerve injuries can lead to permanent paralysis and organ dysfunction. In recent years, many cell and exosome implantation techniques have been developed in an attempt to restore function after nerve injury with promising but generally unsatisfactory clinical results. Clinical outcome may be enhanced by bio-scaffolds specifically fabricated to provide the appropriate three-dimensional (3D) conduit, growth-permissive substrate, and trophic factor support required for cell survival and regeneration. In rodents, these scaffolds have been shown to promote axonal regrowth and restore limb motor function following experimental spinal cord or sciatic nerve injury. Combining the appropriate cell/exosome and scaffold type may thus achieve tissue repair and regeneration with safety and efficacy sufficient for routine clinical application. In this review, we describe the efficacies of bio-scaffolds composed of various natural polysaccharides (alginate, chitin, chitosan, and hyaluronic acid), protein polymers (gelatin, collagen, silk fibroin, fibrin, and keratin), and self-assembling peptides for repair of nerve injury. In addition, we review the capacities of these constructs for supporting in vitro cell-adhesion, mechano-transduction, proliferation, and differentiation as well as the in vivo properties critical for a successful clinical outcome, including controlled degradation and re-absorption. Finally, we describe recent advances in 3D bio-printing for nerve regeneration.

A novel VLSI architecture for multi-channel online spike sorting is presented in this paper. In the architecture, the spike detection is based on nonlinear energy operator (NEO), and the feature extraction is carried out by the generalized Hebbian algorithm (GHA). To lower the power consumption and area costs of the circuits, all of the channels share the same core for spike detection and feature extraction operations. Each channel has dedicated buffers for storing the detected spikes and the principal components of that channel. The proposed circuit also contains a clock gating system supplying the clock to only the buffers of channels currently using the computation core to further reduce the power consumption. The architecture has been implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with 90-nm technology. Comparisons to the existing works show that the proposed architecture has lower power consumption and hardware area costs for real-time multi-channel spike detection and feature extraction.

Arsenic is a class I human carcinogen (such as inducing skin cancer) by its prominent chemical interaction with protein thio (-SH) group. Therefore, arsenic may compromise protein S-nitrosylation by competing the -SH binding activity. In the present study, we aimed to understand the influence of arsenic on protein S-nitrosylation and the following proteomic changes. By using primary human skin keratinocyte, we found that arsenic treatment decreased the level of protein S-nitrosylation. This was coincident to the decent expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). By using LC-MS/MS, around twenty S-nitrosoproteins were detected in the biotin-switched eluent. With the interest that arsenic not only regulates posttranslational S-nitrosylation but also separately affects protein’s translation expression, we performed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and found that 8 proteins were significantly decreased during arsenic treatment. Whether these decreased proteins are the consequence of protein S-nitrosylation will be further investigated. Taken together, these results provide a finding that arsenic can deplete the binding activity of NO and therefore reduce protein S-nitrosylation.

Here we report a protocol to investigate the electron-transfer processes of redox-active biomolecules in biological membranes by electrochemistry using biomimetic hybrid bilayer membranes (HBMs) assembled on gold electrodes. Redox-active head groups, such as the ubiquinone moiety, are embedded in HBMs that contain target molecules, e.g., nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). By using this approach, the electron-transfer processes between redox molecules and target biomolecules are mediated by mimicking the redox cycling processes in a natural membrane. Also included is a procedure for in situ surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to confirm the electrochemically induced conformational changes of the target biomolecules in the HBMs. In addition, each step in constructing the HBMs is characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The time required for the entire protocol is ∼12 h, whereas the electrochemical measurement of electron-transfer processes takes less than 1 h to complete.

Advanced neonatal care has increased the survival of neonates born prematurely, and prematurity is a well-known risk factor for asthma/wheezing disorders. Thus, this prospective study aimed to determine the early life factors associated with preschool wheezing in premature neonates. Preterm neonates born between 2012 and 2017 were recruited, excluding those with bacterial infection within 7 days of life, maternal sepsis, and maternal chorioamnionitis. Birth and admission history, comorbidities, and maternal history were documented. Respiratory problems were followed-up at the neonatal outpatient department. Patients were divided into wheezing and non-wheezing groups. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney test and Fisher’s exact test, and multivariable logistic regression was used to define the risk factors of preschool wheezing/asthma. A total of 125 preterm infants were enrolled, including 19 in the wheezing group and 106 in the non-wheezing group. Patients in the wheezing group had longer duration of intubation (p = 0.025), higher rates for exclusive breast milk feeding (p = 0.012), and higher re-hospitalization rates for respiratory tract infections (p < 0.001), especially for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis (p = 0.045). The incidence of allergic rhinitis was also higher in the wheezing group (p = 0.005). After multivariable logistic regression, allergic rhinitis and re-hospitalization for respiratory tract infections were two significant risk factors for preschool wheezing/asthma in premature neonates. Close follow-up of premature infants at high risk for asthma susceptibility is recommended.

Effect of pore size on partial discharge in ultra-high voltage ceramic capacitors was investigated. Nondestructive ultrasonic detection was used to measure pore size in ceramics while the partial discharge characteristics were evaluated by a discharge detector. It is found that the partial discharge quantity and discharge inception voltage greatly depend on the size of the biggest pore in the ceramic. The partial discharge characteristics become worse when the inner pore is bigger. Possible explanation is discussed based on an equivalent circuit simulating the capacitor with one large pore.

Background Vertebral recompression after percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) may lead to recurrent pain, deformity, and neurological impairment, compromising prognosis and quality of life. Objective To identify independent risk factors for postoperative recompression and develop predictive models for risk assessment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 284 OVCF patients treated with PKP, grouped by recompression status. Predictors were screened using univariate and correlation analyses. Multicollinearity was assessed using variance inflation factor (VIF). A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed and validated via 10-fold cross-validation and temporal validation. Results Five independent predictors were identified: incomplete anterior cortex (odds ratio [OR] = 9.38), high paravertebral muscle fat infiltration (OR = 218.68), low vertebral CT value (OR = 0.87), large Cobb change (OR = 1.45), and high vertebral height recovery rate (OR = 22.64). The logistic regression model achieved strong performance: accuracy 97.67%, precision 97.06%, recall 97.06%, F1 score 97.06%, specificity 98.08%, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) 0.998. Machine learning models (e.g., random forest) were also evaluated but did not outperform logistic regression in accuracy or interpretability. Conclusion Five imaging-based predictors of vertebral recompression were identified. The logistic regression model showed excellent predictive accuracy and generalizability, supporting its clinical utility for early risk stratification and personalized decision-making in OVCF patients undergoing PKP.

Background Adverse events of the fractured vertebra (AEFV) post-percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) can lead to recurrent pain and neurological damage, which considerably affect the prognosis of patients and the quality of life. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors of AEFV and develop and select the optimal risk prediction model for AEFV to provide guidance for the prevention of this condition and enhancement of clinical outcomes. Methods This work included 383 patients with primary osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) who underwent PKP. The patients were grouped based on the occurrence of AEFV postsurgery, and data were collected. Group comparisons and correlation analysis were conducted to identify potential risk factors, which were then included in the five prediction models. The performance indicators served as basis for the selection of the best model. Results Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the following independent risk factors for AEFV: kissing spine (odds ratio (OR) = 8.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46–49.02), high paravertebral muscle fat infiltration grade (OR = 29.19, 95% CI 4.83–176.04), vertebral body computed tomography value (OR = 0.02, 95% CI 0.003–0.13, P < 0.001), and large Cobb change (OR = 5.31, 95% CI 1.77–15.77). The support vector machine (SVM) model exhibited the best performance in the prediction of the risk of AEFV. Conclusion Four independent risk factors were identified of AEFV, and five risk prediction models that can aid clinicians in the accurate identification of high-risk patients and prediction of the occurrence of AEFV were developed.

Hand-tool is one of the important products which are widely used in manufacturing industry as well as in human life. The torx is one kind of hand-tools which is considered as a case study in this research. There are two trial preforms designed to analyze their influence on forgings formability. Firstly, DEFORM-3D software was used to simulate and analyze forming processes of different preform shapes for observing the formability of each trial preform and defects during the forming processes. Die stress analysis was also conducted to investigate the die stress of the forming stages in different forming processes. Secondly, according to the formability and the die stress, the most suitable forming processes and preform were selected for actual experiments. Finally, to verify the simulation results accuracy, the feature matching and hardness test were performed. The result of this research show that appropriate forming processes and preform applied improve the quality of product compared to original product.

Aim： Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug （NSAID）, which may cause serious intestinal adverse reactions （enteropathy）. In this study we investigated whether co-administration of ciprofloxacin affected the pharmacokinetics of diclofenac and diclofenac- induced enteropathy in rats. Methods： The pharmacokinetics of diclofenac was assessed in rats after receiving diclofenac （10 mg/kg, ig, or 5 mg/kg, iv）, with or without ciprofloxacin （20 mg/kg, ig） co-administered. After receiving 6 oral doses or 15 intravenous doses of diclofenac, the rats were sacrificed, and small intestine was removed to examine diclofenac-induced enteropathy. β-Glucuronidase activity in intestinal content, bovine liver and E coil was evaluated. Results： Following oral or intravenous administration, the pharmacokinetic profile of diclofenac displayed typical enterohepatic circulation, and co-administration of ciprofloxacin abolished the enterohepatic circulation, resulted in significant reduction in the plasma content of diclofenac. In control rats, β-glucuronidase activity in small intestinal content was region-dependent： proximal intestine〈distal intestine〈ileal valve. Administration of ciprofloxac caused significant reduction of β-glucuronidase activity in distal small intestine, and particularly in ileal valve. Furthermore, ciprofloxacin （10-2000 pmol/L） dose-dependently inhibited β-glucuronidase activity in distal small intestine content or E coil incubated in vitro, but did not affect that in proximal small intestine content or bovine liver incubated in vitro. After receiving 6 oral doses or 15 intravenous doses of diclofenac, typical enteropathy was developed with severe enteropathy occurred in distal small intestine. Co-administration of ciprofloxacin significantly alleviated diclofenac-induced enteropathy. Conclusion： Co-administration of ciprofloxacin attenuated enterohepatic circulation of diclofenac and alleviated diclofenac-induced enteropathy in rats, partly via the inhibition of intestinal β-glucuronidase activity.