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Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between intraoperative facial nerve monitoring parameters and postoperative facial nerve function during parotid surgeries. Methods Registered in PROSPERO, a comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for literature published between 1990 and 2024. Studies reporting the relationship between intraoperative facial nerve monitoring parameters and facial nerve outcomes following parotidectomy were included. Owing to the limited number of studies and heterogeneity, the findings were summarized using a narrative synthesis. Results A total of 8 studies, involving 632 participants, were included, among whom 193 developed postoperative facial palsy. Five studies reported that a reduction in amplitude or an increase in threshold was associated with postoperative facial dysfunction. Conclusion Current evidence does not provide conclusive support for the predictive value of intraoperative facial nerve monitoring parameters in postoperative facial nerve function. However, given its established protective role and some reported findings (e.g. >50% amplitude drop associated with severe palsy), continued use of intraoperative facial nerve monitoring appears reasonable.

A valve-controlled hydraulic motor system operating in a complex environment is subject to complex load changes. In extreme cases, the load can be regarded as a disturbance signal with complex frequency and strong amplitude fluctuations, which greatly affects the speed stability of the hydraulic motor and reduces the operating efficiency. In this paper, the structure of valve-controlled hydraulic motor systems is analyzed, and a valve-controlled hydraulic motor system model with uncertain parameters is established after considering the actual target parameter error and model linearization error. Different from the common H-infinity control, which regards the load disturbance as external disturbance, this paper presents a robust H-infinity tracking control strategy, which considers uncertain parameters and the load torque of the valve-controlled hydraulic motor system as internal disturbances. The simulation results show that the proposed control scheme has better control characteristics and robustness than the traditional PID control.

In the hydrothermal crystallization of zeolites from basic media, hydroxide ions (OH⁻) catalyze the depolymerization of the aluminosilicate gel by breaking the Si,AI–O–Si,AI bonds and catalyze the polymerization of the aluminosilicate anions around the hydrated cation species by remaking the Si,AI–O–Si,AI bonds. We report that hydroxyl free radicals (•OH) are involved in the zeolite crystallization under hydrothermal conditions. The crystallization processes of zeolites—such as Na–A, Na–X, NaZ–21, and silicalite-1—can be accelerated with hydroxyl free radicals generated by ultraviolet irradiation or Fenton's reagent.

Accumulated evidence has demonstrated that miRNAs are closely implicated in lung carcinogenesis. Herein, we explored the expression pattern of miR-30b-5p in lung cancer, and aimed to uncover miR-30b-5p roles in lung cancer progression and drug resistance. miR-30b-5p expression profiles in lung cancer tissues and the matched non-tumor tissues were determined by using qPCR. Cell viability, migration, invasion and in vivo tumorigenesis were determined by using the CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing, transwell chambers experiments and tumor xenograft models. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and dual luciferase reporter experiments were applied to evaluate the relationship between miR-30b-5p and LRP8. The results demonstrated that miR-30b-5p showed a low expression profile in lung cancer tissues and cells, and closely linked to poor prognosis and malignant clinical process. Cell viability, migration, invasiveness and tumorigenesis were significantly weakened following miR-30b-5p overexpression in A549 and NCI-H1299 cells, while cell apoptosis rates were increased. In addition, miR-30b-5p was lowly expressed in A549/DDP (a cisplatin drug resistant cell line) as compared with A549 cells, and miR-30b-5p increased A549/DDP cell sensitivity to DDP. However, these above roles of miR-30b-5p were all significantly impaired following the overexpression of LRP8 which was overexpressed in lung cancer tissues. Collectively, this study demonstrated that miR-30b-5p functions as a tumor suppressor in lung cancer, and re-sensitizes lung cancer cells to DDP by targeting LRP8.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) hold significant promise as electrocatalysts, but their synthesis is typically constrained by prolonged reaction times (>72 h), high temperatures ( >120 °C), and the use of organic solvents. Conventional methods also involve multiple freeze-pump-thaw cycles, complicating scalability. Herein, we report a supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO 2 )-assisted strategy for the rapid synthesis of COFs, enabling their direct in-situ growth on carbon substrates. This supercritical-solvothermal approach yields COF@CNT composites that exhibit effective electrocatalytic performance towards the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e − ORR). The resulting catalysts achieve a H 2 O 2 production rate of 94 mol g cat −1 h −1 and a Faradaic efficiency exceeding 95% at 800 mA cm −2 . By reducing the consumption of organic solvents, shortening reaction durations, and circumventing high temperatures, this method provides a scalable and efficient route for COF synthesis. Overall, the Sc-CO 2 strategy provides a promising platform for the rapid development of COF-based electrocatalysts, combining enhanced efficiency, scalability, and environmental compatibility. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are attractive electrocatalysts, yet their synthesis is hindered by long reaction times, high temperatures, and the use of organic solvents. This works reports the use of supercritical CO 2 to prepare efficient COF catalysts for the two electron oxygen reduction.

The waste cooking oil (WCO) production from the catering industry and food processing industry causes serious environmental, economic and social problems. However, WCO can be used for the preparation of fine chemicals such as internal plasticizer. With this aim, this work is focused on preparing internal plasticizer by using WCO and determining technical viability of non-migration poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) materials. The mannich base of waste cooking oil methyl ester (WCOME) was synthesized from WCO via esterification, interesterification and mannich reaction, which was used to produce self-plasticization PVC materials as an internal plasticizer. The results showed that the PVC was plasticized effectively. Self-plasticization PVC films showed no migration in n-hexane, but 15.7% of dioctyl phthalate (DOP) leached from DOP/PVC(50/50) system into n-hexane. These findings transformed the traditional plastic processing technology and obtained cleaner production of no migration plasticizer from WCO.

The lubrication performance of a straight-line conjugate internal meshing gear pump is poor under the low-speed, high-pressure operating conditions of the volumetric servo speed control system, and it is difficult to establish a full fluid lubricating oil film between the gear ring and the housing. This leads to significant wear and severe heating between the gear ring and the housing. The lubrication performance of the interface moving pair of the electro-hydraulic actuator pump gear ring housing can be improved by designing a reasonable lubrication bearing structure for the gear ring housing. In this study, a multi-field coupling multi-objective optimization model was established to improve lubrication performance and volumetric efficiency. The whole model consists of the dynamic model of the gear ring components, the fluid lubrication model of the gear ring housing interface, the oil film formation and sealing model considering the influence of temperature, and the multi-objective optimization model. The comprehensive performance of the straight-line conjugate internal meshing gear pump was verified experimentally using a test bench. The results show that the lubrication performance is improved, the mechanical loss is reduced by 31.52%, and the volumetric efficiency is increased by 4.91%.

A H 2 O 2 -free colorimetric protocol based on urchin-like Au@Pt nanoparticles (Au@Pt NPs) has been developed for the sensitive and selective determination of cysteine (Cys). We verified the intrinsic oxidase-like activity of the Au@Pt NPs. They can act as artificial mimic oxidases to catalyse the oxidization of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) with the assistance of dissolved oxygen, avoiding the use of H 2 O 2 in the colorimetric determination of Cys. In addition, the discrimination of Cys from the other two biothiol analogues, homocysteine and glutathione, can be easily realized through a simple ageing process. HNO 3 is added to this colorimetric system to terminate the reaction by oxidizing ox-TMB (oxidized form of TMB) to diphenoquinone (DPQ), thus generating a characteristic absorption peak of DPQ at 450 nm. By recording the absorbance at 450 nm, interference from the aggregated Au@Pt NPs (absorption peak at 670 nm) when 650 nm (the characteristic absorption peak of ox-TMB) is used as the absorption wavelength can be eliminated. We investigated this H 2 O 2 -free colorimetric protocol and obtained high sensitivity, with a detection limit of 1.5 nM and relatively high selectivity. The analytical performance for real samples was further explored. The Au@Pt NP–based H 2 O 2 -free colorimetric protocol is of great significance for the sensitive and selective determination of Cys in practical samples in different scenarios. Graphical abstract

Background Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a brain dysfunction caused by systemic inflammation, involving mitochondrial dysfunction, glial damage, and dysregulated inflammatory responses. Recent studies emphasize the role of the skull bone marrow (SBM) and dura mater (DM) in regulating neuroimmune responses through the Skull Bone Marrow-Dura Mater-Brain Axis (SBM-DM-B Axis), which could serve as a potential therapeutic target for neuroinflammatory disorders. Methods In this study, infrared (IR) at different power levels (10, 30, 50, 100, 300, 500 mW) was tested to assess the photonic, thermal, and biological effects, aiming to determine the optimal power for confining IR effects to the SBM. The identified optimal power was subsequently applied in all experiments. To establish an SAE mouse model, LPS was administered intraperitoneally, and daily 10-minute IR exposures were applied for 4 consecutive days. The effects of SBM-confined IR on neuroimmune regulation and neuronal protection were assessed by quantitatively analyzing microglial morphology, area, density, connectivity, and neuronal morphology and density, as well as by motor behavioral tests (four-limb grip strength, 45° pole, and rotarod tests) and cognitive behavioral tests (Y-maze spontaneous alternation and novel object recognition). All analyses were conducted separately for the cortex and hippocampus to investigate spatial effects. Additionally, the role of the SBM-DM-B Axis was explored by evaluating the diameter of meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs), evaluating dural neutrophils, and quantifying dural macrophage number and morphology to assess the impact of IR on DM immune regulation. To further explore SBM-restricted IR effects and underlying mechanisms in the skull and cortex, reactive oxygen species (ROS), cytochrome c oxidase (CCO), ATP, and nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured, and paired transcriptomic profiling was conducted on skull and cortex tissues from the same mice. Results Ex vivo and in vivo penetration assays confirmed that 50 mW IR photostimulation was confined to the SBM with minimal penetration into deeper brain regions, while temperature monitoring and HSP70/HSP90 expression demonstrated that scalp temperature remained within safe limits and no thermal damage or stress responses occurred, in contrast to higher power levels (500 mW), which induced significant inflammation and neuronal loss. In SAE mice, daily 10-min SBM-targeted IR for four days promoted macrophage polarization in the SBM and facilitated body weight recovery, remodeled cortical microglia, mitigating neuronal loss and structural disruption in the cortex and hippocampus, and improved motor function. At the DM level, 50 mW IR dilated mLVs, reduced scattered and aggregated neutrophils, and restored macrophage density, area, and morphology, reversing the LPS-induced enlargement and sparse distribution of macrophages. Paired skull-cortex transcriptomic analyses revealed opposite baseline responses: IR enhanced metabolic and proliferative programs in the skull while suppressing biosynthetic and mitochondrial pathways in the cortex. In SAE mice, both tissues showed concordant downregulation of scavenger receptor uptake and IL6-JAK-STAT3 signaling, indicating reduced phagocytosis and inflammatory signaling. Conclusions We demonstrate that 50 mW IR can be safely confined to the SBM, effectively modulating skull, meningeal, and brain immunity to protect neurons in SAE mice. This study establishes SBM-restricted IR photobiomodulation as a safe and effective strategy to reprogram neuroimmune responses, highlighting the SBM-DM-B Axis as a novel pathway for neuroimmune regulation and a promising target for non-invasive interventions in SAE and other acute brain injuries.

Autonomous driving is an appealing research topic for integrating advanced intelligent algorithms to transform automotive industries and human commuting. This paper focuses on a hybrid model predictive controller (MPC) design for an adaptive cruise. The driving modes are divided into following and cruising, and the MPC algorithm based on simplified dual neural network (SDNN) and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) based on single neuron (SN) are applied to the following mode and the cruising mode, respectively. SDNN is used to accelerate the solution of the quadratic programming (QP) problem of the proposed MPC algorithm to improve the computation efficiency, while PID based on SN performs well in the nonlinear and time-varying conditions in the ACC system. Moreover, lateral dynamics control is integrated into the designed system to fulfill cruise control in the curved road conditions. Furthermore, to improve the energy efficiency of the electric vehicle, an energy feedback strategy is proposed. The simulation results show that the proposed ACC system is effective on both straight roads and curved roads.