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Given the limitations of traditional therapies, the treatment of infected bone defects (IBD) remains a great challenge. It is urgent to find a novel method that can simultaneously eradicate infection and promote new bone formation. With the increasing application of personalized scaffolds in orthopedics, novel biomaterials with both antibacterial and osteoinductive properties have provided a viable option for IBD treatment. Through the three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, we fabricated a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA)/nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA) composite scaffold grafted with the antibiotic vancomycin and loaded with the osteoinductive agent recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) via polydopamine (DOPA) chemistry, whose therapeutic effects on IBD were determined. After examining the hydrophilicity, surface chemical composition, mechanical properties, and drug release of the PLGA/n-HA, PLGA/n-HA/VAN, and PLGA/n-HA/VAN+DOPA/rhBMP-2 composite scaffolds, pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded onto the scaffold surface to assess the biocompatibility and osteoconductive properties of the scaffolds in vitro. For in vivo experiments, the composite scaffolds contaminated with were implanted into the defect sites of rabbit radius. After 12 weeks, micro-CT analysis, H&E and Masson staining, immunohistochemistry, and viable bacteria counting were conducted to compare the effects of three composite scaffolds on new bone formation and bone infection. The surface modification with DOPA/rhBMP-2 increased the hydrophilicity of PLGA/n-HA scaffolds. Vancomycin and BMP-2 were continuously and regularly eluted from the PLGA/n-HA/VAN+DOPA/rhBMP-2 scaffolds. The PLGA/n-HA/VAN+DOPA/rhBMP-2 scaffolds promoted MC3T3-E1 cell survival and proliferation and enhanced ALP activity and calcium deposition compared with the PLGA/n-HA and PLGA/n-HA/VAN scaffolds. Additionally, the PLGA/n-HA/VAN+DOPA/rhBMP-2 scaffolds significantly facilitated new bone formation and inhibited bone infection in IBD rabbit models. The rabbits implanted with the PLGA/n-HA/VAN+DOPA/rhBMP-2 scaffolds exhibited normal heart, lung, and kidney histologies and normal serum biochemical indices, suggesting the safety of the scaffolds. The 3D-printed PLGA/n-HA/VAN+DOPA/rhBMP-2 scaffolds exhibited both antibacterial and osteoinductive activities in IBD.

To reduce the damage caused by road accidents, researchers have applied different techniques to explore correlated factors and develop efficient prediction models. The main purpose of this study is to use one statistical and two nonparametric data mining techniques, namely, logistic regression (LR), classification and regression tree (CART), and random forest (RF), to compare their prediction capability, identify the significant variables (identified by LR) and important variables (identified by CART or RF) that are strongly correlated with road accident severity, and distinguish the variables that have significant positive influence on prediction performance. In this study, three prediction performance evaluation measures, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, are used to find the best integrated method which consists of the most effective prediction model and the input variables that have higher positive influence on accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.

Luteolin (LTL) exerts remarkable tumor suppressive activity on various types of cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it is not completely understood whether the mechanism of its action against NSCLC is related to microRNAs (miRNAs). In the present study, we investigated the anti-tumor effects of LTL on NSCLC in vitro and in vivo. The results revealed that LTL could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in both A549 and H460 cells. In a H460 xenograft tumor model of nude mice, LTL significantly suppressed tumor growth, inhibited cell proliferation, and induced apoptosis. miRNA microarray and quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis indicated that miR-34a-5p was dramatically upregulated upon LTL treatment in tumor tissues. Furthermore, MDM4 was proved to be a direct target of miR-34a-5p by luciferase reporter gene assay. LTL treatment was associated with increased p53 and p21 protein expressions and decreased MDM4 protein expression in both NSCLC cells and tumor tissues. When miR-34a-5p was inhibited in vitro, the protein expressions of Bcl-2 and MDM4 were recovered, while that of p53, p21, and Bax were attenuated. Moreover, caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation induced by LHL treatment in vitro were also suppressed by miR-34a-5p inhibition. Overall, LTL could inhibit tumorigenesis and induce apoptosis of NSCLC cells by upregulation of miR-34a-5p via targeting MDM4. These findings provide novel insight into the molecular functions of LTL that suggest its potential as a therapeutic agent for human NSCLC.

Simultaneously activating metal and lattice oxygen sites to construct a compatible multi-mechanism catalysis is expected for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by providing highly available active sites and mediate catalytic activity/stability, but significant challenges remain. Herein, Fe and S dually modulated NiFe oxyhydroxide (R-NiFeOOH@SO 4 ) is conceived by complete reconstruction of NiMoO 4 ·xH 2 O@Fe,S during OER, and achieves compatible adsorbate evolution mechanism and lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism with simultaneously optimized metal/oxygen sites, as substantiated by in situ spectroscopy/mass spectrometry and chemical probe. Further theoretical analyses reveal that Fe promotes the OER kinetics under adsorbate evolution mechanism, while S excites the lattice oxygen activity under lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism, featuring upshifted O 2 p band centers, enlarged d-d Coulomb interaction, weakened metal-oxygen bond and optimized intermediate adsorption free energy. Benefiting from the compatible multi-mechanism, R-NiFeOOH@SO 4 only requires overpotentials of 251 ± 5/291 ± 1 mV to drive current densities of 100/500 mA cm −2 in alkaline media, with robust stability for over 300 h. This work provides insights in understanding the OER mechanism to better design high-performance OER catalysts. The oxygen evolution reaction is crucial for energy conversion but faces challenges in catalyst optimization. Here, the authors present a dual-modulated NiFe oxyhydroxide (R-NiFeOOH@SO4) that enhances OER performance through optimized metal and lattice oxygen sites, achieving a compatible multi-mechanism.

Brassinolide (BR) is a sterol compound, which can regulate plant seed germination, flowering, senescence, tropism, photosynthesis, stress resistance, and is closely related to other signaling molecules. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of soaking with BR to regulate growth quality at rice seedling stage under salt stress. Results demonstrated that salt stress increases the contents of ROS, MDA, Na + and ABA, reduces the the SPAD value, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), maximum fluorescence (Fm), variable fluorescence (Fv), the effective photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fo) and the maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), reduces the biomass production and inhabits plant growth. All of these responses were effectively alleviated by BR soaking treatment. Soaking with BR could increase the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and the contents of ascorbic acid, glutathione as well as soluble protein and proline, while BR soaking treatment inhibited the accumulation of ROS and reduced the content of MDA. BR soaking significantly reduced the contents of Na + and increased the contents of K + and Ca 2+ , indicating that soaking with BR is beneficial to the excretion of Na + , the absorption of K + and Ca 2+ and the maintenance of ion balance in rice seedlings under salt stress. BR also maintained endogenous hormone balance by increasing the contents of indoleacetic acid (IAA), zeatin (ZT), salicylic acid (SA), and decreasing the ABA content. Soaking with BR significantly increased the SPAD value, Pn and Tr and enhanced the Fm, Fv/Fm and Fv/Fo of rice seedlings under NaCl stress, protected the photosythetic system of plants, and improved their biomass. It is suggested that BR was beneficial to protect membrane lipid peroxidation, the modulation of antioxidant defense systems, ion balance and endogenous hormonal balance with imposition to salt stress.

Regional sustainable development is a fundamental pathway toward achieving long-term economic stability, social equity, and ecological balance. Particularly in the face of unexpected shocks and systemic risks, economic resilience plays a critical role in ensuring the attainment of sustainability goals. Drawing on endogenous growth theory and dynamic capabilities theory, this study focuses on 31 provincial-level administrative divisions in mainland China as the target regions, utilizing panel data from 2004 to 2023 to empirically examine the relationships. The baseline regression results indicate a significant positive effect of economic resilience on sustainable development. Moderation analysis further reveals that industrial diversification, human capital, and environmental regulation significantly enhance the positive impact of resilience. Mediation tests show that economic resilience promotes sustainable development indirectly by improving the level of marketization. Heterogeneity analysis confirms that the impact of economic resilience on sustainable development varies significantly across regions. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for governments to formulate more effective risk-mitigation policies and for firms to identify more stable regions for investment.

Abstract Background The efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients colonized with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) is unknown. We evaluated the effectiveness of fluoroquinolone-based SBP prophylaxis in an era and area of frequent antibiotic resistance. Methods This is a prospective observational study in patients with liver cirrhosis and an indication for fluoroquinolone-based prophylaxis of SBP. Patients were recruited and followed in a large German tertiary reference center with comprehensive microbiological and clinical monitoring performed at baseline and after 30, 60, 90, and 180 days of prophylaxis. Results Overall, 77 patients received antibiotic prophylaxis for an average of 93 days. Baseline prevalence of colonization with MDROs was high (N = 39, 50.6%). At least one de novo MDRO was detected in 27 patients (35.1%) during antibiotic prophylaxis; 33 patients (42.9%) developed secondary infections, including 14 cases (17.9%) of infections with MDROs, and 13 cases (16.9%) of de novo/recurrent SBP. Thirty patients (39.0%) died during follow-up. Significantly higher risks of SBP development during antibiotic prophylaxis were observed for patients with versus without any apparent MDROs (P = .009), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (P = .008), multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria (P = .016), or quinolone-resistant gram-negative bacteria (QR-GNB) (P = .015). In competing risk analysis, QR-GNB were independently associated with prophylaxis failure (hazard ratio, 3.39; P = .045) and infections with QR-GNB were independently associated with death before SBP (subdistribution hazard risk, 6.47; P = .034). Conclusions Antibiotic prophylaxis of SBP appears to be less efficient in patients with known MDROs. Regular MDRO screening seems to be useful to tailor treatment of secondary infections and re-evaluate antibiotic prophylaxis in case of selection of quinolone resistance. In this prospective observational study in patients with liver cirrhosis, fluoroquinolone-based prophylaxis of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis appears to be less efficient in patients with known multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Regular MDRO screening might be useful to tailor and re-evaluate individual antibiotic prophylaxis.

The Azure Kinect represents the latest generation of Microsoft Kinect depth cameras. Of interest in this article is the depth and spatial accuracy of the Azure Kinect and how it compares to its predecessor, the Kinect v2. In one experiment, the two sensors are used to capture a planar whiteboard at 15 locations in a grid pattern with laser scanner data serving as ground truth. A set of histograms reveals the temporal-based random depth error inherent in each Kinect. Additionally, a two-dimensional cone of accuracy illustrates the systematic spatial error. At distances greater than 2.5 m, we find the Azure Kinect to have improved accuracy in both spatial and temporal domains as compared to the Kinect v2, while for distances less than 2.5 m, the spatial and temporal accuracies were found to be comparable. In another experiment, we compare the distribution of random depth error between each Kinect sensor by capturing a flat wall across the field of view in horizontal and vertical directions. We find the Azure Kinect to have improved temporal accuracy over the Kinect v2 in the range of 2.5 to 3.5 m for measurements close to the optical axis. The results indicate that the Azure Kinect is a suitable substitute for Kinect v2 in 3D scanning applications.

An important part of open-pit mining is the waste dump, where the topsoil and rocks extracted during open-pit excavation are discharged, mainly including the upper waste material and the base that carries the waste material below. Most of the external dumping sites are directly dumped on the initial surface, occupying a large area. According to the survey, the area of soil dumping sites in mining sites in countries such as the United States and Russia has reached more than half of the total mining area. This article takes the waste dump in the Dongbang area of a mine in Shanxi Province as the research object. Through numerical calculations and similar simulation methods such as friction experiments, it was found that the stability of the slopes below the 1290 step and the 1260 platform on the south side of the eastern slope of the waste dump is poor. The single step is relatively high and mainly composed of silty clay, which is compacted and prone to cracking and sliding when exposed to water. The overall stability of the slope is basically stable, and as the soil is discharged, the height of the slope increases, and supervision needs to be strengthened. If necessary, gaps should be sealed. The stability problem of slopes is still serious, and the mechanism of slope failure needs to be studied.

In recent years, Taiwan and other East Asian countries have begun to promote English-medium instruction (EMI) at the tertiary level. Communicating through English in EMI classrooms is a basic requirement for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, but it can be a challenge. Speaking a foreign language is a complex process that involves linguistic competence, speaking skills, and strategy use. Speaking strategies have been viewed as first aid devices used for interaction and communication, to address problems or breakdowns, and to remain active in communication. The purpose of this article is to investigate university students' anxiety, strategy use, and difficulties when speaking English in full and partial EMI contexts. This research involved a large-scale questionnaire survey of 638 students. The quantitative analyses were conducted through a multivariate analysis of variance, a hierarchical multiple regression, and chi-square tests of independence. The results indicated that students receiving partial EMI exhibited high speech anxiety, a lack of confidence, and negative feelings toward English learning. Additionally, students in the partial EMI context were found to use rehearsal and paraphrasing strategies less frequently than those in full EMI contexts. Furthermore, a relationship was observed between the EMI context and difficulties in speaking reported by students. (Verlag).