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Objective To systematically review the clinical efficacy (pain, function, quality of life) and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of frozen shoulder through meta-analysis, and provide evidence-based medical evidence for the effectiveness of PRP in the treatment of frozen shoulder. Methods A search was conducted on international databases (Pubmed, Web of science, Embase) and Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang, VIP) to search the clinical studies on the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma in treating frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis/periarthritis/50 shoulder) and their corresponding references published from inception until January 2024. Thoroughly excluded literature not meeting the predetermined inclusion criteria, extracted relevant data from the literature, and input it into RevMan5.4 for meta-analysis. Results This study ultimately included 14 RCTs, with a total of 1024 patients. The results showed that PRP has significant advantages compared with control groups in VAS (mean difference (MD) =-0.38, 95% confidence interval( CI ) (-0.73, -0.03), P  = 0.03), UCLA (MD = 3.31, 95% CI (1.02,5.60), P  = 0.005), DASH ( MD = -4.94,95% CI (-9.34, -0.53), P  = 0.03), SPADI (SPADI Total: MD =-16.87, 95% CI (-22.84, -10.91), P  < 0.00001; SPADI Pain: MD =-5.38, 95% CI (-7.80, -2.97), P  < 0.0001; SPADI Disability: MD =-11.00, 95% CI (-13.61,-8.39), P  < 0.00001), and the active and passive Range of Motion (active flexion: MD  = 12.70, 95% CI (7.44, 17.95), P  < 0.00001; passive flexion: MD  = 9.47, 95% CI(3.80, 15.14), P  = 0.001; active extension: MD  = 3.45, 95% CI(2.39, 4.50), P  < 0.00001; active abduction: MD  = 13.54, 95% CI(8.42, 18.67), P  < 0.00001; passive abduction: MD  = 14.26, 95% CI (5.97, 22.56), P  = 0.0008; active internal rotation: MD  = 5.16, 95% CI (1.84, 8.48), P  = 0.002; passive internal rotation: MD  = 3.65, 95% CI(1.15, 6.15), P  = 0.004; active external rotation: MD  = 10.50, 95% CI(5.47, 15.53), P  < 0.0001; passive external rotation: MD  = 6.00, 95% CI (1.82, 10.19), P  = 0.005) except passive extension ( MD  = 2.25, 95% CI (-0.77, 5.28), P  = 0.14). In terms of safety, most studies reported no adverse effects, and only one study reported common complications of joint puncture such as swelling and pain after treatment in both PRP and control groups. Previous studies have shown a risk of osteonecrosis caused by corticosteroids. Therefore, the safety of PRP treatment is more reliable. Conclusion The results showed that PRP was more durable and safer than corticosteroids and other control groups in the treatment of frozen shoulder. Study Design Systematic review. Trial registration PROSPERO CRD42022359444, date of registration: 22-09-2022.

Objective To investigate the relationships among the acromial tilt (AT), the glenoid inclination angle (GIA), the critical shoulder angle (CSA), the acromioglenoid angle (AGA), and degenerative rotator cuff injury via digital reconstruction radiographs (DRRs). Methods A retrospective cohort of 63 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled from the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between April 2023 and April 2024, 33 patients with rotator cuff injury and 30 controls were included. Clinical data and scapular computed tomography (CT) scans were collected, and three-dimensional reconstructions were generated via Amira software (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA). Digital reconstruction radiograph (DRR) images were simulated at the Grashey and Y positions of the scapula, and the parameters were measured via Digimizer software (MedCalc Software, Belgium). The diagnostic and predictive validity of each parameter for DRR for rotator cuff injury was assessed through statistical analysis of the measured data, including inter-observer consistency, correlation analysis among parameters, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results (1) Inter-observer reliability was excellent for all the parameters (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) > 0.8). (2) CSA and AGA were significantly greater in the rotator cuff injury group ( P CSA = 0.003; P AGA  < 0.001), whereas GIA was significantly lower ( P  < 0.001); no difference was detected in AT ( P  > 0.05). (3) Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that GIA, CSA, and AGA were risk factors for rotator cuff injury ( P CSA = 0.008; P AGA  = 0.001; P GIA  = 0.001). (4) ROC analysis yielded area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.755 (GIA), 0.700 (CSA), and 0.796 (AGA), with cutoff thresholds of 83.98°, 30.67°, and 42.04°, respectively. (5) Strong correlations were observed between the CSA and AGA ( r  = 0.939), whereas the GIA was inversely correlated with both the CSA ( r  = -0.423) and the AGA ( r  = -0.471). Conclusion Measurements of GIA, CSA, and AGA derived from DRRs demonstrate high diagnostic value for degenerative rotator cuff injury. DRR represents a reliable alternative to conventional radiography in clinical practice. In the future, DRR holds promise as a tool for assessing the impact of degenerative rotator cuff injury. However, due to radiation exposure concerns, the current application of DRR is recommended primarily for retrospective studies utilizing existing computed tomography (CT) data.

This work aims to establish a suitable numerical simulation model for hybrid laser-electric arc heat source welding of dissimilar Mg alloys between AZ31 and AZ80. Based on the energy conservation law and Fourier’s law of heat conduction, the differential equations of the three-dimensional temperature field for nonlinear transient heat conduction are built. According to the analysis of nonlinear transient heat transfer, the equations representing initial conditions and boundary conditions are obtained. The “double ellipsoidal heat source + 3D Gaussian heat source” combination was chosen to construct the laser-electric arc hybrid heat source. The weld bead morphologies and the distribution of temperature, stress, displacement and plastic strains are numerically simulated. The actual welding experiments were performed by a hybrid laser-electric arc welding machine. The interaction mechanism between laser and electric arc in the hybrid welding of Mg alloys is discussed in detail. The hybrid heat source can promote the absorption of laser energy and electric arc in the molten pool, resulting in more uniform energy distribution in the molten pool and the corresponding improvement of welding parameters. This work can provide theoretical guidance and data supports for the optimization of the hybrid laser-electric arc welding processes for Mg alloys.

Copy number variation (CNV) of DNA sequences, functionally significant but yet fully ascertained, is believed to confer considerable increments in unexplained heritability of quantitative traits. Identification of phenotype-associated CNVs (paCNVs) therefore is a pressing need in CNV studies to speed up their exploitation in cattle breeding programs. Here, we provided a new avenue to achieve this goal that is to project the published CNV data onto meta-quantitative trait loci (meta-QTL) map which connects causal genes with phenotypes. Any CNVs overlapping meta-QTL therefore will be potential paCNVs. This study reported potential paCNVs in Bos taurus autosome 3 (BTA3). Notably, overview indexes and CNVs both highlighted a narrower region (BTA3 54,500,000–55,000,000 bp, named BTA3_INQTL_6) within one constructed meta-QTL. Then, we ascertained guanylate-binding protein 4 (GBP4) among the nine positional candidate genes was significantly associated with adult cattle stature, including body weight (BW, P < 0.05) and withers height (WHT, P < 0.05), fitting GBP4 CNV either with three levels or with six levels in the model. Although higher copy number downregulated the mRNA levels of GBP2 (P < 0.05) and GBP4 (P < 0.05) in 1-Mb window (54.0–55.0 Mb) in muscle and adipose, additional analyses will be needed to clarify the causality behind the ascertained association.

Arterial calcification is positively associated with visceral adiposity, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Omentin is a novel adipokine that is selectively expressed in visceral adipose tissue. The levels of circulating omentin are decreased in obesity, and they correlate negatively with waist circumference. This study investigated the effects of omentin on the osteoblastic differentiation of calcifying vascular smooth muscle cells (CVSMCs), a subpopulation of aortic smooth muscle cells putatively involved in vascular calcification. Omentin inhibited mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin; omentin also suppressed ALP activity, osteocalcin protein production, and the matrix mineralization. Furthermore, omentin selectively activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) downstream effector Akt. Moreover, inhibition of PI3K or Akt activation reversed the effects of omentin on ALP activity and the matrix mineralization. The present results demonstrate for the first time that omentin can inhibit osteoblastic differentiation of CVSMCs via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, suggesting that the lower omentin levels in obese (specially visceral obese) subjects contribute to the development of arterial calcification, and omentin plays a protective role against arterial calcification.

•The efficacy of palliative spinal surgery on patients with Tomita type 7 spinal metastases was studied.•Palliative surgery significantly alleviates pain and improves neurologic function.•Quality of life can be improved by the multidisciplinary treatment. Objectives: Identify the efficacy of multidisciplinary treatment including palliative spinal surgery on patients with Tomita type 7 spinal metastases. Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis of surgery treated spinal metastatic patients from January 2013 to December 2016 in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital were performed. Surgical procedures and intraoperative parameters and postoperative adjuvent treatments were studied. Patients’ demographic characteristics and medical conditions including paralysis statues, quality of life and pain levels and postoperative survival time were identified. Results: 50 patients were identified with mean age at the time of surgery of 57.68 years old (range 27–78 years). The mean Tokuhashi score was 8.48 and the spinal instability neoplastic score (SINS) averaged at 10.52 points. 48 patients (96%) encountered epidural spinal cord compression. Kaplan-Meier method determined median postoperative survival time was 12.00 months (95% CI: 7.05–16.95 months). The mean score of visual analogue scale (VAS) decreased from 7.66 preoperatively to 1.96 postoperatively. The Frankel scale was improved by at least one grade in 47 patients. Patient’s quality of life showed significant improvements. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary treatment including palliative spinal surgery was associated with alleviating pain, improving neurologic function and quality of life in patients with Tomita type 7 spinal metastases.

A communication protocol that uses generalized GHZ quantum states to achieve dense coding in a noisy network. In this protocol, we first discuss two noisy communication environment models (bit flipped channel and phase flipped channel), then, we introduce the generalized GHZ-type quantum state, they are three particles in an entangled state, and one of the particles is in the sender’s (Alice) hand, and the other two particles are in the receiver’s (Bob) hand. After the sender (Alice) performs a unitary operation on the particle in her hand, it is sent out through a noisy channel, and the receiver (Bob) performs error correction (Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) codes), and then performs a decoding operation to achieve dense coding.

The tolerance allocation optimization method by fuzzy-set weight-center evaluation is used to derive the manufacturing difficulty coefficient, through quantifying the manufacturing condition factors which all affect the manufacturing cost, including the forming means of the blank, element size, machining surface features, operator’s skills, and material’s machinability. The coefficient is then converted into a weight factor used in the inversed square model representing the relationship between the cost and tolerance, a cost-objective function model based on optimal tolerance allocation according to the manufacturing conditions is thus established for optimizing and allocating the tolerances. Integrating this model into computer-aided-tolerance-allocation makes it more convenient, accurate, and feasible.

In order to address the insufficient capacity bottleneck issue in the automotive coating workshop of Aoling Factory during the peak production season, we had made significant improvements on the coating pretreatment and electrophoresis process. Improvements include: optimization of the degreasing alkalinity and temperature; implementation of the Parkerizing low temperature phosphating liquid processing technology; Jin Li Tai low temperature electrophoresis treatment technology; the mixing tank technology; as well as optimization of the electrophoretic paint curing conditions. The production verification test demonstrates that the cycle time for pretreatment electrophoresis process after implementation of the improvements is shorter than that of the previous process, the painting workshop production efficiency is also increased, thus it reduces the cost of production, achieves environmental protection and energy saving, solves the peak production season capacity bottleneck in coating workshop. The improved process is a proven and effective automotive coating technology worthy of promotion and field implementation.

Osteocytes actively regulate bone modeling and remodeling, direct skeletal mineralization, and regulate calcium/phosphate homeostasis and extracellular matrix metabolism; yet the specific role of osteocytes in maintaining bone structural integrity and strength is unknown. Studies have shown that the density of osteocytes decreases with age and estrogen deficiency, as seen in postmenopausal women. Here, we examined the relationships between osteocyte density and the related variables, including biomechanics, bone mineral density, microcrack and microstructure of vertebral trabeculae, in ovariectomized rats. We found that osteocyte density correlated with some of the parameters that determine the biomechanical quality of bone. Our findings suggest that osteocytes could play a crucial role in maintaining the mechanical quality of bone, and osteocyte density could be considered as an alternative index in assessing bone quality.