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Additive manufacturing techniques, such as selective laser melting (SLM), enable the production of intricate and integrated components made from metallic materials with inherent porosity. The pores, typically perceived as defects, are commonly observed on the surface or within the matrix of SLM-formed components. However, it is noteworthy that these pores can function as reservoirs for lubricants to enhance tribological performance in specific applications, such as porous bearings. In this study, the optimum conditions for fabricating Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy porous bearings via SLM technology were investigated. By regulating laser power and hatch space during SLM processing, Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy porous bearings were successfully obtained. The resulting oil bearings exhibited an oil content exceeding 18% and a radial crushing strength surpassing 370 MPa. At reduced laser power (80 W) and increased hatch spacing (0.9 mm), average friction coefficients of 0.1 and 0.13 were observed, with volumetric wear values of 10.3 mm3 and 96.7 mm3, respectively. The friction mechanism is a combination of abrasive wear and delamination wear.

In this work, Cu-15Ni-8Sn components were manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) with a near full density of about 99.4%. The microstructures and phase precipitation of the as-fabricated Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). It was demonstrated that the as-fabricated Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy shows α-phase with γ-precipitates by XRD and TEM. The size of the grains of α-phase is in the range of 5~20 μm with random orientation distribution. The γ-precipitate is a Sn- and Ni-rich phase distributed dispersedly in matrix and accumulatively in grain boundary. The as-fabricated Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy exhibited yield strength of 522 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 653 MPa, and elongation of 17%. The excellent mechanical performance of the as-fabricated Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy is caused by the local laser melting mode including rapid cooling rate and reduplicative fusing from the subsequent layer melting, which leads to refined grains and limited Sn segregation in micron-size within the matrix.

Retrospective Study. The selection of the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) and lowest instrumented vertebra (LIV) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) Lenke type 6C is critical for achieving optimal spinal alignment and preventing post-surgical complications. This study evaluates the radiographic and clinical outcomes of two UIV and LIV selection strategies in patients with AIS Lenke 6C undergoing posterior spinal fusion. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 79 patients treated between 2011 and 2020. Patients were divided into two groups based on LIV and UIV selection: Group A, with LIV at the lower end vertebra (LEV) and UIV at the upper end vertebra (UEV), and Group B, with LIV one level caudal to the LEV (LEV-1) and UIV either one level above or below the UEV (UEV + 1 or UEV-1). Radiographic parameters, including coronal and sagittal balance, and clinical outcomes were compared between the groups. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in spinal alignment. In Group A, the thoracic and lumbar/thoracolumbar Cobb angles improved from 36.1 ± 6° and 51.3 ± 3° preoperatively to 1.8 ± 0° and 2.8 ± 1° at six months postoperatively, and 1.7 ± 0° and 3.1 ± 2° at the final follow-up. In Group B, the thoracic and lumbar/thoracolumbar Cobb angles improved from 33.6 ± 5° and 51.7 ± 3° preoperatively to 2.6 ± 2° and 3.7 ± 2° at six months postoperatively, and 2.6 ± 2° and 3.7 ± 2° at the final follow-up ( P  = 0.105). Coronal and sagittal balance parameters showed comparable improvements in both groups. The SRS-22 scores at the final follow-up indicated significant enhancements in all domains, including pain, function, and mental well-being. The selection of UIV and LIV significantly impacts radiographic and clinical outcomes in AIS Lenke type 6C. Both strategies—LIV at LEV with UIV at UEV, and LIV at LEV-1 with UIV at UEV ± 1yielded comparable improvements in spinal alignment and patient-reported outcomes. However, the choice of UIV and LIV should be tailored to individual patient anatomy and surgical goals. This study underscores the importance of careful UIV and LIV selection in optimizing postoperative outcomes for AIS Lenke type 6C patients.

To investigate the differences in perioperative indices, including experimental results and quality-of-life-related scores between patients managed with postoperative irrigation and drainage and those managed with drainage alone. This was a retrospective analysis of 88 patients with spinal tuberculosis who underwent surgical treatment at our spinal surgery center from January 2017 to January 2022, including 32 patients with continuous postoperative irrigation and 56 patients with postoperative drainage alone. Demographic and general characteristics, laboratory data, quality-of-life-related data, and complications were compared. Compared the drainage-only group, the inflammation-related index decreased more rapidly when local irrigation was performed. The ESR decreased from 65.7 ± 15.6 to 45.6 ± 8.3 in the irrigation group and from 64.2 ± 12.1 to 56.3 ± 6.5 in the drainage-only group during the first postoperative week. The VAS score also improved significantly in both the irrigation and drainage-only groups. In addition, the neurological condition improved to a greater extent at 2 weeks after surgery in the irrigation group, although a significant difference was not detected between the two groups. The average bed rest time of the irrigation group was longer than that of the drainage-only group, and the D-dimer level increased more in the irrigation group than in the drainage-only group at one week. Compared with the preoperative HADS score, the postoperative HADS score clearly decreased in both groups, and the irrigation group had better mental health conditions than the drainage-only group. Postoperative continuous irrigation combined with drainage is an optional perioperative management strategy that can significantly improve inflammatory and mental conditions compared with postoperative drainage alone, resulting in better clinical outcomes at the early postoperative stage.

Titanium alloys represent the prevailing material employed in orthopedic implants, which are present in millions of patients worldwide. The prolonged presence of these implants in the human body has raised concerns about possible health effects. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of titanium implants and surrounding tissue samples obtained from patients who underwent revision surgery for therapeutic reasons. The surface of the implants exhibited nano-scale corrosion defects, and nanoparticles were deposited in adjacent samples. In addition, muscle in close proximity to the implant showed clear evidence of fibrotic proliferation, with titanium content in the muscle tissue increasing the closer it was to the implant. Transcriptomics analysis revealed SNAI2 upregulation and activation of PI3K/AKT signaling. In vivo rodent and zebrafish models validated that titanium implant or nanoparticles exposure provoked collagen deposition and disorganized muscle structure. Snai2 knockdown significantly reduced implant-associated fibrosis in both rodent and zebrafish models. Cellular experiments demonstrated that titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) induced fibrotic gene expression at sub-cytotoxic doses, whereas Snai2 knockdown significantly reduced TiO 2 NPs-induced fibrotic gene expression. The in vivo and in vitro experiments collectively demonstrated that Snai2 plays a pivotal role in mediating titanium-induced fibrosis. Overall, these findings indicate a significant release of titanium nanoparticles from the implants into the surrounding tissues, resulting in muscular fibrosis, partially through Snai2-dependent signaling. Graphical Abstract

Bone formation, metabolism, and the stability of the bone marrow microenvironment are all impacted by the imbalance in the differentiation potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Despite this, it is unknown how BMSCs affect congenital scoliosis (CS). As a result, our research now focuses on explaining its associated impact and mechanism. In eukaryotic cells, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent post-transcriptional alteration. The role of fat mass and obesity-related genes (FTO), an m6A demethylase, in regulating the differentiation of BMSCs is still unknown. We assessed alterations in the mRNA and protein levels of genes linked to the differentiation of BMSCs using samples taken from CS. According to our findings, According to our findings, FTO inhibits osteogenic differentiation and promotes the adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs. MMP1 knockdown has an inhibitory effect on BMSC osteogenic differentiation, whereas MMP1 overexpression promotes it. A specific ERG inhibitor called PD98059 prevents MMP1-mediated promotion. Additionally, our research revealed that FTO affects how BMSCs can differentiate in CS patients by regulating MMP1 levels. FTO-mediated MMP1 m6A modification underlies MMP1’s promotion of osteogenic differentiation via the ERK pathway, implying that it could be a viable treatment target for CS.

Objective As there are no substantial selection criteria for determining the lowest instrumented vertebra (LIV) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) Lenke 5C/6C, thus, many surgeons base their selection on experience. The study aims to compare the selection of the lowest instrumented vertebrae (LIV) lumbar vertebra three (L3) with the use of direct vertebrae rotation (DVR) to the lowest instrumented vertebrae (LIV) lumbar vertebra four (L4) with the use of non-DVR for the correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) Lenke 5C/6C when the lower end vertebrae (LEV) is at lumbar vertebrae four (L4). Methods This prospective study involved 101 patients who were divided into two groups based on different techniques. The patients were prospectively followed up for at least four years. All patients included in the study had a lower end vertebra (LEV) at L4, while patients older than 18 years and patients with prior surgical procedures were excluded. The DVR group consisted of 49 patients, and the non-DVR group included 51 patients. Results The preoperative mean LIV disc angle was 3.1 ± 3 and 3.1 ± 1, P  = 0.097, which corrected to 1.2 ± 0 and 1.1 ± 0 in both groups at 4-year follow-up without statistical significance. The LIVDA and LIVT were statistically insignificant at the preoperative, and there were no significant differences at the follow-up visitation. The DVR group achieved a satisfactory coronal and Cobb’s angle correction compared to the NDVR group; however, there were no statistical differences at the follow-up visitations. Both groups achieve a satisfactory correction rate without substantial significance in clinical and radiological outcomes. Furthermore, no post-surgical complications were recorded in either group. Conclusions DVR is suitable for selecting L3 as the LIV in AIS Lenke 5C/6C compared to L4 in non-DVR. DVR preserved more segments without substantial complications during the follow-up visitations. Nevertheless, both groups will continue to be followed up to prevent adding-on post-surgical complications.

The oral cavity serves as the primary source of oral mesenchymal stem/progenitor cell populations residing in the dental pulp, periodontal ligament, deciduous tooth pulp, and gingival connective tissue. Oral and periodontal tissues exist in a constantly loaded biomechanical environment, where forces from mastication, vascular pulsation, and orthodontic manipulation continuously act on resident mesenchymal stem cells, including dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs), and gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs). In this review, we use the term “oral stem cells” to specifically denote oral mesenchymal stem/progenitor populations residing in dental pulp, periodontal ligament (PDL), deciduous tooth pulp, and gingival connective tissue (DPSCs, PDLSCs, SHEDs, and GMSCs), which are most relevant to orthodontic remodeling and dento-periodontal regeneration. For clarity, this review highlights the defining characteristics, representative markers, differentiation potential, and immunomodulatory properties of these oral stem cells within the manuscript, establishing a foundation for understanding how mechanical forces shape their fate. These forces are not merely physical stimuli; they actively reshape stem cell fate by engaging a multilayered mechano - epigenetic regulatory network that integrates cytoskeletal mechanotransduction, nuclear mechanics, and chromatin remodeling. Mechanical inputs such as compression, tension, shear stress, and extracellular matrix stiffness modulate DNA methylation, histone acetylation and methylation, 3D genome architecture, and non-coding RNA programs. These epigenetic and epitranscriptomic adaptations stabilize lineage commitment, influence inflammatory and regenerative outputs, and may establish “mechanical memory” that persists after load removal. Metabolic rewiring, including YAP/TAZ- and MAPK-driven control of mitochondrial activity and metabolite pools, provides an additional axis linking mechanics to chromatin state. Building on these mechanisms, emerging therapeutic strategies aim to couple defined mechanical cues with epigenetic modulators and mechano-tunable biomaterials to enhance pulp regeneration, periodontal repair, and orthodontic bone remodeling with higher precision. The review further highlights single-cell multi-omics and live-cell imaging approaches as essential tools to resolve force-dependent chromatin dynamics in vivo , and proposes that integrating biomechanics, epigenetics, and metabolic control will enable next-generation regenerative dentistry and personalized orthodontic intervention.

Pineapple harvesting in natural orchard environments faces challenges such as high occlusion rates caused by foliage and the need for complex spatial planning to guide robotic arm movement in cluttered terrains. This study proposes an innovative visual detection model, Yolov10n-SSE, which integrates split convolution (SPConv), squeeze-and-excitation (SE) attention, and efficient multi-scale attention (EMA) modules. These improvements enhance detection accuracy while reducing computational complexity. The proposed model achieves notable performance gains in precision (93.8%), recall (84.9%), and mAP (91.8%). Additionally, a dimensionality-reduction strategy transforms 3D path planning into a more efficient 2D image-space task using point clouds from a depth camera. Combining the artificial potential field (APF) method with an improved RRT* algorithm mitigates randomness, ensures obstacle avoidance, and reduces computation time. Experimental validation demonstrates the superior stability of this approach and its generation of collision-free paths, while robotic arm simulation in ROS confirms real-world feasibility. This integrated approach to detection and path planning provides a scalable technical solution for automated pineapple harvesting, addressing key bottlenecks in agricultural robotics and fostering advancements in fruit-picking automation.

A significant step toward constructing high‐efficiency neuromorphic systems is the electronic emulation of advanced synaptic functions of the human brain. While previous studies have focused on mimicking the basic functions of synapses using single‐gate transistors, multigate transistors offer an opportunity to simulate more complex and advanced memory‐forming behaviors in biological synapses. In this study, a simple and general method is used to assemble rubber semiconductors into suspended two‐phase composite films that are transferred to the surface of the ion‐conducting membrane to fabricate flexible multiterminal photoelectronic neurotransistors. The suspended ion conductive film is used as the gate dielectrics and supporting substrate. The prepared devices exhibit excellent electrical stability and mechanical flexibility after being bent. Basic photoelectronic synaptic behavior and pulse‐dependent plasticity are emulated. Furthermore, the device realizes the spatiotemporally integrated electrical and optical stimuli to mimic spatiotemporal information processing. This study provides a promising direction for constructing more complex spiking neural networks and more powerful neuromorphic systems with brain‐like dynamic spatiotemporal processing functions. While previous single‐gate synapse devices can mimic the basic functions of synapses, multigate synapse devices provide the opportunity to mimic more complex and advanced memory formation behaviors. Here, a simple self‐assembly and transfer method developed an ion‐gel‐based self‐supported flexible multiterminal synaptic device. The device realizes the spatiotemporal integration during optical and electrical stimulation, enabling the simulation of spatiotemporal information processing.