Effect of incomplete line defect size on energy localization and harvesting in phononic crystals.

The high electrical output performance of the phononic crystal (PnC)-based piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) system is of great research value in self-powered applications. This work presents the effect of incomplete line defect size on elastic wave energy localization and harvesting. The results show that for a given 7 × 5 supercell when the incomplete line defect reaches the second to sixth layer, the energy localization and harvesting performance show a changing trend of first increasing and then decreasing; when the incomplete line defect reaches the 4th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, and 6th layers of the supercell, respectively, the performance of PEH systems shows a trend from large to small.

Moxibustion ameliorates ovarian function in premature ovarian insufficiency rats by activating cAMP/PKA/CREB to promote steroidogenesis in ovarian granulosa cells.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) presents a substantial challenge to women's physiological and psychological well-being. Hormone replacement therapy, as the preferred therapeutic approach, involves solely exogenous supplementation of estrogen. Moxibustion, a traditional Chinese external treatment, has been investigated in our previous studies.

A randomized, controlled clinical trial of acupoint catgut embedding as an effective control of functional anorectal pain.

Background: Patients with functional anorectal pain (FAP) usually feel pain in the anal region, foreign body sensation, and defecation disorders. The pain may radiate to the perineum, thighs, and waist. Conventional biofeedback, local nerve block and surgical treatment have certain limitations.

[Electroacupuncture at acupoints of meridians for sarcopenia: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of electroacupuncture at acupoints of meridians for sarcopenia.

Methods: A total of 60 patients with sarcopenia were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. In the control group, conventional nutrition intervention for sarcopenia was adopted.

Modulating the organic photovoltaic properties of non-fullerene acceptors by molecular modification based on Y6: a theoretical study.

Developing non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) by modifying the backbone, side chains and end groups is the most important strategy to improve the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells (OSCs). Among numerous developed NFAs, Y6 and its derivatives are famous NFAs in the OSC field due to their good performance. Herein, in order to understand the mechanism of tuning the photovoltaic performance by modifying the Y6's center backbone, π-spacer and side-chains, we selected the PM6:Y6 OSC as a reference and systematically studied PM6:AQx-2, PM6:Y6-T, PM6:Y6-2T, PM6:Y6-O, PM6:Y6-1O and PM6:Y6-2O OSC systems based on extensive quantum chemistry calculations.

First-principles study on the high-pressure physical properties of orthocarbonate CaCO.

Orthorhombic CaCO is a recently discovered orthocarbonate whose high-pressure physical properties are critical for understanding the deep carbon cycle. Here, we study the structure, elastic and seismic properties of CaCO-Pnma at 20-140 GPa using first-principles calculations, and compare them with the results of CaCO polymorphs. The results show that the structural parameters of CaCO-Pnma are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Comparative study on high-pressure physical properties of monoclinic MgCO and MgCO.

The physical properties of Mg-carbonate at high temperature and pressure are crucial for understanding the deep carbon cycle. Here, we use first-principles calculations to study the physical properties of MgCO-C2/m and MgCO-P2/c under high pressure. The research shows that the structure and equation of state of MgCO-C2/m are in good agreement with the experimental results, and the phase transition pressure of MgCO from pnma to P2/c structure is 44.

Metal-free photosensitized intermolecular carboimination of alkenes: a green and direct access to both β-amino acids and β-amino ketones.

β-Amino carbonyl substructures are privileged motifs in natural products and active pharmaceutical compounds. Here, we report a photoinduced metal-free and highly regioselective intermolecular carboimination method the simultaneous introduction of amino and carbonyl groups into the CC double bond in one step, providing straightforward, green and general access to both β-amino acid and β-amino ketone motifs from readily available alkene feedstocks. The mild reaction conditions, excellent functional group tolerance and product diversity should make this a broadly applicable carboimination approach of very broad interest to organic and medicinal chemists.

Photo-catalyzed acetoxysulfoximination of styrene with sulfoximidoyl thianthrenium salt.

We report the design and synthesis of a redox-active thianthrenium-containing sulfoximination reagent. Photo-catalyzed acetoxysulfoximination of styrene with various functional groups is described. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that the sulfoximination reagent (2aa) received a single electron transfer (SET) from the photo-excited Ir(ppy) catalyst to produce a sulfoximidoyl radical as a key intermediate in this transformation.

First-principles calculations of high-pressure physical properties anisotropy for magnesite.

The first-principles calculations based on density functional theory with projector-augmented wave are used to study the anisotropy of elastic modulus, mechanical hardness, minimum thermal conductivity, acoustic velocity and thermal expansion of magnesite (MgCO) under deep mantle pressure. The calculation results of the phase transition pressure, equation of state, elastic constants, elastic moduli, elastic wave velocities and thermal expansion coefficient are consistent with those determined experimentally. The research results show that the elastic moduli have strong anisotropy, the mechanical hardness gradually softens with increasing pressure, the conduction velocity of heat in the [100] direction is faster than that in the [001] direction, the plane wave velocity anisotropy first increases and then gradually decreases with increasing pressure, and the shear wave velocity anisotropy increases with the increase of pressure, the thermal expansion in the [100] direction is greater than that in the [001] direction.

[Effect of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes of frozen embryo transfer in patients with anovulatory infertility].

Objective: To observe the effect of conventional ovulation induction protocol and acupuncture combined with conventional ovulation induction protocol on pregnancy outcomes of frozen embryo transfer (FET) in patients with anovulatory infertility.

Methods: A total of 60 patients with anovulatory infertility were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. In the control group, conventional ovulation induction protocol was applied to prepare endometrium.

[Different entry points of needle knife for lumbar disc herniation: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy and safety among three different entry points of needle knife, including tenderness point, intervertebral foramen point and articular process node, for lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

Methods: A total of 105 patients with LDH were randomly divided into a tenderness point group (35 cases, 1 case dropped off ), an intervertebral foramen point group (35 cases) and an articular process node group (35 cases, 1 case dropped off ). In the three groups, the needle knife was given at positive tenderness points of lumbosacral and hip, the external point of intervertebral foramen and the node of vertebral joint process respectively, once a week for a total of 4 times.

The Halogenation Effects of Electron Acceptor ITIC for Organic Photovoltaic Nano-Heterojunctions.

Molecular engineering plays a critical role in the development of electron donor and acceptor materials for improving power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). The halogenated acceptor materials in OPVs have shown high PCE. Here, to investigate the halogenation mechanism and the effects on OPV performances, based on the density functional theory calculations with the optimally tuned screened range-separated hybrid functional and the consideration of solid polarization effects, we addressed the halogenation effects of acceptor ITIC, which were modeled by bis-substituted ITIC with halogen and coded as IT-2X (X = F, Cl, Br), and PBDB-T:ITIC, PBDB-T:IT-2X (X = F, Cl, Br) complexes on their geometries, electronic structures, excitations, electrostatic potentials, and the rate constants of charge transfer, exciton dissociation (ED), and charge recombination processes at the heterojunction interface.

Clinical Study of Acupotomy for Knee Osteoarthritis Based on the Meridian-Sinew Theory: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

This study was performed to compare the effectiveness of acupotomy based on the meridian-sinew theory with acupotomy based on the anatomical theory in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). A total of 124 patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomized into the meridian-sinew (MS) group (63 patients) and anatomy group (61 patients). In the MS group, acupotomy based on the meridian-sinew theory was performed.

Moxibustion against Cyclophosphamide-Induced Premature Ovarian Failure in Rats through Inhibiting NLRP3-/Caspase-1-/GSDMD-Dependent Pyroptosis.

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a clinical term used to describe a condition in which women present with amenorrhoea, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, and infertility under 40 years old, which are mainly characterized by ovarian granulosa cell inflammation and death. Pyroptosis is a proinflammatory form of programmed cell death. However, the roles of pyroptosis in POF and moxibustion (Mox) on pyroptosis in POF have not been elucidated.

Multiparametric and multilevel characterization of morphological alterations in patients with transient ischemic attack.

Transient ischemic attack (TIA), an important risk factor for stroke, is associated with widespread disruptions of functional brain architecture. However, TIA-related structural alterations are not well established. By analyzing structural MRI data from 50 TIA patients versus 40 healthy controls (HCs), here we systematically investigated TIA-related morphological alterations in multiple cortical surface-based indices (cortical thickness [CT], fractal dimension [FD], gyrification index [GI], and sulcal depth [SD]) at multiple levels (local topography, interregional connectivity and whole-brain network topology).

Clinical study on electroacupuncture for obese patients with binge eating disorder: A retrospective study.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a common dietary disorder among obese people. Obesity and eating disorders are related to mental health and physical health. At present, there is no definite and effective method for treatment in clinic.

Optoelectronic properties of diathiafulvalene-functionalized diketopyrrolopyrrole-fullerene molecular dyad.

Single component molecular dyad donor-acceptor junction is an important type of organic solar cells. Understanding the optoelectronic properties of molecular dyad plays the critical role to develop active layer materials for such kind of solar cells. Here, diathiafulvalene-functionalized diketopyrrolopyrrole-fullerene (DFDPP-Ful) was selected as the representative system, and the geometries, electronic structures and excitation properties of DFDPP-Ful monomer and dimer were systematically investigated based on extensive quantum chemistry calculations.

[Light and heat of moxibustion for knee osteoarthritis：a multi-center randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To explore the clinical therapeutic effect of light and heat of moxibustion for knee osteoarthritis (KOA).

Methods: A total of 216 patients with KOA were randomized into a traditional moxibustion group (72 cases, 8 cases dropped off), a moxibustion light group (72 cases, 9 cases dropped off) and a moxibustion heat group (72 cases, 10 cases dropped off).The special light-heat separation moxibustion cup was applied, the patients in the traditional moxibustion group received the treatment of moxibustion, the patients in the moxibustion light group received the treatment of moxibustion light and the patients in the moxibustion heat group received the treatment of moxibustion heat.

Fusing Thienyl with N-Annulated Perylene Dyes and Photovoltaic Parameters for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Due to the role of dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), designing novel dye sensitizers is an effective strategy to improve the power conversion efficiency. To this end, the fundamental issue is understanding the sensitizer's trilateral relationship among its molecular structure, optoelectronic properties, and photovoltaic performance. Considering the good performance of N-annulated perlyene dye sensitizers, the geometries, electronic structures, and excitations of the selected representative organic dye sensitizers C276, C277, and C278 as well as dyes adsorbed on TiO clusters were calculated in order to investigate the relationship between molecular structures and properties.

[Electroacupuncture combined with lifestyle control on obese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with lifestyle control on hepatic fat status, hepatic enzymology, glycolipid metabolism and anthropological parameters in patients with obese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).

Methods: A total of 90 patients with obese NAFLD were randomized into an observation group (45 cases, 4 cases dropped off) and a control group (45 cases, 1 case dropped off). Lifestyle control was implemented in the control group.

Bi-Stream Pose-Guided Region Ensemble Network for Fingertip Localization From Stereo Images.

In human-computer interaction, it is important to accurately estimate the hand pose, especially fingertips. However, traditional approaches to fingertip localization mainly rely on depth images and thus suffer considerably from noise and missing values. Instead of depth images, stereo images can also provide 3-D information of hands.

Altered Functional Connectivity within Default Mode Network in Patients with Transient Ischemic Attack: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Default mode network (DMN) is an important functional brain network that supports aspects of cognition. Stroke has been reported to be associated with functional connectivity (FC) impairments within DMN. However, whether FC within DMN changes in transient ischemic attack (TIA), an important risk factor for stroke, remains unclear.

Scandium Decoration of Boron Doped Porous Graphene for High-Capacity Hydrogen Storage.

The hydrogen storage properties of the Scandium (Sc) atom modified Boron (B) doped porous graphene (PG) system were studied based on the density functional theory (DFT). For a single Sc atom, the most stable adsorption position on B-PG is the boron-carbon hexagon center after doping with the B atom. The corresponding adsorption energy of Sc atoms was -4.

Toward neuroimaging-based network biomarkers for transient ischemic attack.

Stroke is associated with topological disruptions of large-scale functional brain networks. However, whether these disruptions occur in transient ischemic attack (TIA), an important risk factor for stroke, remains largely unknown. Combining multimodal MRI techniques, we systematically examined TIA-related topological alterations of functional brain networks, and tested their reproducibility, structural, and metabolic substrates, associations with clinical risk factors and abilities as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.