Biomechanical and clinical evaluation of PSO, modified PSO and VCR treating OVCF kyphosis: a finite element analysis.

Objective: To confirm the effect of surgery on spinal column biomechanics and to provide theoretical support for the advantages and disadvantages of different surgical methods and their clinical efficacy.

Methods: 33 continuous patients with no significant difference in risk factors related to the mechanical complications were enrolled in this retrospective study. Sagittal parameters were measured in the pre-, post-operative and following-up lateral radiograph of spine.

Research Progress of Flexible Electronic Devices Based on Electrospun Nanofibers.

Electrospun nanofibers have become an important component in fabricating flexible electronic devices because of their permeability, flexibility, stretchability, and conformability to three-dimensional curved surfaces. This review delves into the advancements in adaptable and flexible electronic devices using electrospun nanofibers as the substrates and explores their diverse and innovative applications. The primary development of key substrates for flexible devices is summarized.

Kirigami enabled reconfigurable three-dimensional evaporator arrays for dynamic solar tracking and high efficiency desalination.

A kirigami-engineered composite hydrogel membrane is exploited for the construction of three dimensional (3D) solar-tracking evaporator arrays with outstanding evaporation performance and salt tolerance. The hybrid nanofiber network in the hydrogel membrane offers favorable water transport dynamics combined with excellent structural robustness, which are beneficial for the engineering of 3D dynamic structures. Periodic triangular cuts patterned into the membrane allow formation and reconfiguration of 3D conical arrays controlled by uniaxial stretching.

PKM2/Hif-1α signal suppression involved in therapeutics of pulmonary fibrosis with microcystin-RR but not with pirfenidone.

To date there are only pirfenidone (PFD) and nintedanib to be given conditional recommendation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) therapies with slowing disease progression, but neither has prospectively shown a reduced mortality. It is one of the urgent topics to find effective drugs for pulmonary fibrosis in medicine. Previous studies have demonstrated that microcystin-RR (MC-RR) effectively alleviates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, but the mechanism has not been fully elucidated yet.

Polar Solvent-Induced Spontaneous Nanofoaming for Synthesizing Ultra-High-Performance Polyamide Nanofiltration Membranes.

Nanofiltration membranes with both high water permeance and selectivity are perpetually studied because of their applications in water purification. However, these two critical attributes are considered to be mutually exclusive. Here, we introduce a polar solvent, dichloromethane, in place of the apolar hexane used for decades as the organic phase for membrane interfacial polymerization synthesis to solve this dilemma.

Delocalization Engineering of Heme-Mimetic Artificial Enzymes for Augmented Reactive Oxygen Catalysis.

Developing artificial enzymes based on organic molecules or polymers for reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related catalysis has broad applicability. Herein, inspired by porphyrin-based heme mimics, we report the synthesis of polyphthalocyanine-based conjugated polymers (Fe-PPc-AE) as a new porphyrin-evolving structure to serve as efficient and versatile artificial enzymes for augmented reactive oxygen catalysis. Owing to the structural advantages, such as enhanced π-conjugation networks and π-electron delocalization, promoted electron transfer, and unique Fe-N coordination centers, Fe-PPc-AE showed more efficient ROS-production activity in terms of Vmax and turnover numbers as compared with porphyrin-based conjugated polymers (Fe-PPor-AE), which also surpassed reported state-of-the-art artificial enzymes in their activity.

High-Performance Flexible Temperature Sensors Based on Laser-Irradiated Ag-MWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS.

Recently, flexible temperature sensors have attracted significant interest due to their wide-ranging applications in areas such as biomedical monitoring, environmental monitoring, electronic skin, and intelligent robots. However, a combination of high sensitivity and high resolution remains a critical challenge. These properties depend on the synthesis techniques of the sensitive materials.

Preparation of green high-performance biomass-derived hard carbon materials from bamboo powder waste.

Efficient energy storage systems are crucial for the optimal utilization of renewable energy. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered potential substitutes for next-generation low-cost energy storage systems due to the low cost and abundance of sodium resources. However, the industrialization of SIBs faces a great challenge in terms of the anode.

Open Surgical Treatments of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures.

With an aging population, the osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) has become a constant concern for its physical and neurological complications, such as spinal kyphosis and refractory pains. Compared with traditional conservative treatments, the open surgery is more superior in some ways because of its direct decompression and correction. Various operation methods applying to different indications have been developed to deal with different fracture situations, including anterior, posterior, and combined surgery.

Phase-separation facilitated one-step fabrication of multiscale heterogeneous two-aqueous-phase gel.

Engineering heterogeneous hydrogels with distinct phases at various lengths, which resemble biological tissues with high complexity, remains challenging by existing fabricating techniques that require complicated procedures and are often only applicable at bulk scales. Here, inspired by ubiquitous phase separation phenomena in biology, we present a one-step fabrication method based on aqueous phase separation to construct two-aqueous-phase gels that comprise multiple phases with distinct physicochemical properties. The gels fabricated by this approach exhibit enhanced interfacial mechanics compared with their counterparts obtained from conventional layer-by-layer methods.

High-Strength Magnetic Hydrogels with Photoweldability Made by Stepwise Assembly of Magnetic-Nanoparticle-Integrated Aramid Nanofiber Composites.

Hydrogels capable of transforming in response to a magnetic field hold great promise for applications in soft actuators and biomedical robots. However, achieving high mechanical strength and good manufacturability in magnetic hydrogels remains challenging. Here, inspired by natural load-bearing soft tissues, a class of composite magnetic hydrogels is developed with tissue-mimetic mechanical properties and photothermal welding/healing capability.

Psychosocial crisis intervention for coronavirus disease 2019 patients and healthcare workers.

Objectives: Shelter hospital was an alternative way to provide large-scale medical isolation and treatment for people with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Due to various reasons, patients admitted to the large shelter hospital was reported high level of psychological distress, so did the healthcare workers. This study aims to introduce a comprehensive and multifaceted psychosocial crisis intervention model.

Multifunctional tendon-mimetic hydrogels.

We report multifunctional tendon-mimetic hydrogels constructed from anisotropic assembly of aramid nanofiber composites. The stiff nanofibers and soft polyvinyl alcohol in these anisotropic composite hydrogels (ACHs) mimic the structural interplay between aligned collagen fibers and proteoglycans in tendons. The ACHs exhibit a high modulus of ~1.

Hybrid assembly of polymeric nanofiber network for robust and electronically conductive hydrogels.

Electroconductive hydrogels have been applied in implantable bioelectronics, tissue engineering platforms, soft actuators, and other emerging technologies. However, achieving high conductivity and mechanical robustness remains challenging. Here we report an approach to fabricating electroconductive hydrogels based on the hybrid assembly of polymeric nanofiber networks.

Mental condition and function of resilience among families of frontline medical workers during COVID-19: Potential influencing factors and mediating effect.

Background: Studying the role of psychological resilience in self-perceived stress and mental disorders among family members of medical workers can help us understand its importance in mental health care and guide us to develop psychological intervention strategies for family members of medical workers.

Methods: A total of 671 family members of medical workers were enrolled. Self-perceived stress, resilience, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were measured in our research.

A novel strand-specific RNA-sequencing protocol using dU-adaptor-assembled Tn5.

Strand-specific RNA-seq is a powerful tool for the discovery of novel transcripts, annotation of genomes, and profiling of gene expression levels. Tn5 transposase has been successfully applied in massive-scale sequencing projects; in particular, Tn5 adaptor modification is used in epigenetics, genomic structure, and chromatin visualization. We developed a novel dU-adaptor-assembled Tn5-mediated strand-specific RNA-sequencing protocol and compared this method with the leading dUTP method in terms of experimental procedure and multiple quality metrics of the generated libraries.

Robust and Multifunctional Kirigami Electronics with a Tough and Permeable Aramid Nanofiber Framework.

Kirigami designs are advantageous for the construction of wearable electronics due to their high stretchability and conformability on the 3D dynamic surfaces of the skin. However, suitable materials technologies that enable robust kirigami devices with desired functionality for skin-interfaces remain limited. Here, a versatile materials platform based on a composite nanofiber framework (CNFF) is exploited for the engineering of wearable kirigami electronics.

Factors related to the length of stay for major depressive disorder patients in China: A real-world retrospective study.

Background: As numerous patients with depression have to be hospitalized because of various reasons, the demand far exceeds the limited bed count in the psychiatry department. Controlling the length of stay (LOS) of the patient is gradually being considered an effective method to alleviate this problem. Given the lack of statistical evidence of the LOS of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in China and the strain on the limited psychiatric resources, the purpose of our study was to investigate the LOS of patients with MDD among in-patient samples and to analyze related factors of the LOS in China by building a regression model.

Ultrastrong and multifunctional aerogels with hyperconnective network of composite polymeric nanofibers.

Three-dimensional (3D) microfibrillar network represents an important structural design for various natural tissues and synthetic aerogels. Despite extensive efforts, achieving high mechanical properties for synthetic 3D microfibrillar networks remains challenging. Here, we report ultrastrong polymeric aerogels involving self-assembled 3D networks of aramid nanofiber composites.