Differences analysis between spinal tuberculosis and brucella spondylitis with preoperative non-invasive differential diagnosis.

Objective: Spinal tuberculosis (STB) and Brucella spondylitis (BS) represent two types of granulomatous infections affecting the spine, which exhibit significant similarities that often result in misdiagnosis and overlooked diagnoses during preoperative evaluations. This study aims to identify non-invasive evaluative indicators that facilitate the differentiation between STB and BS.

Methods: This study conducted a retrospective collection of clinical features, laboratory tests, and imaging characteristics from 89 patients diagnosed with STB and 66 patients diagnosed with BS.

Research Progress on the Role of Cartilage Endplate in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.

Low back pain significantly impacts individuals' quality of life, with intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) being a primary contributor to this condition. Currently, IDD treatment primarily focuses on symptom management and does not achieve a definitive cure. The cartilage endplate (CEP), a crucial nutrient-supplying tissue of the intervertebral disc, plays a pivotal role in disc degeneration.

Knocking down EGR1 inhibits nucleus pulposus cell senescence and mitochondrial damage through activation of PINK1-Parkin dependent mitophagy, thereby delaying intervertebral disc degeneration.

Mitophagy plays a crucial role in maintaining the homeostasis of intervertebral disc (IVD). Early Growth Response 1 (EGR1), a conservative transcription factor, is commonly upregulated under oxidative stress conditions and participates in regulating cellular senescence, apoptosis, and inflammatory responses. However, the specific role of EGR1 in nucleus pulposus (NP) cell senescence and mitophagy remains unclear.

Effectiveness and Safety of High-Dose Tranexamic Acid in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and retrospective controlled studies aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose tranexamic acid (TXA) in spinal correction surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.

Methods: In March 2024, a comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane databases to identify randomized controlled trials and retrospective controlled studies comparing the effects of high-dose TXA on blood loss and transfusion requirements during spinal correction surgery.

Results: This meta-analysis included 10 studies encompassing a total of 741 patients.

Research Progress of Long Non-coding RNA-ZFAS1 in Malignant Tumors.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), although incapable of encoding proteins, play crucial roles in multiple layers of gene expression regulation, epigenetic modifications, and post-transcriptional regulation. Zinc finger antisense 1 (ZFAS1), a lncRNA located in the 20q13 region of the human genome, exhibits dual functions as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in various human malignancies. ZFAS1 plays a crucial role in cancer progression, metastasis, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, and drug resistance through complex molecular mechanisms.

Research progress on long non‑coding RNAs in non‑infectious spinal diseases (Review).

Spinal diseases, including intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), ankylosing spondylitis, spinal cord injury and other non‑infectious spinal diseases, severely affect the quality of life of patients. Current treatments for IDD and other spinal diseases can only relieve symptoms and do not completely cure the disease. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore the causes of these diseases and develop new treatment approaches.

Enrichment of oligodendrocyte precursor phenotypes in subsets of low-grade glioneuronal tumours.

Current histological classification of low-grade glioneuronal tumours does not adequately represent their underlying biology. The neural lineage(s) and differentiation stage(s) involved and the cell state(s) affected by the recurrent genomic alterations are unclear. Here, we describe dysregulated oligodendrocyte lineage developmental programmes in three low-grade glioneuronal tumour subtypes.

Mussel-inspired polydopamine-modified biochar microsphere for reinforcing polylactic acid composite films: Emphasizing the achievement of excellent thermal and mechanical properties.

Having poor interfacial compatibility between biochar microsphere (BM) and polylactic acid (PLA) should be responsible for the unbalance of composite film strength and toughness. Elucidating the effect of polydopamine (PDA) on BM and BM/PLA composite films is the ultimate goal of this study based on the mussel bionic principle. It was found that the strong adhesion of PDA on the BM surface was achieved, which improved the surface roughness and thermal stability.

The fairness of shared responsibility for embodied carbon emission: a case study of the Yellow River Basin, China.

Under the dual constraints of China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, as well as ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, clarifying the embodied carbon emissions and responsibility sharing of inter-provincial trade is crucial to the carbon reduction strategy of the Yellow River Basin. This paper uses the MRIO (multi-regional input-output) model to measure the production-side and consumption-side responsibility sharing of nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin in 2012 and 2017, revealing the amount and direction of the embodied carbon transfer between provinces, and finally introduces the share of provincial value added as the responsibility sharing factor to compare and analyze the differences between the three responsibility sharing methods. The results show the following: (1) The embodied carbon emissions on the production side in most provinces of the Yellow River Basin were larger than that on the consumption side, with the most significant differences in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shandong, among which local demand carbon emissions and intermediate product transfer out of carbon emissions were the main causes of production-side carbon emissions.

New strategy for reinforcing polylactic acid composites: Towards the insight into the effect of biochar microspheres.

Having even particle size and regular morphology of biochar microspheres (BM) provides the possibility for preparing polylactic acid (PLA) films. Hence, the novelty is proposing a strategy for reinforcing PLA by BM. It was found that BM exhibited regular morphology, higher thermal stability, even particle size, and better pore characteristics.

Use of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in diagnosing lung abscesses caused by oral bacteria.

Lung abscesses are one of the most common lower respiratory tract infections worldwide and can seriously endanger life. However, pathogens associated with lung abscesses still cannot be detected quickly and accurately with the current microbial detection technology. Here, the case of a 53-year-old male with a lung abscess caused by oral bacteria is reported.

Carbon emission efficiency evaluation of wastewater treatment plants: evidence from China.

A scientific evaluation of the carbon emission efficiency is crucial for ensuring the sustainable development of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this paper, we applied a non-radial data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to calculate the carbon emission efficiency of 225 WWTPs located in China. The results showed that the average carbon emission efficiency of China's WWTPs was 0.

Primary papillary epithelial tumor of the sella and posterior pituitary tumor show similar (epi)genetic features and constitute a single neuro-oncological entity.

Background: "Primary papillary epithelial tumor of the sella (PPETS)" is a recently described rare tumor entity of the central nervous system (CNS) with stereotypic location in the sella. Comprehensive molecular investigations and epigenetic profiles of PPETS have not been performed to date.

Methods: We report a comprehensive clinical, histopathologic, and molecular assessment of 5 PPETS cases in comparison with a cohort composed of 7 choroid plexus papilloma (CPP), 7 central neurocytoma (CN), 15 posterior pituitary tumor (PPT) including 4 pituicytoma, 6 granular cell tumors of the sellar region (GCT), and 5 spindle cell oncocytoma.

Transcriptome Analysis of Genes Involved in Fatty Acid and Lipid Biosynthesis in Developing Walnut ( L.) Seed Kernels from Qinghai Plateau.

Walnut () is an important woody oil-bearing plant with high nutritional value. For better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of its oil accumulation in the Qinghai Plateau, in this study we monitored walnut fruit development, and 15 cDNA libraries were constructed from walnut seed kernels collected at 72, 79, 93, 118 and 135 days after flowering (DAF). The candidate genes were identified using sequencing and expression analysis.

Divisional water quality management-based pollution source control in China's watersheds: an analysis by introducing economic factors.

Divisional water quality management (DWQM) is widely adopted in watershed pollution control. During 2011-2015, China zoned 708 priority controlled areas (PCAs) and 774 non-priority controlled areas (NPCAs) for key watersheds. DWQM at watershed level provides guidance on pollution source control (PSC) at local (provincial, city, and county) level.

The impact of employee compensation restrictions on labor productivity in state-owned enterprises: Evidence from China.

Employees are important stakeholders in an organization. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of limits on employee compensation in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a policy for employees of state-owned enterprises issued by the China State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in 2010. Employing a difference-in-differences analysis for a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2013, the results show that employee compensation restriction enhances the labor productivity of SOEs.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor Digital Transformation.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) vision and mission are to improve the people's living standards of Pakistan and China through bilateral investments, trade, cultural exchanges, and economic activities. To achieve this envisioned dream, Pakistan established the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPECA) to further its completion, but Covid-19 slowed it down. This situation compelled the digitalization of CPEC.

The philanthropic response of substantive and symbolic corporate social responsibility strategies to COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from China.

The COVID-19 epidemic broke out in China in January 2020, which triggered the largest wave of corporate philanthropic donations since the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Based on A-share listed firms in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in 2020, we study whether substantive and symbolic corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies affect corporate philanthropic responses during the COVID-19 crisis. We use the lagged annual donation and technical dimension scores (T scores) of rankins ratings (RKS) as proxies of CSR performance and CSR disclosure and then define the CSR gap as the gap between the two.

The Cause of China's Haze Pollution: City Level Evidence Based on the Extended STIRPAT Model.

Based on the extended STIRPAT model, this paper examines social and economic factors regarding PM concentration intensity in 255 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2016, and includes quantile regressions to analyze the different effects of these factors among cities of various sizes. The results indicate that: (1) during 2007-2016, urban PM concentration exhibited declining trends in fluctuations concerning the development of the urban economy, accompanied by uncertainty under different city types; (2) population size has a significant effect on propelling PM concentration; (3) the effect of structure reformation on PM concentration is evident among cities with different populations and levels of economic development; and (4) foreign investment and scientific technology can significantly reduce PM emission concentration in cities. Accordingly, local governments not only endeavor to further control population size, but should implement a recycling economy, and devise a viable urban industrial structure.

Singlet Oxygen and Mobile Hydroxyl Radicals Co-operating on Gas-Solid Catalytic Reaction Interfaces for Deeply Oxidizing NO.

Learning from the important role of porphyrin-based chromophores in natural photosynthesis, a bionic photocatalytic system based on tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin-coupled TiO was designed for photo-induced treating low-concentration NO indoor gas (550 parts per billion), achieving a high NO removal rate of 91% and a long stability under visible-light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation. Besides the great contribution of the conventional O reactive species, a synergic effect between a singlet oxygen (O) and mobile hydroxyl radicals (OH) was first illustrated for removing NO indoor gas (O + 2NO → 2NO, NO + OH → HNO), inhibiting the production of the byproducts of NO. This work is helpful for understanding the surface mechanism of photocatalytic NO oxidation and provides a new perspective for the development of highly efficient air purification systems.

Board Network and CSR Decoupling: Evidence From China.

This paper investigates the influence of board network centrality on corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling. CSR decoupling refers to the gap between corporate internal and external actions in CSR practices. Specifically, we measure CSR decoupling as the difference between corporate social disclosure (CSD) and corporate social performance (CSP).

The Patterns of Complementary Feeding and Growth among 12 to 23 Month-Old Children in China.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the characteristics of dietary patterns among children aged 12 to 23 months and discusses the relationship between dietary patterns and the growth of children.

Method: Cross-sectional data were selected from the National Nutrition and Health Systematic Survey for 0 to 18 year-old children in China ( = 2,449) to describe the patterns of complementary feeding and the growth of children. Cluster analysis was used to analyze complementary feeding patterns, and an analysis of variance and Bonferroni test were conducted to analyze the relationship between scores and complementary feeding patterns.