Near-Isotropic, Extreme-Stiffness, Continuous 3D Mechanical Metamaterial Sequences Using Implicit Neural Representation.

Mechanical metamaterials represent a distinct category of engineered materials characterized by their tailored density distributions to have unique properties. It is challenging to create continuous density distributions to design a smooth mechanical metamaterial sequence in which each metamaterial possesses stiffness close to the theoretical limit in all directions. This study proposes three near-isotropic, extreme-stiffness, and continuous 3D mechanical metamaterial sequences by combining topology optimization and data-driven design.

CT and MRI Findings of Renal Angiomyolipoma With Lung Metastasis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Renal angiomyolipoma has two histological variants: classical and epithelioid. Epithelioid angiomyolipoma is considered as a potential malignant tumor, often leading to recurrence and metastasis, with rapid progression in most of the cases. The lung is one of the most commonly reported sites of metastasis, and pulmonary metastasis of renal angiomyolipoma is usually diagnostic by computed tomography (CT) scans.

Virtual sketching-based dental anatomy module improves learners' abilities to use computer-aided design to create dental restorations and prostheses.

Dental anatomy education for dental technology students should be developed in alignment with digital dental laboratory practices. We hypothesized that a virtually assisted sketching-based dental anatomy teaching module could improve students' acquisition of skills essential for digital restoration design. The second-year dental technology curriculum included a novel virtual technology-assisted sketching-based module for dental anatomy education.

Efficacy of a Virtual 3D Simulation-Based Digital Training Module for Building Dental Technology Students' Long-Term Competency in Removable Partial Denture Design: Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Removable partial denture (RPD) design is crucial to long-term success in dental treatment, but shortcomings in RPD design training and competency acquisition among dental students have persisted for decades. Digital production is increasing in prevalence in stomatology, and a digital RPD (D-RPD) module, under the framework of the certified Objective Manipulative Skill Examination of Dental Technicians (OMEDT) system reported in our previous work, may improve on existing RPD training models for students.

Objective: We aimed to determine the efficacy of a virtual 3D simulation-based progressive digital training module for RPD design compared to traditional training.

Piecewise Developable Modeling via Implicit Neural Deformation and Feature-Guided Cutting.

We propose a novel and automatic method to model shapes using a small set of discrete developable patches. Central to our approach is using implicit neural shape representation that makes our algorithm independent of tessellation and allows us to obtain the Gaussian curvature of each point analytically. With this powerful representation, we first deform the input shape to be an almost developable shape with clear and sparse salient feature curves.

Practical Integer-Constrained Cone Construction for Conformal Parameterizations.

We propose a practical method to construct sparse integer-constrained cone singularities with low distortion constraints for conformal parameterizations. Our solution for this combinatorial problem is a two-stage procedure that first enhances sparsity for generating an initialization and then optimizes to reduce the number of cones and the parameterization distortion. Central to the first stage is a progressive process to determine the combinatorial variables, i.

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG 48) with deafness and azoospermia: A case report.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are inherited neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive paraplegia and spasticity in the lower limbs. SPG48 represents a rare genotype characterized by mutations in , a gene playing a role in intracellular membrane trafficking. This study describes a case of a 53-year-old male patient with SPG48 presenting spastic paraplegia, infertility, hearing impairment, cognitive abnormalities and peripheral neuropathy.

Robust Coarse Cage Construction With Small Approximation Errors.

We propose a robust and automatic method to construct manifold cages for 3D triangular meshes. The cage contains hundreds of triangles to tightly enclose the input mesh without self-intersections. To generate such cages, our algorithm consists of two phases: (1) construct manifold cages satisfying the tightness, enclosing, and intersection-free requirements and (2) reduce mesh complexities and approximation errors without violating the enclosing and intersection-free requirements.

Survey on computational 3D visual optical art design.

Visual arts refer to art experienced primarily through vision. 3D visual optical art is one of them. Artists use their rich imagination and experience to combine light and objects to give viewers an unforgettable visual experience.

Adult-onset Krabbe disease presenting with progressive myoclonic epilepsy and asymmetric occipital lesions: A case report.

Krabbe disease (KD), also known as globoid cell leukodystrophy, is a rare autosomal recessive condition caused by mutations in the galactocerebrosidase (GALC) gene. KD is more common in infants and young children than in adults. We reported the case of an adult-onset KD presenting with progressive myoclonic epilepsy (PME) and cortical lesions mimicking mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome.

Voting for Distortion Points in Geometric Processing.

Low isometric distortion is often required for mesh parameterizations. A configuration of some vertices, where the distortion is concentrated, provides a way to mitigate isometric distortion, but determining the number and placement of these vertices is non-trivial. We call these vertices distortion points.

Volume-Enhanced Compatible Remeshing of 3D Models.

Compatible remeshing provides meshes with common connectivity structures. The existing compatible remeshing methods usually suffer from high computational cost or poor quality. In this paper, we present a fast method for computing compatible meshes with high quality.

Advanced Hierarchical Spherical Parameterizations.

Computing spherical parameterizations for genus-zero closed surfaces is a fundamental task for geometric processing and computer graphics. Existing methods usually suffer from a lack of practical robustness or poor quality. In this paper, we present a practically robust method to compute high-quality spherical parameterizations with bijection and low isometric distortion.

Evaluation of urinary metal concentrations and sperm DNA damage in infertile men from an infertility clinic.

This study aimed to examine associations between urinary metal concentrations and sperm DNA damage. Thirteen metals [arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn)] were detected in urine samples of 207 infertile men from an infertility clinic using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and also, sperm DNA damage (tail length, percent DNA tail, and tail distributed moment) were assessed using neutral comet assay. We found that urinary Hg and Ni were associated with increasing trends for tail length (both p for trend<0.

[Mycelium of Hirsutella hepiali Chen et Shen activates autophagy and protects against metabolic syndrome in mice fed with high fat diet].

To investigate the protective effects and possible mechanism of Mycelium of Hirsutella hepiali Chen et Shen (MHCS) on metabolic syndromes, free fatty acid and MHCS-treated hepatocytes were used for detecting autophagy-related LC3, p62 and lipid accumulation. Moreover, high fat diet fed mice were used to establish metabolic syndromes model. 50-weeks age mice were randomly divided into: control group, model group and MHCS group.

Rupatadine protects against pulmonary fibrosis by attenuating PAF-mediated senescence in rodents.

A similar immune response is implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis and allergic disorders. We investigated the potential therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of rupatadine, a dual antagonist of histamine and platelet-activation factor (PAF), in bleomycin- (BLM-) and silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. The indicated dosages of rupatadine were administered in rodents with bleomycin or silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

Targeting acute myeloid leukemia with a proapoptotic peptide conjugated to a Toll-like receptor 2-mediated cell-penetrating peptide.

Cell-penetrating peptides provide a unique platform to create a new generation of cancer therapeutics with enhanced efficacy and diminished toxicity. In our study, enhanced expression of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) was observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Screening of a phage display peptide library using Biopanning and Rapid Analysis of Selective Interactive Ligands (BRASIL) identified a TLR2-binding peptide motif, Pep2.

Blocking TLR2 activity diminishes and stabilizes advanced atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Aim: Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) signaling plays a critical role in the initiation of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether blocking TLR2 activity could produce therapeutic effects on advanced atherosclerosis.

Methods: Forty-week old apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice fed on a normal diet were intravenously injected with a TLR2-neutralizing antibody or with an isotype-matched IgG for 18 weeks.

Timing is critical for an effective anti-metastatic immunotherapy: the decisive role of IFNγ/STAT1-mediated activation of autophagy.

Background: Immunotherapy is often recommended as an adjuvant treatment to reduce the chance of cancer recurrence or metastasis. Interestingly, timing is very important for a successful immunotherapy against metastasis, although the precise mechanism is still unknown.

Methods And Findings: Using a mouse model of melanoma metastasis induced by intravenous injection of B16-F10 cells, we investigated the mechanism responsible for the diverse efficacy of the prophylactic or therapeutic TLR4 and TLR9 agonist complex against metastasis.

[Controlled clinical trials of initial observation on therapeutic effects of moxibustion for osteoarthritis of the knee: multi-center clinical effect].

Objective: To compare therapeutic effects between moxibustion and infrared therapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: From January 2007 to June 2008 period, 65 patients with knee osteoarthritis were divided into treatment and control groups randomly uniform random number table generated from SAS statistical software. Among 35 patients in the treatment group, 17 patients were male and 18 patients were female, ranging in age from 45 to 75 years, with an average of (61.