Predictive value of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and total bilirubin levels for pancreatic fistula after gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer is the most common malignancy of the digestive system and surgical resection is the primary treatment. Advances in surgical technology have reduced the risk of complications after radical gastrectomy; however, post-surgical pancreatic fistula remain a serious issue. These fistulas can lead to abdominal infections, anastomotic leakage, increased costs, and pain; thus, early diagnosis and prevention are crucial for a better prognosis.

Research on Monitoring Methods for Electrostatic Discharge Pulses in Spacecraft Dielectric Materials.

Space particle radiation induces charging and discharging phenomena in spacecraft dielectric materials, leading to electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electromagnetic pulses (EMP), which pose significant risks to spacecraft electronic systems by causing interference and potential damage. Accurate and timely monitoring of these phenomena, combined with a comprehensive understanding of their underlying mechanisms, is critical for developing effective protection strategies against satellite charging effects. Addressing in-orbit monitoring requirements, this study proposes the design of a compact sleeve monopole antenna.

Structural Identification of L. Polysaccharides.

L. fruit polysaccharides can reduce blood sugar, regulate blood lipids, and improve intestinal flora structure. However, the specific polysaccharide components exerting these effects are unclear.

Investigation of Response Characteristics and Reaction Mechanisms in Nanonickel Doped Sodium Alginate/Graphene Oxide Artificial Muscles.

To address the shortcomings of traditional actuators, such as large size, high energy consumption, and slow response, this study developed a conductive and responsive artificial muscle, exploring the operational principles and performance enhancement techniques for artificial muscles made from sodium alginate and graphene oxide. Initially, the research outlined a preparation methodology using sodium alginate, graphene oxide, and nanonickel as primary materials. Subsequent adjustments in the nanonickel content optimized critical performance metrics, including output force, lifespan, and deflection displacement.

A Toolbox for Generating Multidimensional 3-D Objects with Fine-Controlled Feature Space: Quaddle 2.0.

Multidimensional 3D-rendered objects are an important component of vision research and video-gaming applications, but it has remained challenging to parametrically control and efficiently generate those objects. Here, we describe a toolbox for controlling and efficiently generating 3D rendered objects composed of ten separate visual feature dimensions that can be fine-adjusted using python scripts. The toolbox defines objects as multi-dimensional feature vectors with primary dimensions (object body related features), secondary dimensions (head related features) and accessory dimensions (including arms, ears, or beaks).

Research on High-Precision and Wide-Range Spacecraft Potential Measurement Method Based on Capacitive Voltage Division.

The charging and discharging of satellite surfaces induced by the space plasma environment constitute a primary cause of spacecraft anomalies, particularly in geosynchronous orbits subject to geomagnetic substorms and hot plasma injections from the magnetotail, where satellites are prone to unequal high-potential charging, significantly impacting the safe and reliable operation of spacecraft. Addressing the need for measuring these unequal charge states, a high-precision, wide-range spacecraft potential measurement method based on capacitive voltage division was investigated. This study analyzed the mechanism of potential measurement and the factors contributing to errors during the measurement process, explored optimal design methodologies, and innovatively developed a fundamental charge zeroing method to resolve output drift issues caused by accumulated errors fundamentally.

Flexible Learning and Re-ordering of Context-dependent Object Sequences in Nonhuman Primates.

Intelligent behavior involves mentally arranging learned information in novel ways and is particularly well developed in humans. While nonhuman primates (NHP) will learn to arrange new items in complex serial order and re-arrange neighboring items within that order, it has remained contentious whether they are capable to re-assign items more flexibly to non-adjacent positions. Such mental re-indexing is facilitated by inferring the latent temporal structure of experiences as opposed to learning serial chains of item-item associations.

Finite Element Analysis of Electrostatic Coupling in LISA Pathfinder Inertial Sensors.

In the LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission, electrostatic noise can reach the femto-Newtonian level despite the fact that the LPF's sensors are equipped with potential shielding. Most of the existing simulation studies focus on the electrostatic edge effect and related fields, while the simulation study of the patch effect is neglected. For that reason, this paper analyzes the basic principle of electrostatic noise and constructs a simulation model for studying the coupling effects of a TM's residual charge and stray bias voltage.

Identification of BRAF Inhibitor Resistance-associated lncRNAs Using Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 Transcriptional Activation Screening.

Background/aim: Approximately 50% of melanomas harbor the BRAF V600E mutation and targeted therapies using BRAF inhibitors improve patient outcomes. Nonetheless, resistance to BRAF inhibitors develops rapidly and remains a challenge in melanoma treatment. In this study, we attempted to isolate long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) involved in BRAF inhibitor resistance using a comprehensive screening method.

Unilateral high-riding vertebral artery is associated with asymmetric morphological changes of the atlantoaxial joint: a novel risk factor for atlantoaxial osteoarthritis.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the association between unilateral high-riding vertebral artery (HRVA) and morphological changes in the atlantoaxial joint (AAJ) and to determine whether unilateral HRVA is a risk factor for atlantoaxial osteoarthritis (AAOA).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2496 patients admitted to our medical center between January 2020 and December 2022 who underwent CT imaging of the cervical spine. Two hundred and seventy-two patients with unilateral HRVA (HRVA group) were identified and a respective 2:1 age- and sex-matched control group without HRVA was built.

Examining the impact of chronic diseases on activities of daily living of middle-aged and older adults aged 45 years and above in China: a nationally representative cohort study.

Background: China has by far one of the fastest-aging populations in the world. Increasing age is often accompanied by an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and impaired Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of chronic diseases on ADL in Chinese middle-aged and older adults and to provide a scientific basis for delaying the impairment of ADL and prolonging the self-care life expectancy of middle-aged and older adults.

A Multi-task Platform for Profiling Cognitive and Motivational Constructs in Humans and Nonhuman Primates.

Background: Understanding the neurobiological substrates of psychiatric disorders requires comprehensive evaluations of cognitive and motivational functions in preclinical research settings. The translational validity of such evaluations will be supported by (1) tasks with high construct validity that are engaging and easy to teach to human and nonhuman participants, (2) software that enables efficient switching between multiple tasks in single sessions, (3) software that supports tasks across a broad range of physical experimental setups, and (4) by platform architectures that are easily extendable and customizable to encourage future optimization and development.

New Method: We describe the (), a software platform designed to meet these requirements.

Room Temperature Anhydrous Suzuki-Miyaura Polymerization Enabled by C-S Bond Activation.

The Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling is one of the most important and powerful methods for constructing C-C bonds. However, the protodeboronation of arylboronic acids hinder the development of Suzuki-Miyaura coupling in the precise synthesis of conjugated polymers (CPs). Here, an anhydrous room temperature Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction between (hetero)aryl boronic esters and aryl sulfides was explored, of which universality was exemplified by thirty small molecules and twelve CPs.

Prevalence and influencing factors of chronic pain in middle-aged and older adults in China: results of a nationally representative survey.

Background: With China's rapidly aging population, chronic pain has become a major public health issue. This article aims at determining associations between chronic pain and multiple factors, including demographic characteristics, health status, and health service utilization of middle-aged and older adults in China.

Methods: We selected all the 19,829 respondents who were over 45 years old from the China Health and Aging Tracking Survey 2018 (CHARLS) as our study population.

Signature Score Predicts Prognosis and Immune Response in Triple-negative Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered a heterogeneous disease and achieving a pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is considered a surrogate biomarker of a favorable prognosis. Previously, the TP53 signature (TP53sig)-score, the expression profile of 33 genes, has been reported to predict the prognosis of all types of early-stage breast cancer. Herein, we analyzed whether the TP53sig-score can be used to subclassify a TNBC cohort and investigated the molecular biological characteristics of the higher TP53sig-score.

Wideband Substrate Integrated Waveguide Chip Filter Using Spoof Surface Plasmon Polariton.

This article presents a novel wideband bandpass filter based on the integration of a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and a spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP). An SIW cavity with periodic arrays of meander-slot units is etched on the top metallic layer to achieve the characteristics of a multi-order filter with good performance. The passbands can be flexibly selected by varying the geometric parameters of the SIW and SSPP to adjust the lower and upper sidebands independently.

The and Copy-number-variation Influence the -signature-score in Wild-type Luminal Type Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: The TP53-signature is a multi-gene signature that can predict TP53 structural mutations. It has presented remarkable ability to predict the prognosis of early-stage breast cancer. However, some samples presented discordance with the signature status and structure status.

Retrospective Analysis of Sagittal Balance Parameters and Clinical Efficacy After Short-Segment Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery with Different Fusion Devices.

Objective: To compare the cervical sagittal balance parameters and clinical efficacy of three fusion devices after short-segment anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

Patients And Methods: Retrospectively analyzed 516 patients with cervical spondylosis who underwent surgery at our hospital from May 2013 to May 2019. All patients had complete data and were divided into three groups according to the selected fusion cage.

Design and Performance Verification of a Space Radiation Detection Sensor Based on Graphene.

In order to verify the performance of a graphene-based space radiation detection sensor, the radiation detection principle based on two-dimensional graphene material was analyzed according to the band structure and electric field effect of graphene. The method of space radiation detection based on graphene was studied and then a new type of space radiation sensor samples with small volume, high resolution, and radiation-resistance was formed. Using protons and electrons, the electrical performance of GFET radiation sensor was verified.

An Improved Slice Reconciliation Protocol for Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution.

Reconciliation is an essential procedure for continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD). As the most commonly used reconciliation protocol in short-distance CV-QKD, the slice error correction (SEC) allows a system to distill more than 1 bit from each pulse. However, the quantization efficiency is greatly affected by the noisy channel with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which usually limits the secure distance to about 30 km.

Up-regulation of TβRIII facilitates the osteogenesis of supraspinous ligament-derived fibroblasts from patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Spinal supraspinous ligament (SL) osteogenesis is the key risk of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), with an unclear pathogenesis. We previously found that transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), bone morphogenetic proteins (eg BMP2) and type III TGF-β1 receptor (TβRIII) expression were markedly up-regulated in AS-SLs. However, the roles of these closely related molecules in AS are unknown.

Multifunctional Supramolecular Hydrogel for Prevention of Epidural Adhesion after Laminectomy.

Postoperative epidural adhesion remains a clinically challenging problem in spine surgery. Currently there are no effective and safe antifibrotic and antiadhesion biomaterials that have been specifically developed for this complication in clinical practice. Herein we designed and engineered an advanced antiadhesion hydrogel with multiple functionalities, including temperature-responsive gelation, self-healing, tissue adhesiveness, antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and antifibrosis.

Investigation of the leaching mechanism of NMC 811 (LiNiMnCoO) by hydrochloric acid for recycling lithium ion battery cathodes.

This paper investigates the reactions involved when LiNiMnCoO (NMC 811), which is one of the most promising positive electrodes for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries, is leached by hydrochloric acid. This study shows that the leaching behaviour of lithium is quite different than those observed for nickel, cobalt and manganese contained in NMC 811 since lithium dissolution is faster than those observed for nickel, cobalt and manganese. Analysis of leaching kinetic data evidenced that NMC 811 dissolution occurs in two steps.

Distribution of Cathepsin K in Late Stage of Tooth Germ Development and Its Function in Degrading Enamel Matrix Proteins in Mouse.

Cathepsin K (CTSK) is a member of cysteine proteinase family, and is predominantly expressed in osteoclastsfor degradationof bone matrix proteins. Given the similarity in physical properties of bone and dental mineralized tissues, including enamel, dentin and cementum, CTSK is likely to take part in mineralization process during odontogenesis. On the other hand, patients with pycnodysostosis caused by mutations of the CTSK gene displayedmultipledental abnormalities, such as hypoplasia of the enamel, obliterated pulp chambers, hypercementosis and periodontal disease.

Chondrocyte FGFR3 Regulates Bone Mass by Inhibiting Osteogenesis.

Chondrogenesis can regulate bone formation. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3, highly expressed in chondrocytes, is a negative regulator of bone growth. To investigate whether chondrocyte FGFR3 regulates osteogenesis, thereby contributing to postnatal bone formation and bone remodeling, mice with conditional knock-out of Fgfr3 in chondrocytes (mutant (MUT)) were generated.