MMP expression and its clinical significance in intervertebral disc destruction of spinal tuberculosis, Brucellar spondylitis, and pyogenic spondylitis.

Objective: This study is designed to investigate the roles of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13 in intervertebral disc destruction resulting from different types of spinal infections and their correlations with clinical quantitative data.

Methods: Disc tissue samples were collected from 60 patients with spinal infections (20 cases each of STB, BS, and PS in the infection group) and 20 patients with intervertebral disc herniation (control group). The expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13 were detected by RT-qPCR.

Electrophysiological activity underlying motor inhibition facilitated by touch.

Tactile sensory information obtained from oneself or others may provide a calming effect and has been shown to enhance participants' motor control. The extent to which these touch activities may support motor inhibition and the related electrophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we investigated these effects in twenty healthy volunteers via electroencephalography under 3 touching conditions (self-touch, other-touch, and no-touch) during a stop-signal task.

Spectral sidebands of dissipative soliton in a positive fourth-order-dispersion fiber laser.

Recently, the dissipative soliton (DS) generation in the positive fourth-order-dispersion (FOD) fiber laser has been theoretically predicted, namely dissipative pure-quartic soliton (DPQS), featuring a higher energy-scaling ability compared to conventional DS dominated by positive group velocity dispersion. Here, we discover that the formation of spectral sidebands is always accompanying by the stabilized DPQS in the fiber laser, which is different from the conventional DS. Due to the combination of positive FOD and self-phase modulation, low- and high-frequency components are distributed at the leading and trailing edges of the pulse, forming the pedestals that propagate with it.

Mitigating the Efficiency Deficit in Single-Crystal Perovskite Solar Cells by Precise Control of the Growth Processes.

The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of polycrystalline perovskite solar cells (PC-PSCs) have now reached a plateau after a decade of rapid development, leaving a distinct gap from their Shockley-Queisser limit. To continuously mitigate the PCE deficit, nonradiative carrier losses resulting from defects should be further optimized. Single-crystal perovskites are considered an ideal platform to study the efficiency limit of perovskite solar cells due to their intrinsically low defect density, as demonstrated in bulk single crystals.

Perovskite Thin-Film Transistors for Ultra-Low-Voltage Neuromorphic Visions.

Perovskite thin-film transistors (TFTs) simultaneously possessing exceptional carrier transport capabilities, nonvolatile memory effects, and photosensitivity have recently attracted attention in fields of both complementary circuits and neuromorphic computing. Despite continuous performance improvements through additive and composition engineering of the channel materials, the equally crucial dielectric/channel interfaces of perovskite TFTs have remained underexplored. Here, it is demonstrated that engineering the dielectric/channel interface in 2D tin perovskite TFTs not only enhances the performance and operational stability for their utilization in complementary circuits but also enables efficient synaptic behaviors (optical information sensing and storage) under an extremely low operating voltage of -1 mV at the same time.

Integrating Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics to Investigate the Mechanism of Fetal Placental Overgrowth in Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Cattle.

A major factor limiting the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technology is the low success rate of pregnancy, mainly due to placental abnormalities disrupting the maternal-fetal balance during pregnancy. Although there has been some progress in research on the abnormal enlargement of cloned bovine placenta, there are still few reports on the direct regulatory mechanisms of enlarged cloned bovine placenta tissue. In this study, we conducted sequencing and analysis of transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics of placental tissues from SCNT cattle ( = 3) and control (CON) cattle ( = 3).

Spatially Confined Alloying of Pt Accelerates Mass Transport for Fuel Cell Oxygen Reduction.

Pt-based alloy with high mass activity and durability is highly desired for proton exchange membrane fuel cells, yet a great challenge remains due to the high mass transport resistance near catalysts with lowering Pt loading. Herein, an extensible approach employing atomic layer deposition to accurately introduce a gas-phase metal precursor into platinum nanoparticles (NPs) pre-filled mesoporous channels is reported, achieved by controlling both the deposition site and quantity. Following the spatially confined alloying treatment, the prepared PtSn alloy catalyst within mesopores demonstrates a small size and homogeneous distribution (2.

Nanocrystalline transition metal tetraborides as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction at the large current density.

While great efforts have been made to improve the electrocatalytic activity of existing materials toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), it is also importance for searching new type of nonprecious HER catalysts to realize the practical hydrogen evolution. Herein, we firstly report nanocrystalline transition metal tetraborides (TMB, TM=W and Mo) as an efficient HER electrocatalyst has been synthesized by a single-step solid-state reaction. The optimized nanocrystalline WB exhibits an overpotential as low as 172 mV at 10 mA/cm and small Tafel slope of 63 mV/dec in 0.

[Spatial Correlation Structure and Influencing Mechanism of Development Level of Zero-waste Cities in China].

Based on the entropy weight TOPSIS method to measure the development level of "zero-waste cities" in China from 2004 to 2021, the social network analysis method and spatial Durbin model were used to explore the spatial correlation network structure and impact mechanism of the development level of "zero-waste cities." The results showed that： ① The development level of "zero-waste cities" was generally on the decline in the whole country and the eastern and central regions. However, it was on the rise in the western regions.

Study on the role and molecular mechanism of METTL3-mediated miR-29a-3p in the inflammatory response of spinal tuberculosis.

Background: Spinal Tuberculosis (STB) is a common cause of spinal malformation caused by extrapulmonary tuberculosis in developing countries, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. It was found that the expression of miRNAs in macrophages was stable, specific and readily available after Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. Our research group determined the differential expression of miR-29a-3p in the vertebra of spinal tuberculosis and intervertebral disc lesions through RNAs chip screening and bioinformatics analysis.

Ghrelin/GHSR System in Depressive Disorder: Pathologic Roles and Therapeutic Implications.

Depression is the most common chronic mental illness and is characterized by low mood, insomnia, and affective disorders. However, its pathologic mechanisms remain unclear. Numerous studies have suggested that the ghrelin/GHSR system may be involved in the pathophysiologic process of depression.

Advances in graphene-based 2D materials for tendon, nerve, bone/cartilage regeneration and biomedicine.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, especially graphene-based materials, have important implications for tissue regeneration and biomedicine due to their large surface area, transport properties, ease of functionalization, biocompatibility, and adsorption capacity. Despite remarkable progress in the field of tissue regeneration and biomedicine, there are still problems such as unclear long-term stability, lack of experimental data, and detection accuracy. This paper reviews recent applications of graphene-based materials in tissue regeneration and biomedicine and discusses current issues and prospects for the development of graphene-based materials with respect to promoting the regeneration of tendons, neuronal cells, bone, chondrocytes, blood vessels, and skin, as well as applications in sensing, detection, anti-microbial activity, and targeted drug delivery.

Santalum album L. alleviates cardiac function injury in heart failure by synergistically inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis through multiple components.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a complex cardiovascular syndrome with high mortality. Santalum album L. (SAL) is a traditional Chinese medicine broadly applied for various diseases treatment including HF.

Effect of hydrophobic modification of chitin nanocrystals on role as anti-nucleator in the crystallization of poly(ε-caprolactone)/polylactide blend.

Biodegradable polymer blends filled with rod-like polysaccharide nanocrystals have attracted much attention because each component in this type of ternary composites is biodegradable, and the final properties are more easily tailored comparing to those of binary composites. In this work, chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) were used as nanofiller for the biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/polylactide (PLA) immiscible blend to prepare ternary composites for a crystallization study. The results revealed that the crystallization behavior of PCL/PLA blend matrices strongly depended on the surface properties of ChNCs.

Template-Guided Silicon Micromotor Assembly for Enhanced Cell Manipulation.

Light-driven micro/nanorobots (LMNRs) are tiny, untethered machines with great potential in fields like precision medicine, nano manufacturing, and various other domains. However, their practicality hinges on developing light-manipulation strategies that combine versatile functionalities, flexible design options, and precise controllability. Our study introduces an innovative approach to construct micro/nanorobots (MNRs) by utilizing micro/nanomotors as fundamental building blocks.

Analysis of the value of potential biomarker S100-A8 protein in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of spinal tuberculosis.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the value of S100-A8 protein as a diagnostic marker for spinal tuberculosis and to explore its role in the potential pathogenesis of spinal tuberculosis (STB).

Methods: The peripheral blood of 100 spinal tuberculosis patients admitted to the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from September 2018 to June 2021 were collected as the observation group, and the peripheral blood of 30 healthy medical examiners were collected as the control group. Three samples from the observation group and three samples from the control group were selected for proteomics detection and screening of differential proteins.

Pigeon novel-miR-741 targets OTUD1 to inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis of crop fibroblasts.

Trichomonas gallinae (T. gallinae) is a globally distributed protozoan parasite and could cause serious damage to the pigeon industry. MiRNAs have important roles in regulating parasite infection, but its impacts on T.

The extraordinary rearrangement of mitochondrial genome of the wheat pest, Aptinothrips stylifer and the mitochondrial phylogeny of Thripidae (Thysanoptera).

The mitochondrial gene order in Thysanoptera is notably distinct and highly rearranged, with each species exhibiting its own unique arrangement. To elucidate the relationship between gene rearrangements and phylogeny, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the wheat pest, Aptinothrips stylifer, was sequenced and assembled, spanning a total length of 16,033 bp. Compared with the ancestral arthropod mitogenome, significant rearrangement differences were evident in A.

Genome-based reclassification of Hussain . 2016 as a later heterotypic synonym of Cha . 2014.

YIM F302 was compared with N5 to examine the taxonomic relationship between the two type strains. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of YIM F302 showed high similarity (99.9 %) to that of N5.

Magnetically Manipulated Optoelectronic Hybrid Microrobots for Optically Targeted Non-Genetic Neuromodulation.

Optically controlled neuromodulation is a promising approach for basic research of neural circuits and the clinical treatment of neurological diseases. However, developing a non-invasive and well-controllable system to deliver accurate and effective neural stimulation is challenging. Micro/nanorobots have shown great potential in various biomedical applications because of their precise controllability.

Pico-tesla magnetic field detection with integrated flux concentrators using a multi-frequency modulation technique on the solid nuclear spin in diamonds.

In this paper, we implement integrated magnetic flux concentrators (MFCs) combined with a multi-frequency modulation method to achieve high-magnetic-detection sensitivity using a nuclear spin on the solid nuclear spin in diamonds. First, we excited the nuclear spin in diamonds using a continuous-wave technique, and a linewidth of 1.37 MHz and frequency resolution of 79 Hz were successfully obtained, which is reduced by one order of the linewidth, and increased by 56 times in frequency resolution compared to that excited by an electron spin.

Nanofiber Composite Reinforced Organohydrogels for Multifunctional and Wearable Electronics.

Composite organohydrogels have been widely used in wearable electronics. However, it remains a great challenge to develop mechanically robust and multifunctional composite organohydrogels with good dispersion of nanofillers and strong interfacial interactions. Here, multifunctional nanofiber composite reinforced organohydrogels (NCROs) are prepared.