Characteristics of Lumbar Flexion Rhythm at Different Arm Positions.

Background: The lumbar spine displays its greatest mobility in ventral flexion, which is a potential risk factor for low back pain. The relative contribution of each segment to the complete flexion is denoted the spine rhythm, which is required to distinguish between normal and abnormal spinal profiles, and as well to calculate the spinal forces in musculoskeletal models. Nevertheless, different spine rhythms have been reported in literature and the effect of arm position has not been demonstrated.

Three coordination polymers built by quaternary-ammonium-modified isophthalic acid.

Three coordination polymers based on quaternary-ammonium-modified isophthalic acid, namely, catena-poly[[[aqua-μ-bromido-di-μ-hydroxido-methanoldinitratotetracopper(II)]-bis{μ-5-[2-(tripropylazaniumyl)ethoxy]benzene-1,3-dicarboxylato}] nitrate], {[CuBr(CHNO)(NO)(OH)(CHO)(HO)]NO}, 1, poly[μ-bromido-μ-bromido-bromido-μ-hydroxido-{μ-5-[2-(tripropylazaniumyl)ethoxy]benzene-1,3-dicarboxylato}tricopper(II)], [CuBr(CHNO)(OH)], 2, and poly[bromido{μ-5-[2-(tripropylazaniumyl)ethoxy]benzene-1,3-dicarboxylato}zinc(II)], [ZnBr(CHNO)], 3, were obtained by solvothermal reactions. Coordination polymer (CP) 1 contains tetranuclear Cu units, in which the four Cu atoms are linked by two μ-OH groups into a Cu(OH) cluster, which are in turn linked by 5-[2-(tripropylazaniumyl)ethoxy]benzene-1,3-dicarboxylate (cpa) ligands into a chain structure. CP 2 also contains a tetranuclear Cu(OH) cluster and these are linked with CuBr units into chains.

Dielectric screening in perovskite photovoltaics.

The performance of perovskite photovoltaics is fundamentally impeded by the presence of undesirable defects that contribute to non-radiative losses within the devices. Although mitigating these losses has been extensively reported by numerous passivation strategies, a detailed understanding of loss origins within the devices remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the defect capturing probability estimated by the capture cross-section is decreased by varying the dielectric response, producing the dielectric screening effect in the perovskite.

Environmental impacts of Hurricane Florence flooding in eastern North Carolina: temporal analysis of contaminant distribution and potential human health risks.

Background: Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina in September 2018 causing extensive flooding. Several potential point sources of hazardous substances and Superfund sites sustained water damage and contaminants may have been released into the environment.

Objective: This study conducted temporal analysis of contaminant distribution and potential human health risks from Hurricane Florence-associated flooding.

Penguin Suit and Fetal Position Finite Element Model to Prevent Low Back Pain in Spaceflight.

This study aimed to investigate the biomechanical effects of different interventions on astronauts lumbar intervertebral discs in a microgravity environment during spaceflight and in a gravity environment when the astronaut returns. A finite element model of the L4L5 lumbar segment was developed with eight loading schemes representing different interventions. The loading schemes included no intervention, wearing a penguin suit, sleeping in a fetal position, wearing a penguin suit combined with sleeping in the fetal position, reclining for 4 or 16 h/d, and maintaining upright posture for 4 or 16 h/d.

Biotreatment of Cr(VI) and pyrene combined water pollution by loofa-immobilized bacteria.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and pyrene are toxic pollutants that are difficult to remediate from soils and wastewater. Serratia sp. strains have been previously demonstrated to remove either Cr(VI) or pyrene and here a new isolate, called the Z6 strain, was demonstrated to remove both simultaneously.

Perovskite Solar Cells for Space Applications: Progress and Challenges.

Metal halide perovskites have aroused burgeoning interest in the field of photovoltaics owing to their versatile optoelectronic properties. The outstanding power conversion efficiency, high specific power (i.e.

Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Cerebellum in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: A Case-Control Study.

This case-control study is aimed to investigate the correlation of altered functional connectivity (FC) in cerebellum with cognitive impairment in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The morphometric and resting-state FC MRI analysis including 46 participants with AD, 32 with aMCI and 42 age-matched normal controls (NCs) were conducted. We compared the cerebellar gray matter volume and cerebellar FC with cerebral cortical regions among three groups.

Inhaled JAK inhibitor GDC-0214 reduces exhaled nitric oxide in patients with mild asthma: A randomized, controlled, proof-of-activity trial.

Background: The Janus kinase (JAK) pathway mediates the activity of many asthma-relevant cytokines, including IL-4 and IL-13. GDC-0214 is a potent, inhaled, small-molecule JAK inhibitor being developed for the treatment of asthma.

Objective: We sought to determine whether GDC-0214 reduces fractional exhaled nitric oxide (Feno), a JAK1-dependent biomarker of airway inflammation, in patients with mild asthma.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes attenuate cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury-induced neuroinflammation and pyroptosis by modulating microglia M1/M2 phenotypes.

Background: Pyroptosis mediated by NLRP3 inflammasome plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Mounting evidences have verified the efficacy of exosomes by relieving the inflammatory response during cerebral I/R injury, but the specific mechanism has not been well elucidated. This study aimed to clarify whether the neuroprotective effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (BMSC-Exos) are associated with the attenuation of NLPR3-mediated neuron pyroptosis by modulating microglial polarization.

Optimizing Protein-Glutaminase Expression in Bacillus subtilis.

Protein-glutaminase (PG) is a promising protein deaminase. It only hydrolyzes the side chain amido groups of protein-bound to generate ammonia and protein-L-glutamic acid and does not catalyze any other undesirable changes in protein structures. Deamidation of proteins via PG can influence the solubility, emulsification, foaming, and gelation properties of proteins, which are important properties for some food proteins.

MRI-Based Radiomics: Nomograms predicting the short-term response after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with diameter less than 5 cm.

Purpose: To construct MRI radiomics nomograms that can predict short-term response after TACE in HCC patients with diameter less than 5 cm.

Methods: MRI images and clinical data of 153 cases with tumor diameter less than 5 cm before TACE from 3 hospitals were collected retrospectively and divided into 1 internal training set and 1 external validation set. The T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI arterial phase (DCE-MR AP) images were studied.

CX3CR1 deficiency aggravates brain white matter injury and affects expression of the CD36/15LO/NR4A1 signal.

Objective: To study the effects of CX3CR1 on white matter injury, neurofunction, recognition, and expression of the CD36/15LO/NR4A1 signal in mice with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: CX3CR1, CX3CR1 and C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into 3 groups. We used a controlled cortical impact (CCI) to establish a TBI model and T2wt MRI to detect the TBI lesion.

Hyperglycemia accelerates inflammaging in the gingival epithelium through inflammasomes activation.

Background And Objective: Diabetes accelerates inflammaging in various tissue with an increase in senescent cell burden and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) secretion, which is a significant cause of tissue dysfunction and contributes to the diabetic complications. Recently, inflammasomes are thought to contribute to inflammaging. Here, utilizing diabetic models in vivo and in vitro, we investigated the potential association between hyperglycemia-induced inflammaging and gingival tissue dysfunction and the mechanism underlying inflammasome-associated inflammaging.

Development of Dermestes tessellatocollis Motschulsky under different constant temperatures and its implication in forensic entomology.

Dermestidae generally appears on dry corpses and carcasses, especially if mummified or skeletonized. They are forensically important insect species for estimating longer postmortem intervals (PMI). As they develop, Dermestidae larvae undergo multiple larval ecdyses; however, a lack of guidelines for determining the larval instar limits their forensic application.

Decidual-derived RANKL facilitates macrophages accumulation and residence at the maternal-fetal interface in human early pregnancy.

Problem: During the first trimester, the accumulation of macrophages, which is the second largest decidual leukocyte population (~20%) at the maternal-fetal interface, is quite vital for a successful pregnancy, including embryo implantation, trophoblast invasion, and vascular remodeling. The mechanism of the enrichment and redistribution of macrophages in the uterine decidua of early pregnancy is largely unclear.

Method Of Study: A total of 37 women with normal early pregnancies were included.

On-line separation/analysis of Rhodamine B dye based on a solid-phase extraction high performance liquid chromatography self-designed device.

A special self-designed device based on poly-1-vinyl-3-pentylimidazole hexafluorophosphate (PILs-C) solid-phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is proposed as a novel method for the on-line separation and analysis of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye. Single factor experiment design and orthogonal experiment design were used to optimize the experimental parameters, such as pH, the amount of PILs-C, sample volume, flow rate, eluent type, eluent concentration, eluent volume, and the flow rate of eluent. Under the optimized conditions, the linear range was 0.

Photoinduced EDA Complexes Enabled Radical Tandem Cyclization/Arylation of Unactivated Alkene with 2-Amino-1,4-naphthoquinones.

A visible-light-induced radical tandem cyclization/arylation between 2-amino-1, 4-naphthoquinone and -allyl-2-bromo-2,2-difluoroacetamides has been developed without an external photocatalyst. The transformation could be carried out at room temperature and gave a variety of C-3-functionalized 2-amino-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives in moderate to excellent yields. Moreover, mechanistic studies revealed that the reaction is driven by the formation of an electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex.

Raman Detection of Bond Breaking and Making of a Chemisorbed Up-Standing Single Molecule at Single-Bond Level.

Probing bond breaking and making as well as related structural changes at the single-molecule level is of paramount importance for understanding the mechanism of chemical reactions. In this work, we report tracking of bond breaking and making of an up-standing melamine molecule chemisorbed on Cu(100) by subnanometer resolved tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). We demonstrate a vertical detection depth of about 4 Å with spectral sensitivity at the single chemical-bond level, which allows us not only to justify the up-standing configuration involving a dehydrogenation process at the bottom upon chemisorption, but also to specify the breaking of top N-H bonds and the transformation to its tautomer during photon-induced hydrogen transfer reactions.

Meta-analysis of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios in Henoch-Schonlein purpura and its complications.

Objective: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are associated with the severity of Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP). Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical significance of NLR and PLR in HSP and its complications.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP, and SinoMed databases from their inception to September 31, 2020.

Effects of a contusion load on spinal cord with different curvatures.

The cervical spine injury is a complicated procedure in the combination of different injury loads and postures. The aim of this study is to investigate the injury mechanism considering different types of cervical curvatures subjected to contusion loads. A finite element model of a cervical spinal cord was constructed.

Cryo-EM structures reveal the molecular basis of receptor-initiated coxsackievirus uncoating.

Enterovirus uncoating receptors bind at the surface depression ("canyon") that encircles each capsid vertex causing the release of a host-derived lipid called "pocket factor" that is buried in a hydrophobic pocket formed by the major viral capsid protein, VP1. Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) is a universal uncoating receptor of group B coxsackieviruses (CVB). Here, we present five high-resolution cryoEM structures of CVB representing different stages of virus infection.

Ovarian hormones-autophagy-immunity axis in menstruation and endometriosis.

Menstruation occurs in few species and involves a cyclic process of proliferation, breakdown and regeneration under the control of ovarian hormones. Knowledge of normal endometrial physiology, as it pertains to the regulation of menstruation, is essential to understand disorders of menstruation. Accumulating evidence indicates that autophagy in the endometrium, under the regulation of ovarian hormones, can result in the infiltration of immune cells, which plays an indispensable role in the endometrium shedding, tissue repair and prevention of infections during menstruation.

Acupuncture for persistent atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia, which is closely related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although acupuncture is used in the treatment of AF, the evidence is insufficient. The objective of this pilot trial is to evaluate the feasibility, preliminary efficacy, and safety of acupuncture in reducing AF burden for persistent AF after catheter ablation (CA).