Effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation on bone loss for patients with foot and ankle fracture: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The aim for this trial was to preliminarily evaluate the effectiveness and safety of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) for bone loss in patients with immobilization after surgical fixation of ankle and foot fractures.

Methods: A total of 80 patients with immobilization after surgical fixation of ankle and foot fractures were randomly divided into an intervention group (n=40) or control group (n=40). The intervention group was given TEAS treatment combined with routine orthopedic treatment, and the control group was given only routine orthopedic treatment.

Optimizing energy harvesting performance of silicone elastomers by molecular grafting of azobenzene to the macromolecular network.

The dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) has attracted significant attention in the past decade for harvesting energy from reciprocating mechanical motion owing to its variable capacitance under tension. However, the challenge of conceiving novel DEGs with high energy harvesting performance should be addressed. In this work, azobenzene molecules with strong polarity were synthesized and chemically grafted onto a hydroxyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) network through a simple one-step process, offering a robust, molecularly homogenous silicone rubber.

The applicability of eye-controlled highlighting to the field of visual searching.

Objective: With the increasing amount of information presented on current human-computer interfaces, eye-controlled highlighting has been proposed, as a new display technique, to optimise users' task performances. However, it is unknown to what extent the eye-controlled highlighting display facilitates visual search performance. The current study examined the facilitative effect of eye-controlled highlighting display technique on visual search with two major attributes of visual stimuli: stimulus type and the visual similarity between targets and distractors.

Circulating microRNAs Correlated with Bone Loss Induced by 45 Days of Bed Rest.

The purpose of this study was to find the circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) co-related with bone loss induced by bed rest, and testify whether the selected miRNAs could reflect the bone mineral status of human after bed-rest. We analyzed plasma miRNA levels of 16 subjects after 45 days of -6° head-down tilt bed rest, which is a reliable model for the simulation of microgravity. We characterize the circulating miRNA profile in individuals after bed rest and identify circulating miRNAs which can best reflect the level of bone loss induced by bed rest.

Late Gadolinium Enhancement Amount As an Independent Risk Factor for the Incidence of Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Stage C or D Heart Failure.

Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is a risk factor for poor prognosis in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) of the myocardium on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) represents MF. We examined whether the LGE amount increases the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with stage C or D heart failure (HF).

Simulated Microgravity and Recovery-Induced Remodeling of the Left and Right Ventricle.

Physiological adaptations to microgravity involve alterations in cardiovascular systems. These adaptations result in cardiac remodeling and orthostatic hypotension. However, the response of the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) following hindlimb unloading (HU) and hindlimb reloading (HR) is not clear and the underlying mechanism remains to be understood.

The influence of spatial ability and experience on performance during spaceship rendezvous and docking.

Manual rendezvous and docking (manual RVD) is a challenging space task for astronauts. Previous research showed a correlation between spatial ability and manual RVD skills among participants at early stages of training, but paid less attention to experts. Therefore, this study tried to explore the role of spatial ability in manual RVD skills in two groups of trainees, one relatively inexperienced and the other experienced operators.

Disrupted resting-state functional architecture of the brain after 45-day simulated microgravity.

Long-term spaceflight induces both physiological and psychological changes in astronauts. To understand the neural mechanisms underlying these physiological and psychological changes, it is critical to investigate the effects of microgravity on the functional architecture of the brain. In this study, we used resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to study whether the functional architecture of the brain is altered after 45 days of -6° head-down tilt (HDT) bed rest, which is a reliable model for the simulation of microgravity.

Decreasing ventromedial prefrontal cortex deactivation in risky decision making after simulated microgravity: effects of -6° head-down tilt bed rest.

Space is characterized by risk and uncertainty. As humans play an important role in long-duration space missions, the ability to make risky decisions effectively is important for astronauts who spend extended time periods in space. The present study used the Balloon Analog Risk Task to conduct both behavioral and fMRI experiments to evaluate the effects of simulated microgravity on individuals' risk-taking behavior and the neural basis of the effect.