Clinical insights into tooth extraction via torsion method: a biomechanical analysis of the tooth-periodontal ligament complex.

Traditionally, extracting single, flat- or curved-rooted teeth through twisting is unfeasible. However, our clinical practice suggests that such teeth can be extracted efficiently through moderate twisting in a minimally invasive manner. Given the lack of studies on biomechanics of the tooth-periodontal ligament (PDL) complex during torsion, which has further constrained its application, we assessed the feasibility of the torsion method for extracting single-rooted teeth and evaluated its minimally invasive potential. Using three-dimensional finite element analysis, we examined the stress distribution of the tooth and PDL during torsion. Then, we examined changes in the optimal torsion angle (OTA) and stress distribution across various anatomical scenarios. During torsion loading, stress concentration was primarily observed on the sing-rooted tooth surface near the alveolar crest, whereas molars at the root furcation. The OTA was found to increase under conditions such as narrowing of root width, decrease in the root apical curvature, change from type I to IV bone, alveolar bone loss, and shortening of root length. Moreover, the clinically validated model demonstrated that 74% of outcomes fell within the standard OTA range. In conclusion, the decrease in PDL area necessitated a larger angle for complete PDL tearing. Single-rooted teeth with root width-to-thickness ratios of ≥0.42 and apical curvatures of ≤30°are suitable for extraction using the torsion method. This study confirms the feasibility of the torsion method for minimally invasive tooth extraction and expands its indications, laying the theoretical foundation and essential insights for its clinical application.

Ultra-early stage lower-grade gliomas: How can we define and differentiate these easily misdiagnosed gliomas through intraoperative molecular diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Some lower-grade gliomas (LGG) are difficult to distinguish morphologically from glial cell proliferation or inflammatory changes during surgery, leading to a high risk of incorrect diagnosis. It is crucial to differentiate between the two for making surgical decisions. We define these critical cases as "ultra early stage lower-grade gliomas (UES-LGG)". METHODS: We analyzed 11 out of 13 cases diagnosed with "gliosis" or "inflammatory changes" during surgery who tested positive for isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Additionally, we conducted qRT-PCR detection on 35 samples diagnosed with LGG during surgery and analyzed their DNA content within an effective circulating threshold range to infer the critical value between UES-LGG and LGG. We conducted experiments using five standardized samples to infer the limited range of accurate detection of UES-LGG during surgery. RESULTS: In the comparative analysis of 11 samples and 35 samples, it was found that while there was no significant difference in the average DNA detection concentration between the two groups (159.36 ± 83.3 ng/µL and 146.83 ± 122.43 ng/µL), there was a notable statistical variance in the detection threshold for positive mutations (31.78 ± 1.14 and 26.14 ± 2.69, respectively). This suggests that the IDH mutation rate may serve as an indicator for differentiation between the two groups. Subsequently, DNA was extracted from standardized IDH mutant samples and subjected to gradient dilution for detection purposes. The results indicated a consistent increase in detection threshold as detection concentration decreased. When the detection concentration fell below <0.1 ng/µL, it became impossible to carry out effective threshold range detections. To further identify the precise detection interval, we conducted gradient division once again and sought to simulate the functional relationship between DNA copy number and cycle threshold within this interval. The research revealed that when the minimum detection concentration exceeded 250 copies/µL, a 100% detection rate could be achieved. CONCLUSIONS: This article defines UES-LGG as a tumor type easily misdiagnosed in clinical practice due to its extremely low positivity rate during surgery. The popularization of qRT-PCR based intraoperative molecular diagnosis greatly reduces errors caused by manual detection and improves disease detection rates during surgery. It provides a theoretical basis for more accurate surgical plans for surgeons.

A symptom-level perspective on irritability, PTSD, and depression in children and adults.

BACKGROUND: Although irritability is a prominent clinical manifestation among traumatized populations, its relationships with other psychopathologies are rarely studied. Adopting a symptom-level perspective, this study aimed to explore how symptoms of irritability, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression are associated. METHOD: The Brief Irritability Test, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were used to measure irritability, PTSD, and depression, respectively, in a large sample of trauma-exposed children and adolescents (n = 5454), trauma-exposed adults (n = 4718), and children and adolescents with probable PTSD (n = 556). Exploratory graph analysis (EGA) and network analysis were conducted to examine potential communities and significant relations. RESULTS: Although irritability, PTSD, and depression were highly correlated at the disorder level, EGA results indicated that, at the symptom level, they formed highly stable and dense communities, respectively. Relations across disorders mainly emerged at symptoms related to negative cognition, dysphoria, and suicidal thoughts. Especially, strong transdiagnostic relations across all samples were "negative beliefs" and "suicidal thoughts", "numbing" and "suicidal thoughts", "startle" and "moving slowly or restless", "bothering" and "moving slowly or restless". Furthermore, irritability symptoms seem more central than PTSD and depression symptoms, with "snap" being the most central node across all networks, especially in the child and adolescent sample. CONCLUSION: Irritability, PTSD, and depression are relatively independent constructs when analyzed at the symptom level. Irritability symptoms emerged as core symptoms in trauma-exposed populations. Our findings highlight the importance of independent assessment of irritability in the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD.

A Flexible Memristor Based on CsPbCl3 Nanocrystals for an Artificial Nociceptor.

Halide perovskites (HPs) based memristors show great potential in the simulation of biological neurons. Herein, a memristor with Ag/PMMA&CsPbCl3/ITO structure is developed by incorporating CsPbCl3 nanocrystals (NCs) into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the functional layer. The device exhibits typical bipolar resistive behavior, low operating voltage, good endurance of more than 400 cycles, consistent and excellent ON/OFF ratio (≈ 103), and high mechanical bending stability (bending times = 1000). The RS mechanism has been well explained by the electric field induced formation and rupture of Ag filaments in the PMMA&CsPbCl3 layer. More importantly, the memristor successfully displays fundamental nociceptive functions including threshold, nonadaptation, relaxation, and sensitization (allodynia and hyperalgesia). To demonstrate the feasibility of the artificial nociceptor, a pressure nociceptor system is constructed using the Ag/PMMA&CsPbCl3/ITO device. These results provide new perspectives for the development of next-generation, high-performance HPs based neural morphology devices.

Covalent Bond Torsion-Enabled Unique Crystal-Phase Transformation of an Organic Semiconductor for Multicolor Light-Emitting Transistors.

High-mobility and color-tunable highly emissive organic semiconductors (OSCs) are highly promising for various optoelectronic device applications and novel structure-property relationship investigations. However, such OSCs have never been reported because of the great trade-off between mobility, emission color, and emission efficiency. Here, we report a novel strategy of molecular conformation-induced unique crystalline polymorphism to realize the high mobility and color-tunable high emission in a novel OSC, 2,7-di(anthracen-2-yl) naphthalene (2,7-DAN). Interestingly, 2,7-DAN has unique crystalline polymorphism, which has an almost identical packing motif but slightly different molecular conformation enabled by the small bond rotation angle variation between anthracene and naphthalene units. More remarkably, the subtle covalent bond rotation angle change leads to a big change in color emission (from blue to green) but does not significantly modify the mobility and emission efficiency. The carrier mobility of 2,7-DAN crystals can reach up to a reliable 17 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is rare for the reported high-mobility OSCs. Based on the unique phenomenon, high-performance light-emitting transistors with blue to green emission are simultaneously demonstrated in an OSC crystal. These results open a new way for designing emerging multifunctional organic semiconductors toward next-generation advanced molecular (atomic)-scale optoelectronics devices.

Research on the visual location method for strawberry picking points under complex conditions based on composite models.

BACKGROUND: Strawberry, being an important economic crop, requires a large amount of human labor for harvesting operations. Efficient and non-destructive harvesting by strawberry harvesting robots requires the precise location of the picking points. Current algorithms for locating picking points encounter significant issues with location errors and minimal effective information in complex situations. RESULTS: To improve the accuracy of the location of picking points, this study proposes a visual location method based on composite models. This method employs object detection and instance segmentation models to detect fruits and segment peduncles sequentially, thereby enabling the identification of picking points and inclination on the peduncle. Different object detection algorithms and instance segmentation models were validated to explore the optimal model combination, and the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) was integrated into YOLOv8s-seg to construct YOLOv8s-seg-CBAM. Test results show that the composite model built with YOLOv8s and YOLOv8s-seg-CBAM achieved a peduncle detection accuracy of 86.2%, with an inference time of 30.6 ms per image. CONCLUSION: The picking point visual location method based on YOLOv8s and YOLOv8s-seg-CBAM composite models can better balance accuracy and efficiency and can provide more accurate guidance for automated harvesting. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Intraoperative rapid molecular diagnosis aids glioma subtyping and guides precise surgical resection.

OBJECTIVE: The molecular era of glioma diagnosis and treatment has arrived, and a single rapid histopathology is no longer sufficient for surgery. This study sought to present an automatic integrated gene detection system (AIGS), which enables rapid intraoperative detection of IDH/TERTp mutations. METHODS: A total of 78 patients with gliomas were included in this study. IDH/TERTp mutations were detected intraoperatively using AIGS in 41 of these patients, and they were guided to surgical resection (AIGS detection group). The remaining 37 underwent histopathology-guided conventional surgical resection (non-AIGS detection group). The clinical utility of this technique was evaluated by comparing the accuracy of glioma subtype diagnosis before and after TERTp mutation results were obtained by pathologists and the extent of resection (EOR) and patient prognosis for molecular pathology-guided glioma surgery. RESULTS: With NGS/Sanger sequencing and chromosome detection as the gold standard, the accuracy of AIGS results was 100%. And the timing was well matched to the intraoperative rapid pathology report. After obtaining the TERTp mutation detection results, the accuracy of the glioma subtype diagnosis made by the pathologists increased by 19.51%. Molecular pathology-guided surgical resection of gliomas significantly increased EOR (99.06% vs. 93.73%, p < 0.0001) and also improved median OS (26.77 vs. 13.47 months, p = 0.0289) and median PFS (15.90 vs. 10.57 months, p = 0.0181) in patients with glioblastoma. INTERPRETATION: Using AIGS intraoperatively to detect IDH/TERTp mutations to accurately diagnose glioma subtypes can help achieve maximum safe resection of gliomas, which in turn improves the survival prognosis of patients.

A morphology-based integrated teaching mode combining pathology and radiology with the aid of teaching media: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The integration of curriculum is an important approach for enhancing medical education and facilitating interdisciplinary connections among students. This study aimed to develop a new morphological integrated teaching mode for undergraduate stomatology education by combining stomatological pathology and radiology courses with instructional media. METHODS: In total, 63 undergraduates were included in this study and divided into three groups: traditional (Group T; the control group) and two experimental groups: KoPa WiFi EDU (Group K), and KoPa WiFi EDU-cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) (Group K-C). All participants attended a 2-h lecture on periapical cysts and completed the first theoretical test. Subsequently, they underwent a 4-h experimental training session on the pathology and radiology of periapical cysts using different teaching methods. Following the training, participants completed the second theoretical test and underwent the first image-reading skill evaluation. After a 3-month period, participants completed the third theoretical test and underwent the second image-reading skill evaluation. The effectiveness of the teaching methods was assessed by analyzing the differences in theoretical test and experimental skill evaluation scores. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the first theoretical outcomes among three groups (p > 0.05). However, the second theoretical scores, the first objective evaluation scores, and the first subjective evaluation scores were significantly higher in the integrated teaching mode (3D teaching mode with the KoPa WiFi EDU and CBCT: 89.29 ± 4.55, 81.00 ± 8.15, and 61.57 ± 5.52, respectively; 2D teaching mode with the KoPa WiFi EDU system: 80.43 ± 3.41, 73.00 ± 8.01, and 55.67 ± 5.66, respectively) than in the traditional teaching mode (72.57 ± 3.84, 69.38 ± 4.91, and 48.67 ± 5.54, respectively) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the long-term teaching effect of the integrated mode was better than that of the traditional mode (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The morphology-based integrated teaching mode combining pathology and radiology aroused student enthusiasm for learning, and resulted in enhanced learning outcomes in dental experimental education.

CRISPR-Cas9 library screening combined with an exosome-targeted delivery system addresses tumorigenesis/TMZ resistance in the mesenchymal subtype of glioblastoma.

Rationale: The large-scale genomic analysis classifies glioblastoma (GBM) into three major subtypes, including classical (CL), proneural (PN), and mesenchymal (MES) subtypes. Each of these subtypes exhibits a varying degree of sensitivity to the temozolomide (TMZ) treatment, while the prognosis corresponds to the molecular and genetic characteristics of the tumor cell type. Tumors with MES features are predominantly characterized by the NF1 deletion/alteration, leading to sustained activation of the RAS and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways in GBM and tend to acquire drug resistance, resulting in the worst prognosis compared to other subtypes (PN and CL). Here, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 library screening technique to detect TMZ-related gene targets that might play roles in acquiring drug resistance, using overexpressed KRAS-G12C mutant GBM cell lines. The study identified a key therapeutic strategy to address the chemoresistance against the MES subtype of GBM. Methods: The CRISPR-Cas9 library screening was used to discover genes associated with TMZ resistance in the U87-KRAS (U87-MG which is overexpressed KRAS-G12C mutant) cells. The patient-derived GBM primary cell line TBD0220 was used for experimental validations in vivo and in vitro. Chromatin isolation by RNA purification (ChIRP) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were used to elucidate the silencing mechanism of tumor suppressor genes in the MES-GBM subtype. The small-molecule inhibitor EPIC-0412 was obtained through high-throughput screening. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to characterize the exosomes (Exos) secreted by GBM cells after TMZ treatment. Blood-derived Exos-based targeted delivery of siRNA, TMZ, and EPIC-0412 was optimized to tailor personalized therapy in vivo. Results: Using the genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 library screening, we found that the ERBIN gene could be epigenetically regulated in the U87-KRAS cells. ERBIN overexpression inhibited the RAS signaling and downstream proliferation and invasion effects of GBM tumor cells. EPIC-0412 treatment inhibited tumor proliferation and EMT progression by upregulating the ERBIN expression both in vitro and in vivo. Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening also identified RASGRP1(Ras guanine nucleotide-releasing protein 1) and VPS28(Vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 28) genes as synthetically lethal in response to TMZ treatment in the U87-KRAS cells. We found that RASGRP1 activated the RAS-mediated DDR pathway by promoting the RAS-GTP transformation. VPS28 promoted the Exos secretion and decreased intracellular TMZ concentration in GBM cells. The targeted Exos delivery system encapsulating drugs and siRNAs together showed a powerful therapeutic effect against GBM in vivo. Conclusions: We demonstrate a new mechanism by which ERBIN is epigenetically silenced by the RAS signaling in the MES subtype of GBM. Restoration of the ERBIN expression with EPIC-0412 significantly inhibits the RAS signaling downstream. RASGRP1 and VPS28 genes are associated with the promotion of TMZ resistance through RAS-GDP to RAS-GTP transformation and TMZ efflux, as well. A quadruple combination therapy based on a targeted Exos delivery system demonstrated significantly reduced tumor burden in vivo. Therefore, our study provides new insights and therapeutic approaches for regulating tumor progression and TMZ resistance in the MES-GBM subtype.

An Artificial LiSiOx Nociceptor with Neural Blockade and Self-Protection Abilities.

An artificial nociceptor, as a critical and special bionic receptor, plays a key role in a bioelectronic device that detects stimuli and provides warnings. However, fully exploiting bioelectronic applications remains a major challenge due to the lack of the methods of implementing basic nociceptor functions and nociceptive blockade in a single device. In this work, we developed a Pt/LiSiOx/TiN artificial nociceptor. It had excellent stability under the 104 endurance test with pulse stimuli and exhibited a significant threshold current of 1 mA with 1 V pulse stimuli. Other functions such as relaxation, inadaptation, and sensitization were all realized in a single device. Also, the pain blockade function was first achieved in this nociceptor with over a 25% blocking degree, suggesting a self-protection function. More importantly, an obvious depression was activated by a stimulus over 1.6 V due to the cooperative effects of both lithium ions and oxygen ions in LiSiOx and the dramatic accumulation of Joule heat. The conducting channel ruptured partially under sequential potentiation, thus achieving nociceptive blockade, besides basic functions in one single nociceptor, which was rarely reported. These results provided important guidelines for constructing high-performance memristor-based artificial nociceptors and opened up an alternative approach to the realization of bioelectronic systems for artificial intelligence.

Lithium-Doped Titanium Dioxide-Based Multilayer Hierarchical Structure for Accelerating Nerve-Induced Bone Regeneration.

Despite considerable advances in artificial bone tissues, the absence of neural network reconstruction in their design often leads to delayed or ineffective bone healing. Hence, we propose a multilayer hierarchical lithium (Li)-doped titanium dioxide structure, constructed through microarc oxidation combined with alkaline heat treatment. This structure can induce the sustained release of Li ions, mimicking the environment of neurogenic osteogenesis characterized by high brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression. During in vitro experiments, the structure enhanced the differentiation of Schwann cells (SCs) and the growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and mouse embryo osteoblast progenitor cells (MC3T3-E1). Additionally, in a coculture system, the SC-conditioned media markedly increased alkaline phosphatase expression and the formation of calcium nodules, demonstrating the excellent potential of the material for nerve-induced bone regeneration. In an in vivo experiment based on a rat distal femoral lesion model, the structure substantially enhanced bone healing by increasing the density of the neural network in the tissue around the implant. In conclusion, this study elucidates the neuromodulatory pathways involved in bone regeneration, providing a promising method for addressing bone deformities.

Isocorydine Exerts Anticancer Activity by Disrupting the Energy Metabolism and Filamentous Actin Structures of Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells.

Isocorydine (ICD) exhibits strong antitumor effects on numerous human cell lines. However, the anticancer activity of ICD against oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been reported. The anticancer activity, migration and invasion ability, and changes in the cytoskeleton morphology and mechanical properties of ICD in OSCC were determined. Changes in the contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ATP, and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex enzymes Ⅰ-Ⅳ in cancer cells were studied. ICD significantly inhibited the proliferation of oral tongue squamous cells (Cal-27), with an IC50 of 0.61 mM after 24 h of treatment. The invasion, migration, and adhesion of cancer cells were decreased, and cytoskeletal actin was deformed and depolymerized. In comparison to an untreated group, the activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex enzymes I-IV were significantly decreased by 50.72%, 27.39%, 77.27%, and 73.89%, respectively. The ROS production increased, the MMP decreased by 43.65%, and the ATP content decreased to 17.1 ± 0.001 (mmol/mL); ultimately, the apoptosis rate of cancer cells increased up to 10.57% after 24 h of action. These findings suggest that ICD exerted an obvious anticancer activity against OSCC and may inhibit Cal-27 proliferation and growth by causing mitochondrial dysfunction and interrupting cellular energy.

A portable microfluidic device for thermally controlled granular sample manipulation.

Effective granular sample manipulation with a portable and visualizable microfluidic device is significant for lots of applications, such as point-of-care testing and cargo delivery. Herein, we report a portable microfluidic device for controlled particle focusing, migration and double-emulsion droplet release via thermal fields. The device mainly contains a microfluidic chip, a microcontroller with a DC voltage control unit, a built-in microscope with a video transmission unit and a smartphone. Five microheaters located at the bottom of the microfluidic chip are used to unevenly heat fluids and then induce thermal buoyancy flow and a thermocapillary effect, and the experiments can be conveniently visualized through a smartphone, which provides convenient sample detection in outdoor environments. To demonstrate the feasibility and multifunctionality of this device, the focusing manipulation of multiple particles is first analyzed by using silica particles and yeast cells as experimental samples. We can directly observe the particle focusing states on the screen of a smartphone, and the particle focusing efficiency can be flexibly tuned by changing the control voltage of the microheater. Then the study focus is transferred to single-particle migration. By changing the voltage combinations applied on four strip microheaters, the single particle can migrate at predetermined trajectory and speed, showing attractiveness for those applications needing sample transportation. Finally, we manipulate the special three-phase flow system of double-emulsion drops in thermal fields. Under the combined effect of the thermocapillary effect and increased instability, the shell of double-emulsion droplets gradually thins and finally breaks, resulting in the release of samples in inner cores. The core release speed can also be flexibly adjusted by changing the control voltage of the microheater. These three experiments successfully demonstrate the effectiveness and multifunctionality of this thermally actuated microfluidic device on granular manipulation. Therefore, this portable microfluidic device will be promising for lots of applications, such as analytical detection, microrobot actuation and cargo release.

Diverse long-term potentiation and depression based on multilevel LiSiOxmemristor for neuromorphic computing.

Memristor-based neuromorphic computing is expected to overcome the bottleneck of von Neumann architecture. An artificial synaptic device with continuous conductance variation is essential for implementing bioinspired neuromorphic systems. In this work, a memristor based on Pt/LiSiOx/TiN structure is developed to emulate an artificial synapse, which shows non-volatile multilevel resistance state memory behavior. Moreover, the high nonlinearity caused by abrupt changes in the set process is optimized by adjusting the initial resistance. 100 levels of continuously modulated conductance states are achieved and the nonlinearity factors are reduced to 1.31. The significant improvement is attributed to the decrease in the Schottky barrier height and the evolution of the conductive filaments. Finally, due to the improved linearity of the long-term potentiation/long-term depression behaviors in LiSiOxmemristor, a robust recognition rate (∼94.58%) is achieved for pattern recognition with the modified National Institute of Standards and Technology handwriting database. The Pt/LiSiOx/TiN memristor shows significant potential in high-performance multilevel data storage and neuromorphic computing systems.

Flexible droplet transportation and coalescence via controllable thermal fields.

Flexible droplet transportation and coalescence are significant for lots of applications such as material synthesis and analytical detection. Herein, we present an effective method for controllable droplet transportation and coalescence via thermal fields. The device used for droplet manipulation is composed of a glass substrate with indium tin oxide-made microheaers and a microchannel with two transport branches and a central chamber, and it's manipulated by sequentially powering the microheaters located at the bottom of microchannel. The fluid will be unevenly heated when the microheater is actuated, leading to the formation of thermal buoyancy convection and the decrease of interfacial tension of fluids. Subsequently, the microdroplets can be transported from the inlets of microchannel to the target position by the buoyancy flow-induced Stokes drag. And the droplet migration velocity can be flexibly adjusted by changing the voltage applied on the microheater. After being transported to the center of central chamber, the coalescence behaviors of microdroplets can be triggered if the microheater located at the bottom of central chamber is continuously actuated. The droplet coalescence is the combined effect of decreased fluid interfacial tension, the shortened droplet distance by buoyancy flow and the increased instability of droplet under the elevated temperature. The droplet coalescence efficiency is also related to the voltage of microheater, by increasing the voltage from 3.5 V to 7 V, the needed time for droplet coalescence dramatically decrease from 220s to 1.4 s. Finally, by the droplet coalescence-triggered calcium hydroxide precipitation reaction, we demonstrate the applicability of the droplet manipulation method on specific sample detection. Therefore, this approach used for droplet transportation and coalescence can be attractive for many droplet-based applications such as analytical detection.

Optimization of Subthreshold Swing and Hysteresis in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2-Based MoS2 Negative Capacitance Field-Effect Transistors by Modulating Capacitance Matching.

Negative capacitance field effect transistors made of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) are one of the most promising candidates for low-power-density devices because of the extremely steep subthreshold swing and high open-state currents resulting from the addition of ferroelectric materials in the gate dielectric layer. In this paper, HZO thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering combined with rapid thermal annealing. Their ferroelectric properties were adjusted by changing the annealing temperature and the thickness of HZO. Two-dimensional MoS2 back-gate negative capacitance field-effect transistors (NCFETs) based on HZO were prepared as well. Different annealing temperatures, thicknesses of HZO thin films, and Al2O3 thicknesses were studied to achieve optimal capacitance matching, aiming to reduce both the subthreshold swing of the transistor and the hysteresis of the NCFET. The NCFET exhibits a minimum subthreshold swing as low as 27.9 mV/decade, negligible hysteresis (∼20 mV), and the ION/IOFF of up to 1.58 × 107. Moreover, a negative drain-induced barrier lowering effect and a negative differential resistance effect have been observed. This steep-slope transistor is compatible with standard CMOS manufacturing processes and attractive for 2D logic and sensor applications as well as future energy-efficient nanoelectronic devices with scaled power supplies.

Numerical Analysis of Droplet Impacting on an Immiscible Liquid via Three-Phase Field Method.

In this work, we establish a two-dimensional axisymmetric simulation model to numerically study the impacting behaviors between oil droplets and an immiscible aqueous solution based on the three-phase field method. The numerical model is established by using the commercial software of COMSOL Multiphysics first and then validated by comparing the numerical results with the previous experimental study. The simulation results show that under the impact of oil droplets, a crater will form on the surface of the aqueous solution, which firstly expands and then collapses with the transfer and dissipation of kinetic energy of this three-phase system. As for the droplet, it flattens, spreads, stretches, or immerses on the crater surface and finally achieves an equilibrium state at the gas-liquid interface after experiencing several sinking-bouncing circles. The impacting velocity, fluid density, viscosity, interfacial tension, droplet size, and the property of non-Newtonian fluids all play important roles in the impact between oil droplets and aqueous solution. The conclusions can help to cognize the mechanism of droplet impact on an immiscible fluid and provide useful guidelines for those applications concerning droplet impact.

The first prospective application of AIGS real-time fluorescence PCR in precise diagnosis and treatment of meningioma: Case report.

Background: The emergence of the new WHO classification standard in 2021 incorporated molecular characteristics into the diagnosis system for meningiomas, making the diagnosis and treatment of meningiomas enter the molecular era. Recent findings: At present, there are still some problems in the clinical molecular detection of meningioma, such as low attention, excessive detection, and a long cycle. In order to solve these clinical problems, we realized the intraoperative molecular diagnosis of meningioma by combining real-time fluorescence PCR and AIGS, which is also the first known product applied to the intraoperative molecular diagnosis of meningioma. Implications for practice: We applied AIGS to detect and track a patient with TERTp mutant meningioma, summarized the process of intraoperative molecular diagnosis, and expounded the significance of intraoperative molecular diagnosis under the new classification standard, hoping to optimize the clinical decision-making of meningioma through the diagnosis and treatment plan of this case.

Irreversible Electroporation Improves Tendon Healing in a Rat Model of Collagenase-Induced Achilles Tendinopathy.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of painful chronic tendinopathy is challenging, and there is an urgent need to develop new regenerative methods. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) can lead to localized cell ablation by electrical pulses and induce new cell and tissue growth. Previously, the authors' group reported that electroporation-ablated tendons fully regenerated. PURPOSE: To assess the efficiency of IRE in improving tendon healing using a collagenase-induced Achilles tendinopathy rat model. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: After screening for the IRE ablation parameters, a collagenase-induced Achilles tendinopathy rat model was used to assess the efficacy of IRE in improving tendon healing via biomechanical, behavioral, histological, and immunofluorescence assessments. RESULTS: The experiments showed that the parameter of 875 V/cm 180 pulses could ablate most tenocytes, and apoptosis was the main type of death in vitro. In vivo, IRE promoted the healing process of chronic tendinopathy in the Achilles tendon of rats, based on biomechanical, behavioral, and histological assessments. Finally, immunofluorescence results revealed that IRE improved blood supply in the early stages of tendon repair and could potentially reduce neuropathic pain. CONCLUSION: IRE enhanced tendon tissue healing in a rat model of collagenase-induced Achilles tendinopathy. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: IRE may as a potential alternative treatment for tendinopathy in clinical usage.

Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of human chondrocytes reveals cell-cell communication alterations mediated by interactive signaling pathways in osteoarthritis.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disorder characterized by degenerative articular cartilage, subchondral bone remodeling, and inflammation. Increasing evidence suggests that the substantial crosstalk between cartilage and synovium is closely related to Osteoarthritis development, but the events that cause this degeneration remain unknown. This study aimed to explore the alterations in intercellular communication involved in the pathogenesis of Osteoarthritis using bioinformatics analysis. Methods: Single-cell transcriptome sequencing (scRNA-seq) profiles derived from articular cartilage tissue of patients with Osteoarthritis were downloaded from a public database. Chondrocyte heterogeneity was assessed using computational analysis, and cell type identification and clustering analysis were performed using the "FindClusters" function in the Seurat package. Intercellular communication networks, including major signaling inputs and outputs for cells, were predicted, and analyzed using CellChat. Results: Seven molecularly defined chondrocytes clusters (homeostatic chondrocytes, hypertrophic chondrocyte (HTC), pre-HTC, regulatory chondrocytes, fibro-chondrocytes (FC), pre-FC, and reparative chondrocyte) with different compositions were identified in the damaged cartilage. Compared to those in the intact cartilage, the overall cell-cell communication frequency and communication strength were remarkably increased in the damaged cartilage. The cellular communication among chondrocyte subtypes mediated by signaling pathways, such as PTN, VISFATIN, SPP1, and TGF-ß, was selectively altered in Osteoarthritis. Moreover, we verified that SPP1 pathway enrichment scores increased, but VISFATIN pathway enrichment scores decreased based on the bulk rna-seq datasets in Osteoarthritis. Conclusion: Our results revealed alterations in cell-cell communication among OA-related chondrocyte subtypes that were mediated by specific signaling pathways, which might be a crucial underlying mechanism associated with Osteoarthritis progression.