Synthesis of iron-manganese bimetallic materials supported by activated carbon and application of activated persulfate in the degradation of soil contaminated by crude oil.

Heterogeneous catalytic processes based on zero-valent iron (ZVI) have been developed to treat soil and wastewater pollutants. However, the agglomeration of ZVI reduces its ability to activate persulfate (PS). In this study, a new Fe-Mn@AC activated material was prepared to activated PS to treat oil-contaminated soil, and using the microscopic characterization of Fe-Mn@AC materials, the electron transfer mode during the Fe-Mn@AC activation of PS was clarified. Firstly, the petroluem degradation rate was optimized. When the PS addition amount was 8%, Fe-Mn@AC addition amount was 3% and the water to soil ratio was 3:1, the petroluem degradation rate in the soil reached to the maximum of 85.69% after 96 h of reaction. Then it was illustrated that sulfate and hydroxyl radicals played major roles in crude oil degradation, while singlet oxygen contributed slightly. Finally, the indigenous microbial community structures remaining after restoring the Fe-Mn@AC/PS systems were analyzed. The proportion of petroleum degrading bacteria in soil increased by 23% after oxidation by Fe-Mn@AC/PS system. Similarly, the germination rate of wheat seeds revealed that soil toxicity was greatly reduced after applying the Fe-Mn@AC/PS system. After the treatment with Fe-Mn@AC/PS system, the germination rate, root length and bud length of wheat seed were increased by 54.05%, 7.98 mm and 6.84 mm, respectively, compared with the polluted soil group. These results showed that the advanced oxidation system of Fe-Mn@AC activates PS and can be used in crude oil-contaminated soil remediation.

The collaborative monitored natural attenuation (CMNA) of soil and groundwater pollution in large petrochemical enterprises: A case study.

A large in-service petrochemical enterprises in Northeast China was taken as the research object, and the Collaborative Monitored Natural Attenuation (CMNA) for soil and groundwater pollution was carried out to remedy combined pollution and reduce environmental risks. The pollutants distributions were obtained based on detailed regional investigation (Mar. 2019), and feature pollutants in soil and groundwater were then screened. The spatiotemporal variations of feature pollutants and relative microbial responses were explored during the CMNA process. Furthermore, the CMNA efficiency of the contaminated site at initial stage was evaluated by calculation of natural attenuation rate constant. The results showed that the feature pollutants in soil were 2,2',5,5'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (2,2',5,5'-TCB) and petroleum hydrocarbons (C10∼C40), and the feature pollutant in groundwater was 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA). The concentrations of all feature pollutants decreased continuously during four years of monitoring. Feature pollutants played a dominant role in the variability of microbial species both in soil and groundwater, increasing the relative abundance of petroleum tolerant/biodegradation bacteria, such as Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteriota. The average natural attenuation rate constant of 2,2',5,5'-TCB and C10∼C40 in soil was 0.0012 d-1 and 0.0010 d-1, respectively, meeting the screening value after four years' attenuation. The average natural attenuation rate constant of 1,2-DCA was 0.0004 d-1, which need strengthening measures to improve the attenuation efficiency.

Characterization of ultraviolet-modified biochar from different feedstocks for enhanced removal of hexavalent chromium from water.

Biochars produced from different feedstocks via pyrolytic carbonization and ultraviolet (UV) modification were used as alternative adsorbents for aqueous hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) remediation. Structural and morphological analysis showed that UV irradiation increased the surface area of biochar and added a large amount of oxygen-containing functional groups on the biochar's surface, resulting in about 2-5 times increase of Cr(VI) removing capacity (14.39-20.04 mg/g) compared to that of unmodified biochars (3.60-8.43 mg/g). The sorption ability among different feedstocks after modification was as follows: corn stack > sawdust > wheat straw. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm data agreed well with the pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich model, respectively. Experimental and modeling results suggested that the oxygen-containing functional groups and surface areas of biochars were notably increased after UV irradiation, which was mainly governed by surface complexation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that reduction occurred during Cr(VI) adsorption. In addition, UV irradiation significantly increased the concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in biochars. The collected outcomes showed that UV-modified biochar was a good material for the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous medium. The excellent adsorption capacity, environmental-friendly and low cost properties made the novel material an auspicious candidate for environmental remediation.

Combination of rhamnolipid and biochar in assisting phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil using Spartina anglica.

Biochar (BC) and rhamnolipid (RL) is used in bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons, however, the combined effect of BC and RL in phytoremediation has not been studied until now. In this paper, the phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil using novel plant Spartina anglica was enhanced by the combination of biochar (BC) and rhamnolipid (RL). Samples of petroleum-contaminated soil (10, 30 and 50 g/kg) were amended by BC, BC+ RL and rhamnolipid modified biochar (RMB), respectively. After 60 day's cultivation, the removal rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) for unplanted soil (UP), planted soil (P), planted soil with BC addition (P-BC), planted soil with BC and RL addition (P-BC + RL) and planted soil with addition of RMB (P-RMB) were 8.6%, 19.1%, 27.7%, 32.4% and 35.1% in soil with TPHs concentration of 30 g/kg, respectively. Compared with UP, the plantation of Spartina anglica significantly decreased the concentration of C8-14 and tricyclic PAHs. Furthermore, the application of BC and RMB alleviated the toxicity of petroleum hydrocarbons to Spartina anglica via improving plant growth with increasing plant height, root vitality and total chlorophyll content. High-throughput sequencing result indicated that rhizosphere microbial community of Spartina anglica was regulated by the application of BC and RMB, with increase of bacteria and plant mycorrhizal symbiotic fungus in biochar and RMB amended soil.

An enhanced AlexNet-Based model for femoral bone tumor classification and diagnosis using magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: Bone tumors, known for their infrequent occurrence and diverse imaging characteristics, require precise differentiation into benign and malignant categories. Existing diagnostic approaches heavily depend on the laborious and variable manual delineation of tumor regions. Deep learning methods, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have emerged as a promising solution to tackle these issues. This paper introduces an enhanced deep-learning model based on AlexNet to classify femoral bone tumors accurately. Methods: This study involved 500 femoral tumor patients from July 2020 to January 2023, with 500 imaging cases (335 benign and 165 malignant). A CNN was employed for automated classification. The model framework encompassed training and testing stages, with 8 layers (5 Conv and 3 FC) and ReLU activation. Essential architectural modifications included Batch Normalization (BN) after the first and second convolutional filters. Comparative experiments with various existing methods were conducted to assess algorithm performance in tumor staging. Evaluation metrics encompassed accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F-measure, ROC curves, and AUC values. Results: The analysis of precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score from the results demonstrates that the method introduced in this paper offers several advantages, including a low feature dimension and robust generalization (with an accuracy of 98.34 %, sensitivity of 97.26 %, specificity of 95.74 %, and an F1 score of 96.37). These findings underscore its exceptional overall detection capabilities. Notably, when comparing various algorithms, they generally exhibit similar classification performance. However, the algorithm presented in this paper stands out with a higher AUC value (AUC=0.848), signifying enhanced sensitivity and more robust specificity. Conclusion: This study presents an optimized AlexNet model for classifying femoral bone tumor images based on convolutional neural networks. This algorithm demonstrates higher accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score than other methods. Furthermore, the AUC value further confirms the outstanding performance of this algorithm in terms of sensitivity and specificity. This research makes a significant contribution to the field of medical image classification, offering an efficient automated classification solution, and holds the potential to advance the application of artificial intelligence in bone tumor classification.

Outdoor secondhand smoke exposure in public places frequented by minors in the urban area of Hangzhou City, China: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Hangzhou Public Places Smoking Control Regulations (2019) have been gradually adopted, which explicitly stipulate that smoking is strictly prohibited in the outdoor areas of educational and healthcare institutions for minors. However, there are few studies reporting the exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in outdoor public places for minors in the urban area of Hangzhou City. METHODS: We aimed to assess the exposure to SHS in public spaces frequented by minors using on-site observations and questionnaires. In this cross-sectional study, the area was divided into core and non-core areas based on the spatial distribution and development process of the city. The core areas included the West Lake commercial district, extending to the Qiantang River, while non-core areas were located beyond this radius. Using stratified random sampling, 30 public places in each area were selected as observation sites. On-site observations measured SHS exposure and smoking control, and questionnaires were administered to 6 individuals at each site. The results were compared between the two investigation methods. RESULTS: Among the 57 valid observation points, 24.6% (14/57) did not display any no-smoking signs. Outdoor SHS exposure rate from on-site observation P1 (observing someone smoking or smelling tobacco smoke), on-site observation P2 (observing someone smoking or smelling tobacco smoke or seeing cigarette butts) and questionnaire survey P3, were 59.6% (95% CI: 45.7-72.2), 91.1% (95% CI: 79.7-96.7) and 41.0% (95% CI: 35.5-46.7), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The outdoor SHS exposure in areas frequented by minors in the urban district of Hangzhou City remains high, coupled with a lack of awareness of SHS risks among underage individuals. Therefore, controlling outdoor SHS exposure in these key areas is a critical public health issue in Hangzhou, requiring further tobacco control efforts. On-site observation is an important and supplementary research method to investigate outdoor SHS exposure, especially to describe the SHS exposure of focus areas.

Path analysis of the awareness status and influencing factors of sarcopenia in older adults in the community: based on structural equation modeling.

Background: Sarcopenia is a progressive geriatric syndrome that impacts older adults' quality of life. Insufficient focus has been given to sarcopenia among Chinese residents, resulting in low level of sarcopenia awareness. This study aims to investigate awareness of sarcopenia and its influencing factors and the influencing pathways among older adults in Hangzhou. Methods: A stratified random sample of 942 community-dwelling older adults was evaluated using the SARC-CalF screening tool, along with a questionnaire based on health ecology theory to assess awareness of sarcopenia and its influencing factors and the influencing pathways. Descriptive statistics, linear regression analysis, and path analysis were conducted using SPSS 25.0 and Amos 23.0 to analyze the data. Results: The mean awareness score for sarcopenia was 60.26 ± 7.31. Self-rated physical health, daily intake of high-quality protein, exercise frequency, smoking status, self-efficacy, religious beliefs, social support, education level, occupation, participation in community free medical examinations, and awareness of nutrition policy were all factors affecting scores for sarcopenia awareness (p < 0.05). Except for negative effects observed in social support, smoking status, and self-rated physical health, all others exhibit positive effects. Conclusion: Community healthcare institutions should target populations with low awareness of sarcopenia and focus on these key factors. Diverse health education programs and multi-channel screening activities can promote awareness, guide healthy lifestyles and prevent or delay the onset of sarcopenia in the older.

A repeated strike loading organ culture model for studying compression-associated chronic disc degeneration.

Mechanical stress has been viewed as one of the key risk factors in accelerating the intervertebral disc degeneration process. The goal of the present study was to employ a repeated strike loading bovine caudal disc system to elucidate the pathophysiological impacts of cumulative mechanical stress on the disc. The discs in the model groups were subjected to two different mechanical stresses: one strike loading or repeated strike loading. The following indices were analyzed: histological morphology, glycosaminoglycan release, disc height, cell viability, apoptosis-related protein expression, and catabolism-related gene expression. Both mechanical stress modes induced degenerative changes in the discs by day 11, such as clefts and delamination of the annulus fibrosus; they increased glycosaminoglycan release. Cell viability was significantly decreased and catabolic gene expression was significantly up-regulated in the degenerative loading group and repeated strike loading group by day 9. These alterations remained evident in the annulus fibrosus tissue of the repeated strike loading group on day 11. Our data suggests that the repeated strike loading model adopted in this study could lead to degenerative changes in the disc organ model. Annulus fibrosus cells displayed a more noticeable response to mechanical stress damage and a slower recovery process, suggesting that the annulus fibrosus serves as a pivotal factor in disc degeneration due to mechanical stress injuries. The study also indicates that due to the gradual self-repair of intervertebral disc cells after injury, it is necessary to apply repeated strike loading on the disc at specific intervals when researching the repair of chronic disc injuries.

A causal examination of the correlation between hormonal and reproductive factors and low back pain.

Background: The relationship between hormonal fluctuations in the reproductive system and the occurrence of low back pain (LBP) has been widely observed. However, the causal impact of specific variables that may be indicative of hormonal and reproductive factors, such as age at menopause (ANM), age at menarche (AAM), length of menstrual cycle (LMC), age at first birth (AFB), age at last live birth (ALB) and age first had sexual intercourse (AFS) on low back pain remains unclear. Methods: This study employed Bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) using publicly available summary statistics from Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and FinnGen Consortium to investigate the causal links between hormonal and reproductive factors on LBP. Various MR methodologies, including inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, and weighted median, were utilized. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to ensure the robustness and validity of the findings. Subsequently, Multivariate Mendelian randomization (MVMR) was employed to assess the direct causal impact of reproductive and hormone factors on the risk of LBP. Results: After implementing the Bonferroni correction and conducting rigorous quality control, the results from MR indicated a noteworthy association between a decreased risk of LBP and AAM (OR=0.784, 95% CI: 0.689-0.891; p=3.53E-04), AFB (OR=0.558, 95% CI: 0.436-0.715; p=8.97E-06), ALB (OR=0.396, 95% CI: 0.226-0.692; p=0.002), and AFS (OR=0.602, 95% CI: 0.518-0.700; p=3.47E-10). Moreover, in the reverse MR analysis, we observed no significant causal effects of LBP on ANM, AAM, LMC and AFS. MVMR analysis demonstrated the continued significance of the causal effect of AFB on LBP after adjusting for BMI. Conclusion: Our study explored the causal relationship between ANM, AAM, LMC, AFB, AFS, ALB and the prevalence of LBP. We found that early menarche, early age at first birth, early age at last live birth and early age first had sexual intercourse may decrease the risk of LBP. These insights enhance our understanding of LBP risk factors, offering valuable guidance for screening, prevention, and treatment strategies for at-risk women.

Repetitive strikes loading organ culture model to investigate the biological and biomechanical responses of the intervertebral disc.

Background: Disc degeneration is associated with repetitive violent injuries. This study aims to explore the impact of repetitive strikes loading on the biology and biomechanics of intervertebral discs (IVDs) using an organ culture model. Methods: IVDs from the bovine tail were isolated and cultured in a bioreactor, with exposure to various loading conditions. The control group was subjected to physiological loading, while the model group was exposed to either one strike loading (compression at 38% of IVD height) or repetitive one strike loading (compression at 38% of IVD height). Disc height and dynamic compressive stiffness were measured after overnight swelling and loading. Furthermore, histological morphology, cell viability, and gene expression were analyzed on Day 32. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and nitric oxide (NO) release in conditioned medium were also analyzed. Results: The repetitive one strike group exhibited early disc degeneration, characterized by decreased dynamic compression stiffness, the presence of annulus fibrosus clefts, and degradation of the extracellular matrix. Additionally, this group demonstrated significantly higher levels of cell death (p < 0.05) and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) release (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. Furthermore, upregulation of MMP1, MMP13, and ADAMTS5 was observed in both nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) tissues of the repetitive one strike group (p < 0.05). The one strike group exhibited annulus fibrosus clefts but showed no gene expression changes compared to the control group. Conclusions: This study shows that repetitive violent injuries lead to the degeneration of a healthy bovine IVDs, thereby providing new insights into early-stage disc degeneration.

Increased blood flow of spinal cord lesion after decompression improves neurological recovery of degenerative cervical myelopathy: an intraoperative ultrasonography-based prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical decompression is a highly effective therapy for degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), but the mechanisms of neurological recovery following decompression remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the spinal cord blood flow status after sufficient decompression by intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and to analyze the correlation between neurological recovery and postdecompressive spinal cord blood perfusion in DCM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with multilevel DCM were treated by ultrasound-guided modified French-door laminoplasty using a self-developed rongeur. Neurological function was evaluated using the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score preoperatively and at 12 months postoperatively. Spinal cord compression and cervical canal enlargement before and after surgery were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography. The decompression status was evaluated in real time by intraoperative ultrasonography, while the spinal cord blood flow after sufficient decompression was assessed by CEUS. Patients were categorized as favourable (≥50%) or unfavourable (<50%) recovery according to the recovery rate of the mJOA score at 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients were included in the study. The mJOA scores were significantly improved in all patients from 11.2±2.1 preoperatively to 15.0±1.1 at 12 months postoperatively, with an average recovery rate of 64.9±16.2%. Computerized tomography and intraoperative ultrasonography confirmed adequate enlargement of the cervical canal and sufficient decompression of the spinal cord, respectively. CEUS revealed that patients with favourable neurological recovery had a greater increased blood flow signal in the compressive spinal cord segment after decompression. CONCLUSIONS: In DCM, intraoperative CEUS can clearly reflect spinal cord blood flow. Patients with increased blood perfusion of the spinal cord lesion immediately after surgical decompression tended to achieve greater neurological recovery.

Identification of novel gene signatures and immune cell infiltration in intervertebral disc degeneration using bioinformatics analysis.

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is the leading cause of lower back pain, and an overall understanding of the molecular mechanisms related to IDD is still lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore gene signatures and immune cell infiltration related to IDD via bioinformatics analysis. Methods: A total of five expression profiles of mRNA and non-coding RNA were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The potentially involved lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks and protein-protein interaction networks were constructed by miRNet, circBank, STRING, and the Cytoscape database. Gene ontology, Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes Analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, Gene Set Variation Analysis, Immune Infiltration Analysis, and Drug-Gene Interaction were used to analyse the top 20 hub genes. RT-qPCR was conducted to confirm the 12 differential expressions of genes both in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus tissues Results: There were 346 differentially expressed mRNAs, 12 differentially expressed miRNAs, 883 differentially expressed lncRNAs, and 916 differentially expressed circRNAs in the GEO database. Functional and enrichment analyses revealed hub genes associated with platelet activation, immune responses, focal adhesion, and PI3K-Akt signalling. The apoptotic pathway, the reactive oxygen species pathway, and oxidative phosphorylation play an essential role in IDD. Immune infiltration analysis demonstrated that the Treg cells had significant infiltration, and three levels of immune cells, including dendritic cells, Th2 cells, and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, were inhibited in IDD. Drug-gene interaction analysis showed that COL1A1 and COL1A2 were targeted by collagenase clostridium histolyticum, ocriplasmin, and PDGFRA was targeted by 66 drugs or molecular compounds. Finally, 24 cases of IDD tissues and 12 cases of normal disc tissues were collected, and the results of RT-qPCR were consistent with the bioinformatics results. Conclusion: Our data indicated that the 20 hub genes and immune cell infiltration were involved in the pathological process of IDD. In addition, the PDGFRA and two potential drugs were found to be significant in IDD development.

ETU-Net: efficient Transformer and convolutional U-style connected attention segmentation network applied to endoscopic image of epistaxis.

Epistaxis is a typical presentation in the otolaryngology and emergency department. When compressive therapy fails, directive nasal cautery is necessary, which strongly recommended operating under the nasal endoscope if it is possible. Limited by the operator's clinical experience, complications such as recurrence, nasal ulcer, and septum perforation may occur due to insufficient or excessive cautery. At present, deep learning technology is widely used in the medical field because of its accurate and efficient recognition ability, but it is still blank in the research of epistaxis. In this work, we first gathered and retrieved the Nasal Bleeding dataset, which was annotated and confirmed by many clinical specialists, filling a void in this sector. Second, we created ETU-Net, a deep learning model that smartly integrated the excellent performance of attention convolution with Transformer, overcoming the traditional model's difficulties in capturing contextual feature information and insufficient sequence modeling skills in picture segmentation. On the Nasal Bleeding dataset, our proposed model outperforms all others models that we tested. The segmentation recognition index, Intersection over Union, and F1-Score were 94.57 and 97.15%. Ultimately, we summarized effective ways of combining artificial intelligence with medical treatment and tested it on multiple general datasets to prove its feasibility. The results show that our method has good domain adaptability and has a cutting-edge reference for future medical technology development.

Social capital and loneliness among older adults in community dwellings and nursing homes in Zhejiang Province of China.

Background: Loneliness is an important problem afflicting the health of older adults, and has been proven to be associated with social capital. Previous research in China rarely investigated the differences of social capital and loneliness between older adults living in community dwellings and nursing homes. This study aims to examine the status of social capital and loneliness among older adults living in community dwellings and nursing homes, and analyze the relationship between them. Methods: A total of 1,278 older adults were recruited for the study from the cities of Hangzhou, Huzhou, and Lishui in Zhejiang Province of China from July to October 2021 by using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the participants' sociodemographic characteristics, social capital, and loneliness. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between social capital and loneliness. The interaction of social capital and institutionalization on loneliness was also explored. Results: Compared with community-dwelling older adults, institutionalized older adults had higher levels of loneliness and lower degrees of social support, social connection, trust, cohesion, and reciprocity. A further analysis of the social capital showed that low levels of social support, trust, and cohesion were related to high levels of loneliness among adults in both community dwellings and nursing homes. Social connection was negatively correlated with loneliness among older adults living in community dwellings. Institutionalization itself demonstrated a strong effect on loneliness. Conclusion: Health-related policies should help older adults gain more social support, trust and cohesion to alleviate their loneliness. This is particularly crucial for older adults living in nursing homes, as they have higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of social capital than noninstitutionalized older adults.

DLX5 regulates the osteogenic differentiation of spinal ligaments cells derived from ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament patients via NOTCH signaling.

Background: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligaments (OPLL) is common disorder characterized by heterotopic ossification of the spinal ligaments. Mechanical stimulation (MS) plays an important role in OPLL. DLX5 is an essential transcription factor required for osteoblast differentiation. However, the role of DLX5 during in OPLL is unclear. This study aims to investigate whether DLX5 is associated with OPLL progression under MS. Methods: Stretch stimulation was applied to spinal ligaments cells derived from OPLL (OPLL cells) and non-OPLL (non-OPLL cells) patients. Expression of DLX5 and osteogenesis-related genes were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. The osteogenic differentiation ability of the cells was measured using alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and alizarin red staining. The protein expression of DLX5 in the tissues and the nuclear translocation of NOTCH intracellular domain (NICD) was examined by immunofluorescence. Results: Compared with non-OPLL cells, OPLL cells expressed higher levels of DLX5 in vitro and vivo (p < 0.01). Upregulated expression of DLX5 and osteogenesis-related genes (OSX, RUNX2, and OCN) were observed in OPLL cells induced with stretch stimulation and osteogenic medium, whereas there was no change in the non-OPLL cells (p < 0.01). Cytoplasmic NICD protein translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus inducing DLX5 under stretch stimulation, which was reduced by the NOTCH signaling inhibitors (DAPT) (p < 0.01). Conclusions: These data suggest that DLX5 play a critical role in MS-induced progression of OPLL through NOTCH signaling, which provides a new insight into the pathogenesis of OPLL.

Effect of mechanical stimulation on tissue heterotopic ossification: an in vivo experimental study.

Background: Heterotopic ossification of tendons and ligaments (HOTL) is a common clinical condition characterized by the absence of discernible features and a lack of effective treatment. In vitro experiments have demonstrated that mechanical stimulation can induce cell differentiation toward osteogenesis, thereby promoting heterotopic ossification. Currently, there are few experimental designs aimed at inducing ligament stretching in mice, and the mechanism of heterotopic ossification may not entirely mirror that observed in clinical cases. Therefore, there is an urgent imperative to develop a novel and feasible animal model. Methods: In this study, all the Enpp1 gene deficiency mice (a mouse model with heterotopic ossification of multiple ligaments) were divided into three groups: the control group, the spinal brake group, and the hyperactive group (treadmill training group). An external spinal fixation device was designed to restrict mice's spinal flexion and extension at 6 weeks of age. The brace was adjusted weekly according to the changes in the size of the mice. Additionally, treadmill training was used to increase activity in the spinal ligaments and Achilles tendons of the mice. Micro-CT scanning and HE staining were performed at 12, 20, and 28 W to evaluate the degree of ossification in the spinal ligament and Achilles tendon. What's more, As one of the mechanical stimulation transduction signals, YAP plays a crucial role in promoting osteogenic differentiation of cells. Immunofluorescence was utilized to assess YAP expression levels for the purpose of determining the extent of mechanical stimulation in tissues. Results: Our findings showed that a few ossification lesions were detected behind the vertebral space of mice at 8 weeks of age. Spinal immobilization effectively restricts the flexion and extension of cervical and thoracic vertebrae in mice, delaying spinal ligament ossification and reducing chronic secondary spinal cord injury. Running exercises not only enhance the ossification area of the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) and Achilles tendons but also exacerbate secondary spinal cord injury. Further immunofluorescence results revealed a notable increase in YAP expression levels in tissues with severe ossification, suggesting that these tissues may be subjected to higher mechanical stimulation. Conclusion: Mechanical stimulation plays a pivotal role in the process of heterotopic ossification in tissues. Our study provided valid animal models to further explore the pathological mechanism of mechanical stimulation in HOTL development.

Small Object Detection Network Based on Feature Information Enhancement.

Due to the small size and weak characteristics of small objects, the performance of existing object detection algorithms for small objects is not ideal. In this paper, we propose a small object detection network based on feature information enhancement to improve the detection effect of small objects. In our method, two key modules, information enhancement module and dense atrous convolution module, are proposed to enhance the expression and discrimination ability of feature information. The detection accuracy of this method on PASCAL VOC, MS COCO, and UCAS-AOD data sets is 81.3%, 34.8%, and 87.0%, respectively. In addition, the detection results of this paper in detecting small objects are slightly (0.2% and 0.1%) higher than the current advanced algorithms (YOLOv4 and DETR, respectively). Moreover, when these two modules are integrated into other algorithms, such as RFBNet, it can also bring considerable improvement.

miR-29a-3p mitigates the development of osteosarcoma through modulating IGF1 mediated PI3k/Akt/FOXO3 pathway by activating autophagy.

Osteosarcoma (OS), occurring in mesenchymal tissues and with a high degree of malignancy, is most common in children and adolescents. At present, we intend to figure out the expression and functions of miR-29a-3p in OS development. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was adopted to monitor the expression of miR-29a-3p and IGF1 in OS tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. Then, the 3- (4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di- phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay, colony formation experiment, western blot and Transwell assay were conducted to validate OS cell proliferation, colony formation ability, apoptosis, migration and invasion. Next, the association between miR-29a-3p and IGF1 was corroborated by the dual-luciferase reporter assay and the Pearson correlation analysis. Finally, WB was implemented to test the levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3-I/LC3-II, Beclin-1, p62, and the IGF-1 R/PI3k/Akt/FOXO3 axis in OS cells. As a result, miR-29a-3p was down-regulated in OS tissues (versus adjacent non-tumor tissues) and OS cell lines. Overexpressing miR-29a-3p aggravated apoptosis, dampened cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion, and promoted autophagy of OS cells. IGF1 was identified as a target of miR-29a-3p. IGF1 induced oncogenic effects in OS by activating IGF-1 R/ PI3k/Akt pathway, and it dampened the tumor-suppressive effect of miR-29a-3p on OS. Taken together, miR-29a-3p repressed the OS evolvement through inducing autophagy and inhibiting IGF1 mediated PI3k/Akt/FOXO3 pathway.

How newly developed shale gas facilities influence soil erosion in a karst region in SW China.

We already know that the construction of shale gas extraction infrastructure exacerbates soil erosion in vulnerable areas. We are not clear however, about whether the completed well pads and pipelines continue to influence soil erosion after the construction is completed. We applied high-resolution remote sensing images and DEM data from 2014 and 2017 and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model to calculate how the layout of the well pads and pipelines in a shale gas development area affected soil erosion. We used Geodetector to analyze the factors that affected the soil erosion intensity around the well pads. The results showed that about 0.02% and 0.12% of the total erosion in the shale gas development zone was directly caused by the completed well pads and pipelines in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Most of the erosion was related to the completed pipelines. The completed shale gas well pads affected the soil erosion intensity up to 90 and 60 m from the pads in 2014 and 2017, respectively. The soil erosion around the completed pipelines was mainly from the soil surface over the pipeline and had little effect on the surroundings. The main influences on the soil erosion intensity at different distances from the well pads were land use and slope, and the interactions between them. We suggest that, when developing new shale gas extraction facilities, gas pipelines should be arranged in gently sloping areas, and vegetation should be planted on the bare soil over the pipelines to reduce soil erosion.

Dynamic elastic modulus assessment of the early degeneration model of an intervertebral disc in cynomolgus monkeys with one strike loading.

OBJECTIVE: Disc degeneration has long been associated with excessive mechanical loading or acute disc injury. Our goal is to perform a shock load on the functional units of the cynomolgus monkey intervertebral disc and analyze the degree of degeneration of the intervertebral disc through image analysis and comprehensive analysis. The organ model establishes a standard organ culture model and a non-invasive biomechanical evaluation protocol close to the early degeneration of the human intervertebral disc. METHODS: After modeling, the cynomolgus monkey intervertebral discs were collected and loaded into the dynamic mechanical culture system. The physiological group was loaded with 10% high compressive deformation load for one second, the injury group was punctured with annulus fibrosus, the model group was loaded with 20-50% high compressive deformation, and the nutritional components were a high-glucose group and low-glucose group. After day 3 (short term) and day 10 (long term), samples were collected to analyze cell viability, histomorphology, image analysis for imaging and biomechanical changes. RESULTS: Both the injury group and the 30-50% strain model group showed signs of early degeneration, including decreased instantaneous compressive stiffness, percent change in gray value, decreased cell viability, AF fissure, and percent increase in dynamic elastic modulus. The glucose-restricted group also showed signs of early disc degeneration in long-term cultures. CONCLUSION: This study shows that a single shock load can induce early degeneration of healthy cynomolgus monkey intervertebral discs, and 30% strain may be the nociceptive threshold for early degeneration of healthy intervertebral discs. More importantly, a non-invasive biomechanical evaluation scheme of Percentage change in dynamic modulus of elasticity is established, which solves the key scientific problem of how to non-invasively, quantitatively and sensitively detect the development process of early intervertebral disc degeneration and its degree of degeneration in an in vitro organ model.