Effect of Hyperthermal Hybrid Gas Composition on the Interfacial Oxidation and Nitridation Mechanisms of Graphene Sheet.

Graphene is one of the most promising thermal protection materials for high-speed aircraft due to its lightweight and excellent thermophysical properties. At high Mach numbers, the extremely high postshock temperature would dissociate the surrounding air into a mixture of atomic and molecular components in a highly thermochemical nonequilibrium state, which greatly affects the subsequent thermal chemical reactions of the graphene interface. Through establishing a reactive gas-solid interface model, the reactive molecular dynamics method is employed in this study to reveal the influences of the thermochemical nonequilibrium gas mixture on the thermal oxidation and nitridation mechanisms of graphene sheet. The results show that three distinctive stages can be recognized during bombardment of various nonequilibrium gas components toward the graphene sheet: (i) collision and surface adsorption stage, (ii) gas-solid heterogeneous reaction stage, and (iii) gas phase homogeneous reaction stage. The surface catalysis effect is found to be dominant during the first two stages, which can influence the following ablation behavior of graphene significantly at high-temperature conditions. Moreover, surface catalysis, oxidation, nitridation, and ablation mechanisms between nonequilibrium gas and graphene interface are revealed, which is of high relevance for future interfacial design and application of graphene as a thermal protection material.

Single-shot image restoration via a model-enhanced network with unpaired supervision in an optical sparse aperture system.

We propose a model-enhanced network with unpaired single-shot data for solving the imaging blur problem of an optical sparse aperture (OSA) system. With only one degraded image captured from the system and one "arbitrarily" selected unpaired clear image, the cascaded neural network is iteratively trained for denoising and restoration. With the computational image degradation model enhancement, our method is able to improve contrast, restore blur, and suppress noise of degraded images in simulation and experiment. It can achieve better restoration performance with fewer priors than other algorithms. The easy selectivity of unpaired clear images and the non-strict requirement of a custom kernel make it suitable and applicable for single-shot image restoration of any OSA system.

Density functional theory studies of Ti3C2TxMXene nanosheets decorated with Au for sensing SF6/N2nitrogen-containing decomposition gases.

SF6/N2mixture is an alternative gas of SF6, which is already used in electrical equipment. When a malfunction occurs , SF6/N2will decompose and further react with trace water and oxygen to produce nitrogen-containing gases such as NO, NO2, N2O and NF3. It is necessary to monitor these gases to ensure the safe operation of the equipment. This paper is based on density functional theory (DFT), the nanomaterial Ti3C2Txdoped with Au atom was selected as sensing material. The result shows that Au/Ti3C2Txhas larger adsorption energy when NO and NO2adsorbed on the surface, the stable structures were conformed more easily with NO and NO2compared with N2O and NF3. The density of states analysis and the frontier molecule orbital analysis reveal more change of the system before and after NO and NO2adsorption, suggesting the material showed good sensitivity performance to NO and NO2. Thus, Au/Ti3C2Txis considered to have the potential for sensing NO and NO2.

Ultrasound in paediatric surgery: A meta-analysis review of its influence on postoperative wound healing and infection rates.

Ultrasound (US) has traditionally been recognised for its imaging capabilities, but its emerging role as a therapeutic modality in postoperative wound management, especially in paediatric care, has garnered significant attention. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the influence of US on postoperative wound healing and infection rates in paediatric patients. From an initial pool of 1236 articles, seven were deemed suitable for inclusion. Postoperative wound healing was assessed using the Redness, Edema, Ecchymosis, Discharge, and Approximation (REEDA) scale. Notably, there was a significant difference in wound healing patterns between the US-treated and control groups (I2 = 94%, standardized mean difference [SMD]: -4.60, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: -6.32 to -2.88, p < 0.01), as illustrated in Figure 4. Additionally, a marked difference in wound infection rates was observed between the groups (I2 = 93%, SMD: -5.86, 95% CIs: -9.04 to -2.68, p < 0.01), as portrayed in Figure 5. The findings underscore the potential benefits of US in enhancing postoperative wound healing and reducing infection rates in paediatric surgical settings. However, the application of US should be judicious, considering the nuances of individual patient needs and clinical contexts.

Fluorescent property of carbon dots extracted from cigarette smoke and the application in bio-imaging.

Cigarette smoke is one of the six major pollution sources in the room air. It contains large number of particles with size less than 10 nm. There exist carbon dots (CDs) in cigarette smoke which have strong fluorescence and with good bio-compatibility and low toxicity. CDs in cigarette smoke can be applied in bio-imaging which has great potential applications in the integration of cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, CDs were extracted from cigarette smoke. Then, sodium borohydride was added to CDs aqueous solution for reduction and the reduced CDs (R-CDs) were used for biological cell imaging. The results indicate that the CDs with the particle size <10 nm in cigarette smoke are self-assembled by the polymerizated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and ammonium nitrite which are disk nano-structure composed of sp2/sp3 carbon and oxygen/nitrogen groups or polymers. Sodium borohydride can reduce the carbonyl group on the surface of CDs to hydroxyl group and increase the ratio of the Na 1s ratio of the CDs from 1.86 to 7.42. The CDs can emit blue fluorescence under ultraviolet irradiation. After reduction, the R-CDS have the intensity of fluorescence 7.2 times than before and the fluorescence quantum yield increase from 6.13% to 8.86%. The photoluminescence (PL) wavelength of R-CDS have red-shift of 7 nm which was due to the increasing of Na element ratio. The onion epidermal cells labeled with R-CDs show that the CDs could pass through the cell wall into the cell and reach the nucleus. The cell wall and the nucleus could be clearly visualized. CDs also shows low toxicity to human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) with good biological activity. The obtained results indicate that the CDs and R-CDs have good fluorescent property which could be used as bio-imaging agent.

PredictionNet: a long short-term memory-based attention network for atmospheric turbulence prediction in adaptive optics.

Adaptive optics (AO) has great applications in many fields and has attracted wide attention from researchers. However, both traditional and deep learning-based AO methods have inherent time delay caused by wavefront sensors and controllers, leading to the inability to truly achieve real-time atmospheric turbulence correction. Hence, future turbulent wavefront prediction plays a particularly important role in AO. Facing the challenge of accurately predicting stochastic turbulence, we combine the convolutional neural network with a turbulence correction time series model and propose a long short-term memory attention-based network, named PredictionNet, to achieve real-time AO correction. Especially, PredictionNet takes the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics of turbulence wavefront into consideration and can improve the accuracy of prediction effectively. The combination of the numerical simulation by a professional software package and the real turbulence experiment by digital holography demonstrates in detail that PredictionNet is more accurate and more stable than traditional methods. Furthermore, the result compared with AO without prediction confirms that predictive AO with PredictionNet is useful.

Association between BRAF expression in circulating tumor cells and the clinical feature of patients with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the most common hematological malignancy with uncontrolled proliferation of monoclonal plasma cells. Despite treatment improvements, MM remains an incurable disease for most patients. Therefore, promising molecular markers are required for MM treatment decisions. In the present study, we explored the relationship between the BRAF expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the clinical features of patients with MM. The results showed that CTCs were associated with MM staging, and the expression of BRAF was associated with different CTCs. Moreover, the BRAF gene was correlated with patients' white blood cells, blood albumin levels, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score. BRAF expression positively correlated with total CTCs, hybrid CTCs, and mesenchymal CTCs. Taken together, CTCs tightly correlated with the clinical stages and characteristics of MM. Our findings may provide a promising prognosis biomarker for MM treatment decisions.

Exosomal mRNAs and lncRNAs involved in multiple myeloma resistance to bortezomib.

The bone marrow microenvironment plays an essential role in multiple myeloma (MM) progression. We aimed to explore the alterations of levels of long noncoding RNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs), derived from exosomes in peripheral blood, in resistance to bortezomib (Btz) of MM patients. Peripheral blood samples were collected from five Btz-resistant and five Btz-sensitive MM patients. Exosomes in patients' peripheral blood were enriched, and the profiles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNAs in exosomes were determined using deep sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore biological function. MTS was employed to determine the viability of Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 8226 and LP-1 cells incubated with exosomes derived from Btz-resistant patients. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to evaluate the levels of exosomal FFAR1, SP9, HIST1H2BG, and ITIH2. Incubation with Btz-resistant patient-derived exosomes significantly increased the viability of Btz-treated RPMI 8226 and LP-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. We identified 482 lncRNAs and 2099 mRNAs deregulated in exosomes of the Btz-resistance group; and 78 mRNAs were enriched in DR-related pathways, including mammalian target of rapamycin, platinum drug resistance, and the cAMP and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt signaling pathways. qPCR results verified the increases in FFAR1 and SP9 and decreases in HIST1H2BG and ITIH2 in Btz-resistant patient-derived exosomes. Moreover, exosomal FFAR1 and SP9 exhibited potential as independent prognostic indicators of survival of MM patients. Our study reveals significant dysregulation of exosomal RNA components in the Btz-resistant group of MM patients as well as several mRNAs that may be used as biomarkers of prognosis of MM patients that are resistant to Btz.

Sparse-view imaging of a fiber internal structure in holographic diffraction tomography via a convolutional neural network.

Deep learning has recently shown great potential in computational imaging. Here, we propose a deep-learning-based reconstruction method to realize the sparse-view imaging of a fiber internal structure in holographic diffraction tomography. By taking the sparse-view sinogram as the input and the cross-section image obtained by the dense-view sinogram as the ground truth, the neural network can reconstruct the cross-section image from the sparse-view sinogram. It performs better than the corresponding filtered back-projection algorithm with a sparse-view sinogram, both in the case of simulated data and real experimental data.

Foraging behavior and pollination efficiency of generalist insects in an understory dioecious shrub Helwingia japonica.

PREMISE: It has been hypothesized that pollination success in animal-pollinated dioecious plants relies on opportunistic pollinators with no discrimination against female flowers. However, empirical studies of pollinator foraging behavior and pollination effectiveness in dioecious species are few. METHODS: To investigate potential pollinators in Helwingia japonica, a dioecious shrub with small, inconspicuous flowers, we compared floral visitors and visit frequency to female and male plants for three flowering seasons in two field populations in subtropical forests in southwest China. Pollen placement on the insect bodies of four groups (solitary bees and other bees, fungus gnats, and other flies) was compared, and insect foraging behavior was observed. Pollen removal and conspecific and heterospecific pollen deposition per visit were measured to compare pollination effectiveness among the four groups. RESULTS: Floral visitors usually did not discriminate between male and female flowers and did not gather pollen into collections. Our measurements of pollen transfer efficiency showed that solitary bees were the most effective pollinators with the highest conspecific pollen deposition. These insects seemed to be opportunistic visitors because pollen grains of H. japonica were distributed evenly over different regions of the visitor's body, and heterospecific pollen accounted for over 50% of total pollen loads on stigmas in the two populations. CONCLUSIONS: Our investigations indicated that potential pollinators were generalists and did not discriminate against female flowers, as predicted for dioecious species pollinated by insects. A perspective of pollen removal by floral visitors offers insights into the evolution of plant sexual systems.

Complication of osteo reconstruction by utilizing free vascularized fibular bone graft.

The success of free vascularized fibular bone graft (FVFBG) has accelerated the osteo reconstruction which results from trauma, resection of a tumor or an infectious bone segment, or correction of congenital deformity. But the complication behind should not be overlooked. The failure could necessitate a second surgery, which prolong the rehabilitation period and produce further health cost. Worst, the patients may suffer a permanent impaired ankle function, or a sustained morpho-functional loss on reconstructive area which are hard to save. To provide an overview of the complication related to reconstruction by FVFBG, a narrative review is conducted to identify the complications including their types and rates, the contributing factors, the approaches to measure and the techniques to avoid. Methodologically, by quick research on Pubmed and abstract reading of reviews, we characterize five reconstructive areas where FVFBG were most frequently applied: extremities, mandible, spine, osteonecrosis of femoral head, and penile. Following, the complications on different reconstructive areas are retrieved, studied and presented in five (or more specifically, six) separate sections. By the way, meaningful difference between FVFBG and other bone flap was presented in a few words if necessary. Donor-site morbidities were studied and summarized as a whole. In these literatures, the evidences documented on limb and mandibular reconstruction have the fullest detail, followed by the spine and lastly the penile. In conclusion, FVFBG, though a mature technique, needs further deep and comprehensive study and maybe device-based assistance to achieve better reconstructive effect and minimize donor-site damage.

MiR-802 causes nephropathy by suppressing NF-κB-repressing factor in obese mice and human.

Obesity is associated with significant microvascular complications including renal injuries and may induce end-stage renal disease. Emerging studies have demonstrated microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential mediators in the pathophysiological process of nephropathy. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miR-802 in obesity-related nephropathy and potential molecular mechanisms. Through utilizing obese mouse model and human subjects, we explored the therapeutic benefits and clinical application of miR-802 in protecting against nephropathy. Renal miR-802 level was positively correlated with functional parameters, including blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in obese mice. Specific silencing of renal miR-802 improved high fat diet (HFD)-induced renal dysfunction, structural disorders and fibrosis. The up-regulated inflammatory response and infiltrated macrophages were also significantly decreased in miR-802 inhibitor-treated obese mice. Mechanistically, miR-802 directly bond to 3'-UTR of NF-κB-repressing factor (NRF) and suppressed its expression. In clinical study, the circulating miR-802 level was significantly increased in obese subjects, and positively correlated with plasma creatinine level but negatively correlated with creatinine clearance. Taken together, our findings provided evidence that miR-802/NRF signalling was an important pathway in mediating obesity-related nephropathy. It is a possible useful clinical approach of treating miR-802 inhibitor to combat nephropathy.

A novel mutation (c.1010G>T; p.R337L) in TP63 as a cause of split-hand/foot malformation with hypodontia.

BACKGROUND: Tumor protein p63 (TP63)-related disorders can be divided into at least six categories, including ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-cleft lip/palate syndrome 3 (EEC syndrome 3), ankyloblepharon-ectodermal defects-cleft lip/palate syndrome (AEC syndrome), acro-dermo-ungual-lacrimal-tooth syndrome (ADULT syndrome), limb-mammary syndrome (LMS), Rapp-Hodgkin syndrome (RHS) and split-hand/foot malformation 4 (SHFM4), and are all a result of heterozygous mutations of TP63. The phenotypes of TP63-related disorders broadly involve ectodermal dysplasias, acromelic malformation and orofacial cleft. SHFM and hypodontia are prominent clinical manifestations of TP63-related disorders. METHODS: The present study investigated a family with SHFM and hypodontia; determined the sequences of DLX5, WNT8B, WNT10B, BHLHA9, CDH3, DYNC1I1 and FGFR1; and performed single nucleotide polymorphism-array analysis. We detected the mutation by multiple sequence alignments and a bioinformatic prediction. RESULTS: We identified a novel missense mutation of TP63 (c.1010G>T; R337L) in the family without mutations of DLX5, WNT8B, WNT10B, BHLHA9, CDH3, DYNC1I1, FGFR1 and copy number variants causing SHFM. CONCLUSIONS: A mutation of TP63 (c.1010G>T; R337L) leads to SHFM with hypodontia. The identification of this mutation expands the spectrum of known TP63 mutations and also may contribute to novel approaches for the genetic diagnosis and counseling of families with TP63-related disorders.

Stimulation of the class-A scavenger receptor induces neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by ERK dependent NOX2 and ROMO1 activation.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play a critical role in host antimicrobial response whereas they are also implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmunediseases. Generation of reactiveoxygen species (ROS) is key to NETs formation. A variety of stimulatory ligands have been found to enhance ROS production and thus trigger NETs. However, the mechanisms that connect receptor stimuli with ROS production and NETs formation remain unclear. In this study, we described a new mechanism of NETs generation in neutrophils triggered by stimulation of the class A scavenger receptor (SRA), a major subtype of scavenger receptors in response to various stimuli during infection and inflammatory disorders. By using polyinosinic acid (Poly I), a ribonucleotide ligand of SRA, we demonstrated that SRA stimulation lead to selective ERK phosphorylation, which upregulated cytosol ROS levels and induced canonical NETs formation by activating NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2). Interestingly, our results showed that mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) production was also enhanced by the SRA dependent ERK activation through upregulation and activation of reactive oxygen species modulator 1(ROMO1), a mitochondrial membrane protein and a key mediator of mtROS. Moreover, inhibition of the SRA elicited ROMO1 activation dampened NETs release upon SRA stimulation. Overall, our study describes a new insight into the NETs release triggered by membrane SRA stimulation and mediated by ERK dependent NOX2 and ROMO1 activation.

Pollinator effectiveness and importance between female and male mining bee (Andrena).

Bees are often considered to be effective pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems but could be ineffective pollinators in that they collect large quantities of pollen for food provision but deliver little to stigmas. Male bees do not collect pollen to feed larvae, and their pollination role has been underappreciated. Here we compare pollination effectiveness, visit frequency and pollen foraging behaviour between female and male individuals of a mining bee, Andrena emeishanica, visiting a nectariferous spring flower (Epimedium pubescens). Female bees were observed to forage for both pollen and nectar, but male bees foraged only for nectar. Female bees had large hairy hind tibiae with conspicuous scopae, and nearly 90% of the pollen grains they collected went onto the hind legs. Male bees removed less pollen from anthers than female bees but deposited more pollen on stigmas per visit. The higher pollen transfer efficiency of male bees was due to 48.4% of pollen grains remaining ungroomed on the thorax and abdomen, available for stigma contact, but their visitation rate to flowers was much lower. Our results indicate that male solitary bees could transfer more pollen on the stigma per visit but were less important (transferred less pollen in total, because they made fewer visits per unit time) than females.

Correlation of Interleukin-18 and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein with Perioperative Deep Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Ankle Fracture.

BACKGROUND: In the present study, we aimed to inspect the correlation of interleukin-18 (IL-18) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), if any present, with the occurrence of perioperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients suffering from an ankle fracture (AF). METHODS: Sixty-seven AF patients with complicated DVT (DVT group) and 448 AF patients without DVT (non-DVT group) were enrolled in the present study. To begin with, hemorheological indexes were detected. Turbidimetric immunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used for the determination of the expressions of hs-CRP and IL-18, respectively. Coagulation method was used to detect prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen, and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors for DVT occurrence in AF patients after operation. RESULTS: The results revealed that the DVT group presented an increased expression of hs-CRP and IL-18 1 day before operation and 1, 3, and 7 days after operation in comparison with the non-DVT group. The DVT group also had increased levels of PT, APTT, and prolonged TT and fibrinogen at 3 and 7 days after operation compared to the non-DVT group. After operation, it was observed that the patients in the DVT group had increased plasma viscosity, whole blood reduced viscosity, red blood cell (RBC) aggregation index, RBC deformation index, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and declined erythrocrit. The independent risk factors for the occurrence of DVT were identified to be high-energy injury, TT, fibrinogen, hs-CRP, and IL-18 in AF patients after operation. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results obtained from the study, it was concluded that AF patients with DVT have higher levels of IL-18 and hs-CRP expressions, which is associated with the occurrence and development of DVT. These results may be particularly useful for diagnosis and treatment on DVT occurrence in AF patients.

Utilization of Microdissected Thin Perforator Flap Technique in the Treatment of Bulky and Deformed Skin Flaps.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the feasibility and clinical impact of the microdissected thin perforator skin flap strategy on bulky and deformed skin flaps during second-stage revision surgery. METHODS: Seventeen patients were selected and underwent the microdissected thin perforator skin flap technique to treat bulky and deformed skin flaps after free flap reconstruction between October 2013 and October 2015. Perforator vessels were isolated and protected under a microscope. Subdermal fat with a thickness of 4 mm to 7 mm was preserved, and excess adipose tissue was resected. RESULTS: No skin flap necrosis was observed after the operation in all 17 patients, and all wounds healed without complications. Patients were followed up for 3 to 24 months, with an average follow-up time of 10 months. The skin flaps maintain normal color and texture. Both appearance and function of the recipient sites were improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of microdissected thin perforator flap technique to further thin bulky skin flaps at the second stage can be effective in a single operation. The blood supply of all free flaps was preserved, with no evidence of necrosis or healing complications. This technique offers an effective approach for secondary thinning of bulky free flaps.

Decomposition Mechanism of C5F10O: An Environmentally Friendly Insulation Medium.

SF6, the most widely used electrical-equipment-insulation gas, has serious greenhouse effects. C5F10O has attracted much attention as an alternative gas in recent two years, but the environmental impact of its decomposition products is unclear. In this work, the decomposition characteristics of C5F10O were studied based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and density functional theory. We found that the amount of decomposition products of C5F10O, namely, CF4, C2F6, C3F6, C3F8, C4F10, and C6F14, increased with increased number of discharges. Under a high-energy electric field, the C-C bond of C5F10O between carbonyl carbon and α-carbon atoms was most likely to break and generate CF3CO•, C3F7• or C3F7CO•, CF3• free radicals. CF3•, and C3F7• free radicals produced by the breakage more easily recombined to form small molecular products. By analyzing the ionization parameters, toxicity, and environmental effects of C5F10O and its decomposition products, we found that C5F10O gas mixtures exhibit great decomposition and environmental characteristics with low toxicity, with great potential to replace SF6.

A Novel ZRS Mutation in a Chinese Patient with Preaxial Polydactyly and Triphalangeal Thumb.

Preaxial polydactyly (PPD; OMIM 603596), which is characterized as having supernumerary fingers, is an unusual congenital hand abnormality. Triphalangeal thumb (TPT; OMIM 190600) is identified by an extra phalangeal bone and is often found in association with PPD. When in combination, the disease is referred to as PPD type II (PPD II; OMIM 174500). Previous studies have demonstrated that variations in the zone of polarizing activity regulatory sequence (ZRS; chr7:156,583,796-156,584,569; hg19) region are associated with PPD II. In this study, our patient was diagnosed with PPD II, having bilateral thumb duplication and unilateral TPT (on the right hand). Further investigation of possible causative genes identified a de novo heterozygous ZRS mutation (ZRS 428T>A). This novel mutation was neither found in 200 normal controls nor reported in online databases. Moreover, the bioinformatics program Genomic Evolutionary Rate Profiling (GERP) revealed this site (ZRS428) to be evolutionarily highly conserved, and the 428T>A point mutation was predicted to be deleterious by MutationTaster. In conclusion, the affected individual shows bilateral thumb duplication, but unilateral TPT making this case special. Thus, our findings not only further support the important role of ZRS in limb morphogenesis and expand the spectrum of ZRS mutations, but also emphasize the significance of genetic diagnosis and counseling of families with digit number and identity alterations as well.