Natural Language Processing-Driven Artificial Intelligence Models for the Diagnosis of Lumbar Disc Herniation with L5 and S1 Radiculopathy: A Preliminary Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate natural language processing-driven artificial intelligence (AI) models for the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) with L5 and S1 radiculopathy using electronic health records (EHRs). METHODS: EHRs of patients undergoing single-level percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy for the treatment of LDH at the L4/5 or L5/S1 level between June 1, 2013, and December 31, 2021, were collected. The primary outcome was LDH with L5 and S1 radiculopathy, which was defined as nerve root compression recorded in the operative notes. Datasets were created using the history of present illness text and positive symptom text with radiculopathy (L5 or S1), respectively. The datasets were randomly split into a training set and a testing set in a 7:3 ratio. Two machine learning models, the long short-term memory network and Extreme Gradient Boosting, were developed using the training set. Performance evaluation of the models on the testing set was done using measures such as the receiver operating characteristic curve, area under the curve, accuracy, recall, F1-score, and precision. RESULTS: The study included a total of 1681 patients, with 590 patients having L5 radiculopathy and 1091 patients having S1 radiculopathy. Among the 4 models developed, the long short-term memory model based on positive symptom text showed the best discrimination in the testing set, with precision (0.9054), recall (0.9405), accuracy (0.8950), F1-score (0.9226), and area under the curve (0.9485). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary validation of the concept that natural language processing-driven AI models can be used for the diagnosis of lumbar disease using EHRs. This study could pave the way for future research that may develop more comprehensive and clinically impactful AI-driven diagnostic systems.

Identification of the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in a mouse model of early fracture.

Fracture healing is a complex process that involves multiple molecular events, and the regulation mechanism is not fully understood. We acquired miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes of mouse fractures from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE76197 and GSE192542) and integrated the miRNAs and genes that were differentially expressed in the control and fracture groups to construct regulatory networks. There were 130 differentially expressed miRNAs and 4,819 differentially expressed genes, including 72 upregulated and 58 downregulated miRNAs, along with 2,855 upregulated and 1964 downregulated genes during early fracture healing. Gene ontology analysis revealed that most of the differentially expressed genes were enriched in the extracellular matrix (ECM) structure and the ECM organization. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment suggested cell cycle, DNA replication, and mismatch repair were involved in the progression of fracture healing. Furthermore, we constructed a molecular network of miRNAs and mRNAs with inverse expression patterns to elucidate the molecular basis of miRNA-mRNA regulation in fractures. The regulatory network highlighted the potential targets, which may help to provide a mechanistic basis for therapies to improve fracture patient outcomes.

Repeat Surgery after Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Adolescent Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Multicenter Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: The reported date in the repeat surgical intervention for adolescent lumbar disc herniation (ALDH) after percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) was quite scarce. This study aims to introduce cases of repeat surgeries after PELD for ALDH and assess the incidence, chief causes, repeat surgery methods, and surgical outcomes of repeat surgeries after PELD for ALDH. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter observational study was conducted on patients undergoing repeat surgeries after PELD for ALDH at four tertiary referral hospitals from January 2014 through August 2022. The incidence of repeat surgeries, chief causes, strategies for repeat surgeries, and timing of repeat surgeries were recorded and analyzed. The clinical outcomes were evaluated by the Numeric Rating Scales (NRS) scores and the modified MacNab criteria. Statistical analyses were performed with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: A total of 23 patients who underwent repeat surgeries after PELD for ALDH were included. The chief causes were re-herniation (homo-lateral re-herniation at the same level, new disc herniation of adjacent level). The repeat surgery methods were revision PELD, micro-endoscopic discectomy (MED), open discectomy and instrumented lumbar inter-body fusion. The NRS scores decreased significantly in follow-up evaluations and these scores demonstrated significant improvement at the last follow-up (p < 0.002). For the modified MacNab criteria, at the last follow-up, 18 patients (78.26%) had an excellent outcome, and the overall success rate was 86.95%. CONCLUSION: This study's data suggest that young patients who underwent repeat surgery improved significantly compared to baseline. The chief cause was re-herniation. Revision PELD was the main surgical procedure, which provides satisfactory clinical results in young patients who underwent repeat surgeries.

Endoscopic-Assisted Forehead Augmentation with Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Patient-Specific Implant (PSI) for Aesthetic Considerations.

BACKGROUND: Forehead augmentation have become popular aesthetic procedures among Asians in recent years. However, the use of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) patient-specific implant (PSI) in the facial contouring surgery for aesthetic considerations is not well documented in the existing studies. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel method for forehead augmentation and assess the clinical outcomes and complications in patients who underwent forehead augmentation with PEEK PSI assisted by endoscopy. METHODS: The PEEK PSIs were fabricated using the virtual surgical planning (VSP) and the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) for each patient, preoperatively. The implant pockets were dissected in the subperiosteal plane, and PEEK PSIs were placed in their designed position and fixed assisting by endoscopy via small incision within the hairline. All patients were asked to complete the FACE-Q questionnaire before and 6 months after the operation. Pre- and postoperative demographics, photographs, and other clinical data of patients were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: 11 patients underwent forehead augmentation were enrolled in this study. All procedures were completed successfully with the help of endoscope. The average patient age was 30.63 ± 2.54 years. The mean thickness and size of PEEK PSI were 4.44 ± 1.77 mm and 38.43 ± 22.66 cm2, respectively. The mean operative time was 83.00 ± 29.44 min, and the mean postoperative follow-up period was 11.00 ± 6.50 months. No implant exposure, extrusion or removal were reported. The FACE-Q scores of patients in satisfaction with the forehead increased from 47.64 ± 7.15 to 78.81 ± 6.35. CONCLUSIONS: PEEK PSIs can be prefabricated to achieve accurate remodeling of the frontal contour with good esthetic outcomes. The endoscope provides direct and magnified vision, which allow easy access to the supraorbital rim and lateral edge of the eyebrow arch and confirming the position of the implants without damaging nerves and vessels. Endoscopic-assisted forehead augmentation with PEEK PSI is safe and effective. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these evidence-based medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Automated machine learning-based model for the prediction of pedicle screw loosening after degenerative lumbar fusion surgery.

The adequacy of screw anchorage is a critical factor in achieving successful spinal fusion. This study aimed to use machine learning algorithms to identify critical variables and predict pedicle screw loosening after degenerative lumbar fusion surgery. A total of 552 patients who underwent primary transpedicular lumbar fixation for lumbar degenerative disease were included. The LASSO method identified key features associated with pedicle screw loosening. Patient clinical characteristics, intraoperative variables, and radiographic parameters were collected and used to construct eight machine learning models, including a training set (80% of participants) and a test set (20% of participants). The XGBoost model exhibited the best performance, with an AUC of 0.884 (95% CI: 0.825-0.944) in the test set, along with the lowest Brier score. Ten crucial variables, including age, disease diagnosis: degenerative scoliosis, number of fused levels, fixation to S1, HU value, preoperative PT, preoperative PI-LL, postoperative LL, postoperative PT, and postoperative PI-LL were selected. In the prospective cohort, the XGBoost model demonstrated substantial performance with an accuracy of 83.32%. This study identified crucial variables associated with pedicle screw loosening after degenerative lumbar fusion surgery and successfully developed a machine learning model to predict pedicle screw loosening. The findings of this study may provide valuable information for clinical decision-making.

Nanoscale Insights into CO2 Enhanced Shale Gas Recovery in Gas-Water Coexisting Kerogen Nanopores.

The presence of water clusters in kerogen nanopores reduces the occurrence and migration of methane (CH4) and thus affects shale gas extraction. CO2 injection, as an effective approach to enhance shale gas recovery, still presents challenges in its ability to mitigate the impact of immobile water clusters within the kerogen. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate the microscopic transport process of water clusters and CH4 following CO2 injection in the gas-water coexisting kerogen nanopores. The results demonstrate that CO2 can desorb irreducible water clusters to dredge the pores while extracting CH4, enhancing gas-water mobility, and shale gas recovery by transitioning the wettability of the kerogen nanopore surface from weakly water-wet to CO2-wet. The impact of CO2 on the wettability of kerogen surfaces is primarily manifested in two aspects: CO2 can intrude the interface between water clusters and kerogen to reduce the number of hydrogen bonds between them, resulting in the detachment of water clusters; and the surface of kerogen nanopores can form a layer of CO2 gas film, which prevents desorbed water clusters and CH4 from readsorbing onto the wall surface. This study provides important insights in enhancing the understanding of the microscopic mechanisms in nanoscale flow, as well as for the development of an unconventional gas reservoir.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated autophagy alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced nucleus pulposus cell pyroptosis by inhibiting CHOP signaling in vitro.

Pyroptosis, a newly discovered pro-inflammatory programmed necrosis of cells, serves as an initiating and promoting event that leads to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IDD). Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and autophagy are vital regulatory mechanisms of cellular homeostasis, which is also closely related to IDD. However, the role and relationship of ERS and autophagy in the pyroptosis of nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) are not well understood. In this research, we aimed to elucidate the role and mechanism of ERS-C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cell pyroptosis and determine its interaction with autophagy. ERS and autophagy inducers or inhibitors were used or not in the preconditioning of rat NPCs. Cell viability, pyroptosis-related protein expression, caspase-1 activity assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed to observe rat NPC pyroptosis after the treatment of LPS. Activation of the ERS pathway and autophagy were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR, western blot analyses, and immunofluorescence staining assay to classify the molecular mechanisms. Our results showed that LPS stimulation induced NPC pyroptosis with concomitant activation of the ERS-CHOP pathway and initiated autophagy. Activation of the ERS-CHOP pathway exacerbated rat NPC pyroptosis, whereas autophagy inhibited cell pyroptosis. LPS-induced cell pyroptosis and CHOP upregulation were negatively regulated by autophagy. LPS-induced autophagy was depressed by the ERS inhibitor but aggravated by the ERS inducer. Taken together, our findings suggested that LPS induced NPC pyroptosis by activating ERS-CHOP signaling and ERS mediated LPS-induced autophagy, which in turn alleviated NPC pyroptosis by inhibiting CHOP signaling.

Bioinformatics Analysis and Identification of Ferroptosis-Related Hub Genes in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.

Approximately 80% of individuals encounter lower back pain (LBP), a prevalent clinical issue largely attributed to intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent lipid peroxidation-driven cell death, and there is growing evidence that ferroptosis plays an important role in various human diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of ferroptosis in IDD remains unclear. This study aims to reveal the potential hub genes and related pathways of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis and progression of IDD. In this study, we analyzed three microarray datasets from the GEO database. Additionally, we downloaded ferroptosis-related genes from FerrDb-V2 and extracted apoptosis-related genes from UniProt as a control to show the specificity of ferroptosis. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify the IDD-related module genes. Then, ferroptosis-related genes and apoptosis-related genes were separately overlapped with the IDD-related module genes, resulting in the identification of 35 ferroptosis-related module genes (FRMG) and 142 apoptosis-related module genes (ARMG). Furthermore, we performed functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network, and Cytoscape along with CytoHubba was used to identify the hub genes. Finally, logistic regression models were constructed and identified two hub FRMGs (PTEN and EGFR) and one hub ARMG (CTNNB1), which could distinguish IDD patients from controls (P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC curves were 0.792 and 0.730, respectively, suggesting that ferroptosis is more specific than apoptosis in IDD. In conclusion, this study provided fresh perspectives on ferroptosis in the pathogenesis and progression of IDD that can be used to evaluate potential biomarker genes and therapeutic targets.

Interpretable Machine Learning Model to Predict Bone Cement Leakage in Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation for Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture Based on SHapley Additive exPlanations.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: Our objective is to create comprehensible machine learning (ML) models that can forecast bone cement leakage in percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) for individuals with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) while also identifying the associated risk factors. METHODS: We incorporated data from patients (n = 425) which underwent PVA. To predict cement leakage, we devised six models based on a variety of parameters. Evaluate and juxtapose the predictive performances relied on measures of discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) methodology was used to interpret model and evaluate the risk factors associated with cement leakage. RESULTS: The occurrence rate of cement leakage was established at 50.4%. A binary logistic regression analysis identified cortical disruption (OR 6.880, 95% CI 4.209-11.246), the basivertebral foramen sign (OR 2.142, 95% CI 1.303-3.521), the fracture type (OR 1.683, 95% CI 1.083-2.617), and the volume of bone cement (OR 1.198, 95% CI 1.070-1.341) as independent predictors of cement leakage. The XGBoost model outperformed all others in predicting cement leakage in the testing set, with AUC of .8819, accuracy of .8025, recall score of .7872, F1 score of .8315, and a precision score of .881. Several important factors related to cement leakage were drawn based on the analysis of SHAP values and their clinical significance. CONCLUSION: The ML based predictive model demonstrated significant accuracy in forecasting bone cement leakage for patients with OVCF undergoing PVA. When combined with SHAP, ML facilitated a personalized prediction and offered a visual interpretation of feature importance.

Scientific Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Studies on Autophagy in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Based on Web of Science.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the current research trends and potential mechanisms related to the role of autophagy in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) and to provide new ideas for future research in this field. METHODS: All articles on IVDD and autophagy were retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) core collection database. The results were evaluated and visualized using the bibliometric Web site, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer software, including annual articles published, countries, institutions, authors, journals, research areas, funding agencies, citations, and keywords. RESULTS: From January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2022, 323 reviews and original articles were included, and the overall trend in the number of articles was increasing rapidly. China and the United States were the countries with the most scientific research achievements. The 323 articles received a total number of citations of 6949, with an H index of 43 and an average citation of 21.51. The top publication country, institution, author, journal, research area, and funding agency were China, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Cao Yang of Tongji Medical College, Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, cell biology, and National Natural Science Foundation of China, respectively. Most of the keywords were associated with the mechanisms and regulatory networks of autophagy. In addition, with increasing evidence showing the key role of autophagy in IVDD, therapy, signaling pathway, and mitophagy are emerging as new research hot spots that should be paid more attention. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a scientific perspective on autophagy in IVDD and elucidated the current research status and hot spots in this field. The mechanism of autophagy and the application of regulating autophagy in the treatment of IVDD deserve further research.

A Retrospective Study of Transaxillary Endoscopic Breast Augmentation Using Ultrasonic Scalpel or Conventional Electrocautery for Implant Pocket Dissection.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonic scalpel has been reported to be superior to conventional electrocautery in many studies. However, with respect to transaxillary endoscopic breast augmentation, few studies on the effect of ultrasonic scalpel are available in the literature. METHODS: The medical records of 173 female patients who underwent breast augmentation via endoscopic transaxillary approach from January 2018 to December 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to the implant pocket dissection instruments. In group A, the implant pockets were dissected with conventional electrocautery (EC group) on 81 patients, and in group B, ultrasonic scalpel (US group) was used for implant pockets on 92 patients. All operations were performed by the same senior plastic surgeon and the same surgical team. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative total drainage volume, days of drainage, postoperative surgical site pain and hospital stay time of the two groups were compared and analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The average operation time of the US group (83.82 ± 11.57 min) was significantly shorter than that of the EC group (101.40 ± 14.36 min), intraoperative blood loss in the US group was significantly less than that of the EC group (18.67 ± 6.20 ml vs. 21.59 ± 6.44 ml), the mean hospital stay days (2.96 ± 0.69 vs. 4.30 ± 1.11), total drainage volume (122.24 ± 43.81 vs. 232.37 ± 99.15), and duration of drain (2.52 ± 0.54 vs. 3.77 ± 1.10), mean VAS score for surgical site pain on 3 postoperative days (5.08 ± 1.35 vs. 6.51 ± 1.36, 4.08 ± 1.16 vs. 5.40 ± 1.32, 3.04 ± 0.91 vs. 4.06 ± 1.11) were significantly lower in the US group compared to the EC group. CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasonic scalpel reduces operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, postoperative pain, hospital stay time, and incidence of complications. The ultrasonic scalpel is safe and reliable for transaxillary endoscopic breast augmentation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Potential differentiation of successive SARS-CoV-2 mutations by RNA: DNA hybrid analyses.

The constant mutation of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a new round of public health crises and has had a huge impact on existing vaccines and diagnostic tools. It is essential to develop a new flexible method to distinguish mutations to prevent the spread of the virus. In this work, we used the combination of density functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green's function formulation with decoherence, to theoretically study the effect of viral mutation on charge transport properties of viral nucleic acid molecules. We found that all mutation of SARS-CoV-2 on spike protein was accompanied by the change of gene sequence conductance, this is attributed to the change of nucleic acid molecular energy level caused by mutation. Among them, the mutations L18F, P26S, and T1027I caused the largest conductance change after mutation. This provides a theoretical possibility for detecting virus mutation based on the change of molecular conductance of virus nucleic acid.

Correcting the Broad, Flat and Short Chin Using Modified M-genioplasty.

BACKGROUND: Several genioplasty techniques can narrow the width of the chin. Nevertheless, patients with a broad and short chin who received these methods were unsatisfied with the outcomes. The goal of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes of modified M-shaped genioplasty for broad, flat and short chin deformity. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with broad, flat and short chins were included in this study from January 2019 to December 2021. The preoperative design was performed individually according to the data of the chin and the patient's desire of final chin shape. Narrowing and vertical elongating genioplasty was performed for all the patients with modified M-shaped genioplasty under general anesthesia according to the preoperative designs. All patients have completed the FACE-Q preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. The results were evaluated by clinical appearances and FACE-Q scores. RESULTS: The vertical lengthening of the chin was 2-5 mm, with an average of 3.02 mm. The horizontal narrowing width was 3-6 mm, with an average of 5.6 mm. FACE-Q scores in satisfaction with the chin increased significantly from 35.34 ± 9.57 to 72.95 ± 6.81. There were no severe complications took place during the time frame of 3-24 months postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The modified M-shaped genioplasty preserved the bone structure in the midsymphyseal area and suprahyoid muscular attachments as far as possible, and the bone segments may be repositioned quickly. This technique produced reliable and esthetically satisfying results in correcting a short, flat and broad chin, with altered vertical length, slope, width and protrusion three-dimensionally. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Electrical modulation properties of DNA drug molecules.

DNA drug molecules are not only widely used in gene therapy, but also play an important role in controlling the electrical properties of molecular electronics. Covalent binding, groove binding and intercalation are all important forms of drug-DNA interaction. But its applications are limited due to a lack of understanding of the electron transport mechanisms after different drug-DNA interaction modes. Here, we used a combination of density functional theory calculations and nonequilibrium Green's function formulation with decoherence to study the effect of drug molecules on the charge transport property of DNA under three different binding modes. Conductance of DNA is found to decrease from 2.35E-5 G0 to 1.95E-6 G0 upon doxorubicin intercalation due to modifications of the density of states in the near-highest occupied molecular orbital region, δG = 1105.13%. Additionally, the conductance of DNA after cis-[Pt(NH3)2(py)Cl]+ covalent binding increases from 1.02E-6 G0 to 5.25E-5 G0, δG = 5047.06%. However, in the case of pentamidine groove binding, because there is no direct change in DNA molecular structure during drug binding, the conductance changes before and after drug binding is much smaller than in the two above cases, δG = 90.43%. Our theoretical calculations suggest that the conductance of DNA can be regulated by different drug molecules or switching the interaction modes between small molecules and DNA. This regulation opens new possibilities for their potential applications in controllable modulation of the electron transport property of DNA.

Which Criterion for Wound Drain Removal is Better Following Posterior 1-Level or 2-Level Lumbar Fusion With Instrumentation: Time Driven or Output Driven?

STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study. OBJECTIVES: To compare the outcomes of 2 different criteria (time driven and output driven) for wound drain removal and identify which one is better. METHODS: 743 patients who underwent posterior lumbar fusion with instrumentation involving 1 or 2 motion segments were enrolled in this study. Based on the different criteria for drain removal, the patients were divided into 2 groups. The drains were discontinued by time driven (postoperative day 2) in group I and output driven (<50 ml per day) in group II. Demographic characteristics, perioperative parameters and clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: The demographic characteristics in both groups were comparable. The postoperative drain output, total blood loss, postoperative timing of ambulation, and postoperative duration of hospital stay in group I were lower than those in group II (P < 0.001). There was a higher proportion of patients requiring postoperative blood transfusion in group II, but not to a level of statistical significance (P = 0.054). There was no statistical significant difference in the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) or symptomatic spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that there are more benefits of wound drain removal by time driven than that by output driven for patients undergoing posterior 1-level or 2-level lumbar fusion with instrumentation, including less postoperative drain output, less total blood loss, earlier postoperative timing of ambulation and less postoperative duration of hospital stay without increasing the incidence of postoperative SSI or symptomatic SEH.

A nomogram for accurately predicting the surgical site infection following transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in type 2 diabetes patients, based on glycemic variability.

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common and serious complication of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), and the occurrence of SSI usually leads to prolonged hospitalisation, increased medical costs, poor prognosis, and even death. The objectives of this study were to compare the incidence of SSI in patients with type 2 diabetes, investigate the correlation between perioperative glycemic variability and postoperative SSI, and develop a nomogram model to predict the risk of SSI. This study retrospectively analysed 339 patients with type 2 diabetes who underwent TLIF in the spinal surgery department of the Affiliated Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University from January 2018 to September 2021. The medical records of all patients were collected, and postoperative infection cases were determined according to the diagnostic criteria of surgical site infection. The risk factors for postoperative SSI were analysed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. And Nomogram prediction model was established and validated. The nomogram incorporated seven independent predictors. Preoperative FPG-CV was the most important independent risk predictor of SSI, followed by preoperative MFBG, duration of drain placement, postoperative FPG-CV, preoperative blood glucose control scheme, duration of diabetes >5 years, and the number of fused vertebrae ≥2. The nomogram showed good diagnostic accuracy for the SS of both the training cohort and the validation cohort (AUC = 0.915 and AUC = 0.890). The calibration curves for the two cohorts both showed optimal agreement between nomogram prediction and actual observation. In conclusion, preoperative and postoperative glycemic variability is closely related to the occurrence of SSI. We developed and validated a nomogram to accurately predict the risk of SSI after TLIF surgery. It's helpful for spinal surgeons to formulate reasonable treatment plans and prevention strategies for type 2 diabetes patients.

Resonance-Induced Reduction of Interfacial Tension of Water-Methane and Improvement of Methane Solubility in Water.

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the effect of the periodic oscillating electric field on the interface between water and methane. We propose a new strategy that utilizes oscillating electric fields to reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) between water and methane and increase the solubility of methane in water simultaneously. These are attributed to the hydrogen bond resonance induced by an electric field with a frequency close to the natural frequency of the hydrogen bond. The resonance breaks the hydrogen bond network among water molecules to the maximum, which destroys the hydration shell and reduces the cohesive action of water, thus resulting in the decrease of IFT and the increase of methane solubility. As the frequency of the electric field is close to the optimum resonant frequency of hydrogen bonds, IFT decreases from 56.43 to 5.66 mN/m; water and methane are miscible because the solubility parameter of water reduces from 47.63 to 2.85 MPa1/2, which is close to that of methane (3.43 MPa1/2). Our results provide a new idea for reducing the water-gas IFT and improving the solubility of insoluble gas in water and theoretical guidance in the fields of natural gas exploitation, hydrate generation, and nanobubble nucleation.

High-speed Ge-on-GaAs photodetector.

In this work, a germanium (Ge) on gallium arsenide (GaAs) photodetector is demonstrated with the optical response from 850 nm to 1600 nm, which has potential for monolithic integration with VCSELs on GaAs platform as transceiver working beyond 900 nm. The device exhibits a responsivity of 0.35A/W, 0.39 A/W and 0.11 A/W at 1000 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm, respectively and dark current of 8 nA at -1 V. The 10 µm diameter back-illuminated device achieves a 3-dB bandwidth of 9.3 GHz under -2 V bias. A donor-like trap at the interface between the Ge and GaAs collection layers is verified by capacitance-voltage curve and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurement, which impedes the depletion in GaAs collection layers.

Charge transport properties of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2).

The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of concern is causing a new wave of infections in many countries. In order to better understand the changes of the SARS-CoV-2 mutation at the genetic level, we selected six mutations in the S region of the Delta variant compared with the native SARS-CoV-2 and get the conductance information of these six short RNA oligonucleotides groups by construct RNA: DNA hybrids. The electronic characteristics are investigated by the combination of density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function formulation with decoherence. We found that conductance is very sensitive to small changes in virus sequence. Among the 6 mutations in the Delta S region, D950N shows the largest change in relative conductance, reaching a surprising 4104.75%. These results provide new insights into the Delta variant from the perspective of its electrical properties. This may be a new method to distinguish virus variation and possess great research prospects.