Oxygen tension regulating hydrogels for vascularization and osteogenesis via sequential activation of HIF-1α and ERK1/2 signaling pathways in bone regeneration.

Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in bone regeneration. Hypoxia is a driving force of angiogenesis at the initial stage of tissue repair. The hypoxic microenvironment could activate the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α signaling pathway in cells, thereby enhancing the proliferation, migration and pro-angiogenic functions of stem cells. However, long-term chronic hypoxia could inhibit osteogenic differentiation and even lead to apoptosis. Therefore, shutdown of the HIF-1α signaling pathway and providing oxygen at later stage probably facilitate osteogenic differentiation and bone regeneration. Herein, an oxygen tension regulating hydrogel that sequentially activate and deactivate the HIF-1α signaling pathway were prepared in this study. Its effect and mechanism on stem cell differentiation were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. We proposed a gelatin-based hydrogel capable of sequentially delivering a hypoxic inducer (copper ions) and oxygen generator (calcium peroxide). The copper ions released from the hydrogels significantly enhanced cell viability and VEGF secretion of BMSCs via upregulating HIF-1α expression and facilitating its translocation into the nucleus. Additionally, calcium peroxide promoted alkaline phosphatase activity, osteopontin secretion, and calcium deposition through the activation of ERK1/2. Both Cu2+ and calcium peroxide demonstrated osteogenic promotion individually, while their synergistic effect within the hydrogels led to a superior osteogenic effect by potentially activating the HIF-1α and ERK1/2 signaling pathways.

Absorbing oxygen carriers promotes phosphorus recovery from sludge via the microwave thermal conversion process.

This study aims to apply the Absorbing oxygen carriers (AOCs) to induce the migration and transformation of phosphorus compounds during the microwave thermal conversion of sludge so the hard-to-extract organic phosphorus (OP) can be converted to easy-to-extract inorganic phosphorus (IP) and be enriched onto the sludge char. The AOCs were recycled by screen separation from the IP-rich sludge char, with the latter being a renewable phosphorus source from sludge. The AOCs in this novel process enhanced the conversion efficiency of OP into non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAlP), which was further converted to apatite inorganic phosphorus (AP). Most phosphorus in the sludge char is presented in the form of orthophosphate.

Construction of Bi2WO6/g-C3N4 Z-Scheme Heterojunction and Its Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline with Persulfate under Solar Light.

Z-scheme heterojunction Bi2WO6/g-C3N4 was obtained by a novel hydrothermal process; its photocatalysis-persulfate (PDS) activation for tetracycline (TC) removal was explored under solar light (SL). The structure and photoelectrochemistry behavior of fabricated samples were well characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM-EDS, UV-vis DRS, Mott-Schottky, PL, photocurrent response, EIS and BET. The critical experimental factors in TC decomposition were investigated, including the Bi2WO6 doping ratio, catalyst dosage, TC concentration, PDS dose, pH, co-existing ion and humic acid (HA). The optimum test conditions were as follows: 0.4 g/L Bi2WO6/g-C3N4 (BC-3), 20 mg/L TC, 20 mg/L PDS and pH = 6.49, and the maximum removal efficiency of TC was 98.0% in 60 min. The decomposition rate in BC-3/SL/PDS system (0.0446 min-1) was 3.05 times higher than that of the g-C3N4/SL/PDS system (0.0146 min-1), which might be caused by the high-efficiency electron transfer inside the Z-scheme Bi2WO6/g-C3N4 heterojunction. Furthermore, the photogenerated hole (h+), superoxide (O2•-), sulfate radical (SO4•-) and singlet oxygen (1O2) were confirmed as the key oxidation factors in the BC-3/SL/PDS system for TC degradation by a free radical quenching experiment. Particularly, BC-3 possessed a wide application potential in actual antibiotic wastewater treatment for its superior catalytic performance that emerged in the experiment of co-existing components.

Targeted metabolome and transcriptome analyses reveal changes in gibberellin and related cell wall-acting enzyme-encoding genes during stipe elongation in Flammulina filiformis.

Flammulina filiformis, a typical agaric fungus, is a widely cultivated and consumed edible mushroom. Elongation of its stipe (as the main edible part) is closely related to its yield and commercial traits; however, the endogenous hormones during stipe elongation and their regulatory mechanisms are not well understood. Gibberellin (GA) plays an important role in the regulation of plant growth, but little has been reported in macro fungi. In this study, we first treated F. filiformis stipes in the young stage with PBZ (an inhibitor of GA) and found that PBZ significantly inhibited elongation of the stipe. Then, we performed GA-targeted metabolome and transcriptome analyses of the stipe at both the young and elongation stages. A total of 13 types of GAs were detected in F. filiformis; the contents of ten of them, namely, GA3, GA4, GA8, GA14, GA19, GA20, GA24, GA34, GA44, and GA53, were significantly decreased, and the contents of three (GA5, GA9, and GA29) were significantly increased during stipe elongation. Transcriptome analysis showed that the genes in the terpenoid backbone biosynthesis pathway showed varying expression patterns: HMGS, HMGR, GPS, and FPPS were significantly upregulated, while CPS/KS had no significant difference in transcript level during stipe elongation. In total, 37 P450 genes were annotated to be involved in GA biosynthesis; eight of them were upregulated, twelve were downregulated, and the rest were not differentially expressed. In addition, four types of differentially expressed genes involved in stipe elongation were identified, including six signal transduction genes, five cell cycle-controlling genes, twelve cell wall-related enzymes and six transcription factors. The results identified the types and content of GAs and the expression patterns of their synthesis pathways during elongation in F. filiformis and revealed the molecular mechanisms by which GAs may affect the synthesis of cell wall components and the cell cycle of the stipe through the downstream action of cell wall-related enzymes, transcription factors, signal transduction and cell cycle control, thus regulating stipe elongation. This study is helpful for understanding the roles of GAs in stipe development in mushrooms and lays the foundation for the rational regulation of stipe length in agaric mushrooms during production.

Developmental validation of a high-resolution panel genotyping 639 Y-chromosome SNP and InDel markers and its evolutionary features in Chinese populations.

Uniparental-inherited haploid genetic marker of Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNP) have the power to provide a deep understanding of the human evolutionary past, forensic pedigree, and bio-geographical ancestry information. Several international cross-continental or regional Y-panels instead of Y-whole sequencing have recently been developed to promote Y-tools in forensic practice. However, panels based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) explicitly developed for Chinese populations are insufficient to represent the Chinese Y-chromosome genetic diversity and complex population structures, especially for Chinese-predominant haplogroup O. We developed and validated a 639-plex panel including 633 Y-SNPs and 6 Y-Insertion/deletions, which covered 573 Y haplogroups on the Y-DNA haplogroup tree. In this panel, subgroups from haplogroup O accounted for 64.4% of total inferable haplogroups. We reported the sequencing metrics of 354 libraries sequenced with this panel, with the average sequencing depth among 226 individuals being 3,741×. We illuminated the high level of concordance, accuracy, reproducibility, and specificity of the 639-plex panel and found that 610 loci were genotyped with as little as 0.03 ng of genomic DNA in the sensitivity test. 94.05% of the 639 loci were detectable in male-female mixed DNA samples with a mix ratio of 1:500. Nearly all of the loci were genotyped correctly when no more than 25 ng/µL tannic acid, 20 ng/µL humic acid, or 37.5 µM hematin was added to the amplification mixture. More than 80% of genotypes were obtained from degraded DNA samples with a degradation index of 11.76. Individuals from the same pedigree shared identical genotypes in 11 male pedigrees. Finally, we presented the complex evolutionary history of 183 northern Chinese Hans and six other Chinese populations, and found multiple founding lineages that contributed to the northern Han Chinese gene pool. The 639-plex panel proved an efficient tool for Chinese paternal studies and forensic applications.

Analysis of parametric instability of cigarettes based on computational fluid dynamics methods.

In actual production tests, there are large fluctuations in the ventilation rate and smoking resistance of cigarettes. In this paper, fluctuations in ventilation rate and smoking resistance are attributed to variations in the number of ventilation holes in the joint paper and the porosity of each component. The effects of small changes in porosity of each component were analyzed by using computational fluid dynamics methods. The results showed that the difference in the effective number of ventilation holes caused by the gluing process had little effect on the ventilation rate and smoking resistance of cigarettes in the practical production process. The smoking resistance is mainly affected by the structural parameters of filter tow and cut tobacco section in the length direction of cigarettes, the porosity of cigarette paper and packaging paper is positively related to the cigarette ventilation rate, the porosity of cut tobacco and the porosity of filter tow are negatively related to the cigarette ventilation rate, and the influence of shaped paper is the smallest. The results can provide technical and theoretical basis for the optimization of cigarette process parameters and the stabilization of ventilation rate.

In Situ Synthesis of 3D BiOCl-Graphene Aerogel and Synergistic Effect by Photo-Assisted Activation of Persulfate for Methyl Orange Degradation.

BiOCl/graphene aerogel graphene (BGA) was successfully obtained by in situ hydrothermal synthesis, and the chemical, structural, morphological, and photocatalytic properties were systematically characterized. BGA with the doping amount of BiOCl at 20% (BGA-4) exhibited the optimal activation efficiency for persulfate (PDS) on the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under simulated sunlight (SSL) illumination as compared to the pure graphene (GA) and aerogel composites with different BiOCl content. The influence of various reaction parameters on the MO removal efficiency, such as the reaction system, catalyst activator dose, PDS concentration, BiOCl doping amount, and the initial pH of the solution, was investigated. Under optimum conditions, the catalytic efficiency of BiOCl-doped GA with the mass ratio of 20% (BGA-4) was 5.61 times that of GA. The strengthening effect of BGA-4 benefited from the synergistic effect of 1O2, O2·- and the generation and rapid electron transfer of photo-induced electron (e-) in the BGA-4/SSL/PDS system. Considering the superior stability and recyclability of BGA-4, the BGA-4/SSL/PDS system exhibits great potential in actual wastewater treatment.

Comprehensive analysis of cuproptosis-related prognostic gene signature and tumor immune microenvironment in HCC.

Background: Copper is an indispensable mineral element involved in many physiological metabolic processes. Cuproptosis is associated with a variety of cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The objective of this study was to examine the relationships between the expression of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) and tumor characteristics, including prognosis and microenvironment of HCC. Methods: The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between high and low CRGs expression groups in HCC samples were identified, and further were analyzed for functional enrichment analysis. Then, CRGs signature of HCC was constructed and analyzed utilizing LASSO and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Prognostic values of CRGs signature were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, independent prognostic analysis and nomograph. The expression of prognostic CRGs was verified by Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in HCC cell lines. In addition, the relationships between prognostic CRGs expression and the immune infiltration, tumor microenvironment, antitumor drugs response and m6A modifications were further explored using a series of algorithms in HCC. Finally, ceRNA regulatory network based on prognostic CRGs was constructed. Results: The DEGs between high and low CRG expression groups in HCC were mainly enriched in focal adhesion and extracellular matrix organization. Besides, we constructed a prognostic model that consists of CDKN2A, DLAT, DLST, GLS, and PDHA1 CRGs for predicting the survival likelihood of HCC patients. And the elevated expression of these five prognostic CRGs was substantially in HCC cell lines and associated with poor prognosis. Moreover, immune score and m6A gene expression were higher in the high CRG expression group of HCC patients. Furthermore, prognostic CRGs have higher mutation rates in HCC, and are significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration, tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, and anti-tumor drug sensitivity. Then, eight lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axes that affected the progression of HCC were predicted. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the CRGs signature could effectively evaluate prognosis, tumor immune microenvironment, immunotherapy response and predict lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axes in HCC. These findings extend our knowledge of cuproptosis in HCC and may inform novel therapeutic strategies for HCC.

[Pollution Characteristics and Sources of Water-soluble Ions in PM2.5 in Zhengzhou City].

In order to explore the pollution characteristics, seasonal variations, and sources of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) in PM2.5 in Zhengzhou, PM2.5 samples were seasonally collected from December 2020 to October 2021; then, combining gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO2, and O3) and meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity), nine WSIIs (NO3-, NH4+, SO42-, Ca2+, K+, Na+, Mg2+, F-, and Cl-) were analyzed. The results showed that the annual average concentration of the total water-soluble ions (TWSIIs) was (39.34±21.56) µg·m-3for the four seasons, showing obvious seasonal variations with the maximum value in winter and the minimum value in summer. Annual PM2.5 was slightly alkaline in Zhengzhou, and NH4+ most likely existed in the form of NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4. The average sulfur oxidation ratio (SOR) and nitrogen oxidation ratio (NOR) were 0.35 and 0.19, respectively, indicating that SO42- and NO3- mainly derived from secondary formation. The main potential source regions of WSIIs obtained by the concentration weight trajectory (CWT) model showed temporal and spatial variations. The significant sources of WSIIs based on principal component analysis (PCA) were dust, secondary generation, combustion, and industrial activities, which were obviously influenced by wind direction and speed in Zhengzhou.

Effects of ß-1,6-Glucan Synthase Gene (FfGS6) Overexpression on Stress Response and Fruit Body Development in Flammulina filiformis.

ß-1, 6-glucan synthase is a key enzyme of ß-1, 6-glucan synthesis, which plays a vital role in the cell wall cross-linking of fungi. However, the role of the ß-1, 6-glucan synthase gene in the development of the fruiting body and the stress response of macrofungi is largely unknown. In this study, four overexpression transformants of the ß-1, 6-glucan synthase gene (FfGS6) were successfully obtained, and gene function was studied in Flammulina filiformis. The overexpression of FfGS6 can increase the width of mycelium cells and improve the tolerance ability under mechanical injury and oxidative stress. Moreover, FfGS6 gene expression fluctuated in up-regulation during the recovery process of mycelium injury but showed a negative correlation with H2O2 concentration. Fruiting body phenotype tests showed that mycelia's recovery ability after scratching improved when the FfGS6 gene was overexpressed. However, primordia formation and the stipe elongation ability were significantly inhibited. Our findings indicate that FfGS6 is involved in regulating mycelial cell morphology, the mycelial stress response, and fruit body development in F. filiformis.

Cystathionine Gamma-Lyase Regulate Psilocybin Biosynthesis in Gymnopilus dilepis Mushroom via Amino Acid Metabolism Pathways.

As a potential medicine for the treatment of depression, psilocybin has gradually attracted attention. To elucidate the molecular mechanism regulating psilocybin synthesis in Gymnopilus dilepis, ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was used to detect the changes in psilocybin content after S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH) treatment and the changes of psilocybin content in different parts (stipe and pileus), and RNA-Seq was used to explore the mechanism of psilocybin content changes. In this study, the psilocybin content in G. dilepis mycelia treated with SAH was significantly lower than that in the control group, and the content of psilocybin in the stipe was significantly higher than that in the pileus. Transcriptome analysis revealed that differential expression genes (DEGs) were associated with cysteine and methionine metabolism. In particular, the transcription levels of genes encoding Cystathionine gamma-lyase (CTH) in different treatments and different parts were positively correlated with psilocybin content. In addition, we found that the exogenous addition of CTH activity inhibitor (DL-propargylglycine, PAG) could reduce the content of psilocybin and L-serine, and the content of psilocybin and L-serine returned to normal levels after L-cysteine supplementation, suggesting that psilocybin synthesis may be positively correlated with L-cysteine or CTH, and L-cysteine regulates the synthesis of psilocybin by affecting L-serine and 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan. In conclusion, this study revealed a new molecular mechanism that affects psilocybin biosynthesis, which can provide a theoretical basis for improving psilocybin synthesis and the possibility for the development of biomedicine.

Evaluation of the MHSeqTyper47 kit for forensically challenging DNA samples.

Microhaplotypes have been highly regarded for forensic mixture DNA deconvolution because they do not experience interference from stutters in the same way as short tandem repeat markers, and they tend to be more polymorphic than single nucleotide polymorphism markers. However, forensic microhaplotype kits have not been reported. The MHSeqTyper47 kit genotypes 47 microhaplotype loci. In this study, MiSeq FGx sequencing metrics for MHSeqTyper47 were presented, and the genotyping accuracy of this kit was examined. The sensitivity of MHSeqTyper47 reached 62.5 pg, and full genotyping results were obtained from degraded DNA samples with degradation indexes ≤ 3.00. Full genotypes were obtained in the presence of 100 ng/µL tannin, 50 µM heme, 25 ng/µL humic acid, and 1.25 µg/µL indigo dye. In DNA mixture studies, a minimum of 31 loci of the minor contributor were correctly genotyped at 1:99 or 99:1 mixing ratios, with the cumulative random matching probability of these loci reaching 4.54 × 10-25. Mixing ratios could be reliably predicted from two-donor DNA mixtures based on the loci with four called alleles. Taken together, these data showed that the MHSeqTyper47 kit was effective for forensically challenging DNA analysis.

Development and implementation of patient-level prediction models of end-stage renal disease for type 2 diabetes patients using fast healthcare interoperability resources.

This study aimed to develop a model to predict the 5-year risk of developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using machine learning (ML). It also aimed to implement the developed algorithms into electronic medical records (EMR) system using Health Level Seven (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). The final dataset used for modeling included 19,159 patients. The medical data were engineered to generate various types of features that were input into the various ML classifiers. The classifier with the best performance was XGBoost, with an area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUROC) of 0.95 and area under the precision recall curve (AUPRC) of 0.79 using three-fold cross-validation, compared to other models such as logistic regression, random forest, and support vector machine (AUROC range, 0.929-0.943; AUPRC 0.765-0.792). Serum creatinine, serum albumin, the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, Charlson comorbidity index, estimated GFR, and medication days of insulin were features that were ranked high for the ESRD risk prediction. The algorithm was implemented in the EMR system using HL7 FHIR through an ML-dedicated server that preprocessed unstructured data and trained updated data.

Sequence polymorphisms of forensic Y-STRs revealed by a 68-plex in-house massively parallel sequencing panel.

Sequence polymorphisms of Y chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) markers can be unveiled using next generation sequencing (NGS). Compared to capillary electrophoresis, NGS has the advantage of distinguishing between some alleles of the same length. Here, a 68-plex in-house panel covering 67 Y-STR loci and the sex determinant Amelogenin locus, was developed. The accuracy of this panel was 100% concordant with three standard reference samples. The sensitive was as low as 250 pg. A total of 466 length-based alleles, 806 sequence-based alleles, and 149 haplotypes were observed across 149 Chinese Han individuals. The total haplotype diversity and discrimination capacity was 1.0000 in detected samples. The DYS710 locus possessed the highest diversity by sequence among these Y-STRs, with 109 sequence-based alleles observed. Micro-variant alleles with the same length were observed in 39 Y-STR loci, with their sequence variations mainly attributable to repeat pattern variations. While the number of sequence-based alleles identified for DYS447, DYS449, DYS710, DYS720 and DYF387S1a/b was approximately three times that of their length-based alleles, flanking sequence variations were observed in 18 alleles. In addition, 201 sequence-based alleles in 42 loci were newly discovered. This significantly expanded the knowledge of human Y-STR sequence polymorphisms. Collectively, the 68-plex panel provided reliable Y-STR results as well as higher resolution for paternal lineage analysis.

Facile Synthesis of Porous Ag Crystals as SERS Sensor for Detection of Five Methamphetamine Analogs.

Porous noble metal nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention due to their high specific surface area and surface plasmon resonance effect. However, it is difficult to form porous structures due to the high mobility and low reduction potential of noble metal precursors. In this article, we developed a facile method for preparing porous Ag with a controllable structure at room temperature. Two kinds of Ag crystals with different porous structures were successfully prepared by using AgCl cubes as sacrificial templates. Through the galvanic replacement reaction of Zn and AgCl, Ag crystals with a sponge-like porous structure were successfully prepared. Additionally, using NaBH4 as the reducing agent, we prepared granular porous Ag cubes by optimizing the amount of reducing agent. Both the sponge-like and granular porous Ag cubes have clean and accessible surfaces. In addition, we used the prepared two porous Ag cubes as substrate materials for SERS detection of five kinds of methamphetamine analogs. The experimental results show that the enhancement effect of granular porous Ag is better than that of sponge-like porous Ag. Furthermore, we probed the hot spot distribution of granular porous Ag by Raman mapping. By using granular porous Ag as the substrate material, we have achieved trace detection of 5 kinds of methamphetamine analogs including Ephedrine, Amphetamine, N-Methyl-1-(benzofuran-5-yl)propan-2-amine (5-MAPB), N-Methyl-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)propan-2-amine (PMMA) and N-Methyl-1-(4-fluorophenyl)propan-2-amine (4-FMA). Furthermore, to achieve qualitative differentiation of analogs with similar structures we performed density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations on the Raman spectra of the above analogs. The DFT calculations provided the vibrational frequencies, Raman activities, and normal mode assignment for each analog, enabling the qualitative differentiation of the above analogs.

Effect of Laser Scanning Speed on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser-Powder-Bed-Fused K418 Nickel-Based Alloy.

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a powder-bed-based metal additive manufacturing process with multiple influencing parameters as well as multi-physics interaction. The laser scanning speed, which is one of the essential process parameters of the LPBF process, determines the microstructure and properties of the components by adjusting the instantaneous energy input of the molten pool. This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the effects of the laser scanning speed on the densification behavior, phase evolution, microstructure development, microhardness, and tensile properties of K418 alloy prepared by laser powder bed fusion. When the scanning speed is 800 mm/s, the microstructure of the material is dominated by cellular dendrite crystals, with coarse grains and some cracks in the melting tracks. When the scanning speed is increased to 1200 mm/s, a portion of the material undergoes a cellular dendrite-columnar crystal transition, the preferred orientation of the grains is primarily (001), and internal defects are significantly reduced. When the scanning speed is further increased to 1600 mm/s, columnar crystals become the main constituent grains, and the content of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) within the microstructure increases, refining the grain size. However, the scanning speed is too fast, resulting in defects such as unmelted powder, and lowering the relative density. The experimental results show that by optimizing the laser scanning speed, the microhardness of the LPBF-ed K418 parts can be improved to 362.89 ± 5.01 HV, the tensile strength can be elevated to 1244.35 ± 99.12 MPa, and the elongation can be enhanced to 12.53 ± 1.79%. These findings could help determine the best scanning speed for producing K418 components with satisfactory microstructure and tensile properties via LPBF. In addition, since the LPBF process is largely not constrained and limited by the complexity of the geometric shape of the part, it is expected to manufacture sophisticated and complex structures with hollow, porous, mesh, thin-walled, special-shaped inner flow channels and other structures through the topology optimization design. However, due to the relatively narrow LPBF process window, this study will benefit from LPBF in producing a lightweight, complex, and low-cost K418 product, greatly improving its performance, and promoting the use of LPBF technology in the preparation of nickel-based superalloys.

Screening of highly discriminative microhaplotype markers for individual identification and mixture deconvolution in East Asian populations.

Microhaplotypes are forensic genetic markers that combine single nucleotide polymorphisms in close proximity to one another. Highly discriminative microhaplotype markers could be superior to short tandem repeats (STRs) in DNA mixture deconvolution investigations because they are not interfered by stutters. In this study, the effective number of alleles (Ae) and discrimination power values of microhaplotypes and STRs were compared. It was found that current microhaplotypes are not as discriminative as commonly used forensic STRs. Effective screening of highly discriminative microhaplotype markers were consequently conducted for East Asian populations. To satisfy different forensic application needs, four sets of microhaplotypes with Ae values ≥ 4 were screened for under different conditions that included marker length and physical distances between markers. While the four sets contained 703, 301, 337, and 190 microhaplotypes, their average Ae values reached 5.38, 6.30, 7.39, and 5.61, respectively. The microhaplotype group containing 301 markers (maximum length of 200 bp and separated by ≥ 5 million bases) was further investigated. The results showed that none of the 301 loci were exactly the same as those previously reported, while seven loci partially overlapped with known markers. While Ae values of 45 loci were ≥ 8, the Ae value of the mh17WL-008 locus reached a maximum of 93.57. Further analysis showed that the newly identified microhaplotype markers were also highly polymorphic in African, American, European, and South Asian populations.

The Effect of Medial Branch Block on Postoperative Residual Pain Relieve After Percutaneous Kyphoplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial With 12-Month Follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) is a minimally invasive technique, and effective treatment, for an osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Residual back pain is the most common complication of PKP. Medial branch block (MBB) is a treatment option for painful OVCF, it can break the vicious cycle to release short- or long-term pain. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the effects of MBB on postoperative residual back pain in OVCF patients after PKP surgery. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized, controlled, single-center trial. SETTING: Medical university center and local hospitals. METHODS: A total of 198 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to either the MBB or Non-MBB group. In the MBB group, patients received MBB during PKP surgery, the injection contained a mixture of lidocaine and budesonide. The Non-MBB group was injected with normal saline in the target nerve area during PKP surgery. The primary outcome was back pain assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and residual back pain was defined as a VAS score greater than or equal to 4. The secondary outcomes included physical function assessed by Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Physical Function (PROMIS PF) and satisfaction with surgery was assessed using the S6 satisfaction scale. All parameters were measured at baseline, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3, 6, and 12 months after the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 179 patients, including 91 patients in the MBB group and 88 patients in the Non-MBB group, were included for a comprehensive assessment. The VAS score in the MBB group was significantly lower than in the Non-MBB group within a one-month follow-up. PROMIS PF score in the MBB group was significantly higher than in the Non-MBB group within a one-month follow-up. The incidence of residual back pain in the MBB group was lower than the Non-MBB group within a one-month follow-up. The MBB group had a significantly higher satisfaction rate compared with the Non-MBB group at final follow-up. LIMITATIONS: Firstly, patients are from a single institution and the sample size is small. Secondly, some of the potential factors which may lead to back pain, such as infection, new symptomatic compression fracture, and serious cement leakage, did not occur. Thirdly, the conservative treatment group is not included. Finally, we were unable to determine individual differences in pain tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: MBB can effectively relieve back pain and reduce the incidence of residual back pain in OVCF patients after PKP surgery. Besides, it can also significantly improve postoperative physical function and patients' satisfaction with treatment.

An assessment of morphological and pathological changes in paravertebral muscle degeneration using imaging and histological analysis: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The high signal of paravertebral muscle (PVM) on T2-weighted image (T2WI) is usually considered to be fatty degeneration. However, it is difficult to distinguish inflammatory edema from fatty degeneration on T2WI. The purpose of this study was to identify different types of PVM high signal in patients with low back pain (LBP) through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histology. METHODS: Seventy patients with LBP underwent MRI. The signal change of multifidus both on T2WI and fat suppression image (FSI) was quantified by Image J. Furthermore, 25 of the 70 patients underwent surgery for degenerative lumbar disease and their multifidus were obtained during the operation. Histological analysis of the samples was performed by HE staining. RESULT: Three types of PVM signal changes were identified from the MRI. Type 1 (n = 36) indicated fatty degeneration characterized by a high signal on T2WI and low signal on FSI. High signal on both T2WI and FSI, signifying type 2 meant inflammatory edema (n = 9). Type 3 (n = 25) showed high signal on T2WI and partial signal suppression on FSI, which meant a combination of fatty degeneration and inflammatory edema. Histological results were consistent with MRI. Among the 25 patients who underwent surgery, type 1 (n = 14) showed adipocytes infiltration, type 2 (n = 3) showed inflammatory cells infiltration and type 3 (n = 8) showed adipocytes and inflammatory cells infiltration. CONCLUSION: From our results, there are three types of pathological changes in patients with PVM degeneration, which may help to decide on targeted treatments for LBP.

Effect of Laser Energy Density on the Microstructure and Texture Evolution of Hastelloy-X Alloy Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion.

It is of great importance to study the microstructure and textural evolution of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) formed Hastelloy-X alloys, in order to establish a close relationship between the process, microstructure, and properties through the regulation of the Hastelloy-X formation process parameters. In this paper, components of a Hastelloy-X alloy were formed with different laser energy densities (also known as the volume energy density VED). The densification mechanism of Hastelloy-X was studied, and the causes of defects, such as pores and cracks, were analyzed. The influence of different energy densities on grain size, texture, and orientation was investigated using an electron backscatter diffraction technique. The results show that the average grain size, primary dendrite arm spacing, and number of low angle grain boundaries increased with the increase of energy density. At the same time, the VED can strengthen the texture. The textural intensity increases with the increase of energy density. The best mechanical properties were obtained at the VED of 96 J·mm-3.