Effects of Pilates exercises on spine deformities and posture: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Pilates is becoming increasingly popular amongst a wide range of people and is gaining more attention. It is also an effective means of physical rehabilitation. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the effects of Pilates on spinal deformity and posture. METHOD: This systematic review was conducted using four recognised academic and scientific databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and Cochrane) to identify articles that met the inclusion criteria. The secondary search used the Google Scholar and the Science Direct search engines. The search for articles for this review began in July 06, 2023 and was concluded on February 01, 2024. The search process for this study was documented using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020). The PEDro scale was used to assess the internal validity and data statistics of the studies included in this systematic review and to evaluate the quality of the studies. RESULTS: The systematic review included nine studies that met the inclusion criteria from the 651 studies retrieved, involving a total of 643 participants. The PEDro scale scores of the studies included in this systematic review ranged from 3 to 8. The intervention was in the form of Pilates or Pilates combined exercises. The studies included in this review used outcome measures of Cobb angle, angle of trunk rotation (ATR), range of motion (ROM), chest expansion, Scoliosis Research Society Questionnaire (SRS-22r) and postural assessment. Research has shown that Pilates is effective in correcting spinal deformities and posture, as well as improving quality of life, pain relief, function and fitness. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review provide substantial evidence that Pilates has a positive impact on improving spinal deformity and posture. However, more research is needed to validate whether Pilates can be used effectively as a physical therapy for spinal deformity rehabilitation. Pilates has considerable potential for public health interventions.

Detection of Dimethyl Methyl Phosphonate by Silica Molecularly Imprinted Materials.

In recent years, the increasing severity of chemical warfare agent threats to public safety has led to a growing demand for gas sensors capable of detecting these compounds. However, gas sensors used for the detection of chemical warfare agents must overcome limitations in sensitivity, selectivity, and reaction speed. This paper presents a sensitive material and a surface acoustic gas sensor for detecting dimethyl methyl phosphonate. The results demonstrate that the sensor exhibits good selectivity and could detect 80 ppb of dimethyl methyl phosphonate within 1 min. As an integral component of the sensor, the microstructure and adsorption mechanism of silica molecular imprinting material were studied in detail. The results show that the template molecule could significantly affect the pore volume, specific surface area, and hydroxyl density of mesoporous materials. These properties further affect the performance of the sensor. This study provides a valuable case study for the design of sensitive materials.

Highly Selective Ionic Gel-Based Gas Sensor for Halogenated Volatile Organic Compound Detection: Effect of Dipole-Dipole Interaction.

Halogenated volatile organic compounds (abbreviated as X-VOCs) are a class of hazardous gas pollutants that are difficult to detect due to their thermal stability, chemical inertness, and poisoning effect on gas sensors at high temperatures. In this work, room-temperature detection of X-VOCs is achieved using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) gas sensor coated with a 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsufonyl)imide (EMIM-TFSI)-based ionic gel film. We experimentally verify that the high selectivity of the ionic gel-based SAW gas sensor for X-VOCs is due to the presence of halogen atoms in these gas molecules. Meanwhile, the sensor has very little response to common organic gases such as ethanol, isopropanol, and acetone, reflecting a low cross-sensitivity to nonhalogenated VOCs. This unique advantage shows potential applications in selective detection of X-VOCs and is validated by comparison with a commercial metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensor. Furthermore, the internal sensing mechanism is explored by the density functional theory (DFT) method. The simulation results demonstrate that the X-VOC molecules are highly polarized by the inductive effect of halogen atom substitution, which is beneficial for being adsorbed by the EMIM-TFSI ionic liquid via dipole-dipole interaction.

Artificial Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Sensory Neuron for In-Sensor Computing Neuromorphic Perception at the Edge.

Neuromorphic perception and computing show great promise in terms of energy efficiency and data bandwidth compared to von Neumann's computing architecture. In-sensor computing allows perception information processing at the edge, which is highly dependent on the functional fusion of receptors and neurons. Here, a leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) artificial spiking sensory neuron (ASSN) based on a NbOx memristor and an a-IGZO thin-film transistor (TFT) is successfully developed. The ASSN is fabricated mainly through simple sputter deposition processes, showing the prospect of high process compatibility and potential for integration fabrication. The device shows excellent spike encoding ability to deliver the neuromorphic information through spike rate and time-to-first spike. Moreover, in the ASSN, the a-IGZO TFT not only provides the fundamental spike signal computing function of the artificial neuron but also has NO2 gas and ultraviolet (UV) light dual sensitivity to introduce the neuromorphic perception capability. As a result, the ASSN successfully exhibits an inhibitory property under NO2 stimulation while exhibiting an excitatory state under UV light stimulation. Futhermore, self-adaption and lateral regulation circuits between different ASSNs are proposed at the edge in mimicking biological neurons' rich interconnection and feedback mechanisms. The ASSNs successfully achieve self-regulation after a huge response during a burst stimulus. In addition, the neuron transmits a more obvious output when the target-sensitive events occur through the edge internal regulation. The self-adaption and lateral regulation demonstrated in ASSN move an important step forward to in-sensor computing, which provides the potential for a multiscene perception in complex environments.

Blended learning in physical education: A systematic review.

This review aims to provide a detailed overview of the current status and development trends of blended learning in physical education by reviewing journal articles from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Several dimensions of blended learning were observed, including research trends, participants, online learning tools, theoretical frameworks, evaluation methods, application domains, Research Topics, and challenges. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), a total of 22 journal articles were included in the current review. The findings of this review reveal that the number of blended learning articles in physical education has increased since 2018, proving that the incorporation of online learning tools into physical education courses has grown in popularity. From the reviewed journal articles, most attention is given to undergraduates, emphasizing that attention in the future should be placed on K-12 students, teachers, and educational institutions. The theoretical framework applied by journal articles is also limited to a few articles and the assessment method is relatively homogeneous, consisting mostly of questionnaires. This review also discovers the trends in blended learning in physical education as most of the studies focus on the topic centered on dynamic physical education. In terms of Research Topics, most journal articles focus on perceptions, learning outcomes, satisfaction, and motivation, which are preliminary aspects of blended learning research. Although the benefits of blended learning are evident, this review identifies five challenges of blended learning: instructional design challenges, technological literacy and competency challenges, self-regulation challenges, alienation and isolation challenges, and belief challenges. Finally, a number of recommendations for future research are presented.

Targeting SLP2-mediated lipid metabolism reprograming restricts proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma and promotes sensitivity to Lenvatinib.

SLP2, a protein located on mitochondrial, has been shown to be associated with mitochondrial biosynthesis. Here we explored the potential mechanisms by which SLP2 regulates the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. SLP2 could bind to the c-terminal of JNK2 to affect the ubiquitinated proteasomal degradation pathway of JNK2 and maintain the protein stability of JNK2. The increase of JNK2 markedly increases SREBP1 activity, promoting SREBP1 translocation into the nucleus to promote de novo lipogenesis. Alteration of the JNK2 C-terminal disables SLP2 from mediating SLP2-enhanced de novo lipogenesis. YTHDF1 interacts with SLP2 mRNA in a METTL3/m6A-dependent manner. In a spontaneous HCC animal model, SLP2/c-Myc/sgP53 increases the incidence rate of spontaneous HCC, tumor volume, and tumor number. Importantly, statistical analyses show that levels of SLP2 correlate with tumor sizes, tumor metastasis, overall survival, and disease-free survival of the patients. Targeting the SLP2/SREBP1 pathway effectively inhibits proliferation and metastasis of HCC tumors with high SLP2 expression in vivo combined with lenvatinib. These results illustrate a direct lipogenesis-promoting role of the pro-oncogenic SLP2, providing a mechanistic link between de novo lipogenesis and HCC.

A Nanoporous Polymer Modified with Hexafluoroisopropanol to Detect Dimethyl Methylphosphonate.

The increasing threat of nerve agents has prompted the need for gas sensors with fast response, high sensitivity, and good stability. In this work, the hexafluoroisopropanol functional group was modified on a porous aromatic framework material, which served as a sensitive material for detecting dimethyl methylphosphonate. A nerve agent sensor was made by coating sensitive materials on a surface acoustic wave device. Lots of pores in sensitive materials effectively increase the specific surface area and provide channels for diffusion of gas molecules. The introduction of hexafluoroisopropanols enables the sensor to specifically adsorb dimethyl methylphosphonate and improves the selectivity of the sensor. As a result, the developed gas sensor was able to detect dimethyl methylphosphonate at 0.8 ppm with response/recovery times of 29.8/43.8 s, and the detection limit of the gas sensor is about 0.11 ppm. The effects of temperature and humidity on the sensor were studied. The results show that the baseline of the sensor has a linear relationship with temperature and humidity, and the temperature and humidity have a significant effect on the response of the sensor. Furthermore, a device for real-time detection of nerve agent is reported. This work provides a new strategy for developing a gas sensor for detecting nerve agents.

The highly sensitive ethanol sensor based on nanocomposites of ZnOin situgrown on 2D Ti3C2Txnanosheet.

Ethanol is a harmful volatile organic compound (VOC) for human health. Currently, zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most popular metal oxide semiconductors for VOCs detection but suffering from a lack of selectivity, poor response, and slow response/recovery speeds. Herein, we successfully synthesized the ZnO/Ti3C2Txnanocomposites via a facile hydrothermal method, in which ZnO nanoparticles were uniformly grown on two-dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Txnanosheets. As a result, the ZnO/Ti3C2Txnanocomposites showed a significant improvement in the ethanol-sensing performance, when it compared to the pure ZnO and Ti3C2Txsamples. In particular, ZnO doped with 5 mg of Ti3C2Txshowed an ultra-high response (79) to 100 ppm ethanol, a short response/recovery time (22 s/34 s to 50 ppm ethanol), a low limit of detection (1 ppm) and a long-term stability. The excellent ethanol sensing properties are mainly attributed to the coupling effect between ZnO and Ti3C2Txof composites. The ZnO nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the 2D Ti3C2Txplatform, which can provide more gas adsorption sites. Simultaneously, the presence of hybrid heterojunctions further enhances the response in the sensing process.

The Effect of Persistence of Physical Exercise on the Positive Psychological Emotions of Primary School Students under the STEAM Education Concept.

The effect of persistence of physical exercise on the psychological and emotional aspects of primary school students is studied to improve the comprehensive quality of current Chinese primary school students and explore the effect of physical exercise on students' emotions under the science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics (STEAM) education concept. First, students in a primary school in Nanchang are taken as the survey participants. Second, by formulating a physical exercise scale and a psychological and emotional scale, the current situation of physical exercise of primary school students is investigated by means of mathematical statistics. Finally, the current situation of physical exercise and the overall situation of positive psychological emotions of primary school students are analyzed, and the effect of physical exercise on the positive psychological emotions of primary school students is studied. The data show that there are significant differences in the amount of exercise and its three dimensions of intensity, time, and frequency, as well as the scores of positive emotions in the gender dimension, with the boys scoring higher than the girls. In terms of grades, students in grades 1, 2, and 6 are higher than students in grades 3, 4, and 5 on the level of a small amount of exercise, while students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are higher than the other three grades in terms of a moderate amount of exercise. Moreover, in the aspect of positive psychological emotions, the lower-grade students are obviously higher than the upper-grade students, and the second- and third-grade students present marginal significance, p = 0.058. The correlation and regression between physical exercise and positive psychological emotions are calculated and analyzed, and it is found that there is a significant positive correlation between physical exercise indicators and positive psychological emotions, with a correlation coefficient of 0.297. Physical exercise explains 8.8% of positive emotions. This research also makes relevant recommendations for students and schools and has played a role in strengthening the physical exercise and mental health of primary and secondary school students. Greater attention to the physical exercise of primary school students is recommended.

High-performance p-hexafluoroisopropanol phenyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube film on surface acoustic wave device for organophosphorus vapor detection.

A delay line-type surface acoustic wave (SAW) gas sensor based on p-hexafluoroisopropanol phenyl (HFIPPH) functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) film is developed to detect organophosphorus dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) vapor (a simulant of chemical nerve agent sarin). Inspired by the transfer process of Cu-based graphene, a uniform and size-controllable HFIPPH-MWCNT film is successfully prepared on the SAW device via a wet-etching transfer method. For the first time, we use the method of measuring the change of the sensor's insertion loss to achieve the detection of ultra-low concentration DMMP vapor. The designed sensor exhibits a fast response/recovery time about 3 s/50 s, and a low detection limit of 0.1 ppm. Additionally, the stability and selectivity of the sensor and the influence of humidity on its response are evaluated through experiments. The acoustoelectric effect is proved to be the sensing mechanism of the sensor insertion loss response.

A dimethyl methylphonate sensor based on HFIPPH modified SWCNTs.

In order to meet the requirements of ultra-fast real-time monitoring of sarin simulator with high sensitivity and selectivity, it is of great significance to develop high performance dimethyl methylphonate (DMMP) sensor. Herein, we proposed a DMMP sensor based on p-hexafluoroisopropanol phenyl (HFIPPH) modified self-assembled single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with field effect transistor (FET) structure. The self-assembly method provides a 4 nanometres thick and micron sized SWCNT channel, with high selectivity to DMMP. The proposed SWCNTs-HFIPPH based sensor exhibits remarkably higher response to DMMP than bare SWCNT based gas sensor within only few seconds. The gas sensing response of SWCNTs-HFIPPH based sensor for 1 ppm DMMP is 18.2%, and the response time is about 10 s. What's more, the gas sensor we proposed here shows excellent selectivity and reproducibility, and the limitation of detection is as low as ppb level. The proposed method lays the foundation for miniaturization and integration of DMMP sensors, expecting to develop detection system for practical sarin sensing application.

Improving Ammonia Detecting Performance of Polyaniline Decorated rGO Composite Membrane with GO Doping.

Gas-sensing performance of graphene-based material has been investigated widely in recent years. Polyaniline (PANI) has been reported as an effective method to improve ammonia gas sensors' response. A gas sensor based on a composite of rGO film and protic acid doped polyaniline (PA-PANI) with GO doping is reported in this work. GO mainly provides NH3 adsorption sites, and PA-PANI is responsible for charge transfer during the gas-sensing response process. The experimental results indicate that the NH3 gas response of rGO is enhanced significantly by decorating with PA-PANI. Moreover, a small amount of GO mixed with PA-PANI is beneficial to increase the gas response, which showed an improvement of 262.5% at 25 ppm comparing to no GO mixing in PA-PANI.

Inhibition of TGFß1 accelerates regeneration of fibrotic rat liver elicited by a novel two-staged hepatectomy.

Aims: Emerging evidence is demonstrating that rapid regeneration of remnant liver elicited by associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) may be attenuated in fibrotic livers. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for this process are largely unknown. It is widely acknowledged that the TGFß1 signaling axis plays a major role in liver fibrosis. Therefore, the aims of this study were to elucidate the underlying mechanism of liver regeneration during ALPPS with or without fibrosis, specifically focusing on TGFß1 signaling. Approach: ALPPS was performed in rat models with N-diethylnitrosamine-induced liver fibrosis and no fibrosis. Functional liver remnant regeneration and expression of TGFß1 were analyzed during the ALPPS procedures. Adeno-associated virus-shTGFß1 and the small molecule inhibitor LY2157299 (galunisertib) were used separately or in combination to inhibit TGFß1 signaling in fibrotic rats. Results: Liver regeneration following ALPPS was lower in fibrotic rats than non-fibrotic rats. TGFß1 was a key mediator of postoperative regeneration in fibrotic liver. Interestingly, AAV-shTGFß1 accelerated the regeneration of fibrotic functional liver remnant and improved fibrosis, while LY2157299 only enhanced liver regeneration. Moreover, combination treatment elicited a stronger effect. Conclusions: Inhibition of TGFß1 accelerated regeneration of fibrotic liver, ameliorated liver fibrosis, and improved liver function following ALPPS. Therefore, TGFß1 is a promising therapeutic target in ALPPS to improve fibrotic liver reserve function and prognosis.

Downregulation of MARC2 Promotes Immune Escape and Is Associated With Immunosuppression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The N-reductive enzyme system (NRES), composed of MARC1, MARC2, CYB5, and CYB5R, is responsible for the reduction of N-oxygenated compounds and participates in several physiological processes. For example, MARC2 serves as an important prognostic indicator and is downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the downregulation of MARC2 is critical to the regulation of lipid metabolism and cell cycle progression. However, the role of MARC2 in tumor immune microenvironment modification had not previously been investigated. In this study, we found that downregulation of MARC2 was associated with the differentiation of CD4+T cells into regulatory T cells (Tregs). Furthermore, restoring the expression of MARC2 could increase the expression of HLA-C and B2M via PPARA-related lipid metabolism signaling pathways, which could facilitate tumor antigen presentation to the tumor-infiltrating T cells. Additionally, MARC2 expression negatively correlated with several immune checkpoints. The immune checkpoint burden was generated based on 28 MARC2-related immune checkpoints. Patients with a higher immune checkpoint burden were predicted to have a poorer prognosis and a lower level of activated CD8+ T cells. The results showed that expression of the NRES is a prognostic indicator of hepatocellular carcinoma and MARC2 contributes significantly to predict the prognosis. Finally, loss of MARC2 in HCC patients was found to facilitate immune escape and was associated with immunosuppression.