Solar-pumped dual-rod Ce:Nd:YAG laser with 58 W continuous-wave output power and 5.1° tracking error compensation width.

The pursuit of high-power solar laser systems with high efficiency and capacity for large tracking error compensation is determinant for the applicability of this renewable technology. A side-pumped dual-rod Ce:Nd:YAG solar laser was developed and tested at the focus of a 2 m diameter parabolic concentrator. Maximum continuous-wave total solar laser power of 58 W was measured. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest laser power from a Ce:NdYAG solar laser. Moreover, wide tracking error compensation width of 5.1° in the azimuthal direction was reached, being 4.25 times higher than the previous measurement without solar tracking assistance.

Stable emission of solar laser power under non-continuous solar tracking conditions.

Solar laser technology typically requires a highly accurate solar tracking system that operates continuously, which increases energy consumption and reduces the system's lifetime. We propose a multi-rod solar laser pumping approach to enhance solar laser stability under non-continuous solar tracking conditions. Using a heliostat, solar radiation is redirected toward a first-stage parabolic concentrator. At its focus, an aspheric lens further concentrates the solar rays onto five Nd:YAG rods positioned within an elliptical-shaped pump cavity. Numerical analysis using Zemax and LASCAD software showed that the tracking error width at 10% laser power loss for the five 6.5 mm diameter and 15 mm length rods was 2.20°, which is 50% higher than that of the solar laser in previous non-continuous solar tracking experiments. 2.0% solar-to-laser conversion efficiency was also attained.

Clinical outcomes of autologous platelet-rich plasma and bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting combined with core decompression for Association Research Circulation Osseous II-IIIA stage non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) grafting combined with core decompression (CD) in the treatment of Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) II-IIIA stage non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). METHODS: The clinical data of 44 patients (44 hips) with non-traumatic ONFH from December 2018 to December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-four patients underwent CD combined with autologous PRP and BMMCs grafting (PRP+BMMCs group), and 20 patients underwent core decompression alone (CD group). During a minimum follow-up of 36 months, radiographic outcomes were evaluated using X-ray, radiographic failure rates were compared, and Harris hip score (HHS) and visual analog scale (VAS) were selected to evaluate clinical outcomes. The percentage of patients with minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in both groups was analyzed. Clinical failure was defined as further total hip arthroplasty (THA) with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Surgical complications were recorded. RESULTS: All patients had well healed wounds, and no complications such as infection and thrombosis occurred. HHS and VAS scores in both the PRP+BMMCs and CD groups were better than those preoperatively (P<0.05). At the last follow-up, the HHS and VAS scores of the PRP+BMMCs group were significantly better than those of the CD group (P<0.05). In ARCO II-IIIA stage, 66.7% of the PRP+BMMCs group and 30.0% of the CD group achieved the MCID (P<0.05). The clinical and imaging failure rates in the PRP+BMMCs group were 12.5% and 20.8%, respectively, compared with 40.0% and 50.0% in the CD group (P<0.05). In ARCO II stage, the MCID, clinical and imaging failure rates of PRP+BMMCs group and CD group were 66.7% and 33.3% (P<0.05), 4.8% and 33.3% (P<0.05), 14.3% and 44.4% (P<0.05), respectively. The PRP+BMMCs group had better hip survival rate compared with CD group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: CD combined with autologous PRP and BMMCs grafting is a safe and effective method for the treatment of ARCO II-IIIA stage non-traumatic ONFH, especially for ARCO II stage, effectively reducing the collapse rate of the femoral head and delaying or even avoiding THA.

Highly efficient generation of bacterial leaf blight-resistant and transgene-free rice using a genome editing and multiplexed selection system.

BACKGROUND: Rice leaf blight, which is a devastating disease worldwide, is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). The upregulated by transcription activator-like 1 (UPT) effector box in the promoter region of the rice Xa13 gene plays a key role in Xoo pathogenicity. Mutation of a key bacterial protein-binding site in the UPT box of Xa13 to abolish PXO99-induced Xa13 expression is a way to improve rice resistance to bacteria. Highly efficient generation and selection of transgene-free edited plants are helpful to shorten and simplify the gene editing-based breeding process. Selective elimination of transgenic pollen of T0 plants can enrich the proportion of T1 transgene-free offspring, and expression of a color marker gene in seeds makes the selection of T2 plants very convenient and efficient. In this study, a genome editing and multiplexed selection system was used to generate bacterial leaf blight-resistant and transgene-free rice plants. RESULTS: We introduced site-specific mutations into the UPT box using CRISPR/Cas12a technology to hamper with transcription-activator-like effector (TAL) protein binding and gene activation and generated genome-edited rice with improved bacterial blight resistance. Transgenic pollen of T0 plants was eliminated by pollen-specific expression of the α-amylase gene Zmaa1, and the proportion of transgene-free plants increased from 25 to 50% among single T-DNA insertion events in the T1 generation. Transgenic seeds were visually identified and discarded by specific aleuronic expression of DsRed, which reduced the cost by 50% and led to up to 98.64% accuracy for the selection of transgene-free edited plants. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that core nucleotide deletion in the UPT box of the Xa13 promoter conferred resistance to rice blight, and selection of transgene-free plants was boosted by introducing multiplexed selection. The combination of genome editing and transgene-free selection is an efficient strategy to accelerate functional genomic research and plant breeding.

Sludge digestibility and functionally active microorganisms in methanogenic sludge digesters revealed by E. coli-fed digestion and microbial source tracking.

Methanogenic sludge digestion plays a pivotal role in attenuating and hygienizing the massively-produced waste activated sludge (WAS), which is predominantly composed of microbial cells and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The efficient sludge digestion requires a variety of functionally active microorganisms working together closely to convert sludge organic matter into biogas. Nonetheless, the digestion efficiency (or digestibility quantified as carbon removal efficiency) of major sludge constituents (i.e., microbial cells and EPS) and associated functionally active microorganisms in sludge digesters remain elusive. In this study, we identified the digestibility of sludge microbial cells and the associated functionally active microorganisms by using Escherichia coli (E. coli)-fed digestion and microbial source tracking. The average carbon removals in four digesters fed with fresh WAS (WAS-AD), thermal pretreated WAS (Thermal-WAS-AD), E. coli cells (E.coli-AD) and thermal pretreated E. coli cells (Thermal-E.coli-AD) were 30.6 ± 3.4%, 45.8 ± 2.9%, 69.0 ± 3.4% and 68.9 ± 4.6%, respectively. Compared to WAS-AD and Thermal-WAS-AD, the significantly higher carbon removals in E. coli-AD and Thermal-E. coli-AD suggested the remarkably higher digestibility of microbial cells than EPS, and releasing organic matter from EPS might be a rate-limiting step in sludge digestion. Functionally active microorganisms for microbial cell digestion predominantly included fermenters (e.g., Petrimonas and Lentimicrobium), syntrophic acetogens (e.g., Synergistaceae) and methanogens (e.g., Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina). Microbial source tracking estimation showed that the microbial cell-digesting populations accounted for 35.6 ± 9.1% and 70.3 ± 10.1% of total microbial communities in the WAS-AD and Thermal-WAS-AD, respectively. Accordingly, the functionally active microorganisms for digestion of both microbial cells and EPS accounted for 64.5 ± 12.1% and 97.3 ± 2.0% of total digestion sludge microbiome in WAS-AD and Thermal-WAS-AD, respectively. By contrast, feeding WAS-derived microorganisms accounted for 23.2 ± 4.4% and 2.3 ± 1.2% of total microbial communities in the WAS-AD and Thermal-WAS-AD, respectively.

Clinical study on minimally invasive treatment of femoral head necrosis with two different bone graft materials.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of two different bone graft materials in the minimally invasive treatment of early and middle stage femoral head necrosis. METHODS: A total of 36 patients (39 hips) with avascular necrosis of the femoral head were divided into autologous iliac bone group (ABG) and bioceramics bone group (BBG). Both groups were treated with minimally invasive thick channel decompression to remove dead bone of femoral head. The ABG was treated with autologous iliac bone graft, and BBG was treated with ß-tricalcium phosphate bone graft. The operation time, intra-operative blood loss, haemoglobin, and haematocrit were recorded at three and seven days post-operatively. The clinical efficacy and safety were evaluated by Harris score and imaging examination before, and after treatment and at follow-up stages. RESULTS: The patients were followed up for 24 to 45 (average 29.27 ± 3.56) months. The BBG was significantly better than the ABG in terms of operation time, intra-operative blood loss, haemoglobin, and haematocrit value at three days. Compared with pre-operative, the Harris score of the two groups at 12 months after operation was significantly improved. The Harris score and the imaging evaluation of the last follow-up exhibited significantly better outcome in BBG than those of ABG. CONCLUSION: Bioceramics and autologous iliac bone minimally invasive treatment of early and medium-term femoral head necrosis exhibited satisfactory clinical efficacy in the short and medium-term. The bioceramics graft materials have the advantages of reducing trauma, bleeding, operation time, and quick recovery of post-operative functions.

Local Administration of Low-Dose Nerve Growth Factor Antibody Reduced Pain in a Rat Osteoarthritis Model.

Systemic injection of a nerve growth factor (NGF) antibody has been proven to have a significant relevance in relieving osteoarthritis (OA) pain, while its adverse effects remain a safety concern for patients. A local low-dose injection is thought to minimize adverse effects. In this study, OA was induced in an 8-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat joint by monoiodoacetate (MIA) injection for 2 weeks, and the effect of weekly injections of low-dose (1, 10, and 100 µg) NGF antibody or saline (control) was evaluated. Behavioral tests were performed, and at the end of week 6, all rats were sacrificed and their knee joints were collected for macroscopic and histological evaluations. Results showed that 100 µg NGF antibody injection relieved pain in OA rats, as evidenced from improved weight-bearing performance but not allodynia. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in macroscopic and histological scores between rats from different groups, demonstrating that intra-articular treatment does not worsen OA progression. These results suggest that local administration yielded a low effective NGF antibody dose that may serve as an alternative approach to systemic injection for the treatment of patients with OA.

GmWRKY54 improves drought tolerance through activating genes in abscisic acid and Ca2+ signaling pathways in transgenic soybean.

WRKY transcription factors play important roles in response to various abiotic stresses. Previous study have proved that soybean GmWRKY54 can improve stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Here, we generated soybean transgenic plants and further investigated roles and biological mechanisms of GmWRKY54 in response to drought stress. We demonstrated that expression of GmWRKY54, driven by either a constitutive promoter (pCm) or a drought-induced promoter (RD29a), confers drought tolerance. GmWRKY54 is a transcriptional activator and affects a large number of stress-related genes as revealed by RNA sequencing. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and co-expression network analysis, together with measurement of physiological parameters, supported the idea that GmWRKY54 enhances stomatal closure to reduce water loss, and therefore confers drought tolerance in soybean. GmWRKY54 directly binds to the promoter regions of genes including PYL8, SRK2A, CIPK11 and CPK3 and activates them. Therefore GmWRKY54 achieves its function through abscisic acid (ABA) and Ca2+ signaling pathways. It is valuable that GmWRKY54 activates an ABA receptor and an SnRK2 kinase in the upstream position, unlike other WRKY proteins that regulate downstream genes in the ABA pathway. Our study revealed the role of GmWRKY54 in drought tolerance and further manipulation of this gene should improve growth and production in soybean and other legumes/crops under unfavorable conditions.

Genome-Centric Metagenomic Insights into the Impact of Alkaline/Acid and Thermal Sludge Pretreatment on the Microbiome in Digestion Sludge.

Pretreatment of waste-activated sludge (WAS) is an effective way to destabilize sludge floc structure and release organic matter for improving sludge digestion efficiency. Nonetheless, information on the impact of WAS pretreatment on digestion sludge microbiomes, as well as mechanistic insights into how sludge pretreatment improves digestion performance, remains elusive. In this study, a genome-centric metagenomic approach was employed to investigate the digestion sludge microbiome in four sludge digesters with different types of feeding sludge: WAS pretreated with 0.25 mol/liter alkaline/acid (APAD), WAS pretreated with 0.8 mol/liter alkaline/acid (HS-APAD), thermally pretreated WAS (thermal-AD), and fresh WAS (control-AD). We retrieved 254 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to identify the key functional populations involved in the methanogenic digestion process. These MAGs span 28 phyla, including 69 yet-to-be-cultivated lineages, and 30 novel lineages were characterized with metabolic potential associated with hydrolysis and fermentation. Interestingly, functional populations involving carbohydrate digestion were enriched in APAD and HS-APAD, while lineages related to protein and lipid fermentation were enriched in thermal-AD, corroborating the idea that different substrates are released from alkaline/acid and thermal pretreatments. Among the major functional populations (i.e., fermenters, syntrophic acetogens, and methanogens), significant correlations between genome sizes and abundance of the fermenters were observed, particularly in APAD and HS-APAD, which had improved digestion performance.IMPORTANCE Wastewater treatment generates large amounts of waste-activated sludge (WAS), which consists mainly of recalcitrant microbial cells and particulate organic matter. Though WAS pretreatment is an effective way to release sludge organic matter for subsequent digestion, detailed information on the impact of the sludge pretreatment on the digestion sludge microbiome remains scarce. Our study provides unprecedented genome-centric metagenomic insights into how WAS pretreatments change the digestion sludge microbiomes, as well as their metabolic networks. Moreover, digestion sludge microbiomes could be a unique source for exploring microbial dark matter. These results may inform future optimization of methanogenic sludge digestion and resource recovery.

Organohalide-Respiring Bacteria in Polluted Urban Rivers Employ Novel Bifunctional Reductive Dehalogenases to Dechlorinate Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Tetrachloroethene.

Polluted urban river sediments could be a sink of persistent and toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in urban areas and provide desired growth niches for organohalide-respiring bacteria (OHRB). In this study, microcosms were set up with surface sediments of nationwide polluted urban rivers in China, of which 164 cultures could dechlorinate tetrachloroethene (PCE) to dichloroethenes (DCEs) and to vinyl chloride and/or ethene. Further in vivo tests showed extensive PCB dechlorination with different pathways in 135 PCE pregrown cultures. Taking reductive dechlorination of PCB180 (2345-245-CB) as an example, 121 and 14 cultures preferentially removed flanked para- and meta-chlorines, respectively. Strikingly, all in vitro assays with the 135 PCE pregrown cultures showed identical PCB dechlorination pathways with their living cultures, implying the involvement of bifunctional reductive dehalogenases (RDases) to dechlorinate both PCBs and PCE. Further 16S rRNA and RDase gene-based analyses, together with enantioselective dechlorination of chiral PCBs, suggested that Dehalococcoides and Dehalogenimonas in the 135 cultures largely employed distinctively different novel bifunctional RDases to catalyze PCB/PCE dechlorination. Quantitative assessment of the community assembly process with the modified stochasticity ratio (MST) indicated three different stages in enrichment of OHRB. The second stage, as the only one controlled by stochastic processes (MST > 0.5), required extra attention in monitoring community successional patterns to minimize stochastic variance for enriching the PCB/PCE-dechlorinating OHRB.

Efficient removal of refractory organics in landfill leachate concentrates by electrocoagulation in tandem with simultaneous electro-oxidation and in-situ peroxone.

Leachate concentrates, an effluent produced from nanofiltration and/or reverse osmosis, contains a high amount of salts and dissolved organics especially refractory organics. Thus, the treatment of leachate concentrates would consume high energy or a large amount of chemicals. The present study is to develop an effective treatment method by using coupled electrochemical methods with the least possible energy consumption. The leachate concentrates was pretreated by electrocoagulation (EC), with aluminum or iron electrodes as anodes, to decrease the dissolved organic content. EC with Al electrode was found to be more efficient by consuming 1.25 kWh/m3 energy to remove 70% of total organic carbon (TOC). EC effluent was further subjected to a novel simultaneous electro-oxidation and in-situ peroxone process, which used a Ti-based nickel and antimony doped tin dioxide (NATO) as anode and a carbon nanotube coated carbon-polytetrafluoroethylene (CNT-C/PTFE) as cathode for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Compared with a traditional EO with cathode for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER-EO), ORR-EO obtained higher efficiency and an energy consumption of 26.25 kWh/m3, which was much lower than 35.5 kWh/m3 for HER-EO. Results showed that after ORR-EO, a final TOC of 57.3 mg/L was obtained. Thus, EC in tandem with ORR-EO process has an excellent capability and economic merit in the field of treating leachate concentrates.

Metal trabecular bone reconstruction system better improves clinical efficacy and biomechanical repair of osteonecrosis of the femoral head than free vascularized fibular graft: A case-control study.

In this study, we aim to compare and analyze the biomechanical repair and clinical efficacy of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) with the use of metal trabecular bone reconstruction system and free vascularized fibular graft. The study enrolled 66 adult patients from medical records of nontraumatic ARCO 2A-3B stage ONFH. A simple ONFH model without surgical treatment was established in 13 cases, 29 cases were treated with metal trabecular bone reconstruction system, and 24 cases were treated with free vascularized fibular graft. Computer-recognized and extracted femur outlines were imported, and three-dimensional reconstructions were performed. The stress concentration and stress peak value were analyzed, and the Harris score, visual analog scale pain score, and operation status of the above patients were compared. Finally, quality of life assessment was performed using SF-36 scale. Metal trabecular bone reconstruction system provided less operation time, blood loss, and the total length of postoperative hospital stay than free vascularized fibular graft. Metal trabecular bone reconstruction system promoted bone reconstruction, increased bone mineral density and Harris score. The total clinical effective rate of young patients (20-40 years) was higher than that of older patients (41-60 years). Metal trabecular bone reconstruction system provided higher physical component summary, mental component summary, and role/social component summary than free vascularized fibular graft. This study demonstrates that both metal trabecular bone reconstruction system and free vascularized fibular graft can prevent or delay the progression of ONFH, while metal trabecular bone reconstruction system is a better choice because of better short-term clinical efficacy.

Establishment of rat ankle post-traumatic osteoarthritis model induced by malleolus fracture.

BACKGROUND: Malleolar fracture, which is present in 37-53% of human ankle osteoarthritis (OA), is the most common type of fracture in the ankle joint. In spite of this, no rat animal model has been developed for this type of injury to date. Here, we established a rat ankle post-traumatic OA (PTOA) model induced by malleolar fracture; this model will be useful in ankle OA research. METHODS: Two-month-old male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomized into 2 groups (n = 19 per group): 1) malleolus articular fracture, dislocation, and immediate reduction on the right joints and 2) malleolus articular fracture on the right ankle. The contralateral ankle joints were used as controls. The fracture and healing processes were confirmed and monitored by radiography. Changes in inflammation were monitored in vivo by fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT). Cartilage damage and changes in expression of OA-related genes were analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry, Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 8 weeks post-surgery. RESULTS: X-rays showed that all fractures were healed at 8 weeks post-surgery. A reproducible, mild to moderate degree of OA cartilage damage with reduced aggrecan was detected by histology in all animals in both groups but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Decreased Col-II and increased Col-X and MMP-13 levels were detected by qPCR, immunohistochemistry, ELISA and FMT from both groups cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: Malleolus articular fracture alone induces ankle OA with lesions on the central weight bearing area of the tibiotalar joint in rats. This model will provide a reproducible and useful tool for researchers to study ankle OA.

Design of a high-power, high-brightness Nd:YAG solar laser.

A simple high-power, high-brightness Nd:YAG solar laser pumping approach is presented in this paper. The incoming solar radiation is both collected and concentrated by four Fresnel lenses and redirected toward a Nd:YAG laser head by four plane-folding mirrors. A fused-silica secondary concentrator is used to compress the highly concentrated solar radiation to a laser rod. Optimum pumping conditions and laser resonator parameters are found through ZEMAX and LASCAD numerical analysis. Solar laser power of 96 W is numerically calculated, corresponding to the collection efficiency of 24 W/m². A record-high solar laser beam brightness figure of merit of 9.6 W is numerically achieved.

Scalable pumping approach for extracting the maximum TEM(00) solar laser power.

A scalable TEM(00) solar laser pumping approach is composed of four pairs of first-stage Fresnel lens-folding mirror collectors, four fused-silica secondary concentrators with light guides of rectangular cross-section for radiation homogenization, four hollow two-dimensional compound parabolic concentrators for further concentration of uniform radiations from the light guides to a 3 mm diameter, 76 mm length Nd:YAG rod within four V-shaped pumping cavities. An asymmetric resonator ensures an efficient large-mode matching between pump light and oscillating laser light. Laser power of 59.1 W TEM(00) is calculated by ZEMAX and LASCAD numerical analysis, revealing 20 times improvement in brightness figure of merit.

Construction of the 1,2-dialkenylcyclohexane framework via Ireland-Claisen rearrangement and intramolecular Barbier reaction: application to the synthesis of (±)-Geijerone and a diastereoisomeric mixture with its 5-epimer.

The elemene-type terpenoids, which possess various biological activities, contain a syn- or anti-1,2-dialkenylcyclohexane framework. An efficient synthetic route to the syn- and anti-1,2-dialkenylcyclohexane core and its application in the synthesis of (±)-geijerone and its diastereomer is reported. Construction of the syn- and anti-1,2-dialkenyl moiety was achieved via Ireland-Claisen rearrangement of the (E)-allylic ester, and the cyclohexanone moiety was derived from the iodoaldehyde via intramolecular Barbier reaction. The synthetic strategy allows rapid access to various epimers and analogues of elemene-type products.

Clinical efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty versus percutaneous kyphoplasty treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures with kyphosis.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) with kyphosis. METHODS: The clinical data included 63 patients in the PVP group and 70 in the PKP group. The study assessed the pain visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), wedge angle (WA), local kyphotic angle (LKA), and vertebral height. RESULTS: The operative time was significantly less in the PVP group (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, more bone cement was injected into the PKP group (p < 0.05), with significantly higher surgical costs (p > 0.05). Post-operative VAS, ODI, WA, LKA, and vertebral height were significantly improved in PVP and PKP groups compared with pre-operative measurements (p < 0.05). The results revealed insignificant VAS and ODI improvement differences between the two groups at each follow-up time (p > 0.05). Vertebral height, WA, and LKA improved more significantly in the PKP group at day 1 and 3 months post-operatively (p < 0.05), with insignificant group differences at subsequent time points (p > 0.05). The improvements in VAS were unrelated to those in WA, LKA, or vertebral height in either group (p > 0.05). The improvement in VAS was unrelated to the amount of bone cement injected (p > 0.05); the PKP group demonstrated a lower incidence of cement leakage (12.9%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: PVP and PKP can restore partial vertebral height and improve kyphosis with similar clinical outcomes. PVP has a shorter operating time, is more economical, and can represent a therapeutic choice.

Surgical hip dislocation technique through the femoral head fovea fenestration and impaction bone grafting for the treatment of non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) often leads to the collapse of the femoral head, ultimately resulting in patients undergoing premature total hip arthroplasty (THA). The surgical hip dislocation (SHD) technique is a type of hip-preserving surgery aimed at delaying or avoiding THA. This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy of SHD techniques through femoral head fovea fenestration and impaction bone grafting for the treatment of non-traumatic ONFH. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 39 patients (39 hips) with non-traumatic ONFH who underwent SHD for treatment from 2016 to 2017. The Harris hip score (HHS) and the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) are used to evaluate clinical outcomes, while radiographic evaluations are conducted using X-rays. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis defined clinical failure as further THA, and conducted univariate survival analysis and Cox regression analysis. Any complications were recorded. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 24-72 months, with an average of (60 ± 13.0) months. At the last follow-up, based on the HHS, 25 patients (64.1%) reported excellent and good clinical outcomes. 29 patients (74.3%) achieved MCID. Imaging evaluation of the postoperative femoral head status showed that 6 cases improved, 20 cases remained stable, and 13 cases showed progressed. Out of 39 hips, 12 hips had postoperative clinical failure, resulting in a clinical success rate of 69.2%. Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) stage, China-Japan Friendship Hospital (CJFH) classification, and postoperative crutch-bearing time are risk factors for clinical failure. Postoperative crutch-bearing time of less than 3 months is an independent risk factor for clinical failure. After surgery, there was one case of sciatic nerve injury and one case of heterotopic ossification. There were no infections or non-union of the greater trochanter osteotomy. CONCLUSION: The SHD technique through the femoral head fovea fenestration and impaction bone grafting provides a safe and effective method for treating non-traumatic ONFH, with good mid-term clinical outcomes. ARCO staging, CJFH classification, and postoperative crutch-bearing time are risk factors that affect clinical outcomes after surgery and lead to further THA. Insufficient postoperative crutch-bearing time is an independent risk factor for clinical failure.

Insight into the key factors and mechanism of excellent tetracycline adsorption on amorphous cobalt carbonate nanosheets.

The extensive use of tetracyclines (TCs) has led to their widespread distribution in the environment, causing serious harm to ecosystems because of their toxicity and resistance to decomposition. Adsorption is presently the principal approach to dispose of TCs, and the development of excellent adsorbents is crucial to TC removal. Herein, a novel amorphous cobalt carbonate hydroxide (ACCH) was successfully prepared by a one-step solvothermal method, which was identified as Co(CO3)0·63(OH)0.74·0.07H2O. The ultimate adsorption capacity of ACCH for TC reaches 2746 mg g-1, and the excellent adsorption performance can be maintained over a wide pH (3.0-11.0) and temperature (10-70 °C) range. Moreover, ACCH also exhibits a wonderful adsorption performance for other organic contaminants, such as ciprofloxacin and Rhodamine B. The TC adsorption process can be reasonably described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, intraparticle model and Langmuir isothermal model. The experimental results in this work suggest that the excellent adsorption performance of ACCH is ascribed to the large specific surface area, alkaline characteristics and numerous functional groups of ACCH. Accordingly, this work provides a promising strategy for the development of highly-efficient adsorbents and demonstrates their application prospects in environmental remediation.

Enhancing proton transport in polyvinylidenedifluoride membranes and reducing biofouling for improved hydrogen production in microbial electrolysis cells.

Hydrophilic porous membranes, exemplified by polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, have demonstrated significant potential for replacing ion exchange membranes in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). Membrane fouling remains a major challenge in MECs, impeding proton transport and consequently limiting hydrogen production. This study aims to investigate a synergistic antifouling strategy for PVDF membrane through the incorporation of a coating composed of polydopamine (PDA), polyethyleneimine (PEI), and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The PDA-PEI-Ag@PVDF membrane not only effectively mitigates fouling through steric and electrostatic repulsion forces, but also amplifies ion transport by facilitating water diffusion and electromigration. The PDA-PEI-Ag@PVDF membrane exhibited a reduced membrane resistance of 1.01 mΩ m2 and PDA-PEI-Ag modifying PVDF membrane was found to be effective in enhancing the proton transportation of PVDF membrane. Therefore, the enhanced hydrogen production rate of 2.65 ± 0.02 m3/m3/d was achieved in PDA-PEI-Ag@PVDF-MECs.