A Study on the Effect of Precise Rehabilitation Therapy Guided by Three-dimensional-computed Tomography Reconstruction Technology in Hip Fracture Surgery Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of precise rehabilitation therapy guided by three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) reconstruction technology in hip fracture patients through a retrospective cohort study. METHOD: Data were retrospectively collected from 60 patients aged over 60 who had undergone hip fracture surgery. They were divided into two groups based on their chosen rehabilitation method: a control group and a test group. The study collected demographic data, fracture characteristics, and quality of life indicators to assess the impact of rehabilitation on economic indicators and daily living activities (ADL). Additionally, it included assessments of muscle strength, joint mobility, hip function, postoperative complications, and records of hospitalization information and costs. Cognitive function was also assessed postoperatively. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in demographic data, fracture characteristics, ADL, or Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) between the two groups. However, the test group exhibited significantly higher post-surgery muscle strength recovery and hip mobility compared to the control group (P<0.05). Additionally, the test group had significantly fewer hospitalization days and lower hospitalization costs than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Precise rehabilitation therapy guided by 3D-CT reconstruction technology for hip fracture surgery patients can enhance early muscle strength recovery, improve mobility of the affected limb, reduce hospitalization duration and costs, and enhance overall patient recovery outcomes.

Performance Evaluation of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Containing Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Using Wet and Dry Mixing Techniques.

This study evaluates the performance of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)-modified hot mix asphalt. Aggregate, bitumen of grade 60/70 and crushed plastic bottle waste were utilized in this study. Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) was prepared using a high shear laboratory type mixer rotating at a speed of 1100 rpm with varying PET content of 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%, respectively. Overall, the results of preliminary tests suggested that bitumen hardened with the addition of PET. Following optimum bitumen content determination, various modified and controlled HMA samples were prepared as per wet and dry mixing techniques. This research presents an innovative technique to compare the performance of HMA prepared via dry and wet mixing techniques. Performance evaluation tests, which include the Moisture Susceptibility Test (ALDOT-361-88), Indirect Tensile Fatigue Test (ITFT-EN12697-24) and Marshall Stability and Flow Tests (AASHTO T245-90), were conducted on controlled and modified HMA samples. The dry mixing technique yielded better results in terms of resistance against fatigue cracking, stability and flow; however, the wet mixing technique yielded better results in terms of resistance against moisture damage. The addition of PET at more than 4% resulted in a decreased trend for fatigue, stability and flow due to the stiffer nature of PET. However, for the moisture susceptibility test optimum PET content was noted to be 6%. Polyethylene Terephthalate-modified HMA is found to be the economical solution for high volume road construction and maintenance, besides having other significant advantages such as increased sustainability and waste reduction.

An integrated fuzzy MCDM model for prioritizing strategies for successful implementation and operation of the bus rapid transit system.

The selection and prioritization of suitable strategies to address the challenges to the successful operation and implementation of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system is a common problem faced by practitioners and decision-makers. Recent research has widely discussed the issue, but such assessments have remained limited in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania context, where there are mobility difficulties. The present study addresses this research gap and identifies the most critical challenges to BRT implementation and operation, and recommends the most appropriate strategy for overcoming them. Seven strategies are defined. To prioritize these strategies, five criteria are determined. An integrated multi-criteria decision-making model is introduced. Improved Fuzzy Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis based on the Bonferroni operator was used to determine the importance of the criteria. Measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution was applied to assess and rank the strategies. The results indicate that "frequent flooding at the Jangwani bridge bus terminal" and "long waiting time at bus stops" are the most critical challenges while the fourth alternative "strengthening the operation and management" is the appropriate strategy to be implemented for successful operation and implementation of the BRT system. After that, a five-phase sensitivity analysis is performed to observe the robustness of the proposed approach. The results indicate the flexibility and applicability of the proposed approach can address real-life problems. The proposed methodology in this work can be instrumental in assisting mass transit operators with the successful implementation and operation of the BRT system.

Assessment of Aging Impact on Wax Crystallization in Selected Asphalt Binders.

For a better understanding of the changing trend in crystalline components of asphalt binders, asphalt binders originating from the SHRP Materials Reference Library with different oxidation degrees (unaged, 20 h PAV, and 60 h PAV) were prepared. The native asphalt binders and their oxidized residues were characterized by liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-temperature gas chromatography (HTGC). The results showed that, compared with other carbon types, the content of internal methylene carbons of long paraffinic chains between different SHRP binders was quite different. The NMR average length of a long paraffinic internal methylene chain showed a good correlation with the wax content obtained at -20 °C using the methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) precipitation method and also the recently developed variable-temperature Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (VT-FTIR) method. In most cases, the average length of straight internal methylene carbons of a long paraffinic chain terminated by a methyl group increased with the oxidation of the asphalt binder. However, the difference caused by oxidation was significantly smaller than the difference caused by the source of the asphalt binder. In general, oxidation will make the n-alkanes distributed in asphalt binder fall within a narrower range. The carbon number of n-alkanes in the asphalt binder generally grew with oxidation.

Study on the Aging Mechanism and Microstructure Analysis of Rice-Husk-Ash- and Crumb-Rubber-Powder-Modified Asphalt.

In this paper, the rice husk ash and crumb rubber powder were used as a combined modifier for asphalt. The impact of the aging on the physical and rheological properties of crumb rubber powder, rice husk ash, and the combined modified asphalt was studied through the rolling thin film oven (RTFO) simulations. A Fourier-transform infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) test was used to study the aging mechanisms of the combined crumb-rubber-powder- and rice-husk-ash-modified asphalt before and after aging through the changes in functional groups. Impacts of the combined, crumb rubber powder, and rice husk ash modifiers on the anti-aging characteristic of the asphalt binder were analyzed through different aging indices and the variations in intensity of the absorption peaks. According to the combined results, the addition of the combined crumb rubber powder, and rice husk ash could enhance the thermal oxidative aging resistance binder. Moreover, the optimal content of composite modified asphalt was (7% rice husk ash + 10% crumb rubber powder). In addition, the combined modified asphalt binder had all the peaks of neat asphalt, rice-husk-ash-modified asphalt, and crumb-rubber-powder-modified asphalt and no appearance of new peaks. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) test was carried out to observe the microstructure of the combined crumb-rubber-powder- and rice-husk-ash-modified asphalt binders. The obtained result demonstrated that different SEM images showed that the combined crumb rubber powder, and rice husk ash modifiers were uniformly dispersed inside the asphalt binder and consequently leading to format a homogeneous blended binder.

Expression and Biochemical Characterization of a Novel Fucoidanase from Flavobacteriumalgicola with the Principal Product of Fucoidan-Derived Disaccharide.

Fucoidan is one of the main polysaccharides of brown algae and echinoderm, which has nutritional and pharmacological functions. Due to the low molecular weight and exposure of more sulfate groups, oligo-fucoidan or fucoidan oligosaccharides have potential for broader applications. In this research, a novel endo-α-1,4-L-fucoidanase OUC-FaFcn1 which can degrade fucoidan into oligo-fucoidan was discovered from the fucoidan-digesting strain Flavobacterium algicola 12,076. OUC-FaFcn1 belongs to glycoside hydrolases (GH) family 107 and shows highest activity at 40 °C and pH 9.0. It can degrade the α-1,4 glycosidic bond, instead of α-1,3 glycosidic bond, of the fucoidan with a random tangent way to generate the principal product of disaccharide, which accounts for 49.4% of the total products. Therefore, OUC-FaFcn1 is a promising bio-catalyst for the preparation of fucoidan-derived disaccharide. These results further enrich the resource library of fucoidanase and provide the basis for the directional preparation of fucoidan-derived oligosaccharide with specific polymerization.

Biochemical Characterization of a Novel Myrosinase Rmyr from Rahnella inusitata for High-Level Preparation of Sulforaphene and Sulforaphane.

Myrosinase is a biotechnological tool for the preparation of sulforaphane and sulforaphene with a variety of excellent biological activities. In this study, a gene encoding the novel glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) myrosinase Rmyr from Rahnella inusitata was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The purified Rmyr shows the highest activity at 40 °C and pH 7.0; meanwhile, its half-life at 30 °C reaches 12 days, indicating its excellent stability. Its sinigrin-, glucoraphenin-, and glucoraphanin-hydrolyzing activities were 12.73, 4.81, and 6.99 U/mg, respectively. Rmyr could efficiently degrade the radish seed-derived glucoraphenin and the broccoli seed-derived glucoraphanin into sulforaphene and sulforaphane within 10 min with the highest yields of 5.07 mg/g radish seeds and 9.56 mg/g broccoli seeds, respectively. The highest conversion efficiencies of sulforaphane from glucoraphanin and sulforaphene from glucoraphenin reached up to 92.48 and 97.84%, respectively. Therefore, Rmyr is a promising and potent biocatalyst for efficient and large-scale preparation of sulforaphane and sulforaphene.

Discovery and characterization of a novel α-l-fucosidase from the marine-derived Flavobacterium algicola and its application in 2'-fucosyllactose production.

2'-Fucosyllactose (2'-FL) is one of the nutrient ingredients in human milk, which has various beneficial health effects. α-l-fucosidase is a biotechnological tool for 2'-FL preparation. Here, a novel and efficient α-l-fucosidase OUC-Jdch16 from the fucoidan-digesting strain Flavobacterium algicola 12076 was heterologously expressed and applied to produce 2'-FL in vitro. OUC-Jdch16 belongs to glycoside hydrolases (GH) family 29 and exhibits the highest 4-nitrophenyl-α-l-fucopyranoside-hydrolyzing activity at 25 °C and pH 6.0. OUC-Jdch16 could catalyze the synthesis of 2'-FL via transferring the fucosyl residue from pNP-α-fucose to lactose. Under the optimal transfucosylation conditions, the yield of the transfucosylation product reached 84.82% and 92.15% (mol/mol) from pNP-α-fucose within 48 h and 120 h, respectively. Moreover, OUC-Jdch16 was capable of transferring the fucosyl residue to other glycosyl receptors with the generation of novel fucosylated compounds. This study demonstrated that OUC-Jdch16 could be a promising tool to prepare 2'-FL and other novel glycosides.

Study of Pavement Micro- and Macro-Texture Evolution Due to Traffic Polishing Using 3D Areal Parameters.

Pavement micro- and macro-texture have significant effects on roadway friction and driving safety. The influence of traffic polish on pavement texture has been investigated in many laboratory studies. This paper conducts field evaluation of pavement micro- and macro-texture under actual traffic polishing using three-dimensional (3D) areal parameters. A portable high-resolution 3D laser scanner measured pavement texture from a field site in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Then, the 3D texture data was decomposed to micro- and macro-texture using Fourier transform and Butterworth filter methods. Twenty 3D areal parameters from five categories, including height, spatial, hybrid, function, and feature parameters, were calculated to characterize pavement micro- and macro-texture. The results demonstrate that the 3D areal parameters provide an alternative to comprehensively characterize the evolution of pavement texture under traffic polish from different aspects.

Preparation of Sulforaphene from Radish Seed Extracts with Recombinant Food-Grade Yarrowia lipolytica Harboring High Myrosinase Activity.

Sulforaphene prepared from glucoraphenin by myrosinase is one of the main active ingredients of radish, which has various biological activities and brilliant potential for food and pharmaceutical applications. In this paper, a recombinant food-grade yeast transformant 20-8 with high-level myrosinase activity was constructed by over-expressing a myrosinase gene from Arabidopsis thaliana in Yarrowia lipolytica. The highest myrosinase activity produced by the transformant 20-8 reached 44.84 U/g dry cell weight when it was cultivated in a 10 L fermentor within 108 h. Under the optimal reaction conditions, 6.1 mg of sulforaphene was yielded from 1 g of radish seeds under the catalysis of the crude myrosinase preparation (4.95 U) at room temperature within 1.5 h. What is more is that when the whole yeast cells harboring myrosinase activity were reused 10 times, the sulforaphene yield still reached 92.53% of the initial level. Therefore, this efficient approach has broad application prospects in recyclable and large-scale preparation of sulforaphene.

Porphyran and oligo-porphyran originating from red algae Porphyra: Preparation, biological activities, and potential applications.

Porphyra is one of the most economically important red algae in the world. The functional components extracted from Porphyra such as porphyrans, proteins, lipids, and minerals have strong physiological activities. Porphyran, a sulfated galactan, is composed of alternating 1,4-linked α-l-galactopyranose-6-sulfate (L6S) and 1,3-linked ß-d-galactopyranose (G). Porphyran and oligo-porphyran have a series of pharmacological and biological functions, such as antioxidation, anticancer, antiaging, antiallergic, immunomodulatory, hypoglycaemic, and hypolipidemic effects. Thus, red algae Porphyra-derived porphyran and oligo-porphyran have various potential applications in food, medicine, and cosmetic fields. For better application, this review introduces and summarizes the structure and source of porphyran as well as the preparation methods, biological activities, and potential applications of porphyran and oligo-porphyran. Moreover, the future research directions and emphasis of porphyran and oligo-porphyran preparation as well as their functional activities and applications are highlighted and prospected.

The Relationship between Health Consciousness and Home-Based Exercise in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have reduced the frequency of going out, and need to engage in health behaviors at home. Home-based exercise has aroused people's attention. This paper aims to examine the influencing mechanism of health consciousness on home-based exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire method was used to select 449 Chinese respondents on an online platform; the questionnaire includes a health consciousness scale, health life goal scale, perceived behavioral control scale, and the home-based exercise scale. A T-test was used to conduct differential analysis. The hierarchical regression analysis method was used to examine the relationship between health consciousness and home-based exercise, and the Hayes' SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test mediating effect. The results show that there are significant differences in home-based exercise with respect to gender, age, and marital status. Health consciousness has a significant positive effect on home-based exercise. Perceived behavioral control acts as the mediator between health consciousness and home-based exercise. Health consciousness can influence home-based exercise through health life goals and perceived behavioral control in turn. This paper takes a home-based exercise survey, and expands the theoretical research of home-based exercise. The findings suggest that people should pay attention to promoting the transformation of health consciousness into home-based exercise. It provides enlightenment for people to adopt health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differences in injury severities between 2-vehicle and 3-vehicle crashes.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: In traditional injury severity-related studies, 2-vehicle and 3-vehicle crashes are typically considered in a combinatory manner and thus the injury casual factors for these 2 crash types are implicitly assumed to be the same. This article attempts to investigate the potential discrepancy between 2- and 3-vehicle crash severities with the aid of a continuation ratio logit model with the property of partial proportional odds. RESULTS: The modeling results show that there are a number of significant differences between 2- and 3-vehicle crash injury severities in terms of the contributing factors, the magnitude of impact, and even the direction of effects. CONCLUSIONS: The research illustrates that a series of environmental and crash factors (e.g., rear-end straight crashes, urban roadways, alcohol usage, and different driving cohorts) are statistically significant in interpreting the disparity of coefficients between 2- and 3-vehicle crash injury severity models. It raises awareness that the combined analysis of 2- and 3-vehicle crashes should be exercised with caution, particularly when safety research targets crashes with less severe injuries.

Establishment of an infected necrotizing pancreatitis model by retrograde pancreatic duct injection of sodium taurocholate and E. coli in rats.

A stable and reliable infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP) model in rats was established in order to study the pathophysiological mechanism and pathological development rule of INP and explore the new therapeutic methods for the diseases. Forty-six SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. The animals in group A received the injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct and those in group B underwent that of E. coli into the pancreatic duct. The rats in groups C, D and E were subjected to the injection of 5% sodium taurocholate in combination with different concentrations of E. coli (10(3), 10(4), 10(5)/mL, respectively) into the pancreatic duct. The dose of injection was 0.1 mL/100 g and the velocity of injection was 0.2 mL/min in all the 5 groups. Eight h after the injection, the survival rate of animals was recorded and the surviving rats were killed to determine the serum content of amylase and perform pathological examination and germ cultivation of the pancreatic tissue. The results showed that acute necrotizing pancreatitis model was induced by injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct. The positive rate of germ cultivation in group A was 12.5%. The acute necrotizing pancreatitis model was not induced by injection of E. coli into the pancreatic duct and the positive rate of germ cultivation in group B was 0. The INP model was established in groups C to E. The positive rate of germ cultivation was 60%, 100% and 100% and 8-h survival rate 100%, 100% and 70% in groups C, D and E, respectively. It was concluded that a stable and reliable model of INP was established by injection of 5% sodium taurocholate in combination with 10(4)/mL E. coli into the pancreatic duct with a dose of 0.1 mL/100 g and a velocity of 0.2 mL/min. The pathogenesis of INP might be that the hemorrhage and necrosis of pancreatic tissue induced by sodium taurocholate results in weakness of pancreatic tissue in fighting against the germs. Meanwhile, the necrotic pancreatic tissue provides a good proliferative environment for the germs.

Establishment of an Infected Necrotizing Pancreatitis Model by Retrograde Pancreatic Duct Injection of Sodium Taurocholate and E. coli in Rats / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

A stable and reliable infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP) model in rats was established in order to study the pathophysiological mechanism and pathological development rule of INP and explore the new therapeutic methods for the diseases. Forty-six SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. The animals in group A received the injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct and those in group B underwent that of E. Coli into the pancreatic duct. The rats in groups C, D and E were subjected to the injection of 5% sodium tanrocholate in combination with different con-centrations of E. Coli (103, 104, 105/mL, respectively) into the pancreatic duct. The dose of injection was 0.1 mL/100 g and the velocity of injection was 0.2 mL/min in all the 5 groups. Eight h after the injection, the survival rate of animals was recorded and the surviving rats were killed to determine the serum content of amylase and perform pathological examination and germ cultivation of the pancre-atic tissue. The results showed that acute necrotizing panereatitis model was induced by injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct. The positive rate of germ cultivation in group A was 12.5%. The acute necrotizing pancreatitis model was not induced by injection of E. Coli into the pan-creatic duct and the positive rate of germ cultivation in group B was 0. The INP model was estab-lished in groups C to E. The positive rate of germ cultivation was 60%, 100% and 100% and 8-h sur-vival rate 100%, 100% and 70% in groups C, D and E, respectively. It was concluded that a stable and reliable model of INP was established by injection of 5% sodium taurocholate in combination with 104/mL E. Coli into the pancreatic duct with a dose of 0.1 mL/100 g and a velocity of 0.2 mL/min. The pathogenesis of INP might he that the hemorrhage and necrosis of pancreatic tissue in-duced by sodium taurocholate results in weakness of pancreatic tissue in fighting against the germs.Meanwhile, the necrotic pancreatic tissue provides a good proliferative environment for the germs.