Ben-JNK signaling is required for host mortality during Periplaneta fuliginosa densovirus infection.

BACKGROUND: Cockroaches are widely acknowledged as significant vectors of pathogenic microorganisms. The Periplaneta fuliginosa densovirus (PfDNV) infects the smoky-brown cockroach P. fuliginosa and causes host mortality, which identifies the PfDNV as a species-specific and environmentally friendly biopesticide. However, although the biochemical characterization of PfDNV has been extensively studied, the immune response against PfDNV remains largely unclear. RESULTS: Here, we investigated the replication of PfDNV and its associated pathological phenotype in the foregut and hindgut. Consequently, we dissected and performed transcriptome sequencing on the foregut, midgut, and hindgut separately. We revealed the up-regulation of immune response signaling pathway c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and apoptosis in response to viral infection. Furthermore, knockdown of the JNK upstream gene Ben resulted in a decrease in virus titer and delayed host mortality. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings provide evidence that the Ben-JNK signaling plays a crucial role in PfDNV infection, leading to excessive apoptosis in intestinal tissues and ultimately resulting in the death of the host. Our results indicated that the host response to PfDNV fosters viral infection, thereby increasing host lethality. This underscores the potential of PfDNV as a viable, environmentally friendly biopesticide. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Stacking architecture for collimated backlight using cylindrical lens sheet with linear light sources or edge-lit/direct-lit BLU.

Highly collimated and directional backlights are essential for realizing advanced display technologies such as autostereoscopic 3D displays. Previously reported collimated backlights, either edge-lit or direct-lit, in general still suffer unsatisfactory form factors, directivity, uniformity, or crosstalk etc. In this work, we report a simple stacking architecture for the highly collimated and uniform backlights, by combining linear light source arrays and carefully designed cylindrical lens arrays. Experiments were conducted to validate the design and simulation, using the conventional edge-lit backlight or the direct-lit mini-LED (mLED) arrays as light sources, the NiFe (stainless steel) barrier sheets, and cylindrical lens arrays fabricated by molding. Highly collimated backlights with small angular divergence of ±1.45°âˆ¼±2.61°, decent uniformity of 93-96%, and minimal larger-angle sidelobes in emission patterns were achieved with controlled divergence of the light source and optimization of lens designs. The architecture reported here provides a convenient way to convert available backlight sources into a highly collimated backlight, and the use of optically reflective barrier also helps recycle light energy and enhance the luminance. The results of this work are believed to provide a facile approach for display technologies requiring highly collimated backlights.

Serum antinuclear antibodies associate with severe disease activity in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) may correlate with the long-term prognosis of Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). In this study, we investigated ANAs in Chinese patients with NMOSD and their relationship with disease outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data from 525 patients diagnosed with NMOSD at West China Hospital between September 1, 2009, and October 1, 2021. Patients were classified into two groups: NMOSD with ANA (+) or without ANA (-). We compared the clinical characteristics, relapse rate, severe attacks, laboratory tests, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and prognosis between the two groups. RESULTS: Among the 525 NMOSD patients, those with ANA showed a higher frequency of AQP4-IgG (94.1% vs 79.3%, p < 0.001, false discovery rate (FDR) corrected p < 0.001), and anti-SSA (p < 0.001, FDR corrected p < 0.001), anti-SSB (p < 0.001, FDR corrected p < 0.001), anti-Ro52 antibodies (p < 0.001, FDR corrected p < 0.001), than those without ANA. ANA was detected in 403 patients during the acute phase. Patients with ANA (+) had higher EDSS scores in the acute stage (4.0 vs. 3.75, p = 0.013, FDR corrected p = 0.029) and at final follow-up (p = 0.032, FDR corrected p = 0.064). NMOSD patients with ANA (+) had a higher frequency of severe acute myelitis attack, severe acute myelitis and optic neuritis attack, motor and visual disability, compared to those with ANA (-) (42.1% vs. 27.8%, p = 0.001, FDR corrected p = 0.004, 19.3% vs. 10.3%, p = 0.004, FDR corrected p = 0.018, and 11.1% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.008, FDR corrected p = 0.022 respectively). The two groups had no significant difference in the annual recurrence rate (ARR). CONCLUSION: ANA may be associated with more severe disease activity and disability in NMOSD.

A novel rat-tail model for studying human finger vibration health effects.

It has been hypothesized that the biodynamic responses of the human finger tissues to vibration are among the major stimuli that cause vibration health effects. Furthermore, the finger contact pressure can alter these effects. It is difficult to test these hypotheses using human subjects or existing animal models. The objective of this study was to develop a new rat-tail vibration model to investigate the combined effects of vibration and contact pressure and to identify their relationships with the biodynamic responses. Physically, the new exposure system was developed by adding a loading device to an existing rat-tail model. An analytical model of the rat-tail exposure system was proposed and used to formulate the methods for quantifying the biodynamic responses. A series of tests with six tails dissected from rat cadavers were conducted to test and evaluate the new model. The experimental and modeling results demonstrate that the new model behaves as predicted. Unlike the previous model, the vibration strain and stress of the rat tail does not depend primarily on the vibration response of the tail itself but on that of the loading device. This makes it possible to quantify and control the biodynamic responses conveniently and reliably by measuring the loading device response. This study also identified the basic characteristics of the tail biodynamic responses in the exposure system, which can be used to help design the experiments for studying vibration biological effects.

Chinese Ecliptae herba (Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.) extract and its component wedelolactone enhances osteoblastogenesis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells via targeting METTL3-mediated m6A RNA methylation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Chinese Ecliptae herba (Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.) is an ethnomedicinal herb, which is used mainly to nourish kidney and thus strengthen bones according to traditional Chinese medicine theory. Pharmacological studies have supported the ethnomedicine use, showing that Ecliptae herba extract has an anti-osteoporotic effect in vivo and promoted osteoblast proliferation and activity in vitro. However, the molecular mechanism of Ecliptae herba on osteoblast differentiation from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC), the progenitors of osteoblasts, is still unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mRNA epigenetic modification may play a key role in promoting osteoblastic differentiation, and thus treating osteoporosis. This study sought to assess the mechanism through which Eclipate herba and its component wedelolactone influence m6A modification during the process of osteoblastogenesis from BMSC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Alizarin red S (ARS) staining were applied to determine osteoblastogenesis from BMSC. Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR were performed. RNA sequencing analysis was used to determine the characteristics of m6A methylation. Stable knocking down of METTL3 using lentiviral-based shRNA was performed. RESULTS: Upon 9 d treatment of BMSC with ethyl acetate extract of Ecliptae herba (MHL), ALP activity and ossification level increased in comparison with osteogenic medium (OS)-treated control. The expression of methyltransferase METTL3 and METTL14 was significantly increased, but WTAP expression had no change in response to MHL treatment. Knocking down of METTL3 resulted in a decrease in MHL-induced ALP activity, ossification level as well as mRNA expression of Osterix and Osteocalcin, two bone formation-related markers. The level of m6A increased when BMSC was treated with MHL for 9 d. RNA sequencing analysis indicated that MHL treatment altered mRNA m6A modification of genes associated with osteoblastogenesis. By kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, HIF-1α, PI3K/Akt, and Hippo signaling pathways were enriched and associated with m6A modification. The expression of m6A-modified genes including HIF-1α, VEGF-A, and RASSF1, was upregulated by MHL, but the upregulation was reversed after METTL3 knockdown. Additionally, the enhanced expression of METTL3 was also observed after treatment with wedelolactone, a component from MHL. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested a previously uncharacterized mechanism of MHL and wedelolactone on osteoblastogenesis, by which METTL3-mediated m6A methylation is involved and thus contributes to the enhancement of osteoblastogenesis.

Analysis of Irregular Blood Group Antibody Distribution and Blood Transfusion Efficacy in Patients with Malignant Tumor / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the distribution of irregular blood group antibodies in patients with malignant tumors, and to analyze the relationship between it and efficacy of blood transfusion in patients.@*METHODS@#5 600 patients with malignant tumors treated in Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were selected as the research subjects. All patients received blood transfusion, and cross matching test was conducted before blood transfusion, irregular antibody results of patients were tested; the irregular distribution of blood group antibodies was observed, and the relationship between it and efficacy of blood transfusion in patients was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Among 5 600 patients with malignant tumors, 96 cases were positive for irregular antibody, and the positive rate was 1.71%; the main blood group systems involved in the irregular antibody positive of 96 patients with malignant tumors were RH, MNSs and Duffy system, among which Rh blood group was the most common, and the proportion of anti-E was the highest; among the malignant tumor patients with positive blood group irregular antibody, the proportion of female was higher than that of male; the proportion of patients aged >60 years was the highest, followed by patients aged >40 and ≤50 years, and the proportion of patients aged 18-30 years was the lowest; the patients with positive blood group irregular antibody were mainly in blood system (including lymphoma), digestive system, reproductive and urinary system; the positive rate of irregular antibody of patients in the ineffective group was higher than that of patients in the effective group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis results showed that, irregular antibody positive was a risk factor for ineffective blood transfusion in patients with malignant tumor (OR>1, P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The irregular blood group antibody positive of patients with malignant tumor are mostly female, and the proportion of patients aged >60 is the highest, which is mainly distributed in malignant tumors of blood system, digestive system and urogenital system, and the positive blood group irregular antibody is related to the efficacy of blood transfusion in patients.

A novel gut-restricted RIPK1 inhibitor, SZ-15, ameliorates DSS-induced ulcerative colitis.

As a key mediator of cell death and inflammation, receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) responds to a broad set of inflammatory and pro-death stimuli in human diseases. Inhibitors targeting RIPK1 are being investigated for the treatment of a wide range of human diseases, including ulcerative colitis. In the present study, we designed, synthesized, and investigated the anti-necroptosis and RIPK1-inhibition effects of SZ-15-a symmetrical high-molecular-weight (>500 Da) compound. SZ-15 effectively inhibited necroptosis in U937 and HT-29 cells at concentrations of 1 nM and 10 nM, respectively, and SZ-15 at a concentration of 10 nM almost completely blocked RIPK1, RIPK3, and mixed-lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) protein phosphorylation induced by necrosis inducers. SZ-15 suppressed the pro-necroptosis function of RIPK1 by downregulating the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and IL-6. The activities of SZ-15 were effectively restricted to the gut: The percent recovery of the parent form of SZ-15 in mouse feces was 85.75%. Nevertheless, SZ-15 was effectively absorbed and detected in colon tissues after 1 h at a concentration of 3335 ± 868 ng/g, indicating that membrane permeability was maintained. SZ-15 alleviated dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in vivo by decreasing TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-22, and IL-6 mRNA expression in colonic tissues. Our preclinical study describes a novel gut-restricted RIPK1 inhibitor that shows great potential for use in the clinical treatment of ulcerative colitis.

Bridge combined internal fixation system and locking plate system in treatment of closed humeral shaft fracture / 中华骨科杂志

Objective:To compare the clinical effects of bridge combined internal fixation system and locking plate system in treating closed humeral shaft fracture.Methods:From August 2017 to August 2020, there were 45 patients with closed humeral shaft fracture treated with surgery. Bridge combined internal fixation system were performed in 19 patients (bridge combined group, aged 38.3±11.9, range 21-72 years), including 13 males and 6 females. Further, there were 26 patients underwent locking plate system (locking plate group, aged 41.2±14.7, range 20-79 years), including 20 males and 6 females. The operation was performed by minimal invasive percutaneous osteosynthesis with fixators. The patients were followed up every 4 weeks. The fracture healing condition was recorded. Shoulder function was assessed according to University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder rating scale and elbow function was assessed according to Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS).Results:The follow-up duration of all patients were 14.2±4.7 (range 10-32) months. All wound were healed completely. The operation duration in bridge combined group (68.1±12.5 min) was longer than that in locking plate group (56.3±11.6 min) ( t=3.32, P=0.002). The blood loss of bridge combined group and locking plate group were 112.6±20.2 ml and 104.2±14.1 ml, respectively ( t=1.65, P=0.107). The volume of drainage of bridge combined group was 68.4±16.2 ml and that of locking plate group was 73.1±14.9 ml ( t=1.00, P=0.323). The hospitalization time of bridge combined group was 9.7±2.3 d and the locking plate group was 9.4±1.9 d ( t=0.57, P=0.573). All above parameters had no statistical significance between the two groups. Fracture nonunion occurred in 1 of 19 patients in bridge combined group. The fracture healing time was 15.3±4.3 weeks in another 18 cases, while that of locking plate group was 15.9±3.9 weeks ( t=0.47, P=0.638). At 4-weeks postoperative follow-up, the UCLA shoulder score (18.1±3.9) and the MEPS (55.4±6.8) of bridge combined group were lower than those of locking plate group ( P<0.05). At 8-weeks postoperative follow-up, the shoulder score (26.2±4.3) and the MEPS (70.9±6.5) of bridge combined group were lower than those of locking plate group ( P<0.05). At 12-weeks postoperative follow-up, the UCLA shoulder score (33.6±1.0) and the MEPS (91.0±3.7) of bridge combined group had no statistical difference with those of locking plate group ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The bridge combined internal fixation system could provide personalized and multidimensional fixation according to the fracture type. The clinical effects of bridge combined internal fixation system on humeral shaft fracture are similar to the locking plate system at 12 weeks postoperatively. However, the operation duration of bridge combined system is longer and with increased the risk of nonunion.

An alternative method for analyzing the slip potential of workers on sloped surfaces.

Slips and falls on sloped roof surfaces remain an important safety issue among construction workers. The slip potential has been conventionally analyzed and assessed primarily based on ground reaction forces, which cannot differentiate the specific roles of each of the force factors (e.g., workers' motions-induced dynamic forces and slope-induced static forces) contributing to the slip potential. Their differentiation may enhance the understanding of the slip mechanisms on the sloped roof surfaces and help develop effective walking and working strategies/tactics to minimize the dangerous slips on the elevated roofs. Hence, the objective of this study is to develop a biodynamic method as an additional tool for analyzing the slip potential of a worker walking or working on sloped roof surfaces. A whole-body biodynamic model is proposed and used to develop the alternative method, in which the slip potential is expressed as an analytical function of its major controlling factors including coefficient of friction, slope angle, and biodynamic forces. Some experimental data available in the literature are used to demonstrate the application of the proposed method. The results suggest that the slope may not change the basic trends of the biodynamic forces, but the slope may affect their magnitudes, which can be explained using the system's energy equation also derived from the whole-body biodynamic model. The analytical results suggest that reducing the body acceleration in uphill direction or the deceleration in downhill direction can reduce the slip potential. 'Zigging' and 'zagging' walking on a sloped surface may also reduce the slip potential, as it reduces the effective slope angle. The proposed biodynamic theory can be used to enhance the safety guidelines not only for roofers but also for people walking on ramps, inclined walkways, and mountain terrains.

A Review of Hand-Arm Vibration Studies Conducted by US NIOSH since 2000.

Studies on hand-transmitted vibration exposure, biodynamic responses, and biological effects were conducted by researchers at the Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) during the last 20 years. These studies are systematically reviewed in this report, along with the identification of areas where additional research is needed. The majority of the studies cover the following aspects: (i) the methods and techniques for measuring hand-transmitted vibration exposure; (ii) vibration biodynamics of the hand-arm system and the quantification of vibration exposure; (iii) biological effects of hand-transmitted vibration exposure; (iv) measurements of vibration-induced health effects; (iv) quantification of influencing biomechanical effects; and (v) intervention methods and technologies for controlling hand-transmitted vibration exposure. The major findings of the studies are summarized and discussed.

An investigation of the effectiveness of vibration-reducing gloves for controlling vibration exposures during grinding handheld workpieces.

Prolonged and intensive vibration exposures during the grinding of handheld workpieces may cause hand-arm vibration syndrome. The objectives of this study are to develop an on-the-hand method for evaluating vibration-reducing (VR) gloves, and to determine whether VR gloves can significantly reduce the vibration exposures. A worker holding and pressing a typical workpiece (golf club head) against a grinding wheel or belt in order to shape the workpiece was simulated, and the input vibration and those on the workpiece and hand-arm system were measured. Ten human subjects participated in the experiment. The results demonstrate that VR gloves significantly reduced the vibrations at the palm, hand dorsum, and wrist. The grinding interface condition and hand feed force did not substantially affect glove effectiveness. The use of gloves slightly increased the workpiece resonant response, but the resonant response did not significantly affect glove effectiveness. This study concluded that the use of VR gloves can help control vibration exposures of workers performing grinding of handheld workpieces.

Upgrading the anaerobic membrane bioreactor treatment of chicken manure by introducing in-situ ammonia stripping and hyper-thermophilic pretreatment.

The slow hydrolysis rate and ammonia inhibition effects significantly limit the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) of nitrogen rich wastes. An innovative two-stage AD was therefore investigated for chicken manure by combining hyper-thermophilic (70 °C) pretreatment and a anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). An in-situ stripping unit was assembled into the AnMBR to remove the ammonium-N, thus alleviating the inhibition effects. Through the 120-day experiment, the hydraulic retention time was optimized at 15 days for AnMBR with a constant retention 4 days for pretreatment. The hydrolysis efficiency and methane yield reached 72.4% and 352 mL-CH4/g-VSin respectively. About 3000 mg/L ammonium-N was removed through stripping, attributing to methane yield increased by 139 mL-CH4/g-VSin and volatile fatty acids decreased by 2683 mg/L compared to the control. No significant fouling was observed for the membrane. Conclusively, the combined two-stage AD process may offer an alternative approach for the treatment of nitrogen rich organic waste.

An acceptable method to evaluate the analytical performance of real-time fluorescent RT-PCR targeting SARS-CoV-2

It was necessary to carry out methodologies evaluations of real-time fluorescent reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Considering biosafety issues and lack of positive specimens in some special locations in China, the routine specimens from healthy individuals were used to perform methodologies evaluations, in which the indexes were the differences of quantification cycle values ({Delta} Cq) between human derived internal reference control (IRC) genes of a specimen and quality control (QC). Serial experiments were carried out to evaluate various factors that might affect aforementioned methodologies, such as types of virus transport mediums, methods of specimen pretreatment and template preparation, specimen vortex strength, specimen storage temperature and duration. The results showed that using {Delta}Cq values as indexes, among various factors that might affect analytical performance, it was better to store specimens in the normal saline transport mediums, inactivate pathogens using water or metal bath, release more virus particles from swabs by vortex mixing, extract nucleic acids with centrifuge methods, and perform amplification assays timely. Aforementioned opinions and optimum conditions were further confirmed by SRAS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and clinical positive specimens. Altogether, the results of this study indicated that the routine specimens from healthy individuals could be used to evaluate the analytical performance of real-time fluorescent RT-PCR targeting SRAS-CoV-2, of which the indexes were the {Delta}Cq values between IRC genes of a specimen and QC. This acceptable method was extremely valuable in both theoretical and practical significance under current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Constructing Machine Tool Foundations Using an LMP Alloy.

Currently, the construction of machine tool foundations is a complicated and lengthy procedure with a limited flexibility. In this paper, we present a novel system for constructing machine tool foundations that replaces the need for concrete or concrete-polymer hybrids with a low melting point (LMP) alloy. The system uses a hot bath method to maintain the LMP alloy grouting in liquid form. A fixing device is used to control the embedded depth and positional accuracy of the foundation bolt assembly. The grouting material is injected into the foundation pit by a filling device. This can be extracted from the foundation pit in a later stage with the aid of a recycling device, enabling new machine tool foundations to be manufactured by reusing the LMP alloy grouting material. A prototype was built to test the proposed design. The results show that the system can construct machine tool foundations in a single application, without the delays associated with concrete-based construction, lowering both the economic and environmental cost.

Management of periprosthetic fractures of knee arthroplasty with revision surgery.

OBJECTIVE: As periprosthetic knee fractures are becoming common with the increase in incidence of primary and revision total knee arthroplasty, their management and treatment have become important. The current study aims to evaluate the revision knee arthroplasty carried out due to the failure of primary treatment of periprosthetic femoral fractures. METHODS: The study was conducted from May 2012 to September 2019 at Orthopedics department of Xinjiang Medical University; out of 21 patients 11 were women and 10 men aged 44 to 80 (mean, 70.76 ± 8.31) years who underwent revision surgery for periprosthetic fractures of 19 distal femur, 1 patellar, and 1 proximal tibial fracture. Nineteen cases had definite trauma history leading to periprosthetic fracture, and 2 cases had fracture during post-operative functional exercise. All patients had revision surgery with extended stems with either constrained or limited condylar knee prosthesis. RESULTS: The duration of follow-up averaged 4.3 years. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score before fracture averaged 91 + 7.01 points (89-95 points) and 85.5 + 6.18 points (81-90 points) at the last follow-up. The average range of motion of knee joint before fracture was 115.7 [+7.6] (110 [~126]), and 101.3 [+9.8] (85 [~115]) at the last follow-up. There was no significant statistical difference. No complications such as infection, component loosening or nonunion. 2 patients had lower extremity vein thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Revision surgery of the knee for the periprosthetic fractures with proper prosthetic selection can attain good outcomes after primary total knee arthroplasty. Reasonable and correct procedure is the main principle for a successful operation. The benefits and applicability of revision TKA is the reconstructive solution for the issues of prosthetic knee fractures, is highly recommended.

Adult cubitus varus treated by lateral closed wedge osteotomy plus locking plating via a small incision and posterior lateral approach / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective:To explore the effects of lateral closed wedge osteotomy plus locking plating via a small incision and posterior lateral approach on adult cubitus varus.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted of the 19 adults with cubitus varus who had been admitted to Department of Hand Surgery, Wuhan Fourth Hospital from July 2013 to September 2017.They were 3 males and 16 females, aged from 17 to 27 years (average, 20.3 years). The left side was affected in 13 cases and the right side in 6 ones. The angle of cubitus varus was 20.7°±2.8°. The lifting angle on the healthy side and the cubitus angle on the affected side were accurately measured on the Medical Image Archiving and Transmission System (PACS) to calculate the osteotomy angle. Lateral closed wedge osteotomy plus locking plating was conducted to correct the deformity via a small incision and posterior lateral approach. The lifting angle on the affected side was measured at the last follow-up. The Mayo elbow performance scores(MEPS) was used to evaluate the elbow function and the Bellemore scoring system the effects of elbow correction surgery.Results:The 19 patients were followed up for 9 to 32 months (mean, 14 months). A good healing was observed at the osteotomy site in all patients. At the last follow-up, the elbow lifting angle was 11.4°±1.6° and the surgical scars averaged 4 cm (from 3 to 5 cm). The cubitus varus was significantly improved after operation, leading to fine elbow function. According to the MEPS, 10 cases were excellent, 7 good and 2 moderate. According to the Bellemore scoring system, 13 cases were excellent and 6 good. After operation, injury to partial ulnar nerve was observed in 2 cases and one patient developed mild elbow stiffness. Follow-ups revealed no implant failure like loosening or breakage and none cases of delayed fracture union or non-union.Conclusions:The osteotomy angle should be accurately measured on the PACS before operation. Lateral closed wedge osteotomy plus locking plating should be performed via a small incision and posterior lateral approach. These procedures can ensure the orthopedic angle and postoperative recovery of the elbow joint, resulting in a limited surgical scar, beautiful appearance and fine efficacy.

Identification of effective engineering methods for controlling handheld workpiece vibration in grinding processes.

The objective of this study is to identify effective engineering methods for controlling handheld workpiece vibration during grinding processes. Prolonged and intensive exposures to such vibration can cause hand-arm vibration syndrome among workers performing workpiece grinding, but how to effectively control these exposures remains an important issue. This study developed a methodology for performing their analyses and evaluations based on a model of the entire grinding machine-workpiece-hand-arm system. The model can simulate the vibration responses of a workpiece held in the worker's hands and pressed against a grinding wheel in order to shape the workpiece in the major frequency range of concern (6.3-1600 Hz). The methodology was evaluated using available experimental data. The results suggest that the methodology is acceptable for these analyses and evaluations. The results also suggest that the workpiece vibration resulting from the machine vibration generally depends on two mechanisms or pathways: (1) the direct vibration transmission from the grinding machine; and (2) the indirect transmission that depends on both the machine vibration transmission to the workpiece and the interface excitation transformation to the workpiece vibration. The methodology was applied to explore and/or analyze various engineering methods for controlling workpiece vibrations. The modeling results suggest that while these intervention methods have different advantages and limitations, some of their combinations can effectively reduce the vibration exposures of grinding workers. These findings can be used as guidance for selecting and developing more effective technologies to control handheld workpiece vibration exposures.

Comparison of effectiveness between warm acupuncture with local-distal points combination and local distribution points combination in breast cancer-related lymphedema patients: a study protocol for a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Lymphedema is the most common complication after breast cancer treatment, but management of lymphedema remains a clinical challenge. Several studies have reported the beneficial effect of acupuncture for treating breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). Our objective is to verify the effectiveness of warm acupuncture on BCRL and compare the effectiveness of a local distribution acupoint combination with a local-distal acupoint combination for BCRL. METHODS: This is a study protocol for a multicenter, three-arm parallel, assessor blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 108 participants diagnosed as BCRL will be randomly allocated in equal proportions to a local distribution acupoint (LA) group, a local-distal acupoint (LDA) group, or a waiting-list (WL) group. The LA and LDA groups will receive 20 acupuncture treatment over 8 weeks with local distribution acupoint combination and local-distal acupoint combination, respectively. The WL group will receive acupuncture treatment after the study is concluded. The primary outcome is the mean change in inter-limb circumference difference from baseline to week 8. The secondary outcomes include volume measurement, skin hardness, common terminology criteria for adverse events 4.03 (edema limbs criteria), stages of lymphedema from the International Society of Lymphology, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire, and the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short-form Health Survey. DISCUSSION: This study aims to provide data on warm acupuncture as an effective treatment for BCRL and at the same time compare the effectiveness of different acupoint combinations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: Identifier NCT03373474 . Registered on 14th December 2017.

Enhancing hyper-thermophilic hydrolysis pre-treatment of chicken manure for biogas production by in-situ gas phase ammonia stripping.

Hydrolysis is normally the rate limiting step for anaerobic digestion (AD). In this study, hyper-thermophilic (70 °C) pre-treatment of chicken manure under HRTs of 10, 5, 3, 2 and 1 d(s) was investigated to enhance the hydrolysis efficiency for biogas production. In-situ phase gas stripping was integrated into the pre-treatment reactor to remove ammonia-N and to enhance the hydrolysis performance. The results showed that in-situ gas stripping removed 18%-31% of ammonia-N and improved hydrolysis by 2.6%-31.1%. The methane yield of pre-hydrolyzed chicken manure reached 518 mL g-VS-1 under optimal HRT 3 days, which was 54.6% higher than that obtained from the control reactor. However, shortening HRTs below 3 days resulted in a significant reduction in hydrolysis efficiency. The percent of hydrolysis and acidogenesis bacteria reduced to 40.6% at HRT 1 d. 16sRNA results indicated existence of methanogens in pre-hydrolysis reactor. Further optimizing of ammonia stripping was thus needed for hydrolysis pre-treatment.

Development of a finger adapter method for testing and evaluating vibration-reducing gloves and materials.

The objective of this study was to develop a convenient and reliable adapter method for testing and evaluating vibration-reducing (VR) gloves and VR materials at the fingers. The general requirements and technical specifications for the design of the new adapter were based on our previous studies of hand-held adapters for vibration measurement and a conceptual model of the fingers-adapter-glove-handle system developed in this study. Two thicknesses (2 mm and 3 mm) of the adapter beam were fabricated using a 3-D printer. Each adapter is a thin beam equipped with a miniature tri-axial accelerometer (1.1 g) mounted at its center, with a total weight ≤ 2.2 g. To measure glove vibration transmissibility, the adapter is held with two gloved fingers; a finger is positioned on each side of the accelerometer. Each end of the adapter beam is slotted between the glove material and the finger. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate this two-fingers-held adapter method by measuring the transmissibility of typical VR gloves and a sample VR material. The experimental results indicate that the major resonant frequency of the lightweight adapter on the VR material (≥800 Hz) is much higher than the resonant frequencies of the gloved fingers grasping a cylindrical handle (≤300 Hz). The experimental results were repeatable across the test treatments. The basic characteristics of the measured glove vibration transmissibility are consistent with the theoretical predictions based on the biodynamics of the gloved fingers-hand-arm system. The results suggest that VR glove fingers can effectively reduce only high-frequency vibration, and VR effectiveness can be increased by reducing the finger contact force. This study also demonstrated that the finger adapter method can be combined with the palm adapter method prescribed in the standardized glove test, which can double the test efficiency without substantially increasing the expense of the test.