Study on the value of second-generation sequencing technology in the clinical diagnosis of osteoarticular brucellosis.

To assess the value of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology in the diagnosis of osteoarticular brucellosis pathogenesis. Fifty eight patients admitted to the Department of Orthopaedics, Hebei Provincial Chest Hospital from January 2021 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed, and the patients were classified into 48 cases in the osteoarticular brucellosis group and 10 cases in the nonosteoarticular brucellosis group according to the final clinical diagnosis. All patients underwent serum agglutination test (SAT), CT-guided puncture or surgical sampling of lesions for bacteriological culture and NGS after admission. The diagnostic efficacy of these three methods for osteoarticular brucellosis was compared using the final clinical diagnosis as the reference standard. Among the 58 patients with suspected osteoarticular brucellosis, 40 cases (68.97%) were positive by NGS, 33 cases (56.89%) by SAT and 10 cases (17.24%) by culture, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Using the final clinical diagnosis as a criterion, the sensitivity of NGS, SAT, and culture for the detection of osteoarticular brucellosis was 83.33%, 62.50%, and 20.83%, respectively, the specificity was 100.00%, 70.00%, and 100.00%, the diagnostic accuracy was 86.20%, 63.79%, and 34.49%, and the κ values were 0.799, 0.590, and 0.504, respectively. NGS has a high pathogen detection rate and sensitivity in the pathogenetic diagnosis of patients with osteoarticular brucellosis and can provide clinical guidance for the diagnosis and management of patients with osteoarticular brucellosis.

Vanadium Dioxide Nanosheets Supported on Carbonized Cotton Fabric as Bifunctional Textiles for Flexible Pressure Sensors and Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Flexible pressure sensors and aqueous batteries have been widely used in the rapid development of wearable electronics. The synergistic functionalities of versatile materials with multidimensional architectures are recognized to have a significant impact on the performance of flexible electronics. Herein, a facile hydrothermal strategy was demonstrated to conformally grow vanadium dioxide nanosheets on carbonized cotton fabrics (VO2/CCotton), which is a candidate material used in flexible piezoresistive sensors. As a result, the VO2/CCotton-based pressure sensor behaved with high sensitivity (S = 7.12 kPa-1 in the pressure range of 0-2.0 kPa) and a stable sensing ability in a wide pressure scale of 0-120 kPa. Further practical applications were performed in monitoring delicate physiological signals as well, such as twisting, blowing, and voice vibration recognitions. In addition, another application for energy storage was investigated as well. A quasi-solid-state aqueous zinc-ion battery was assembled with VO2/CCotton as the cathode and a film of Zn nanosheets/carbon nanotube as the anode. A capacity as high as 301.5 mAh g-1 and remarkable durability of 88.7% capacity retention after 5000 cycles at 10 A g-1 were found. These exceptional outcomes are attributed to the unique three-dimensional architecture and the prominent synergetic effects of CCotton and VO2 and allow for the proposal of novel guidelines for next-generation multifunctional flexible electronics.

The Role of Cold Rolling Reduction on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultra-Low Carbon Bainitic Steel.

The present study investigates the microstructure and mechanical properties of ultra-low carbon bainitic steel (UCBS) under different cold rolling reductions. When the rolling reduction ratios were increased to 80%, the microstructure was refined, and the lath width of the bainite decreased from 601 nm to 252 nm. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength increased from 812 MPa and 683 MPa to 1195 MPa and 1150 MPa, respectively, whereas the elongation decreased from 15.9% to 7.9%. In addition, the dislocation density increased from 8.3 × 1013 m-2 to 4.87 × 1014 m-2 and a stronger γ-fiber texture was obtained at the 80% cold rolling reduction ratio. The local stress distribution and kernel average misorientation were not uniform and became more severe with increased rolling reduction ratios. The strength increment of UCBS was primarily due to boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening. The theoretical strength increment agreed well with the experimental measurements, which can be helpful for the design and production of UCBS for broad engineering applications.

Effect of Temperature on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Fe-9Ni-2Cu Steel during the Tempering Process.

In this paper, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray stress meter (XRSA), atom probe tomography (APT), hardness, and tensile tests were used to study the effect of tempering temperature on the microstructure and properties of Fe-9Ni-2Cu steel. The results show that after the quenched samples were tempered at 460 °C for 2 h, the hardness values increased from 373 to 397 HV, and elongation also increased from 13% to 16%. With the tempering temperature increasing from 460 to 660 °C, the hardness firstly decreases from 397 to 353 HV and then increases to 377 HV, while the elongation increases to 17% and then decreases to 11%. The variation of the mechanical properties greatly depends on the evolution of the Cu-rich phase and carbides. The precipitation strengthening of the Cu-rich phase and carbides leads to the increase of hardness, but when the precipitate is coarsened, the precipitation strengthening weakens, and then, the hardness increases. When the tempering temperature is 560 °C, a large amount of stable reverse transformation austenite was formed with a content of 7.1%, while the tensile strength reached the lowest value of 1022 MPa and the elongation reached the maximum value of 17%.

Investigation on Crystallization and Magnetic Properties of (Nd, Pr, Ce)2Fe14B/α-Fe Nanocomposite Magnets by Microwave Annealing Treatment.

In the present work, the structures and magnetic properties of (Nd, Pr, Ce) 2Fe14B/α-Fe nanocomposite magnets were thoroughly investigated. The microwave annealing was applied to achieve a uniform heating effect and uniform grains. Microwave annealing is more favorable to obtain α-Fe phase than conventional annealing, which leads to the enhanced coercivity of hysteresis loops. The coercivity of nanocomposite magnets was 245 kA/m after annealing at 2000 W for 10 min.

miR-877 inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by targeting gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase.

Gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase (GGCT) can promote the progression of osteosarcoma (OS). MicroRNAs also play significant roles in regulating the progression of OS. This study was designed to investigate whether miR-877 exerts its function in OS by targeting GGCT. The proliferation of OS cells (Saos-2 and U2OS) was detected by MTT and colony formation assays. The migration and invasion of OS cells were detected by transwell assays. The expressions of miRNAs and GGCT were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. The luciferase reporter assay was performed to assess whether miR-877 could target GGCT. miR-877 was down-regulated both in OS tissues and OS cell lines (Saos-2 and U2OS). The overexpression of miR-877 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS cell lines, while the knockdown of miR-877 could negate effects. The expression of GGCT was increased in Saos-2 and U2OS cells. miR-877 could target GGCT, and the mRNA level of GGCT in Saos-2 and U2OS cells was decreased by the overexpression of miR-877. miR-877 overexpression inhibited the migration and invasion and suppressed the proliferation of Saos-2 and U2OS cells, and the overexpression of GGCT reversed this effects. The knockdown of miR-877 promoted the migration and invasion and facilitated the proliferation of Saos-2 and U2OS cells, and the silence of GGCT abolished this effects. Our findings suggested that miR-877 could inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS cells by targeting GGCT.

Exploration of Basalt Glasses as High-Temperature Sensible Heat Storage Materials.

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are a key technology that utilizes renewable energy and low-level thermal energy to ensure continuous and stable operation in concentrated solar power plants, family heating, and industrial waste heat recovery fields. It solves the intermittent problem of solar radiation and significantly improves energy efficiency and economic benefits. Three varieties of natural basalt ores have been selected, namely, intermediate, basic, and ultrabasic basalt, which have been prepared into basalt glasses by the melt-quenching method. The applicability of basalt glass to high-temperature heat storage applications is studied. In the present paper, the chemical composition and structure of basalt glasses have been determined. The effect of temperature and composition on key thermophysical properties such as density, heat capacity, thermal diffusion, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion has been analyzed during a series of thermal cycles. It has been confirmed that basalt glass has extremely high heat storage performance and thermal stability, and its working temperature is as high as 1000 °C such that it can be used as a solar energy heat storage material.

Efficacy, safety and prognosis of treating neurological deficits caused by spinal tuberculosis within 4 weeks' standard anti-tuberculosis treatment: A single medical center's experience.

The present study aimed to retrospectively analyze the safety and efficacy of the early surgical management of thoracic tuberculosis (TB) in patients with neurological deficits. The medical data of patients with thoracic TB exhibiting neurological deficit in the Chest Hospital of Hebei Province were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 234 cases, including 123 males and 115 females, were recruited in the present study. Their pre- and postoperative neurological deficit and pain levels were assessed using the 2002 American spinal injury association (ASIA) impairment scale and visual analog scale, respectively. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether their preoperative standardized anti-TB treatment time was ≥4 weeks or <4 weeks. There was no difference in blood loss and operation time between the two groups. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was higher in patients receiving standard anti-TB <4 weeks prior to and 1 month following surgery compared with the ≥4 weeks group, but the difference was not significant 6 months following surgery. ASIA scale scores all increased significantly 1 month following surgery in the <4 weeks group compared with the ≥4 weeks group (P=0.001) though there was no difference between the scores prior to surgery. ASIA scale scores improved to 4.4±0.5 and 4.5±0.4 in patients with anti-TB treatment times of ≥4 weeks and <4 weeks, respectively, 24 months following surgery (P=0.0895). The present study demonstrated that for patients with thoracic TB exhibiting neurological deficit, early surgical management following <4 weeks' standard anti-TB treatment is recommended. It may relieve spinal cord compression and also benefit the early recovery of neurological function in these patients.

Synthesis and Upconversion Luminescence of High-Quality Water-Soluble NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ Nanoclusters.

Hexagonal phase NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanoclusters were prepared using a facile solvothermal method. The structures and morphologies of the products were investigated using an X-ray powder diffractometer and a transmission electron microscope. Modified by the capping agent of poly(acrylic acid), the as-prepared NaYF4 NCs show excellent water solubility. Under 980-nm excitation, the aqueous solution of the sample displayed a bright green upconversion (UC) fluorescence. The luminescence dynamics were further studied based on the UC excitation pathways and the emission processes. Such water soluble UC samples may find application in the field of biological imaging.