Nomogram models for predicting overall and cancer-specific survival in early-onset gastric cancer patients: a population-based cohort study.

To develop nomogram models for predicting the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of early-onset gastric cancer (EOGC) patients. A total of 1077 EOGC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included, and an additional 512 EOGC patients were recruited from the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, serving as an external test set. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors. Based on these factors, two nomogram models were established, and web-based calculators were developed. These models were validated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Multivariate analysis identified gender, histological type, stage, N stage, tumor size, surgery, primary site, and lung metastasis as independent prognostic factors for OS and CSS in EOGC patients. Calibration curves and DCA curves demonstrated that the two constructed nomogram models exhibited good performance. These nomogram models demonstrated superior performance compared to the 7th edition of the AJCC tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification (internal validation set: 1-year OS: 0.831 vs 0.793, P = 0.072; 1-year CSS: 0.842 vs 0.816, P = 0.190; 3-year OS: 0.892 vs 0.857, P = 0.039; 3-year CSS: 0.887 vs 0.848, P = 0.018; 5-year OS: 0.906 vs 0.880, P = 0.133; 5-year CSS: 0.900 vs 0.876, P = 0.109). In conclusion, this study developed two nomogram models: one for predicting OS and the other for CSS of EOGC patients, offering valuable assistance to clinicians.

Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of mitoxantrone hydrochloride injection for tracing in patients with gastric cancer: a single-blind, single-center, phase I clinical trial.

Mitoxantrone Hydrochloride Injection for Tracing (MHI), a modified new drug marketed in China, has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration for lymph node tracing in thyroid cancer and sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer. This single-center, single-blind, dose-escalation phase I clinical trial aimed to investigate the safety of MHI on lymph node tracing in gastric cancer. In this study, four dose groups (1.0 mL, 1.5 mL, 2.0 mL, and 3.0 mL) with 3 gastric cancer patients in each group were set. The safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary efficacy of different doses were investigated. Results showed that none of the patients experienced dose-limiting toxicity or developed serious adverse events or adverse drug reactions. Pharmacokinetic analyses revealed minimal absorption of the tracer, resulting in low and transient blood drug concentrations across all participants. The mean time to peak concentration was (0.561 ± 0.3728) h (with mean peak concentration (Cmax) of 10.300 ng/mL), (0.500 ± 0.0167) h (mean Cmax of 13.687 ng/mL), (0.494 ± 0.0096) h (mean Cmax of 30.933 ng/mL), and (0.661 ± 0.2791) h (mean Cmax of 21.067 ng/mL) in the 1.0 mL, 1.5 mL, 2.0 mL, and 3.0 mL dose groups, respectively. The mean lymph node staining rates were 21.0%, 24.7%, 32.5%, and 44.5%, and the mean metastatic lymph node staining rates were 20.6%, 36.1%, 42.4%, and 21.0% in each group. This study confirmed that MHI was safe, well-tolerated, and had low systemic effects when used for lymphatic tracing of gastric cancer, and the tracing effect was better in the 3 mL dose group. This trail was registered on the website of Centre for Drug Evaluation State Drug and Food Administration (http://www.chinadrugtrials.org.cn/index.html) with the name of clinical study of lymphatic tracer in lymph node tracing of gastric cancer, the code was CTR20201906.

Real-world effectiveness of a new powered stapling system with gripping surface technology on the intraoperative clinical and economic outcomes of gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Surgical staplers have been widely used to facilitate surgeries, and this study aimed to examine the real-world effectiveness of a new powered stapling system with Gripping Surface Technology (GST) on intraoperative outcomes of gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHOD: The data were extracted from the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University's (FHHMU) medical records system. Participants (N = 121 patients) were classified into the GST (n = 59) or non-GST group (n = 62), based on the use of the GST system. The intraoperative outcomes such as bleeding were assessed by reviewing video records. T-tests, Chi-square tests, and Mann-Whitney-U tests were used to compare the baseline characteristics between groups. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted for adjusting outcomes to study the effect of variables. RESULTS: Compared with the non-GST group, the GST group had significantly lower risks for intraoperative bleeding, intraoperative anastomosis intervention rate, intraoperative suture, and intraoperative pression (aORs: 0.0853 (p < 0.0001), 0.076 (p = 0.0003), 0.167 (p = 0.0012), and 0.221 (p = 0.0107), respectively). The GST group also consumed one fewer cartridge than the non-GST group (GST:5 vs non-GST: 6, p = 0.0241). CONCLUSION: The use of the GST system was associated with better intraoperative outcomes and lower cartridge consumption in Chinese real-world settings.

Dynamic Simulation of the Leaf Mass per Area (LMA) in Multilayer Crowns of Young Larix principis-rupprechtii.

Leaf mass per area (LMA) is a key structural parameter that reflects the functional traits of leaves and plays a vital role in simulating the material and energy cycles of plant ecosystems. In this study, vertical whorl-by-whorl sampling of LMA was conducted in a young Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation during the growing season at the Saihanba Forest Farm. The vertical and seasonal variations in LMA were analysed. Subsequently, a predictive model of LMA was constructed. The results revealed that the LMA varied significantly between different crown whorls and growing periods. In the vertical direction of the crown, the LMA decreased with increasing crown depth, but the range of LMA values from the tree top to the bottom was, on average, 30.4 g/m2, which was approximately 2.5 times greater in the fully expanded phase than in the early leaf-expanding phase. During different growing periods, the LMA exhibited an allometric growth trend that increased during the leaf-expanding phase and then tended to stabilize. However, the range of LMA values throughout the growing period was, on average, 40.4 g/m2. Among the univariate models, the leaf dry matter content (LDMC) performed well (adjusted determination coefficient (Ra2) = 0.45, root mean square error (RMSE) = 13.48 g/m2) in estimating the LMA. The correlation between LMA and LDMC significantly differed at different growth stages and at different vertical crown whorls. The dynamic predictive model of LMA constructed with the relative depth in the crown (RDINC) and date of the year (DOY) as independent variables was reliable in both the assessments (Ra2 = 0.68, RMSE = 10.25 g/m2) and the validation (absolute mean error (MAE) = 8.05 g/m2, fit index (FI) = 0.682). Dynamic simulations of crown LMA provide a basis for elucidating the mechanism of crown development and laying the foundation for the construction of an ecological process model.

A morphology-based integrated teaching mode combining pathology and radiology with the aid of teaching media: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The integration of curriculum is an important approach for enhancing medical education and facilitating interdisciplinary connections among students. This study aimed to develop a new morphological integrated teaching mode for undergraduate stomatology education by combining stomatological pathology and radiology courses with instructional media. METHODS: In total, 63 undergraduates were included in this study and divided into three groups: traditional (Group T; the control group) and two experimental groups: KoPa WiFi EDU (Group K), and KoPa WiFi EDU-cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) (Group K-C). All participants attended a 2-h lecture on periapical cysts and completed the first theoretical test. Subsequently, they underwent a 4-h experimental training session on the pathology and radiology of periapical cysts using different teaching methods. Following the training, participants completed the second theoretical test and underwent the first image-reading skill evaluation. After a 3-month period, participants completed the third theoretical test and underwent the second image-reading skill evaluation. The effectiveness of the teaching methods was assessed by analyzing the differences in theoretical test and experimental skill evaluation scores. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the first theoretical outcomes among three groups (p > 0.05). However, the second theoretical scores, the first objective evaluation scores, and the first subjective evaluation scores were significantly higher in the integrated teaching mode (3D teaching mode with the KoPa WiFi EDU and CBCT: 89.29 ± 4.55, 81.00 ± 8.15, and 61.57 ± 5.52, respectively; 2D teaching mode with the KoPa WiFi EDU system: 80.43 ± 3.41, 73.00 ± 8.01, and 55.67 ± 5.66, respectively) than in the traditional teaching mode (72.57 ± 3.84, 69.38 ± 4.91, and 48.67 ± 5.54, respectively) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the long-term teaching effect of the integrated mode was better than that of the traditional mode (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The morphology-based integrated teaching mode combining pathology and radiology aroused student enthusiasm for learning, and resulted in enhanced learning outcomes in dental experimental education.

Comparative analysis of two digestive tract reconstruction methods in total laparoscopic radical total gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of gastric cancer has significantly increased in recent years. Surgical resection is the main treatment, but the method of digestive tract reconstruction after gastric cancer surgery remains controversial. In the current study, we sought to explore a reasonable method of digestive tract reconstruction and improve the quality of life and nutritional status of patients after surgery. To this end, we statistically analyzed the clinical results of patients with gastric cancer who underwent jejunal interposition double-tract reconstruction (DTR) and esophageal jejunum Roux-en-Y reconstruction (RY). AIM: To explore the application effect of DTR in total laparoscopic radical total gastrectomy (TLTG) and evaluate its safety and efficacy. METHODS: We collected the relevant data of 77 patients who underwent TLTG at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from October 2021 to January 2023. Among them, 35 cases were treated with DTR, and the remaining 42 cases were treated with traditional RY. After 1:1 propensity score matching, the cases were grouped into 31 cases per group, with evenly distributed data. The clinical characteristics and short- and long-term clinical outcomes of the two groups were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The two groups showed no significant differences in basic data, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node dissections, first defecation time after operation, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative complications, and laboratory examination results on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th days after operation. The operation time of the DTR group was longer than that of the RY group [(307.58 ± 65.14) min vs (272.45 ± 62.09) min, P = 0.016], but the first intake of liquid food in the DTR group was shorter than that in the RY group [(4.45 ± 1.18) d vs (6.0 ± 5.18) d, P = 0.028]. The incidence of reflux heartburn (Visick grade) and postoperative gallbladder disease in the DTR group was lower than that in the RY group (P = 0.033 and P = 0.038). Although there was no significant difference in body weight, hemoglobin, prealbumin, and albumin between the two groups at 1,3 and 6 months after surgery, the diet of patients in the DTR group was better than that in the RY group (P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: The clinical effect of DTR in TLTG is better than that of RY, indicating that it is a more valuable digestive tract reconstruction method in laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery.

Molecular characterization of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus identified in 2021 from Nepal.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), an important viral disease of swine caused by PRRS virus (PRRSV) was first confirmed in Nepal in 2013. Since then, the virus has spread throughout the country and has now become endemic affecting the pig production nationally. However, molecular characterization of circulating strains has not been done in Nepal yet. In the present study, serum samples were collected from outbreak areas of different districts of Nepal and samples positive for PRRSV by ELISA were sent to Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), United Kingdom for sequence analysis. Out of 35 samples that were sent to APHA, only one sample was found positive by PCR and subjected to sequence analysis based on ORF5, ORF7 and Nsp2. The results from the phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the PRRSV strain belongs to PRRSV-2 and lineage 8 strain. The sequences from the Nepalese PRRSV strain revealed a high degree of similarity with the strains isolated from India, China and Vietnam, with the closest genetic relatedness to the Indian isolates from 2020 and 2018. This is the first study on molecular characterization of PRRS virus circulating in Nepal. Further studies on strains circulating in Nepal are very essential to understand the virus diversity, its spread and evolution.

CALD1 facilitates epithelial-mesenchymal transition progression in gastric cancer cells by modulating the PI3K-Akt pathway.

BACKGROUND: CALD1 has been discovered to be abnormally expressed in a variety of malignant tumors, including gastric cancer (GC), and is associated with tumor progression and immune infiltration; however, the roles and mechanisms of CALD1 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC are unknown. AIM: To investigate the role and mechanism of CALD1 in GC progression, invasion, and migration. METHODS: In this study, the relationship between CALD1 and GC, as well as the possible network regulatory mechanisms of CALD1, was investigated by bioinformatics and validated by experiments. CALD1-siRNA was synthesized and used to transfect GC cells. Cell activity was measured using the CCK-8 method, cell migration and invasive ability were measured using wound healing assay and Transwell assay, and the expression levels of relevant genes and proteins in each group of cells were measured using qRT-PCR and Western blot. A GC cell xenograft model was established to verify the results of in vitro experiments. RESULTS: Bioinformatics results showed that CALD1 was highly expressed in GC tissues, and CALD1 was significantly higher in EMT-type GC tissues than in tissues of other types of GC. The prognosis of patients with high expression of CALD1 was worse than that of patients with low expression, and a prognostic model was constructed and evaluated. The experimental results were consistent with the results of the bioinformatics analysis. The expression level of CALD1 in GC cell lines was all higher than that in gastric epithelial cell line GES-1, with the strongest expression found in AGS and MKN45 cells. Cell activity was significantly reduced after CALD1-siRNA transfection of AGS and MKN45 cells. The ability of AGS and MKN45 cells to migrate and invade was reduced after CALD1-siRNA transfection, and the related mRNA and protein expression was altered. According to bioinformatics findings in GC samples, the CALD1 gene was significantly associated with the expression of members of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway as well as the EMT signaling pathway, and was closely related to the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Experimental validation revealed that upregulation of CALD1 increased the expression of PI3K, p-AKT, and p-mTOR, members of the PI3K-Akt pathway,while decreasing the expression of PTEN; PI3K-Akt inhibitor treatment decreased the expression of PI3K, p-AKT, and p-mTOR in cells overexpressing CALD1 (still higher than that in the normal group), but increased the expression of PTEN (still lower than that in the normal group). CCK-8 results revealed that the effect of CALD1 on tumor cell activity was decreased by the addition of the inhibitor. Scratch and Transwell experiments showed that the effect of CALD1 on tumor cell migration and invasion was weakened by the addition of the PI3K-Akt inhibitor. The mRNA and protein levels of EMT-related genes in AGS and MKN45 cells were greatly altered by the overexpression of CALD1, whereas the effect of overexpression of CALD1 was significantly weakened by the addition of the PI3K-Akt inhibitor. Animal experiments showed that tumour growth was slow after inhibition of CALD1, and the expression of some PI3K-Akt and EMT pathway proteins was altered. CONCLUSION: Increased expression of CALD1 is a key factor in the progression, invasion, and metastasis of GC, which may be associated with regulating the PI3K-Akt pathway to promote EMT.

Deinococcus wulumuqiensis R12 synthesized silver nanoparticles with peroxidase-like activity for synergistic antibacterial application.

The use of a combination of several antibacterial agents for therapy holds great promise in reducing the dosage and side effects of these agents, improving their efficiency, and inducing potential synergistic therapeutic effects. Herein, this study provides an innovative antibacterial treatment strategy by synergistically combining R12-AgNPs with H2O2 therapy. R12-AgNPs were simply produced with the supernatant of an ionizing radiation-tolerant bacterium Deinococcus wulumuqiensis R12 by one-step under room temperature. In comparison with chemically synthesized AgNPs, the biosynthesized AgNPs presented fascinating antibacterial activity and peroxidase-like properties, which endowed it with the capability to catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 to generate hydroxyl radical. After the combination of R12-AgNPs and H2O2, an excellent synergistic bacteriostatic activity was observed for both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, especially at low concentrations. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity tests showed R12-AgNPs had good biocompatibility. Thus, this work presents a novel antibacterial agent that exhibits favorable synergistic antibacterial activity and low toxicity, without the use of antibiotics or a complicated synthesis process.

Secondary metabolites from Penicillium sp. HS-11, a fungal endophyte of Huperzia serrata.

Three new sorbicillinoids sorbicatechols E-G (1-3), along with seven known compounds 4-10, were obtained from the ethanol extract of Penicillium sp. HS-11, a fungal endophyte of the medicinal plant Huperzia serrata. The structures of 1-3 were established by detailed interpretation of the spectroscopic data and their absolute configurations were established by comparative analyses of the ECD spectra. Sorbicatechol G (3) represented the first hybrid sorbicillinoid bearing a tetralone skeleton. In the in-vitro bioassay, trichodimerol (5) exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against the Escherichia coli ß-glucuronidase (EcGUS) with an IC50 value of 92.0 ± 9.4 µM.

Under-canopy afforestation after 10 years: assessing the potential of converting monoculture plantations into mixed stands.

Under-canopy afforestation using different tree species is a key approach in close-to-nature management to improve the structural and functional stability of plantation forests. However, current research on understory afforestation mainly focuses on the seedling stage, with limited attention to saplings or young trees. In this study, we evaluated the growth characteristics and leaf traits of 14-year-old Pinus sylvestris var. Mongolica trees under four different upper forest density (UFD) treatments: 0 trees/hm2 (canopy openness 100%, CK), 150 trees/hm2 (canopy openness 51.9%, T1), 225 trees/hm2 (canopy openness 43.2%, T2), and 300 trees/hm2 (canopy openness 28.4%, T3). We found that the survival rate of P. sylvestris in the T3 was significantly lower than in the other treatments, with a decrease of 30.2%, 18.3%, and 19.5% compared to CK, T1, and T2, respectively. The growth of P. sylvestris in the T1 treatment exhibited superior performance. Specifically, T1 showed a significant increase of 18.8%, 5.5%, and 24.1% in tree height, diameter at breast height, and crown width, respectively, compared to the CK. The mean trunk biomass ratio in the understory was significantly higher than that in full light by 15.4%, whereas the mean leaf biomass ratio was significantly lower by 12.3%. Understory P. sylvestris trees tended to allocate more biomass to the trunk at the expense of decreasing leaf biomass, which would facilitate height growth to escape the shading environment, although the promotion was relatively limited. Leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, leaf thickness, mesophyll tissue thickness, epidermis thickness, and leaf carbon content were the highest in the CK and tended to decrease with increasing UFD, indicating that a high-light environment favored leaf growth and enhanced carbon accumulation. In summary, young P. sylvestris trees adapted to moderate shading conditions created by the upper canopy, and the T1 treatment was optimal for the growth of understory P. sylvestris. This study provides insights into different adaptive strategies of young P. sylvestris trees to changes in light environment, providing practical evidence for under-canopy afforestation using light-demanding trees during pure plantation transformation.

Immune-Related Adverse Event-Related Adrenal Insufficiency Mediates Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Efficacy in Cancer Treatment.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly improved the outcomes of patients with cancer; however, these agents may initiate immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Previous studies have demonstrated a robust correlation between disease prognosis and the occurrence of irAEs, specifically skin or endocrine irAEs. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the correlation between irAE-related adrenal insufficiency (AI) and ICI treatment efficacy. Patients and methods: Patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal, respiratory, head and neck, urological, skin and gynecologic cancers treated with anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody as monotherapy or combined therapy (combined with chemotherapy or targeted therapy) were divided into irAE-A (patients with irAE-related AI), irAE-B (patients with other irAEs) and non-irAE groups. Immunotherapy efficacy was assessed based on the disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Survival probabilities were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test. Results: Of the 192 patients enrolled in our study, 17 developed irAE-related AI and 83 developed other irAEs. The DCR of the irAE-A and irAE-B groups were higher than that of the non-irAE group (P<0.05). Multiple extended Cox regression analyses showed that irAE status (irAE-A vs non-irAE, P=0.008; irAE-B vs non-irAE, P=0.020), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status (P=0.045), tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (P=0.000), and treatment line (P=0.002) were independent predictors of PFS. Contrarily, irAE status (irAE-A vs non-irAE, P=0.009; irAE-B vs non-irAE, P=0.013), ECOG status (P=0.007), TNM stage (P=0.035), treatment line (P=0.001) and treatment modality (P=0.008) were independent predictors for OS. Conclusion: IrAE-related AI was significantly associated with ICI treatment efficacy in patients with cancer, which could be a potentially predictable marker. Due to the destruction of adrenal tissue by T cells with enhanced activity, AI reflects enhanced T cell activity to some extent.

Early Prone Position Ventilation in the Efficacy for Severe Hypoxemia and Neurological Complications Following Acute Type A Aortic Dissection (TAAD) Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the efficacy of early prone position ventilation in the treatment of severe hypoxemia after surgery for acute type A aortic dissection (TAAD). METHODS: The patients were divided into a control group and a treatment group. Parameters assessed included blood gas analysis indicators [arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2). RESULTS: (1) Blood gas analysis: Before treatment, there was no significant difference in PaO2, SpO2, and OI levels between the two groups; after treatment, the PaO2, SpO2, and OI levels in both groups significantly increased compared to pre-treatment, with a more pronounced improvement in the treatment group than in the control group (p < 0.05). (2) Hemodynamics: Before treatment, there was no significant difference in MAP and HR levels between the two groups; after treatment, the MAP levels increased significantly in both groups compared to pre-treatment, while HR levels decreased significantly, with no significant difference between the groups. (3) Prognosis recovery: MV time, ICU stay, and total hospital stay were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group; the 30-day mortality rate was 14.58% in the control group and 12.50% in the treatment group, with no significant difference in 30-day mortality rate between the groups. CONCLUSION: Early prone position ventilation has shown promising application in the treatment of severe hypoxemia after TAAD surgery. Compared to traditional supine position ventilation, the use of early prone position ventilation can further improve blood gas analysis indicators in patients, and shorten MV time, ICU stay, and total hospital stay, thereby accelerating patient recovery.

mir-150-5p inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells by targeting irisin to regulate the p38/MAPK signaling pathway.

PURPOSE: To study the effect of miR-150-5p on the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and further explore the relationship between its regulatory mechanism and irisin. METHODS: We isolated mouse BMSCs, and induced osteogenic differentiation by osteogenic induction medium. Using qPCR to detect the expression of osteogenic differentiation-related genes, western blot to detect the expression of osteogenic differentiation-related proteins, and luciferase reporter system to verify that FNDC5 is the target of miR-150-5p. Irisin intraperitoneal injection to treat osteoporosis in mice constructed by subcutaneous injection of dexamethasone. RESULTS: Up-regulation of miR-150-5p inhibited the proliferation of BMSCs, and decreased the content of osteocalcin, ALP activity, calcium deposition, the expression of osteogenic differentiation genes (Runx2, OSX, OCN, OPN, ALP and BMP2) and protein (BMP2, OCN, and Runx2). And down-regulation of miR-150-5p plays the opposite role of up-regulation of miR-150-5p on osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Results of luciferase reporter gene assay showed that FNDC5 gene was the target gene of miR-150-5p, and miR-150-5p inhibited the expression of FNDC5 in mouse BMSCs. The expression of osteogenic differentiation genes and protein, the content of osteocalcin, ALP activity and calcium deposition in BMSCs co-overexpressed by miR-150-5p and FNDC5 was significantly higher than that of miR-150-5p overexpressed alone. In addition, the overexpression of FNDC5 reversed the blocked of p38/MAPK pathway by the overexpression of miR-150-5p in BMSCs. Irisin, a protein encoded by FNDC5 gene, improved symptoms in osteoporosis mice through intraperitoneal injection, while the inhibitor of p38/MAPK pathway weakened this function of irisin. CONCLUSION: miR-150-5p inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs by targeting irisin to regulate the/p38/MAPK signaling pathway, and miR-150-5p/irisin/p38 pathway is a potential target for treating osteoporosis.

Epitaxial Strain Enhanced Ferroelectric Polarization toward a Giant Tunneling Electroresistance.

A substantial ferroelectric polarization is the key for designing high-performance ferroelectric nonvolatile memories. As a promising candidate system, the BaTiO3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (BTO/LSMO) ferroelectric/ferromagnetic heterostructure has attracted a lot of attention thanks to the merits of high Curie temperature, large spin polarization, and low ferroelectric coercivity. Nevertheless, the BTO/LSMO heterostructure suffers from a moderate FE polarization, primarily due to the quick film-thickness-driven strain relaxation. In response to this challenge, we propose an approach for enhancing the FE properties of BTO films by using a Sr3Al2O6 (SAO) buffering layer to mitigate the interfacial strain relaxation. The continuously tunable strain allows us to illustrate the linear dependence of polarization on epitaxial strain with a large strain-sensitive coefficient of ∼27 µC/cm2 per percent strain. This results in a giant polarization of ∼80 µC/cm2 on the BTO/LSMO interface. Leveraging this large polarization, we achieved a giant tunneling electroresistance (TER) of ∼105 in SAO-buffered Pt/BTO/LSMO ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs). Our research uncovers the fundamental interplay between strain, polarization magnitude, and device performance, such as on/off ratio, thereby advancing the potential of FTJs for next-generation information storage applications.

Fully printed minimum port flexible interdigital electrode sensor arrays.

Screen-printed interdigital electrode-based flexible pressure sensor arrays play a crucial role in human-computer interaction and health monitoring due to their simplicity of fabrication. However, the long-standing challenge of how to reduce the number of electrical output ports of interdigital electrodes to facilitate integration with back-end circuits is still commonly ignored. Here, we propose a screen-printing strategy to avoid wire cross-planes for rapid fabrication of flexible pressure sensor arrays. By innovatively introducing an insulating ink to realize electrical insulation and three-dimensional interconnection of wire crossings, the improved sensor array (4 × 4) successfully reduces the number of output ports from 17 to 8. In addition, we further constructed microstructures on the laser-etched electrode surfaces and the sensitive layer, which enabled the sensor to achieve a sensitivity as high as 17 567.5 kPa-1 in the range of 0-50 kPa. Moreover, we integrated the sensors with back-end circuits for the precise detection of tactile and physiological information. This provides a reliable method for preparing high-performance flexible sensor arrays and large-scale integration of microsensors.

[Comparison of effectiveness between unilateral biportal endoscopic and uniportal interlaminar endoscopic decompression in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis].

Objective: To compare the effectiveness between unilateral laminotomy and bilateral decompression (ULBD) with unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) and uniportal interlaminar endoscopy (UIE) in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods: A clinical data of 52 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis, who met the selection criteria and treated with ULBD between March 2021 and November 2022, was retrospectively analyzed. The patients were allocated into UBE group (23 cases) and UIE group (29 cases) according to the surgical methods. There was no significant difference ( P>0.05) in age, gender, body mass index, surgical segment, type of lumbar stenosis, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score of low back pain, VAS score of leg pain, Oswestry disability index (ODI), disc height, and dural sac area between the two groups. Perioperative indexes (incision length, operation time, hospital stay, and surgical complications), clinical indicators (VAS score of low back pain, VAS score of leg pain, and ODI before operation and at 3 days, 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months after operation), and imaging indicators (disc height and dural sac area before operation and at 1, 12 months after operation, and dural sac expansion area) were recorded and compared between the two group. Results: All operations in both groups were successfully completed. Compared with the UIE group, the UBE group had shorter operation time and longer incision length, with significant differences ( P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in hospital stay and incidence of complications between the two groups ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up 12-20 months (mean, 14 months). The VAS scores of low back pain and leg pain and ODI after operation significantly improved when compared with preoperative values ( P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the above indicators between different time points after operation ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups at different time points ( P>0.05). Imaging examination showed that there was no significant difference in disc height between the two groups at different time points after operation ( P>0.05). However, the dural sac area and dural sac expansion area were significantly larger in the UBE group than in the UIE group ( P<0.05). Conclusion: ULBD with UBE and UIE can achieve satisfactory effectiveness in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. But the former has more thorough decompression and better dural sac expansion than the latter.

Corrigendum: Identifying hotspots of woody plant diversity and their relevance with home ranges of the critically endangered gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) across forest landscapes within a tropical nature reserve.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1283037.].

Taming heat with tiny pressure.

Heat is almost everywhere. Unlike electricity, which can be easily manipulated, the current ability to control heat is still highly limited owing to spontaneous thermal dissipation imposed by the second law of thermodynamics. Optical illumination and pressure have been used to switch endothermic/exothermic responses of materials via phase transitions; however, these strategies are less cost-effective and unscalable. Here, we spectroscopically demonstrate the glassy crystal state of 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (AMP) to realize an affordable, easily manageable approach for thermal energy recycling. The supercooled state of AMP is so sensitive to pressure that even several megapascals can induce crystallization to the ordered crystal, resulting in a substantial temperature increase of 48 K within 20 s. Furthermore, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept device capable of programable heating with an extremely high work-to-heat conversion efficiency of ∼383. Such delicate and efficient tuning of heat may remarkably facilitate rational utilization of waste heat.