Assessing Swallowing Dysfunction Aggravation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Using Ultrasonic Measurements With Swallowing Movement Parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between ultrasonic measurements of swallowing movement parameters and aggravation of swallowing dysfunction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: COPD patients with swallowing dysfunction (n = 120) and COPD patients with normal swallowing function (n = 100) treated in our hospital between January 2020 and January 2023 were included in observation and control groups, respectively. The correlation between ultrasonic measurements of swallowing movement parameters and COPD with swallowing dysfunction was analyzed. The observation group was divided into mild and severe groups according to their Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) scores. The correlation between ultrasonic measurements of swallowing movement parameters and COPD exacerbation combined with swallowing dysfunction was analyzed. RESULTS: In the observation group, Hyoid muscle thickness, hyoid bone displacement, geniohyoid muscle movement distance, HLAS, and CSR were lower compared to the control group, negatively associated with COPD-related swallowing issues. Conversely, geniohyoid muscle movement time and minimum hyohyoid distance (NHLA) were higher in the observation group, positively correlated with COPD-related swallowing dysfunction. In COPD patients with swallowing problems, the severe group exhibited lower values for lingual muscle thickness, hyoid bone displacement, geniohyoid muscle movement distance, HLAS, and CSR compared to the mild group, while geniohyoid muscle movement time and NHLA were higher in the severe group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created, indicating the promising diagnostic utility of these parameters for assessing the presence and severity of swallowing dysfunction in COPD patients. CONCLUSION: The ultrasonic measurement of swallowing motion parameters can effectively assess swallowing dysfunction in COPD patients.

Constructing a Competency Training Index System in Public Health Emergencies for Community Nurses.

OBJECTIVE: A competency training index system was designed in public health emergencies for community nurses. The purpose of this approach is to provide community nurses with guidelines for standardized training programs on how to respond to public health emergencies. METHODS: Through semi-structured interviews, a literature review, and team discussion, the first draft of competency training index system in public health emergencies for community nurses was formed. The Delphi method was used for two rounds of expert consultation to screen, modify and determine indicators. Finally, the analytic hierarchy process was utilized to calculate the weights of indicators at all levels. RESULTS: A total of 15 expert consultants were included. The effective recovery rate of the two rounds of expert consultation questionnaire was 100%, the expert authority coefficient was 0.880, 0.887, and the Kendall coordination coefficient was 0.172 and 0.171 (p < 0.001). Expert opinions have determined that the final revised competency index system in public health emergencies for community nurses training consists of 2 primary indicators, 10 secondary indicators, and 46 tertiary indicators. CONCLUSION: The study has developed a competency training index system in public health emergencies for community nurses. This system can serve as a foundation for standardized training in community health service institutions. It is characterized by its high demand, scientific approach, reliability, and rationality.

Risk estimation for postoperative nausea and vomiting: development and validation of a nomogram based on point-of-care gastric ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to develop a nomogram that can be combined with point-of-care gastric ultrasound and utilised to predict postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in adult patients after emergency surgery. METHODS: Imaging and clinical data of 236 adult patients undergoing emergency surgery in a university hospital between April 2022 and February 2023 were prospectively collected. Patients were divided into a training cohort (n = 177) and a verification cohort (n = 59) in a ratio of 3:1, according to a random number table. After univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis of the training cohort, independent risk factors for PONV were screened to develop the nomogram model. The receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curve (CIC) were used to evaluate the prediction efficiency, accuracy, and clinical practicability of the model. RESULTS: Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that female sex, history of PONV, history of migraine and gastric cross-sectional area were independent risk factors for PONV. These four independent risk factors were utilised to construct the nomogram model, which achieved significant concordance indices of 0.832 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.771-0.893) and 0.827 (95% CI, 0.722-0.932) for predicting PONV in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The nomogram also had well-fitted calibration curves. DCA and CIC indicated that the nomogram had great clinical practicability. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the prediction efficacy, differentiation, and clinical practicability of a nomogram for predicting PONV. This nomogram may serve as an intuitive and visual guide for rapid risk assessment in patients with PONV before emergency surgery.

Pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the quality control of nucleic acid detection.

The new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic spread rapidly throughout the world. Considering the strong infectivity and clustering of COVID-19, early detection of infectious cases is of great significance to control the epidemic. Nucleic acid testing (NAT) plays an important role in rapid laboratory diagnosis, treatment assessment, epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19. However, since COVID-19 is caused by a new emerging virus and NAT for COVID-19 has not been clinically applied before, false negative results inconsistent with clinical diagnosis have appeared in clinical practice. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the sensitivity of NAT for COVID-19. This study aimed to summarize the current situation and prospect of NAT based on the latest findings on COVID-19 infection. Also, the quality control of sample collection was discussed. Hopefully, this study could help to improve the effectiveness of NAT for COVID-19.

A Bridge-Linked Phosphorus-Containing Flame Retardant for Endowing Vinyl Ester Resin with Low Fire Hazard.

The high flammability of vinyl ester resin (VE) significantly limits its widespread application in the fields of electronics and aerospace. A new phosphorus-based flame retardant 6,6'-(1-phenylethane-1,2 diyl) bis (dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinine 6-oxide) (PBDOO), was synthesized using 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) and acetophenone. The synthesized PBDOO was further incorporated with VE to form the VE/PBDOO composites, which displayed an improved flame retardancy with higher thermal stability. The structure of PBDOO was investigated using Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonances (NMR). The thermal stability and flame retardancy of VE/PBDOO composites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), vertical burn test (UL-94), limiting oxygen index (LOI), and cone calorimetry. The impacts of PBDOO weight percentage (wt%) on the flame-retardant properties of the formed VE/PBDOO composites were also examined. When applying 15 wt% PBDOO, the formed VE composites can meet the UL-94 V-0 rating with a high LOI value of 31.5%. The peak heat release rate (PHRR) and the total heat release (THR) of VE loaded 15 wt% of PBDOO decreased by 76.71% and 40.63%, respectively, compared with that of untreated VE. In addition, the flame-retardant mechanism of PBDOO was proposed by analyzing pyrolysis behavior and residual carbon of VE/PBDOO composites. This work is expected to provide an efficient method to enhance the fire safety of VE.

Edge-Aided Reliable Data Transmission for Heterogeneous Edge-IoT Sensor Networks.

Wireless sensor networks have been attracting research attention for the past decade and will continue to be a hot topic due to the emerging trend of Internet-of-Things (IoT). Edge computing for IoT (Edge-IoT) is a promising framework that can help low-powered sensor networks to conduct complex computational tasks. Different from the existing works that focus on cooperative task execution for edge and sensor networks, in this paper, we investigate the problem of reliable data transmission in edge-aided sensor networks. Firstly, we discuss how edge servers can help to improve the data transmission of sensor networks. Secondly, we propose a forwarding scheme for edge nodes to forward packets according to coverage and corresponding interference. Thirdly, we propose an edge-based error recovery approach. By employing edge servers for data transmission and error recovery, the efficiency and reliability of data transmissions can be largely improved.

Bulk Data Dissemination in Low Power Sensor Networks: Present and Future Directions.

Wireless sensor network-based (WSN-based) applications need an efficient and reliable data dissemination service to facilitate maintenance, management and data distribution tasks. As WSNs nowadays are becoming pervasive and data intensive, bulk data dissemination protocols have been extensively studied recently. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art bulk data dissemination protocols. The large number of papers available in the literature propose various techniques to optimize the dissemination protocols. Different from the existing survey works which separately explores the building blocks of dissemination, our work categorizes the literature according to the optimization purposes: Reliability, Scalability and Transmission/Energy efficiency. By summarizing and reviewing the key insights and techniques, we further discuss on the future directions for each category. Our survey helps unveil three key findings for future direction: (1) The recent advances in wireless communications (e.g., study on cross-technology interference, error estimating codes, constructive interference, capture effect) can be potentially exploited to support further optimization on the reliability and energy efficiency of dissemination protocols; (2) Dissemination in multi-channel, multi-task and opportunistic networks requires more efforts to fully exploit the spatial-temporal network resources to enhance the data propagation; (3) Since many designs incur changes on MAC layer protocols, the co-existence of dissemination with other network protocols is another problem left to be addressed.

Gasification of cyanobacterial in supercritical water.

Cyanobacterial collected from eutrophic freshwater lakes constituted intractable waste with a rich algae biomass content. Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) was proposed to treat the cyanobacterial and to produce hydrogen for energy. The H 2 yield reached 2.92 mol/kg at reaction conditions of 500 °C, 30 min and 22 MPa; this yield accounted for 26% of the total gaseous products. Abundant ammonia and dissolved reactive phosphorous were concentrated in the liquid product, which could be recovered and used as a liquid fertilizer. Solid residue, which accounted only for about 1% of the wet weight, was mainly composed of coke and ash. The efficiency of H 2 production was better than that from other biomass, because of the abundant organic matter in cyanobacterial. Thus, cyanobacterial are an ideal biomass feedstock for H 2 production from SCWG.

Highly efficient secondary dewatering of dewatered sewage sludge using low boiling point solvents.

Secondary dewatering of dewatered sludge is imperative to make conventional drying and incineration of sludge more economically feasible. In this study, a secondary dewatering of dewatered sludge with selected solvents (i.e. acetone and ethanol) followed by vacuum filtration and nature drying was investigated to achieve in-depth dewatering. After the entire secondary dewatering process, the sludge was shown to be odourless and the organic matter content was greatly retained. Increased mean particle size of sludge after solvent contact improved solid-liquid separation. With an acetone/sludge ratio of 3:1 (mL:g) in solvent contact and subsequent nature drying at ambient temperature after 24 h, the moisture content of sludge can be reduced to a level less than 20%. It is found that the polysaccharides were mainly precipitated by acetone, whereas the release ratios of protein and DNA were increased significantly as the added acetone volumes were elevated. During nature drying, accumulated evaporation rates of the sludge after solvent contact were 5-6 times higher than original dewatered sludge. Furthermore, sludge after acetone contact had better nature drying performance than ethanol. The two-stage dewatering involves solvent contact dewatering and solvent enhanced evaporation dewatering. Through selecting an appropriate solvent/sludge ratio as well as economical solvents and minimizing the solvent loss in a closed-pilot system, this dewatering process can be competitive in industrial applications. Therefore, this solvent-aided secondary dewatering is an energy-saving technology for effective in-depth dewatering of dewatered sludge and subsequent sludge utilization.

[Effects of decreased OPTN expression on the survival of the rat retinal ganglion cell line RGC5].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of decreased OPTN expression on the morphological alteration of sub-cellular structure and the survival of the rat retinal ganglion cell line RGC5. METHODS: Experimental study. OPTN specific siRNA was designed, synthesized and transfected into the astrocyte cell by Lipofectemine 2000. The mRNA and the protein of OPTN were assessed by real time-polymerase chain reaction (real time-PCR) and Western Blot. Eukaryotic expressing plasimid of OPTN specific siRNA (si-OPTN) was constructed with the most effective RNA interference sequence and transfected into RGC5 by Lipofectemine 2000. The RGC5 was divided into 4 groups: blank control group, pEGFP positive group, si-OPTN group, and liposome negative group. Specific fluorescent labeling dyes were used to mark the corresponding cell organelle. The distribution of optineurin and the morphology alteration of sub-cellular structure induced by the abnormal expression of optineurin in RGC5 were observed with confocal fluorescence microscopy. The effect of si-OPTN on cell survival was monitored by morphologic observation and PI-Hoechst33342 fluorescence staining of cells. One-way ANOVA was used between groups. RESULTS: After a 24 h transfection, the expression of OPTN mRNA was significantly inhibited by transfection of si-OPTN-001, si-OPTN-002 and si-OPTN-003 which was (61.71 ± 0.84)%, (48.13 ± 0.92)% and (46.22 ± 0.73)% respectively comparing with negative control. Forty-eight hours after transfection, the protein expression of OPTN decreased to (64.44 ± 2.01)%, (57.78 ± 1.97)% and (37.78 ± 1.84)% comparing with negative control. When cells were transfected after 24 h and 48 h, the transfecting efficiency of plasmids to RGC5 was (17.43 ± 0.94)% and (20.13 ± 1.24)% respectively. The distribution of si-OPTN was similar to EGFP. The green fluorescence distributed evenly in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Compared with negative control, the morphology of filaments, mitochondria, lysosomes, and Golgi body had no significant alteration in si-OPTN group. By using fluorescent double staining of Hoechst33342 and PI and comparing with blank control group (0.74 ± 0.34)% and negative control group (0.96 ± 0.41)%, increased cell apoptosis was observed in positive control group and si-OPTN group obviously after a 24 h transfection (F = 5.457, P < 0.05), but the apoptosis rate decreased in si-OPTN group comparing with that of positive control group (F = 6.541, P < 0.05). As the transfecting time extended, the apoptosis rate of positive control group increased when tranfecteing cultures reached 48 h. The apoptosis rate in si-OPTN group increased slightly with no significance (F = 3.212, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Si-OPTN-003 is the most effective siRNA in inhibiting the OPTN expression. The expression of si-OPTN distributed evenly in the whole cell with no obvious injuries in the transfected cell. The down regulation of optineurin induced by si-OPTN could be decreased RGC5 cell death.

Multimodal ultrasound imaging: a method to improve the accuracy of sentinel lymph node diagnosis in breast cancer.

Aim: This study assessed the utility of multimodal ultrasound in enhancing the accuracy of breast cancer sentinel lymph node (SLN) assessment and compared it with single-modality ultrasound. Methods: Preoperative examinations, including two-dimensional ultrasound (2D US), intradermal contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), intravenous CEUS, shear-wave elastography (SWE), and surface localization, were conducted on 86 SLNs from breast cancer patients. The diagnostic performance of single and multimodal approaches for detecting metastatic SLNs was compared to postoperative pathological results. Results: Among the 86 SLNs, 29 were pathologically diagnosed as metastatic, and 57 as non-metastatic. Single-modality ultrasounds had AUC values of 0.826 (intradermal CEUS), 0.705 (intravenous CEUS), 0.678 (2D US), and 0.677 (SWE), respectively. Intradermal CEUS significantly outperformed the other methods (p<0.05), while the remaining three methods had no statistically significant differences (p>0.05). Multimodal ultrasound, combining intradermal CEUS, intravenous CEUS, 2D US, and SWE, achieved an AUC of 0.893, with 86.21% sensitivity and 84.21% specificity. The DeLong test confirmed that multimodal ultrasound was significantly better than the four single-modal ultrasound methods (p<0.05). Decision curve analysis and clinical impact curves demonstrated the superior performance of multimodal ultrasound in identifying high-risk SLN patients. Conclusion: Multimodal ultrasound improves breast cancer SLN identification and diagnostic accuracy.

Evaluation of Early Accommodation Outcomes Following Femtosecond Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis and Small Incision Lenticule Extraction.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the changes and differences in early postoperative binocular accommodative function following femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). METHODS: In this retrospective study, 120 patients (240 eyes) diagnosed with low-to-moderate and high myopia, who underwent either FS-LASIK or SMILE procedures were included. The assessment encompassed measurements of accommodative facility, accommodation time, relaxation time, and accommodation-to-relaxation ratio using a smart flipper. Measurements were taken preoperatively, as well as at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month postoperatively. Additionally, the visual fatigue scale score was assessed and compared at the 1 month mark post-surgery. Changes in parameters were quantified by calculating the difference between preoperative values and those recorded at each postoperative time point. RESULTS: At 1 month post-surgery, both FS-LASIK and SMILE procedures demonstrated potential for recovery or even improvement in accommodative facility, accommodation time, relaxation time, and accommodation-to-relaxation ratio compared to preoperative levels. The FS-LASIK group exhibited a greater magnitude of change in accommodative facility postoperatively compared to the SMILE group. In the low-to-moderate myopia subgroup, the FS-LASIK group exhibited lower changes in accommodation time and visual fatigue scale score at 1 month post-surgery compared to the SMILE group, with all associated p-values <0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Early postoperative recovery of accommodation function was slower following SMILE compared to FS-LASIK. Additionally, the severity of visual fatigue at 1 month post-surgery was greater in the SMILE group than in the FS-LASIK group. This difference in visual fatigue levels may be attributed to the delayed recovery observed in postoperative SMILE procedures.

Highly enhanced chiroptical effect from self-inclusion helical nanocrystals of tetraphenylethylene bimacrocycles.

The helical structure is often the key factor for forming and enhancing chiroptical properties, such as circular dichroism (CD) and circular polarized luminescence (CPL) effects. However, no matter whether helical molecules or helical aggregates, they usually display modest chiroptical signals, which limits their practical applications. Herein, chiral tetraphenylethylene (TPE) bimacrocycles prepared in almost quantitative yield show strong and repeatable CD signals up to more than 7000 mdeg, which is very rare for general organic compounds, besides emitting very strong CPL light with an absolute g lum value up to 6.2 × 10-2. It is found that the superhelices formed by self-inclusion between the cavity and outward cyclohexyl ring of TPE bimacrocycles in crystal state are the key factor for highly enhanced chiroptical effect, and the self-inclusion superhelices in assemblies are confirmed by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM), Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FT-IR) data. Furthermore, the chiral TPE bimacrocycle shows great potential in chiral recognition and chiral analysis not only for chiral acids but also for chiral amines, chiral amino acids, and neutral chiral alcohol. Using self-inclusion helical nanocrystals of chiral macrocycles, this work provides a new strategy for chiroptical materials with excellent chiroptical properties.

Advances in pathogenesis and treatment of ocular involvement in Behcet's disease.

Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic multi-systemic disease characterized by relapsing-remitting oral ulcers, genital ulcers, ocular inflammatory involvements, and numerous other systemic features. Ocular involvements are quite common in BD and may cause severe tissue damage and potentially blindness. Even though the pathogenesis of BD remains ambiguous, growing evidences have shown that genetic factors, environmental triggers and immunological abnormalities play significant roles in its development and progression. Novel biotherapies targeting IFN-γ, TNF-α and interleukins have been used in recent years. In this review, we mainly pay attention to the ocular involvement of BD, and discuss the current understanding of mechanisms and advances in therapeutic approaches, especially novel biologics. Finally, we discuss the management in patients with pregnancy.

Immunotherapy and immunobiomarker in breast cancer: current practice and future perspectives.

Among the new cancer cases and resulting deaths among women worldwide, breast cancer is the most significant threat to women's health. In recent years, immunotherapy was initially used to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer, where it demonstrated its unique value by providing a novel way to improve therapeutic effects and prolong survival time. With the development of clinical trials related to immunotherapy for breast cancer, tumour vaccines, such as DNA vaccines, have been observed to improve the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients. Monoclonal antibodies have also shown good efficacy, and adoptive cell therapies, such as CAR-T, exhibit strong tumour killing ability and good safety, and thus, these therapies may comprise a new strategy for the treatment of breast cancer. These breakthrough successes have promoted the achievement of "individualized" breast cancer treatment. Moreover, a recent study showed that patients with various cancer types with a higher tumour mutational burden (TMB) are more likely to benefit from immunotherapy. As research progresses, TMB may also demonstrate a certain clinical significance in the treatment of breast cancer. This paper reviews the latest research progress on breast cancer immunotherapy and the predictive value and application status of TMB in immunotherapy regimens for breast cancer patients to provide a reference for further in-depth studies of breast cancer immunotherapy.

Impact factors of POCUS-guided cannulation for peripheral venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: One single-center retrospective clinical analysis.

We aimed to evaluate associated factors for point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)-guided percutaneous catheterization for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). VA-ECMO cases from March 2018 to October 2020 in Department of Intensive Care Unit, Binhaiwan Central Hospital of Dongguan, were enrolled. Clinical data, outcomes, and complications were recorded and summarized. Fifty-nine cases were enrolled, among which 88.1% succeeded in POCUS-guided catheterization via Seldinger technique, whereas 59.3% succeeded at the first puncture. Results showed that artery diameter and times of arterial punctures were independent associated factors for Seldinger puncture (P = .018, odds ratio [OR] = 23.374, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.706-320.270; P = .031, OR = 145.098, 95% CI = 1.592-13220.980), and artery diameter and cardiac ejection fraction value (≥30%/<30%) were independent associated factors for first puncture (P = .044, OR = 1.622, 95% CI = 1.014-2.596; P = .013, OR = 5.565, 95% CI = 1.441-21.488). For extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation patients, artery diameter was independent associated factor for Seldinger puncture (P = .022, OR = 2.070, 95% CI = 1.110-3.858), and cardiac ejection fraction value (≥30%/<30%) was independent associated factor for first puncture (P = .007, OR = 9.533, 95% CI = 1.847-49.204). Thirteen patients (22.0%) had local hemorrhage post puncture, 8 patients (13.6%) presented distal limb arterial ischemia, and 8 patients (13.6%) suffered puncture-related thrombosis. Vasoactive Inotropic Score was found to be independent associated factor for local hemorrhage (P = .039, OR = 0.994, 95% CI = 0.988-1.000), and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was independent associated factor for thrombosis (P = .025, OR = 0.935, 95% CI = 0.882-0.992). Diabetes and cardiopulmonary resuscitation time before catheterization were independent factors for distal limb ischemia (P = .026, OR = 220.774, 95% CI = 1.905-25591.327; P = .017, OR = 1.054, 95% CI = 1.009-1.101). POCUS-guided percutaneous catheterization via Seldinger technique can be the first choice for VA-ECMO cannulation, especially for a team without angiotomy qualifications. Before cannulation, evaluating the target artery and heart function by ultrasound can help predict outcome of catheterization. Assessing risk factors (diabetes, cardiopulmonary resuscitation time before catheterization, Vasoactive Inotropic Score, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score) is helpful for prevention and treatment of complications.

Therapeutic implications of nanodrug and tissue engineering for retinal pigment epithelium-related diseases.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), as a single layer of cells that performs multiple functions posteriorly in the eye, is a promising target site for the prevention and treatment of several clinical diseases, including proliferative diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, chorionic neovascularization, and retinitis pigmentosa. In recent decades, several nanodrug delivery platforms and tissue-engineered RPE have been widely developed to treat RPE-related diseases. This work summarizes the recent advances in nanoplatforms and tissue engineering scaffolds developed in these fields. The diseases associated with pathological RPE and their common therapy strategies are first introduced. Then, the recent progress made with a variety of drug delivery systems is presented, with an emphasis on the modification strategies of nanomaterials for targeted delivery. Tissue engineering-mediated RPE transplantation for treating these diseases is subsequently described. Finally, the clinical translation challenges in these fields are discussed in depth. This article will offer readers a better understanding of emerging nanotechnology and tissue engineering related to the treatment of RPE-related diseases and could facilitate their widespread use in experiments in vivo and in clinical applications.

Testing and Evaluation of Flexural Tensile Strength of Prestressed CFRP Cables.

To expand the application scope of prestressed carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) cables in civil engineering, the ultimate tensile strength of these cables was tested and evaluated under bending conditions. First, the study analyzed the tensile failure mechanism of CFRP cables under bending conditions based on elastic bending analysis theory. Thereafter, the ultimate stress state of individual tendons and cables was derived and a calculation model for the tensile strength of bent CFRP cables was established. Second, 14 sets of test conditions were created for CFRP cables under bending angles of 20-40° and bending radii of 1.5-3 m. Then, bending tensile tests were conducted to evaluate the effects of the above factors on the ultimate tensile strength, and the correctness of the computational model was verified using experiments. Finally, the ultimate performance of CFRP cables was theoretically predicted using the established model. The results showed that the cable bending tensile strength was associated with the radius r, tensile strength f, and elastic modulus E of the reinforced material and the bending radius R, but was not correlated with the interface buffer material or the bending angle of the steering system. Moreover, the flexural tensile residual strength was only affected by R/r and E/f. When E/f involved conventional material parameters, the residual strength increased nonlinearly with increased R/r. When R/r ≥ 600, the residual strength reached more than 80%. Therefore, R/r at 600 could be used as the design basis for a safe critical radius.

Culture of rat retinal ganglion cells.

This study aimed to modify the mixed and purified culture of rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in vitro. The retinae of 1-3 day old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were separated bluntly into two layers: inner layer and outer layer, under a surgical microscope. Retinal cells isolated from different layers (inner layer, outer layer and whole retinal tissue) by using enzyme dissociation method were cultured in F12/DMEM medium containing 15% FBS. After 3-day culture, the RGCs in the retinal cells obtained from mixed culture of inner, outer, and whole retinal tissue were identified by immunocytochemical staining of Thy-1.1, and the rate of RGCs to retinal cells (RGCs%) was calculated. Two monoclonal antibodies, anti-macrophages/granulocytes (OX-41) against rat macrophage and antibody against rat Thy-1.1 (OX-7), were used to purify RGCs by either a conventional or modified two-stepped immunopanning procedure (purification in situ). Purified RGCs were seeded at different cell density and cultured in F12/DMEM medium containing 15% FBS. Immunocytochemical staining for Thy-1.1, MTT, and PI-Hoechst33342 fluorescence imaging were used to identify the purity and the viability of RGCs in purified culture of RGCs. The results showed: (1) Immunocytochemistry of different retinal tissue layers culture revealed that the RGCs% was (19.9 ± 1.2)%, (0.5 ± 0.2)%, and (6.2 ± 1.7)% respectively in the mixed culture of inner, outer, and whole retinal tissue, with differences being significant (P<0.05); (2) fluorescent double staining of Hoechst33342 and PI indicated that with the same RGCs%, RGCs obtained from purification in situ grew well with more neurite outgrowth than those by the conventional two-stepped immunopanning method; (3) the viability of purified RGCs seeded at high density was increased and the cells developed complex intercellular networks. The viability of RGCs was declined with the decreasing seeding density, and most cells presented round or oval in shape with thin neurites. It was concluded that: (1) RGCs% in the inner layer retina was higher than that in the outer layer retina; (2) RGCs obtained by in situ purification had more neurite outgrowth and lower mortality than those by conventional two-stepped immunopanning procedure; (3) the viability of purified RGCs could be increased by increasing cell seeding density to some extent.

Potential effects of COVID-19 on reproductive health: a mini review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now a major public health problem worldwide. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectivity is extremely strong. One major target of the virus is the lung, which can lead to death due to the development of respiratory distress syndrome and even multiple system organ failure. The possible pathophysiology by which SARS-CoV-2 affects the object is by way of the receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). From the study of the viral structure and infection mechanisms, researchers have discovered that the ACE2 acts as a receptor for SARS-CoV-2. According to previous studies, ACE2 is one of the key enzymes in the RAS system. Physiological functions can be found in angiosarcomas and in the kidney, liver, intestine and so on. Whether SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to male fertility impairment has recently received attention. Nevertheless, the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and reproductive health is currently poorly understood. Using key words including "SARS-CoV-2", "reproductive health", "ACE2" and "2019-nCoV", we retrieved original articles and reviews from the PubMed and WEB OF SCI databases published before December 16, 2020 and performed a thorough review of them. Compared with females, we discovered that infected person with SARS-CoV-2 was higher in males. Men who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 may be easy to suffer from impaired reproductive health. These investigations would help for a comprehensive grasp of the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and reproductive health.