Can Percutaneous Kyphoplasty Be a New Solution for Vertebral Fractures in Patients With Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis? Retrospective Study.

Background: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a metabolic disease that is prevalent in elderly patients and is characterized by spinal ankylosis. Traditional surgical treatment requires open long-segment internal fixation. Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP), as a minimally invasive spinal surgery technology, can accurately relieve pain and improve quality of life.

Recurrence of Local Kyphosis After Percutaneous Kyphoplasty: The Neglected Injury of the Disc-Endplate Complex.

Background: Recurrent of local kyphosis after percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) is rarely reported and discussed. Literatures reported that re-kyphosis is usually a consequence of refractures of augmented or adjacent vertebra. However, whether re-kyphosis should be considered as a complication of refractures and has an impact on clinical efficacy of PKP during follow-up time is unknown.

Joint Genome-Wide Association Analyses Identified 49 Novel Loci For Age at Natural Menopause.

Background: Age at natural menopause (ANM) is an important index for women's health. Either early or late ANM is associated with a series of adverse outcomes later in life. Despite being an inheritable trait, its genetic determinant has not yet been fully understood.

Systematically profiling the expression of eIF3 subunits in glioma reveals the expression of eIF3i has prognostic value in IDH-mutant lower grade glioma.

Background: Abnormal expression of the eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3) subunits plays critical roles in tumorigenesis and progression, and also has potential prognostic value in cancers. However, the expression and clinical implications of eIF3 subunits in glioma remain unknown.

Methods: Expression data of eIF3 for patients with gliomas were obtained from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) ( = 272) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ( = 595).

[Soil Pollution Characteristics and Ecological Risk Assessment of As at a Large-scale Arsenic Slag-contaminated Site].

A large-scale arsenic slag-contaminated site was selected to determine soil pollution characteristics and the degree of ecological risk of a large-scale contaminated site. In this study, 184 site soil samples, 101 agricultural soil samples, and 14 arsenic slag samples were collected and the pollution characteristics and ecological risk of As were evaluated using multivariate statistics, geostatistics, and the geoaccumulation and potential ecological risk index methods. The results show that the average As contents in site soil, agricultural soil, and arsenic slag are 1333.

Chemical constituents from Bletilla striata and their NO production suppression in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells.

A novel glucoside bletilloside A (1) was isolated from the tubers of Bletilla striata, together with seven known compounds (2-8). Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. All compounds were evaluated for the inhibition on NO production effects in RAW 264.

[Characteristics and Inputs of Cd Contamination in Paddy Soils in Typical Mining and Industrial Areas in Youxian County, Hunan Province].

In order to explore input pathways and pollution characteristics of Cd contamination in paddy soil in Youxian, Hunan Province, Cd contents in paddy soils, sediments of irrigation canals, typical mineral and industrial products such as coal, gangue and cement were analyzed. It was suggested that the average contents of Cd both in surface paddy soil and the corresponding natural soil were higher than the soil quality standard 0.3 mg x kg(-1).

[Spatial distribution prediction of surface soil Pb in a battery contaminated site].

In order to enhance the reliability of risk estimation and to improve the accuracy of pollution scope determination in a battery contaminated site with the soil characteristic pollutant Pb, four spatial interpolation models, including Combination Prediction Model (OK(LG) + TIN), kriging model (OK(BC)), Inverse Distance Weighting model (IDW), and Spline model were employed to compare their effects on the spatial distribution and pollution assessment of soil Pb. The results showed that Pb concentration varied significantly and the data was severely skewed. The variation coefficient of the site was higher in the local region.

Percutaneous kyphoplasty for the treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures with neurological deficit: radicular pain can mimic disc herniation.

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) are the common disease found in elderly population. Neurological deficit in OVFs is rare despite the involved posterior cortex of the fractured vertebral body, severe kyphotic deformity, or the instability at the fracture site. OVF with resulting neurological deficit was considered as a contraindication for vertebral augmentation techniques.

Nanowire liquid pumps.

The ability to form tiny droplets of liquids and control their movements is important in printing or patterning, chemical reactions and biological assays. So far, such nanofluidic capabilities have principally used components such as channels, nozzles or tubes, where a solid encloses the transported liquid. Here, we show that liquids can flow along the outer surface of solid nanowires at a scale of attolitres per second and the process can be directly imaged with in situ transmission electron microscopy.

Carbon nanotube-tipped endoscope for in situ intracellular surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Gold nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used to study intracellular environments in situ using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). CNTs are decorated with gold nanoparticles and assembled onto the tips of pulled glass capillaries to form a SERS-enabled endoscope. The sub-micrometer size and high mechanical strength of the endoscope make it possible to penetrate the cell membrane for intracellular probing and remain positioned inside during lengthy SERS measurements without causing damage to the cell.

Multifunctional carbon-nanotube cellular endoscopes.

Glass micropipettes, atomic force microscope tips and nanoneedles can be used to interrogate cells, but these devices either have conical geometries that can damage cells during penetration or are incapable of continuous fluid handling. Here, we report a carbon-nanotube-based endoscope for interrogating cells, transporting fluids and performing optical and electrochemical diagnostics at the single organelle level. The endoscope, which is made by placing a multiwalled carbon nanotube (length, 50-60 µm) at the tip of a glass pipette, can probe the intracellular environment with a spatial resolution of ∼100 nm and can also access organelles without disrupting the cell.

A novel self-cleaning coating with silicon carbide nanowires.

A novel self-cleaning glass was successfully achieved by coating macroscopical SiC nanowires (SiCNWs) in tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) solution. The water contact angle (CA) was high, up to approximately 160 degrees, and the sliding angle was low, down to approximately 5 degrees, when SiCNWs were coated through 10 cycles, with a high roughness Ra of 1928.9 nm.

Synthesis of superhydrophobic silicon oxide nanowires surface on silicon wafer.

High roughness of several hundreds of nanometers and low free energy introduced the superhydrophobic surface with a high water contact angle of approximatelt 160 degrees for the chemically modified silicon oxide nanowires on silicon wafer. Particularly, a very small rolling angle of < 5 degrees with the annealed sample was observed. The nano-structure with high roughness and organic perfluoroalkysilane coating with CF2/CF3 groups contributed the superhydrophobicity.

Aligned silicon carbide nanowire crossed nets with high superhydrophobicity.

Aligned silicon carbide nanowire crossed nets (a-SiCNWNs) were directly synthesized by using a vapor-solid reaction at 1100 degrees C. Zinc sulfide was used as catalyst to assist the growth of a-SiCNWNs with small size and crystal structure. After functionalization with perfluoroalkysilane, a-SiCNWNs showed excellent superhydrophobic property with a high water contact angle more than 156 +/- 2 degrees , compared to random nanowires (147 +/- 2 degrees ) and pure silicon wafers (101 +/- 2 degrees ).

A simple route to synthesize scales of aligned single-crystalline SiC nanowires arrays with very small diameter and optical properties.

Scales of aligned single-crystalline SiC nanowires (SiCNWs) arrays with very small diameter were synthesized by a simple thermal evaporation of ZnS and carbon on silicon wafer. The as-received SiCNWs possess a uniform size distribution centered at approximately 8.0 nm, even with a minimum of approximately 3.