Summary
The aim of the current study was to use a Bayesian network meta-analysis to evaluate the relative benefits and risks of balloon kyphoplasty (BK), percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), and ...non-surgical treatment (NST) for patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs). The results demonstrate that for pain and functional status, PVP was significantly better than NST, while the three treatments did not significantly differ in other outcomes.
Introduction
BK, PVP, and NST are widely used to treat OVCFs, but preferable treatment is unknown. The aim of the current study was to use a Bayesian network meta-analysis to evaluate the relative benefits and risks of BK, PVP, and NST for patients with OVCFs.
Methods
PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were screened. Based on the preplanned eligibility criteria, we screened and included randomized controlled trials that compared BK, PVP, and NST in treating patients with OVCFs. The risk of bias for individual studies was appraised. The data were pooled using a Bayesian network meta-analysis and a traditional direct comparison meta-analysis.
Results
Of the 1057 relevant studies, 15 were eligible and included. Compared with NST, PVP significantly reduced pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). The comparative efficacy of BK and PVP was similar for pain (mean difference (MD) 0.51, 95% credible interval (CrI) − 0.35 to 1.4), ODI (MD 0.11, 95% CrI − 13 to 13), and RMDQ (MD 1.2, 95% CrI − 2.7 to 5.4). The European Quality of Life–5 Dimensions (EQ–5D) and Physical Component Summary subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36 PCS) did not differ significantly. There were also no substantial differences in the risks of subsequent vertebral fractures, adjacent vertebral fractures, and re-fractures at the treated level across all comparators. The results of pairwise meta-analyses were almost consistent with those of network meta-analyses. The treatment ranking indicated that PVP had the highest probability of being the most effective for pain, ODI, RMDQ, and EQ-5D. BK had the highest probability of improving SF-36 PCS and of reducing the risk of subsequent vertebral fractures and re-fractures at the treated level. NST was ranked first in preventing adjacent vertebral fractures.
Conclusion
PVP was the most effective method for improving pain, functional status, and quality of life (based on EQ-5D). BK emerged as the best intervention for decreasing the risk of subsequent vertebral fractures and re-fractures at the treated level. NST could be ranked first in reducing adjacent vertebral fractures. The future directions of OVCFs treatment will depend on the outcomes of additional and larger randomized trials in comparing BK with PVP.
Abstract
Combustion is a complex chemical system which involves thousands of chemical reactions and generates hundreds of molecular species and radicals during the process. In this work, a neural ...network-based molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is carried out to simulate the benchmark combustion of methane. During MD simulation, detailed reaction processes leading to the creation of specific molecular species including various intermediate radicals and the products are intimately revealed and characterized. Overall, a total of 798 different chemical reactions were recorded and some new chemical reaction pathways were discovered. We believe that the present work heralds the dawn of a new era in which neural network-based reactive MD simulation can be practically applied to simulating important complex reaction systems at ab initio level, which provides atomic-level understanding of chemical reaction processes as well as discovery of new reaction pathways at an unprecedented level of detail beyond what laboratory experiments could accomplish.
Anthropogenic atmospheric emissions of typical toxic heavy metals have caused worldwide concern due to their adverse effects on human health and the ecosystem. By determining the best available ...representation of time-varying emission factors with S-shape curves, we establish the multiyear comprehensive atmospheric emission inventories of 12 typical toxic heavy metals (Hg, As, Se, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sb, Mn, Co, Cu, and Zn) from primary anthropogenic activities in China for the period of 1949-2012 for the first time. Further, we allocate the annual emissions of these heavy metals in 2010 at a high spatial resolution of 0.5 degree 0.5 degree grid with ArcGIS methodology and surrogate indexes, such as regional population and gross domestic product (GDP). Our results show that the historical emissions of Hg, As, Se, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sb, Mn, Co, Cu, and Zn, during the period of 1949-2012, increased by about 22-128 times at an annual average growth rate of 5.1-8.0 %, reaching about 526.9-22 319.6 t in 2012. Nonferrous metal smelting, coal combustion of industrial boilers, brake and tyre wear, and ferrous metal smelting represent the dominant sources of heavy metal emissions. In terms of spatial variation, the majority of emissions are concentrated in relatively developed regions, especially for the northern, eastern, and southern coastal regions. In addition, because of the flourishing nonferrous metal smelting industry, several southwestern and central-southern provinces play a prominent role in some specific toxic heavy metals emissions, like Hg in Guizhou and As in Yunnan. Finally, integrated countermeasures are proposed to minimize the final toxic heavy metals discharge on account of the current and future demand of energy-saving and pollution reduction in China.
N-Doped graphene (NG) nanomaterials were synthesized by directly annealing graphene oxide (GO) with a novel nitrogen precursor of melamine. A high N-doping level, 8–11 at. %, was achieved at a ...moderate temperature. The sample of NG-700, obtained at a calcination temperature of 700 °C, showed the highest efficiency in degradation of phenol solutions by metal-free catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The catalytic activity of the N-doped rGO (NG-700) was about 80 times higher than that of undoped rGO in phenol degradation. Moreover, the activity of NG-700 was 18.5 times higher than that of the most popular metal-based catalyst of nanocrystalline Co3O4 in PMS activation. Theoretical calculations using spin–unrestricted density functional theory (DFT) were carried out to probe the active sites for PMS activation on N-doped graphene. In addition, experimental detection of generated radicals using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and competitive radical reactions was performed to reveal the PMS activation processes and pathways of phenol degradation on nanocarbons. It was observed that both •OH and SO4 •– existed in the oxidation processes and played critical roles for phenol oxidation.
The CDEX-1 experiment conducted a search of low-mass (< 10GeV/c super(2)) weakly interacting massive particles dark matter at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory using a p-type point-contact ...germanium detector with a fiducial mass of 915 g at a physics analysis threshold of 475 eVee. We report the hardware setup, detector characterization, data acquisition, and analysis procedures of this experiment. No excess of unidentified events is observed after the subtraction of the known background. Using 335.6 kg-days of data, exclusion constraints on the weakly interacting massive particle-nucleon spin-independent and spin-dependent couplings are derived.
We study the manipulation of the spin polarization of photoemitted electrons in Bi2Se3 by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. General rules are established that enable controlling ...the photoelectron spin-polarization. We demonstrate the ± 100% reversal of a single component of the measured spin-polarization vector upon the rotation of light polarization, as well as full three-dimensional manipulation by varying experimental configuration and photon energy. While a material-specific density-functional theory analysis is needed for the quantitative description, a minimal yet fully generalized two-atomic-layer model qualitatively accounts for the spin response based on the interplay of optical selection rules, photoelectron interference, and topological surface-state complex structure. It follows that photoelectron spin-polarization control is generically achievable in systems with a layer-dependent, entangled spin-orbital texture.
We previously demonstrated that fermitin family member 1 (FERMT1) was significantly overexpressed in colon cancer (CC) and associated with poor metastasis-free survival. This study aimed to ...investigate the precise role of FERMT1 in CC metastasis and the mechanism by which FERMT1 is involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Correlations between FERMT1 and EMT markers (E-cadherin, Slug, N-cadherin and β-catenin) were examined via immunohistochemistry in a cohort of CC tissues and adjacent normal colon mucosae. A series of in vitro and in vivo assays were performed to elucidate the function of FERMT1 in CC metastasis and underlying mechanisms. The upregulated expression of FERMT1 in CC tissues correlated positively with that of Slug, N-cadherin and β-catenin, but correlated inversely with E-cadherin expression. Altered FERMT1 expression led to marked changes in the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT markers of CC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Investigations of underlying mechanisms found that FERMT1 interacted directly with β-catenin and activated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by decreasing the phosphorylation level of β-catenin, enhancing β-catenin nuclear translocation and increasing the transcriptional activity of β-catenin/TCF/LEF. Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by CHIR99021 reversed the effect of FERMT1 knockdown, whereas inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by XAV939 impaired the effect of FERMT1 overexpression on EMT and cell motility. In conclusion, findings of this study suggest that FERMT1 activates the β-catenin transcriptional activity to promote EMT in CC metastasis.
ABSTRACT
Five fast radio bursts (FRBs), including three apparently non-repeating ones, FRB 180924, FRB 181112, and FRB 190523, and two repeaters, FRB 121102 and FRB 180916.J0158+65, have already been ...localized so far. We apply a method developed recently by us to these five localized FRBs to give a cosmology-insensitive estimate of the fraction of baryon mass in the intergalactic medium, fIGM. Using the measured dispersion measure (DM) and luminosity distance dL data (inferred from the FRB redshifts and dL of Type Ia supernovae at the same redshifts) of the five FRBs, we constrain the local $f_{\rm IGM} = 0.84^{+0.16}_{-0.22}$ with no evidence of redshift dependence. This cosmology-insensitive estimate of fIGM from FRB observations is in excellent agreement with previous constraints using other probes. Moreover, using the three apparently non-repeating FRBs only we get a little looser but consistent result: $f_{\rm IGM} = 0.74^{+0.24}_{-0.18}$. In these two cases, reasonable estimations for the host galaxy DM contribution (DMhost) can be achieved by modelling it as a function of star formation rate. The constraints on both fIGM and DMhost are expected to be significantly improved with the rapid progress in localizing FRBs.
Fly ash and red mud have been employed as adsorbents for the removal of a typical basic dye, methylene blue, from aqueous solution. Heat treatment and chemical treatment have also been applied to the ...as-received fly ash and red mud samples. It is found that fly ash generally shows higher adsorption capacity than red mud. The raw fly ash and red mud show adsorption capacity at 1.4×10
−5 and 7.8×10
−6
mol/g, respectively. Heat treatment reduces the adsorption capacity for both fly ash and red mud but acid treatment by HNO
3 induces a different effect on fly ash and red mud. Nitric acid treatment results in an increase in adsorption capacity of fly ash (2.4×10
−5
mol/g) while it decreases the adsorption capacity for red mud (3.2×10
−6
mol/g). The adsorption data have been analysed using Langmuir, Freundlich and Redlich–Peterson isotherms. The results indicate that the Redlich–Peterson model provides the best correlation of the experimental data. Isotherms have also been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption. For fly ash and red mud, adsorption of methylene blue is endothermic reaction with
Δ
H
0
at 76.1 and 10.8
kJ/mol, respectively.
•HE behavior of localized zones in SUS301L-MT stainless steel was investigated using SSRT tests during in situ electrochemical hydrogen charging.•HE cracks in BM and HAZ specimens initiated along ...αˊ/γ interface near the specimen edge.•HE cracks in WM specimen initiated along the δ-ferrites distributed at austenitic grain boundaries.•HE cracks propagated in BM, HAZ and WM exhibited hydrogen enhanced local plastic deformation and hydrogen induced decohesion mechanisms controlled by the hydrogen diffusion behavior in the front of cracks tips.
Hydrogen induced stress corrosion cracking behavior of SUS301L-MT laser-arc hybrid welded (LAHW) joints has been investigated in our previous works. However, the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behavior in each zone of this joint is still unclear. In this work, in combination with microstructures, cracks propagation paths and fracture surface morphologies analysis, in situ electrochemical hydrogen charging during slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests were performed on the specimens cut from base metal (BM), heat-affected zone (HAZ) and weld metal (WM) in SUS301L-MT stainless steel LAHW joints to investigate the HE behavior of each zone. The results indicated that deformation induced martensite transformation occurred in BM and HAZ specimens during SSRT tests, resulted in cleavage morphologies on the fracture center and dimples on other areas. The fracture surface of WM specimen was all covered with dimples. During in situ hydrogen charging, the cracks in BM and HAZ specimens initiated along αˊ/γ interface near the specimen edge. The cracks in WM specimen initiated along the δ-ferrites distributed at austenitic grain boundaries. After the cracks initiated, the hydrogen concentration distribution in combination with stress field at the front of cracks tips would induce the cracks propagation by “hydrogen enhanced local plastic deformation” and “hydrogen enhanced decohesion” mechanisms. As a result, mainly fracture characterizations of intergranular cracking, transgranular cleavage and secondary cracks formed on the fracture surface.
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