Construction and validation of the Wingate index model for elite athletes.

Objective: The gold standard for measuring anaerobic fitness is the power cycle ergometer test, but this method is expensive and time-consuming, and it has negative effects on pre-competition performance. This study aims to utilize the strong correlation between accessible body composition indices and less accessible anaerobic power bicycle indices to establish and verify a Wingate Index Model. Methods: A cohort of 993 male (age: 22.56 ± 3.30 years) and 450 female (age: 21.47 ± 2.70 years) athletes who participated in diverse sports were enrolled and completed the high-intensity power cycle test and body composition test, and the model formula was established based on these data. Totally, 283 participants were randomly selected to verify the formula using SPSS 22.0 and GraphPad Prism 9.4.1. Results: There was no significant difference between the value derived from the confirmed formula and the measured value of the instrument among the elite athletes (p > 0.05). The probabilities that the values obtained by the formula would fall within the 95 % confidence interval were as follows: Mpower(mean power): 94.7 %, Mpower/W(mean power/weight): 96.8 %, total work: 94.7 %, Ppower(peak power): 94.7 %, Ppower/W(peak power/weight): 95.8 %, and fatigue index: 93.6 %. Conclusion: By constructing and validating multiple regression equations for the anaerobic power cycle and body composition indices, this study showed that the probabilities of the values obtained from the equations falling within the 95 % confidence interval were 94.7 % for Mpower, 96.8 % for Mpower/W, 94.7 % for total work, 94.7 % for Ppower, 95.8 % for Ppower/W, and 93.6 % for fatigue index. Therefore, these equations may have some practical value in predicting the elite athlete population.

Ultrasound-driven radical chain reaction and immunoregulation of piezoelectric-based hybrid coating for treating implant infection.

The poor efficiency of US-responsive coatings on implants restricts their practical application. Immunotherapy that stimulates immune cells to enhance their antibacterial activity is expected to synergize with sonodynamic therapy for treating implant infection effectively and safely. Herein, US-responsive hybrid coatings composed of the oxygen-deficient BaTiO3 nanorod arrays and l-arginine (BaTiO3-x/LA) are designed and prepared on titanium implants for sonocatalytic therapy-cooperated immunotherapy to treat Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. BaTiO3-x/LA can generate more oxidizing reactive oxygen species (ROS, hydroxyl radical (·OH)) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS, peroxynitrite anion (ONOO-)). The construction of nanorod arrays and oxygen defects balances the piezoelectric properties and sonocatalytic capability during US treatment. The generated piezoelectric electric field provides a sufficient driving force to separate electrons and holes, and the oxygen defects attenuate the electron-hole recombination efficiency, consequently increasing the yield of ROS during the US treatment. Moreover, nitric oxide (NO) released by l-arginine reacts with the superoxide radical (·O2-) to produce ONOO-. Since, this radical chain reaction improves the oxidizing ability between bacteria and radicals, the cell membrane (argB, secA2) and DNA (dnaBGXN) are destroyed. The bacterial self-repair mechanism indirectly accelerates bacterial death based on the transcriptome analysis. In addition to participating in the radical chain reaction, NO positively affects macrophage M1 polarization to yield potent phagocytosis to MRSA. As a result, without introducing an extra sonosensitizer, BaTiO3-x/LA exhibits excellent antibacterial activity against MRSA after the US treatment for 15 min. Furthermore, BaTiO3-x/LA facilitates macrophage M2 polarization after implantation and improves osteogenic differentiation. The combined effects of sonodynamic therapy and immunoregulation lead to an effective and safe treatment method for implant-associated infections.

The effects of a music intervention on the autonomic nervous system during recovery from strenuous exercise.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of music on heart rate recovery (HRR) and heart rate variability (HRV) after intense exertion. METHODS: Five hundred male students enrolled at Yongin University, Korea, underwent a cycling test to assess aerobic capacity; 180 students with equal scores were selected for a music intervention, which was conducted after vigorous exercise. The 180 participants were randomized into three music groups and a control group; the participants in each music group listened to music at three different tempos: slow (lento) (n = 45), moderate (moderato) (n = 45), and fast (allegretto) (n = 45). The control group did not listen to music (n = 45). After the test, data on cardiac recovery and HRV were gathered and modeled. RESULTS: The results revealed no significant variation in HRR and HRV indexes between the four cohorts (p > .05), and no significant differences were observed in the anaerobic power cycling indexes during strenuous exercise (p > .05). The music intervention had a significant impact on HR, low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), normalized LF (LFnorm ), normalized HF (HFnorm ), and the LF/HF ratio during recovery (p < .05). CONCLUSION: After rigorous activity, listening to allegretto music improved HRR and restored HRV equilibrium, which is critical to preventing and minimizing arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

Evaluation of Mechanical Versus Manual Root Canal Preparation in Primary Molars-A Comparative In Vitro Study.

The endodontic treatment of primary teeth is to maintain the function of the tooth free of symptoms until its physiological exfoliation. A critical factor for success is how quickly and effectively the root canal preparation can be performed. Therefore, the aim of this comparative in vitro study was to analyze the efficiency of two mechanical root canal preparation systems FM (FlexMaster) and HF (HyFlex EDM) to manual KF (K-file) on extracted primary molars. A total of 45 teeth were divided into three groups (n = 15): KF (#15-35), FM (04#30) and HF (25/~ OneFile). Root canal preparation was performed, and the preparation time was measured. All root canals were non-destructively analyzed by micro-computed tomography in the cervical, middle and apical thirds before and after preparation with regard to the parameters of canal transport (in µm) and centering ratio (0-1). Statistical analysis was performed at a 5% significance level using non-parametric tests. HF caused the lowest canal transport in the apical third (p = 0.008). The centering ratio value of HF was significantly higher in the middle third of the root canals than in the other two groups (p < 0.01). The mean instrumentation time was significantly higher for KF (6.67 min) than for FM (4.69 min) and HF (4.03 min, p < 0.01). HF can be recommended for primary molar root canal treatment.

Effects of SpsNAC042 transgenic Populus hopeiensis on root development, leaf morphology and stress resistance.

To identify the function of the SpsNAC042 gene and its response to salt and drought stress, the SpsNAC042 gene was transformed into Populus hopeiensis by the Agrobacterium-mediated leaf disc method, and the phenotypic, physiological changes and related genes expression of transgenic lines were analyzed. The results showed that the number and length of roots of transgenic lines increased significantly. The leaves of transgenic lines curled inward. Under salt and simulated drought stress, the transgenic lines showed improved tolerance to salt and drought. The activities of SOD, POD, CAT and proline content in the transgenic lines were significantly increased, and the reduction rates of total chlorophyll and MDA content were significantly decreased, which indicated that the transgenic lines showed strong physiological responses under stress. Meanwhile, the gene expression of MPK6, SOS1, HKT1 and P5CS1 were significantly upregulated, and the gene expression of PRODH1 was significantly downregulated, which preliminarily verified the stress regulation mechanism that SpsNAC042 might activate. The above results showed that the SpsNAC042 gene could promote root development, make leaf morphology curl, and enhance P. hopeiensis tolerance to stress.

EEG microstate changes during hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with chronic disorders of consciousness.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is an effective treatment for patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). In this study, real-time electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were obtained from patients with DOC during HBO therapy. EEG microstate indicators including mean microstate duration (MMD), ratio of total time covered (RTT), global explained variance (GEV), transition probability, mean occurrence, and mean global field power (GFP) were compared before and during HBO therapy. The results showed that the duration of microstate C in all patients with DOC increased after 20 min of HBO therapy (p < 0.05). Further statistical analysis found that the duration of microstate C was longer in the higher CRS-R group (≥8, 17 cases) than in the lower group (<8, 24 cases) during HBO treatment. In the higher CRS-R group, the transition probabilities from microstate A to microstate C and from microstate C to microstate A also increased significantly compared with the probability before treatment (p < 0.05). Microstate C is generally considered to be related to a salience network; an increase in the transition probability between microstate A and microstate C indicates increased information exchange between the auditory network and the salience network. The results of this study show that HBO therapy has a specific activating effect on attention and cognitive control in patients and causes increased activity in the primary sensory cortex (temporal lobe and occipital lobe). This study demonstrates that real-time EEG detection and analysis during HBO is a clinically feasible method for assessing brain function in patients with DOC. During HBO therapy, some EEG microstate indicators show significant changes related to the state of consciousness in patients with chronic DOC. This will be complementary to important electrophysiological indicators for assessing consciousness and may also provide an objective foundation for the precise treatment of patients with DOC.

Calcium-dependent protein kinase GhCDPK4 plays a role in drought and abscisic acid stress responses.

Drought is an important factor limiting the yield and quality of cotton. In the present study, the gene encoding the cotton calcium-dependent protein kinase GhCDPK4 was identified and characterized in the transcriptome of cotton under PEG-induced drought stress. In RT-qPCR experiments, GhCDPK4 expression was found to be up-regulated under drought and abscisic acid (ABA) stress. Under drought conditions, heterologous overexpression of GhCDPK4 in tobacco showed a better phenotypic status, higher antioxidant enzyme activity, and lower relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Meanwhile, ghcdpk4-silenced cotton plants, which were extremely sensitive to drought, exhibited higher levels of O2-，H2O2, and MDA contents compared to the control. Meanwhile, silenced lines showed impaired stomatal closure under drought stress, resulting in increased water loss from transpiration in silenced lines. GhCDPK4 expression was induced by ABA, and there are five ABA-responsive elements in its promoter. and C2-DOMAIN ABA-RELATED 4(CAR4, Gh_D09G1653) were found to interact and be co-expressed in the GhCDPK4 interaction network. Therefore, GhCDPK4 may reduce the extent of water loss and oxidative damage in cotton under drought by positively regulating ABA-controlled stomatal closure and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems. This study demonstrates the great potential of GhCDPK4 in improving drought resistance in crops.

Separation of Bioproducts through the Integration of Cyanobacterial Metabolism and Membrane Filtration: Facilitating Cyanobacteria's Industrial Application.

In this work, we propose the development of an efficient, economical, automated, and sustainable method for separating bioproducts from culture medium via the integration of a sucrose-secreting cyanobacteria production process and pressure-driven membrane filtration technology. Firstly, we constructed sucrose-secreting cyanobacteria with a sucrose yield of 600-700 mg/L sucrose after 7 days of salt stress, and the produced sucrose could be fully separated from the cyanobacteria cultures through an efficient and automated membrane filtration process. To determine whether this new method is also economical and sustainable, the relationship between membrane species, operating pressure, and the growth status of four cyanobacterial species was systematically investigated. The results revealed that all four cyanobacterial species could continue to grow after UF filtration. The field emission scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy results indicate that the cyanobacteria did not cause severe destruction to the membrane surface structure. The good cell viability and intact membrane surface observed after filtration indicated that this innovative cyanobacteria-membrane system is economical and sustainable. This work pioneered the use of membrane separation to achieve the in situ separation of cyanobacterial culture and target products, laying the foundation for the industrialization of cyanobacterial bioproducts.

Nanostructured Cu-doped TiO2 with photothermal effect for prevention of implant-associated infection.

Bacterial infection of titanium (Ti) dental implants is still a major clinical complication. In this study, a combination of copper (Cu) ions and photothermal therapy is used to combat implant-associated infection. Cu doped TiO2 (TiO2-Cu) films were prepared on Ti by magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealing. TiO2-Cu films had efficient photothermal conversion ability due to the generated nanostructure during the annealing process. Under the irradiation of 808 near infrared light, the combined actions of hyperthermia and Cu ions gave rise to excellent antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans on Ti as demonstrated by the experiments conducted in vitro and in vivo. The TiO2-Cu films also exhibited excellent biocompatibility. In addition, the surface hardness and corrosion resistance of TiO2-Cu films were greatly improved.

Ti3 C2 TX MXene Modified with ZnTCPP with Bacteria Capturing Capability and Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Antibacterial Activity.

Light-assisted antibacterial therapy is a promising alternative to antibiotic therapy due to the high antibacterial efficacy without bacterial resistance. Recent research has mainly focused on the use of near-infrared light irradiation to kill bacteria by taking advantage of the synergistic effects rendered by hyperthermia and radical oxygen species. However, photocatalytic antibacterial therapy excited by visible light is more convenient and practical, especially for wounds. Herein, a visible light responsive organic-inorganic hybrid of ZnTCPP/Ti3 C2 TX is designed and fabricated to treat bacterial infection with antibacterial efficiency of 99.86% and 99.92% within 10 min against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively. The porphyrin-metal complex, ZnTCPP, is assembled on the surface of Ti3 C2 TX MXene to capture bacteria electrostatically and the Schottky junction formed between Ti3 C2 TX and ZnTCPP promotes visible light utilization, accelerates charge separation, and enhances the mobility of photogenerated charges, and finally increases the photocatalytic activity. As a result of the excellent bacteria capturing ability and photocatalytic antibacterial effects, ZnTCPP/Ti3 C2 TX exposed to visible light has excellent antibacterial properties in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, organic-inorganic materials that have been demonstrated to possess good biocompatibility and enhance wound healing have large potential in bio-photocatalysis, antibacterial therapy, as well as antibiotics-free treatment of wounds.

Effects of piano music of different tempos on heart rate and autonomic nervous system during the recovery period after high-intensity exercise.

PURPOSE: The present study attempted to explore the effects of different tempos of piano music on heart rate and autonomous nervous system during the recovery period after high-intensity exercise. In addition, the study analyzed the influence of different tempos on the recovery period of athletes to devise methods for accelerating fatigue recovery through piano music. METHOD: A total of 57 college students majoring in physical education were selected as experimental subjects and were divided into three groups, namely Lento group (n = 20), Moderato group (n = 20), and Allegretto group (n = 20; only 17 students completed the experiment). RESULTS: Under the same high-intensity exercise regimen, the three groups did not differ significantly in the body composition, high-intensity exercise ability, and time-domain variation indices, namely heart rate (HR), heart rate variability index parameters (p > .05). The time-domain variation analysis in the recovery period revealed significant differences in HR frequency domain indices among the groups exposed to different rhythms (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Moderate-tempo piano music was the most effective in facilitating HR and autonomic nervous system recovery during the recovery period.

Multi-attribute scientific documents retrieval and ranking model based on GBDT and LR.

Scientific documents contain a large number of mathematical expressions and texts containing mathematical semantics. Simply using mathematical expressions or text to retrieve scientific documents can hardly meet retrieval needs. The real difficulty in retrieving scientific documents is to effectively integrate mathematical expressions and related textual features. Therefore, this study proposes a multi-attribute scientific documents retrieval and ranking model based on GBDT (gradient boosting decision tree) and LR (logistic regression) by integrating the expressions and text contained in scientific documents. First, the similarities of the five attributes are calculated, including mathematical expression symbols, mathematical expression sub-forms, mathematical expression context, scientific document keywords and the frequency of mathematical expressions. Next, the GBDT model is used to discretize and reorganize the five attributes. Finally, the reorganized features are input into the LR model, and the final retrieval and ranking results of scientific documents are obtained. The experiment in this study was carried out on the NTCIR dataset. The average value of the final MAP@20 of the scientific document recall was 81.92%. The average value of the scientific document ranking nDCG@20 was 86.05%.

Light-Triggered Antibacterial Hydrogels Containing Recombinant Growth Factor for Treatment of Bacterial Infections and Improved Wound Healing.

Microbial infection and the limitation of tissue regeneration are main obstacles to chronic wound healing. Herein, a biofunctional hydrogel is prepared to simultaneously kill bacteria efficiently and promote would healing. First, a rose bengal/polypyrrole hybrid poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel (RB/PPy PVA HD) is synthesized and its antibacterial property is investigated under coirradiation of 550 nm visible light and 808 near-infrared light. The hydrogel exhibits excellent antibacterial activity within 10 min below 45 °C in vitro due to the synergistic effect of photothermal and photodynamic antibacterial therapy. Next, the recombined human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) is physically absorbed on the surface of the porous hydrogel to form a RB/PPy/rhEGF hybrid PVA HD (rhEGF/RB/PPy PVA HD). The introduction of rhEGF enables the hydrogel to promote fibroblast proliferation and collagen secretion. Furthermore, the in vivo results indicate that the rhEGF/RB/PPy PVA HD can control infection effectively and promote wound healing significantly.

A rose bengal/graphene oxide/PVA hybrid hydrogel with enhanced mechanical properties and light-triggered antibacterial activity for wound treatment.

The numerous advantages of hydrogel make it possible to apply as dressing. However, it is challenging in designing hydrogels with desired antibacterial activity and enhanced mechanical properties at the same time. Herein, a graphene oxide/rose bengal/polyvinyl alcohol hybrid hydrogel (ß-GO/RB/PVA HD) is prepared by freezing and thawing a mixed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution of rose bengal (RB) immobilized with chitosan microspheres (CM) and a modified graphene oxide network (ß-GO). The mechanical properties and light-triggered antibacterial activity of hydrogel are systematically evaluated. The ß-GO inorganic network interpenetrate into the PVA porous structure, which significantly improves the mechanical properties of hydrogel. The hyperthermia generated by ß-GO under 808 nm light irradiation combined with reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by RB under 550 nm light irradiation give rise to excellent antibacterial activity requiring irradiation for only 10 min as demonstrated by our experiments conducted in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, ß-GO/RB/PVA HD exhibits outstanding biocompatibility and water-absorbing capacity. More importantly, the hybrid hydrogel can significantly accelerate bacteria-accompanied wound healing. The results demonstrated that the hybrid hydrogel could be a promising wound dressing for preventing bacterial infection.

Recent Applications of Carbon Nanomaterials for microRNA Electrochemical Sensing.

MicroRNA (miRNA) is an important tumor marker in the human body, and its early detection has a great influence on the survival rate of patients. Although there are many detection methods for miRNA at present such as northern blotting, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, microarrays, and others, electrochemical biosensors have the advantages of low detection cost, small instrument size, simple operation, non-invasive detection and low consumption of reagents and solvents, and thus they play an important role in the early detection of cancer. In addition, with the development of nanotechnology, nano-biosensors show great potential. The application of various nanomaterials in the development of electrochemical biosensor has greatly improved the detection sensitivity of electrochemical biosensor. Among them, carbon nanomaterials which have unique electrical, optical, physical and chemical properties have attracted increasing attention. In particular, they have a large surface area, good biocompatibility and conductivity. Therefore, carbon nanomaterials combined with electrochemical methods can be used to detect miRNA quickly, easily and sensitively. In this review, we systematically review recent applications of different carbon nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene and its derivatives, graphitic carbon nitride, carbon dots, graphene quantum dots and other carbon nanomaterials) for miRNA electrochemical detection. In addition, we demonstrate the future prospects of electrochemical biosensors modified by carbon nanomaterials for the detection of miRNAs, and some suggestions for their development in the near future.

Transcriptome-wide comparison of selenium hyperaccumulator and nonaccumulator Stanleya species provides new insight into key processes mediating the hyperaccumulation syndrome.

To obtain better insight into the mechanisms of selenium hyperaccumulation in Stanleya pinnata, transcriptome-wide differences in root and shoot gene expression levels were investigated in S. pinnata and related nonaccumulator Stanleya elata grown with or without 20 µm selenate. Genes predicted to be involved in sulphate/selenate transport and assimilation or in oxidative stress resistance (glutathione-related genes and peroxidases) were among the most differentially expressed between species; many showed constitutively elevated expression in S. pinnata. A number of defence-related genes predicted to mediate synthesis and signalling of defence hormones jasmonic acid (JA, reported to induce sulphur assimilatory and glutathione biosynthesis genes), salicylic acid (SA) and ethylene were also more expressed in S. pinnata than S. elata. Several upstream signalling genes that up-regulate defence hormone synthesis showed higher expression in S. pinnata than S. elata and might trigger these selenium-mediated defence responses. Thus, selenium hyperaccumulation and hypertolerance in S. pinnata may be mediated by constitutive, up-regulated JA, SA and ethylene-mediated defence systems, associated with elevated expression of genes involved in sulphate/selenate uptake and assimilation or in antioxidant activity. Genes pinpointed in this study may be targets of genetic engineering of plants that may be employed in biofortification or phytoremediation.