Polyethylene glycol fusion repair of severed sciatic nerves accelerates recovery of nociceptive sensory perceptions in male and female rats of different strains

Successful polyethylene glycol fusion(PEG-fusion)of severed axons following peripheral nerve injuries for PEG-fused axons has been reported to:(1)rapidly restore electrophysiological continuity;(2)prevent distal Wallerian Degeneration and maintain their myelin sheaths;(3)promote primarily motor,voluntary behavioral recoveries as assessed by the Sciatic Functional Index;and,(4)rapidly produce correct and incorrect connections in many possible combinations that produce rapid and extensive recovery of functional peripheral nervous system/central nervous system connections and reflex(e.g.,toe twitch)or voluntary behaviors.The preceding companion paper describes sensory terminal field reo rganization following PEG-fusion repair of sciatic nerve transections or ablations;howeve r,sensory behavioral recovery has not been explicitly explored following PEG-fusion repair.In the current study,we confirmed the success of PEG-fusion surgeries according to criteria(1-3)above and more extensively investigated whether PEG-fusion enhanced mechanical nociceptive recovery following sciatic transection in male and female outbred Sprague-Dawley and inbred Lewis rats.Mechanical nociceptive responses were assessed by measuring withdrawal thresholds using von Frey filaments on the dorsal and midplantar regions of the hindpaws.Dorsal von Frey filament tests were a more reliable method than plantar von Frey filament tests to assess mechanical nociceptive sensitivity following sciatic nerve transections.Baseline withdrawal thresholds of the sciatic-mediated lateral dorsal region differed significantly across strain but not sex.Withdrawal thresholds did not change significantly from baseline in chronic Unoperated and Sham-operated rats.Following sciatic transection,all rats exhibited severe hyposensitivity to stimuli at the lateral dorsal region of the hindpaw ipsilateral to the injury.However,PEG-fused rats exhibited significantly earlier return to baseline withdrawal thresholds than Negative Control rats.Furthermore,PEG-fused rats with significantly improved Sciatic Functional Index scores at or after 4 weeks postoperatively exhibited yet-earlier von Frey filament recove ry compared with those without Sciatic Functional Index recovery,suggesting a correlation between successful PEG-fusion and both motor-dominant and sensory-dominant behavioral recoveries.This correlation was independent of the sex or strain of the rat.Furthermore,our data showed that the acceleration of von Frey filament sensory recovery to baseline was solely due to the PEG-fused sciatic nerve and not saphenous nerve collateral outgrowths.No chronic hypersensitivity developed in any rat up to 12 weeks.All these data suggest that PEG-fusion repair of transection peripheral nerve injuries co uld have important clinical benefits.

CONDITION-BASED MAINTENANCE DECISION MAKING METHODS FOR CIVIL AEROENGINE

To provide some feasible condition-based maintenance （CBM） decision making methods for civil aeroengine, firstly, the theory of aeroengine CBM decision making is described. The proportional intensity（PI） model is established based on the reliability and condition monitoring data. According to the model, the decision making methods are proposed for the optimal preventive maintenance（PM） interval and removal. Then, the time on wing （TOW） is predicted by collecting actual data based on the engine age and operating conditions. Finally, an example of a fleet for CF6-80C2 engines is illustrated. It shows that sufficient engine operation data are the key of accurate decision making. Results indicate that the CBM decision making methods are helpful for engineers in airlines to control engine maintenance actions and TOW, thus decreasing risks and maintenance costs.

Condition-based maintenance policy for gamma deteriorating systems

A condition-based maintenance model for gamma deteriorating system under continuous inspection is studied. This methodology uses a gamma distribution to model the material degradation, and the impact of imperfect maintenance actions on the system reliability is investigated. The state of a degrading system immediately after the imperfect maintenance action is assumed as a random variable and the maintenance time follows a geometric process. Furthermore, the explicit expressions for the long-run average cost and availability per unit time of the system are evaluated, an optimal policy （ε^＊） could be determined numeri- cally or analytically according to the optimization model. At last, a numerical example for a degrading system modeled by a gamma process is presented to demonstrate the use of this policy in practical applications.

Review of Condition-Based Maintenance Strategies for Offshore Wind Energy

The existing maintenance strategies of offshore wind energy are reviewed including the specific aspects of condition-based maintenance, focusing on three primary phases, namely, condition monitoring, fault diagnosis and prognosis, and maintenance optimization. Relevant academic research and industrial applications are identified and summarized. The state of art, capabilities,and constraints of condition-based maintenance are analyzed. The presented research demonstrates that the intelligent-based approach has become a promising solution for condition recognition, and an integrated data platform for offshore wind farms is significant to optimize the maintenance activities.

Condition-based maintenance optimization for continuously monitored degrading systems under imperfect maintenance actions

Condition-based maintenance(CBM) is receiving increasing attention in various engineering systems because of its effectiveness. This paper formulates a new CBM optimization problem for continuously monitored degrading systems considering imperfect maintenance actions. In terms of maintenance actions,in practice, they scarcely restore the system to an as-good-as new state due to residual damage. According to up-to-data researches, imperfect maintenance actions are likely to speed up the degradation process. Regarding the developed CBM optimization strategy, it can balance the maintenance cost and the availability by the searching the optimal preventive maintenance threshold.The maximum number of maintenance is also considered, which is regarded as an availability constraint in the CBM optimization problem. A numerical example is introduced, and experimental results can demonstrate the novelty, feasibility and flexibility of the proposed CBM optimization strategy.

Condition-Based Maintenance Decision-Making for Equipment

At present, condition monitoring and fault diagnosis technology and their application in engineering have been widely studied. Relatively little attention has been paid to condition-based maintenance decision-making for equipment. In this paper,based on the decision-making policy in traditional condition-based maintenance,the connotation of condition-based maintenance for equipment was defined, and its characteristics were analyzed.Working contents of condition-based maintenance for equipment were provided,which were divided into three stages. The influence factors in condition-based maintenance for equipment were analyzed. The key links of equipment maintenance contents and decision-making process were proposed. The condition-based maintenance decision-making policy presented in this paper can provide a practical reference for equipment maintenance.

Joint optimization of sampling interval and control for condition-based maintenance using availability maximization criterion

Most of the maintenance optimization models in condition-based maintenance(CBM) consider the cost-optimal criterion, but few papers have dealt with availability maximization for maintenance applications. A novel optimal Bayesian control approach is presented for maintenance decision making. The system deterioration evolves as a three-state continuous time hidden semi-Markov process. Considering the optimal maintenance policy, the multivariate Bayesian control scheme based on the hidden semi-Markov model(HSMM) is developed, the objective is to maximize the long-run expected average availability per unit time. The proposed approach can optimize the sampling interval and control limit jointly. A case study using Markov chain Monte Carlo(MCMC)simulation is provided and a comparison with the Bayesian control scheme based on hidden Markov model(HMM), the age-based replacement policy, Hotelling’s T2, multivariate exponentially weihted moving average(MEWMA) and multivariate cumulative sum(MCUSUM) control charts is given, which illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Maintenance and Condition-Based Maintenance

The evolution of maintenance management is briefly introduced in this paper, from corrective maintenance to preventive maintenance. First, a range of condition monitoring and fault diagnosis techniques developed in different industries are surveyed; Second, many methods of condition monitoring are presented; Third, mathematical methods used in condition monitoring are given; Then the merits and shortcomings are discussed. Efficient maintenance policies are of fundamental importance in system engineering because of their fallbacks into the safety and economics of plant operation. Applying condition-based maintenance to a system can reduce the cost and extend the availability of facilities. With the advent of personal computers as fast and cost effective machines for data acquisition and processing of multiple signals some shortcomings mentioned in condition monitoring could be solved or reduced to some extent. These PCs can be a solution as a condition monitoring based maintenance system.

Overview of the Importance of Intelligent Approaches on Machinery Faults Diagnosis and Prediction Based on Prognostic and Health Management/Condition-Based Maintenance

Condition monitoring is increasingly used to anticipate and detect failures of industrial machines.Failures of machines can cause high maintenance or replacement costs.If neglected,it may result in catastrophic accidents leading to production shrinkage.The potential failure would negatively affect the profitability of the company,including production shut down,cost of spare parts,cost of labor,damage of reputation,risk of injury to people and the environment.In recent years,condition-based maintenance( CBM) and prognostic and health management( PHM) are developed and formed a strong connection among science,engineering,computer,reliability,communication,management,etc.Computerized maintenance management systems( CMMS) store a lot of data regarding the fault diagnosis and life prediction of the machinery equipment.It's too necessary to uncover useful knowledge from the huge amount of data.It's vital to find the ways to obtain useful and concise information from these data.This information can be of great influence in the decision making of managers.This article is a review of intelligent approaches in machinery faults diagnosis and prediction based on PHM and CBM.

Overview of Condition-Based Maintenance Decision-Making Optimization Modeling of Multi-component System

Overview about three key contents of condition-based maintenance decision-making of a multi-component system is analyzed based on maintenance optimization and modeling. The component deterioration model, the correlation between the degraded components and the system configuration are analyzed separately in the deterioration model of multi-component system.For the maintenance polices,the opportunistic maintenance( OM)policy and the grouping maintenance( GM) policy are analyzed and summarized in combination with the condition-based maintenance( CBM) modeling of multi-component system. It is put forward that CBM modeling of multi-component system should be further researched based on the inspection interval and the maintenance threshold of multi-component system in availability.

Condition-based Maintenance Optimization for Gamma Deteriorating Systems under Performance-based Contracting

With the further development of service-oriented,performance-based contracting(PBC)has been widely adopted in industry and manufacturing.However,maintenance optimization problems under PBC have not received enough attention.To further extend the scope of PBC’s application in the field of maintenance optimization,we investigate the condition-based maintenance(CBM)optimization for gamma deteriorating systems under PBC.Considering the repairable single-component system subject to the gamma degradation process,this paper proposes a CBM optimization model to maximize the profit and improve system performance at a relatively low cost under PBC.In the proposed CBM model,the first inspection interval has been considered in order to reduce the inspection frequency and the cost rate.Then,a particle swarm algorithm(PSO)and related solution procedure are presented to solve the multiple decision variables in our proposed model.In the end,a numerical example is provided so as to demonstrate the superiority of the presented model.By comparing the proposed policy with the conventional ones,the superiority of our proposed policy is proved,which can bring more profits to providers and improve performance.Sensitivity analysis is conducted in order to research the effect of corrective maintenance cost and time required for corrective maintenance on optimization policy.A comparative study is given to illustrate the necessity of distinguishing the first inspection interval or not.

Analysis of Condition-Based Maintenance for High-Valtage Electric Power

The development process of high-voltage electric power equipment maintenance was introduced. It is pointed out that the trend of high-voltage electric power equipment maintenance is so called condition-based maintenance. With the development of computer technology and sensors, on-line monitoring of high-voltage electric power equipment has developed rapidly. By introducing the main principle of Schering bridge to measure tanδ, the way of on-line monitoring of high-voltage electric power equipment was explained. Difference methods of on-line monitoring of insulation parameters for 35 kV substation were discussed. Finally, the shortcomings as well as its tendency of on-line monitoring were analyzed.

Degradable magnesium alloy suture promotes fibrocartilaginous interface regeneration in a rat rotator cuff transosseous repair model

Despite transosseous rotator cuff tear repair using sutures is widely accepted for tendon-bone fixation,the fibrocartilaginous enthesis regeneration is still hardly achieved with the traditional sutures.In the present work,degradable magnesium(Mg)alloy wire was applied to suture supraspinatus tendon in a rat acute rotator cuff tear model with Vicryl Plus 4±0 absorbable suture as control.The shoulder joint humerus-supraspinatus tendon complex specimens were retrieved at 4,8,and 12 weeks after operation.The Mg alloy suture groups showed better biomechanical properties in terms of ultimate load to failure.Gross observation showed that hyperplastic response of the scar tissue at the tendon-bone interface is progressively alleviated over time in the both Mg alloy suture and Vicryl suture groups.In the histological analysis,for Mg alloy suture groups,chondrocytes appear to proliferate at 4 weeks postoperatively,and the tendon-bone interface showed an orderly structural transition zone at 8 weeks postoperatively.The collagenous fiber tended to be aligned and the tendon-bone interlocking structures apparently formed,where transitional structure from unmineralized fibrocartilage to mineralized fibrocartilage was closer to the native fibrocartilaginous enthesis.In vivo degradation of the magnesium alloy wire was completed within 12 weeks.The results indicated that Mg alloy wire was promising as degradable suture with the potential to promotes fibrocartilaginous interface regeneration in rotator cuff repair.

High quality repair of osteochondral defects in rats using the extracellular matrix of antler stem cells

BACKGROUND Cartilage defects are some of the most common causes of arthritis.Cartilage lesions caused by inflammation,trauma or degenerative disease normally result in osteochondral defects.Previous studies have shown that decellularized extracellular matrix(ECM)derived from autologous,allogenic,or xenogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells(MSCs)can effectively restore osteochondral integrity.AIM To determine whether the decellularized ECM of antler reserve mesenchymal cells(RMCs),a xenogeneic material from antler stem cells,is superior to the currently available treatments for osteochondral defects.METHODS We isolated the RMCs from a 60-d-old sika deer antler and cultured them in vitro to 70%confluence;50 mg/mL L-ascorbic acid was then added to the medium to stimulate ECM deposition.Decellularized sheets of adipocyte-derived MSCs(aMSCs)and antlerogenic periosteal cells(another type of antler stem cells)were used as the controls.Three weeks after ascorbic acid stimulation,the ECM sheets were harvested and applied to the osteochondral defects in rat knee joints.RESULTS The defects were successfully repaired by applying the ECM-sheets.The highest quality of repair was achieved in the RMC-ECM group both in vitro(including cell attachment and proliferation),and in vivo(including the simultaneous regeneration of well-vascularized subchondral bone and avascular articular hyaline cartilage integrated with surrounding native tissues).Notably,the antler-stem-cell-derived ECM(xenogeneic)performed better than the aMSC-ECM(allogenic),while the ECM of the active antler stem cells was superior to that of the quiescent antler stem cells.CONCLUSION Decellularized xenogeneic ECM derived from the antler stem cell,particularly the active form(RMC-ECM),can achieve high quality repair/reconstruction of osteochondral defects,suggesting that selection of decellularized ECM for such repair should be focused more on bioactivity rather than kinship.

Application of multi-planar reconstruction technique in endovascular repair of aortic dissection

BACKGROUND Endovascular repair of aortic dissection is an effective method commonly used in the treatment of Stanford type B aortic dissection.Stent placement during the operation was one-time and could not be repeatedly adjusted during the operation.Therefore,it is of great significance for cardiovascular physicians to fully understand the branch status,position,angle,and other information regarding aortic arch dissection before surgery.AIM To provide more references for clinical cardiovascular physicians to develop treatment plans.METHODS Data from 153 patients who underwent endovascular repair of aortic dissection at our hospital between January 2021 and December 2022 were retrospectively collected.All patients underwent multi-slice spiral computed tomography angiography.Based on distinct post-image processing techniques,the patients were categorized into three groups:Multiplanar reconstruction(MPR)(n=55),volume reconstruction(VR)(n=46),and maximum intensity projection(MIP)(n=52).The detection rate of aortic rupture,accuracy of the DeBakey classification,rotation,and tilt angles of the C-arm during the procedure,dispersion after stent release,and the incidence of late complications were recorded and compared.RESULTS The detection rates of interlayer rupture in the MPR and VR groups were significantly higher than that in the MIP group(P<0.05).The detection rates of De-Bakey subtypesⅠ,Ⅱ,andⅢin the MPR group were higher than those in the MIP group,and the detection rate of typeⅢin the MPR group was significantly higher than that in the VR group(P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the detection rates of typesⅠandⅡcompared to the VR group(P>0.05).The scatter rate of markers and the incidence of complications in the MPR group were significantly lower than those in the VR and MIP groups(P<0.05).CONCLUSION The application of MPR in the endovascular repair of aortic dissection has improved the detection rate of dissection rupture,the accuracy of anatomical classification,and safety.

Neural membrane repair at the core of regeneration

Loss of plasma membrane integrity can compromise cell functioning and viability.To countera ct this eminent threat,euka ryotic cells have developed efficient repair mechanisms,which seem to have co-evolved with the emergence of vital membrane processes(Cooper and McNeil,2015).This relationship between basic cellular functioning and membrane repair highlights the fundamental significance of preserving membrane integrity for cellular life.

A live birth resulting from a fourth cesarean scar pregnancy after combined hysteroscopic and laparoscopic uterine repair: A case report and literature review

Cesarean scar pregnancy(CSP)is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy that is defined as a pregnancy sac located within the scar of a previous cesarean section.Recurrent cesarean scar pregnancy(RCSP)is even more uncommon,1 with Hasegawa et al reporting the first RCSP in 2005.2 RCSP is a high-risk pregnancy condition with potential complications that include heavy bleeding,uterine rupture,and maternal shock.The exact incidence rates for CSP and RCSP are unknown,although the incidence of CSP is 1/2656–1/1800 of the total number of cesarean sections,and the incidence of RCSP can reach 6.9%–34.3%.3,4,5 With the promulgation of the second and third child policies in China,an increasing number of patients now manifest fertility needs after cesarean section.With improvements in examination methods and awareness of CSP,we also suspect that the rates of CSP and RCSP may be even higher.Unfortunately,there is no standard treatment for CSP.We herein report a case in which the patient was treated by combined hysteroscopic and laparoscopic uterine repair without scar resection during the third RCSP,and the fourth RCSP occurred 6 months later;the patient then selected expectant management.The outcome was a successful cesarean section delivery of a live baby at 34 weeks of gestation,and the uterus was successfully preserved.Placental pathology was examined after delivery and revealed that the chorionic villi penetrated deeply into the myometrium.

Modeling Expected Failure Considering Repair Time and Degradation: A Rail System Case Study

The repeated failures of any equipment or systems are modeled as a renewal process. The management needs an assessment of the number of future failures to allocate the resources needed for fast repairs. Based on the idea of expectation by conditioning, special Volterra-type integral equations are derived for general types of repairs, considering the length of repair and reduced degradation of the idle object. In addition to minimal repair and failure replacement, partial repairs are also discussed when the repair results in reduction of the number of future failures or decreases the effective age of the object. Numerical integration-based algorithm and simulation study are performed to solve the resulting integral equation. Since the geometry degradation in different dimensions of a rail track and controlling and maintaining defects are of importance, a numerical example using the rail industry data is conducted. Expected number of failures of different failure type modes in rail track is calculated within a two-year interval. Results show that within a two-year period, anticipated occurrences of cross level failures, surface failures, and DPI failures are 2.4, 3.8, and 5.8, respectively.

Nucleotide excision repair gene polymorphisms and hepatoblastoma susceptibility in Eastern Chinese children:A five-center case-control study

Objective:Nucleotide excision repair(NER)plays a vital role in maintaining genome stability,and the effect of NER gene polymorphisms on hepatoblastoma susceptibility is still under investigation.This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between NER gene polymorphisms and the risk of hepatoblastoma in Eastern Chinese Han children.Methods:In this five-center case-control study,we enrolled 966 subjects from East China(193 hepatoblastoma patients and 773 healthy controls).The TaqMan method was used to genotype 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in NER pathway genes,including ERCC1,XPA,XPC,XPD,XPF,and XPG.Then,multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed,and odds ratios(ORs)and 95%confidence intervals(95%CIs)were utilized to assess the strength of associations.Results:Three SNPs were related to hepatoblastoma risk.XPC rs2229090 and XPD rs3810366 significantly contributed to hepatoblastoma risk according to the dominant model(adjusted OR=1.49,95%CI=1.07−2.08,P=0.019;adjusted OR=1.66,95%CI=1.12−2.45,P=0.012,respectively).However,XPD rs238406 conferred a significantly decreased risk of hepatoblastoma under the dominant model(adjusted OR=0.68,95%CI=0.49−0.95;P=0.024).Stratified analysis demonstrated that these significant associations were more prominent in certain subgroups.Moreover,there was evidence of functional implications of these significant SNPs suggested by online expression quantitative trait loci(eQTLs)and splicing quantitative trait loci(sQTLs)analysis.Conclusions:In summary,NER pathway gene polymorphisms(XPC rs2229090,XPD rs3810366,and XPD rs238406)are significantly associated with hepatoblastoma risk,and further research is required to verify these findings.

Spent graphite regeneration:Exploring diverse repairing manners with impurities-catalyzing effect towards high performance and low energy consumption

Spent battery recycling has received considerable attention because of its economic and environmental potential.A large amount of retired graphite has been produced as the main electrode material,accompanied by a detailed exploration of the repair mechanism.However,they still suffer from unclear repair mechanisms and physicochemical evolution.In this study,spent graphite was repaired employing three methodologies:pickling-sintering,pyrogenic-recovery,and high-temperature sintering.Owing to the catalytic effect of the metal-based impurities and temperature control,the as-obtained samples displayed an ordered transformation,including the interlayer distance,crystalline degree,and grain size.As anodes of lithium ions batteries,the capacity of repaired samples reached up to 310 mA h g^(-1)above after 300loops at 1.0 C,similar to that of commercial graphite.Meanwhile,benefitting from the effective assembly of carbon atoms in internal structure of graphite at>1400℃,their initial coulombic efficiency were>87%.Even at 2.0 C,the capacity of samples remained approximately 244 mA h g^(-1)after 500 cycles.Detailed electrochemical and kinetic analyses revealed that a low temperature enhanced the isotropy,thereby enhancing the rate properties.Further,economic and environmental analyses revealed that the revenue obtained through suitable pyrogenic-recovering manners was approximately the largest value(5500$t^(-1)).Thus,this study is expected to clarify the in-depth effect of different repair methods on the traits of graphite,while offering all-round evaluations of repaired graphite.