A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF DESALINATION RESEARCH DURING 1997-2012

This study explores a bibliometric approach to quantitatively assessing current research trends on desalination, by using the related literature published between 1997 and 2012 in journals of all the subject categories of the Science Citation Index (SCI). The articles acquired from such literature were concentrated on the general analysis by publication type and language, characteristics of articles outputs, country, subject categories and journals, and the frequency of title-words and keywords used. Over the past 16 years, there had been a significant increase trend in publication outputs, along with more participation of countries/territories. The seven major industrialized countries (G7) published the majority of the world articles, while their article share was being replacing by other countries represented by BRIC countries. An analysis of the title-words and author keywords showed that seawater desalination and membrane technologies were the hottest topics in desalination research. In addition, forward osmosis and capacitive deionization have attracted great attention in the list since 2005. The findings of this study can help relevant researchers understand the performance of desalination research in the world, and suggest directions for further research by a bibliometric method

Surgical treatment indications and outcomes in patients with spinal metastases in the cervicothoracic junction (CTJ)

Abstract Background The cervicothoracic junction (CTJ) site accounts for approximately 10% of all spinal metastases. The complex anatomical and biomechanical features increase the difficulty in surgical treatment of the CTJ metastases. However, few studies in the literature on surgical treatment for spinal metastases are focusing on this special area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcome of patients with CTJ metastases and analyze the prognostic factor for the postoperative survival. Methods Total of 34 patients with CTJ metastases who underwent surgery in our department were retrospectively analyzed. We evaluated records for the details of medical history, treatment, surgery, radiographic imaging, and follow-up. Outcomes were assessed by overall survival as well as modified Tokuhashi score, SINS, Frankel grade, visual analog scale (VAS), and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS). Results The entire patients’ median survival time was 12.4 months (range, 3.5–36.2 months). Pain improved in 32 patients (94.12%), and the postoperative VAS scores were significantly improved compared with preoperative data. Majority of patients (71%) maintained or improved their Frankel scores 1 year after surgery. KPS scores improved in 13 patients (38%), remained stable in 19 (56%), and worsened in 2 (6%) postoperatively. Notably, patients with neurological deficit that did not improve after surgery had significantly worse median survival than those who had either no deficit or who improved after surgery. There were no instrumentation failures in this study. Conclusions Surgical treatment is effective for patients of CTJ metastases, with a tolerable rate of complications. Remained or regained ambulatory status predicted overall survival. Thus, prompt and aggressive decompressive surgery is recommended for CTJ metastases patients with neurological impairment

OP3‐4 peptide sustained‐release hydrogel inhibits osteoclast formation and promotes vascularization to promote bone regeneration in a rat femoral defect model

Abstract Bone injury caused changes to surrounding tissues, leading to a large number of osteoclasts appeared to clear the damaged bone tissue before bone regeneration. However, overactive osteoclasts will inhibit bone formation. In this study, we prepared methacrylylated gelatin (GelMA)‐based hydrogel to co‐crosslink with OP3‐4 peptide, a receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand (RANKL) binding agent, to achieve the slow release of OP3‐4 peptide to inhibit the activation of osteoclasts, thus preventing the long‐term existence of osteoclasts from affecting bone regeneration, and promoting osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, CXCL9 secreted by osteoblasts will bind to endogenous VEGF and inhibit vascularization, finally hinder bone formation. Thus, anti‐CXCL9 antibodies (A‐CXCL9) were also loaded in the hydrogel to neutralize excess CXCL9. The hydrogel slow released of OP3‐4 cyclic peptide and A‐CXCL9 to simultaneously inhibiting osteoclast activation and promoting vascularization, thereby accelerating the healing of femur defect. Further analysis of osteogenic protein expression and signal pathways showed that the hydrogel may be through activating the AKT‐RUNX2‐ALP pathway and ultimately promote osteogenic differentiation. This dual‐acting hydrogel can effectively prevent nonunion caused by low vascularization and provide long‐term support for the treatment of bone injury

Plasma membrane H+-ATPase overexpression increases rice yield via simultaneous enhancement of nutrient uptake and photosynthesis

Improved utilisation of nitrogen and carbon could boost agricultural productivity. Here Zhang et al. show that overexpression of a single gene, encoding the plasma membrane H+ -ATPase 1 OSA1, is able to increase both carbon fixation via photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation via ammonium uptake in rice