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Biodegradable metals are promising candidates for bone defect repair. With an evidence-based approach, this study investigated and analyzed the performance and degradation properties of biodegradable metals in animal models for bone defect repair to explore their potential clinical translation. Animal studies on bone defect repair with biodegradable metals in comparison with other traditional biomaterials were reviewed. Data was carefully collected after identification of population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and study design (PICOS), and following the inclusion criteria of biodegradable metals in animal studies. 30 publications on pure Mg, Mg alloys, pure Zn and Zn alloys were finally included after extraction from a collected database of 2543 publications. A qualitative systematic review and a quantitative meta-analysis were performed. Given the heterogeneity in animal model, anatomical site and critical size defect (CSD), biodegradable metals exhibited mixed effects on bone defect repair and degradation in animal studies in comparison with traditional non-degradable metals, biodegradable polymers, bioceramics, and autogenous bone grafts. The results indicated that there were limitations in the experimental design of the included studies, and quality of the evidence presented by the studies was very low. To enhance clinical translation of biodegradable metals, evidence-based research with data validity is needed. Future studies should adopt standardized experimental protocols in investigating the effects of biodegradable metals on bone defect repair with animal models.

In this paper, some efficient criteria for finite-time consensus of a class of nonsmooth opinion dynamics over a digraph are established. The lower and upper bounds on the finite settling time are obtained based respectively on the maximal and minimal cut capacity of the digraph. By using tools of the nonsmooth theory and algebraic graph theory, the Carathéodory and Filippov solutions of nonsmooth opinion dynamics are analyzed and compared in detail. In the sense of Filippov solutions, the dynamic consensus is demonstrated without a leader and the finite-time bipartite consensus is also investigated in a signed digraph correspondingly. To achieve a predetermined consensus, a leader agent is introduced to the considered agent networks. As an application, the nonsmooth compartmental dynamics in the presence of a leader is embedded in the proposed continuous-time protocol to solve the distributed optimization problems over an unbalanced digraph. The convergence to the optimal solution by using the proposed distributed algorithm is guaranteed with appropriately selected parameters. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed protocols, three numerical examples are performed.

Ionic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with an ionic skeleton and unique porous structures could selectively adsorb charged dyes with specific dimensions. However, the ion-exchange-based and size-exclusion-based process as a chromatography method needs to be further explored. In this study, a new microporous anionic MOF, JUC-210, was synthesized using a spirobifluorene-based ligand and trivalent metal indium. JUC-210 has a two-fold interpenetrated pts framework with a large void space, possessing suitable pore sizes and an anionic skeleton for efficient separation of certain organic dyes. Different types of dyes were used to observe the selective adsorption ability of the as-synthesized MOF. JUC-210 displayed high selective adsorption toward the cationic dye methylene blue with positive charges based on ion exchange and size exclusion. Moreover, the effect of solvent on the selective adsorption behaviors of JUC-210 was investigated. The exploration of novel MOF materials would provide potential efficient adsorbents for separation of organic dyes.

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