Tunnel lining defects are an important indicator reflecting the safety status of shield tunnels. Inspired by the state‐of‐the‐art deep learning, a method for automatic intelligent classification and detection methodology of tunnel lining defects is presented. A fully convolutional network (FCN) model for classification is proposed. Information about defects, collected using charge‐coupled device cameras, was used to train the model. The model's performance was compared to those of GoogLeNet and VGG. The best‐set accuracy of the proposed model was over 95% at a test‐time speed of 48 ms per image. For defects detection, image features were computed from large‐scale images by the FCN and then detected using a region proposal network and position‐sensitive region of interest pooling. Some indices (detection rate, detection accuracy, and detection efficiency, locating accuracy) were used to evaluate the model. The comparisons with faster R‐CNN and a traditional method were conducted. The results show that the model is very fast and efficient, allowing automatic intelligent classification and detection of tunnel lining defects.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and debilitating joint disease worldwide without interventions available to reverse its progression. Artesunate (ART), an anti-malaria agent, possesses diverse biological activities, including the inhibition of osteoclastogenesis and angiogenesis in various cells, but its role in subchondral bone during OA progression is not known. Here, we explored the curative effects of ART on the pathogenesis of OA in anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) mice models. We found that ART attenuated articular cartilage degeneration, defined by lowered histologic scoring of OA and retarded calcification of the cartilage zone. Moreover, ART improved the expression of lubricin and aggrecan and reduced the expression of collagen X (Col X) and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13). In parallel, ART normalized abnormal subchondral bone remodeling by maintaining bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and subchondral bone plate thickness (SBP Th) and reducing trabecular pattern factor (Tb.pf) compared to the vehicle-treated mice. Our results indicated that ART suppressed osteoclastic bone resorption through regulating RANKL-OPG system, restored coupled bone remodeling by indirectly inhibiting TGF-β/Smad2/3 signaling. Additionally, ART abrogated CD31 hi Emcn hi vessel formation via downregulating the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenin-1 in subchondral bone. In conclusion, ART attenuates ACLT-induced OA by blocking bone resorption and CD31 hi Emcn hi vessel formation in subchondral bone, indicating that this may be a new therapeutic alternative for OA.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive and degenerative joint disorder that is highly prevalent worldwide and for which there is currently no effective medical therapy. Artesunate (ART), a natural compound used to treat malaria, possesses diverse biological properties, including the regulation of inflammation and apoptosis in various cells; however, its role in OA remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of ART on interleukin (IL)-1β-induced chondrocyte-like ATdc5 cells and in an OA mouse model. The results revealed that ART dose-dependently relieved the inhibitory effect of IL-1β on cell viability. Moreover, ART significantly reduced the overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, MMP-13, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs-5 and cyclooxygenase-2 at both the gene and protein levels in chondrocyte-like ATdc5 cells stimulated by IL-1β. Furthermore, ART decreased the expression of pro-apoptotic Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-7 in a dose-dependent manner, and increased the expression of the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2. These changes were mediated by the inhibitory effect of ART on the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway, defined as repression of the phosphorylation of IκBα and p65, and improved redistribution of p65. Additionally, ART blocked the advancement of the calcified cartilage zone and the loss of proteoglycan, and lowered histological scoring of OA in a mouse model. Taken together, these results indicate that ART may be of value as a therapeutic agent for OA.

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In previous works, we showed by transient expression studies in COS-1 cells that the C-terminal domain of rat intestinal membrane mucin (rMuc3) that was cloned in the pSecTag2 plasmid (named as p20) is posttranslationally cleaved twice. One location is between the glycine and the serine within a LS1KGS2IV1V2 motif, and the other is in the 49 kDa membrane-tethered fragment at an undefined site. The sea-urchin sperm protein, enterokinase and agrin module of rMuc3 is responsible for the cleavage and association of the cleaved fragments. The present study demonstrates how the conservative cleavage motif LS1KGS2IV1V2 contributes to posttranslational processing through mutagenesis of each residue in the LS(1)KGS2IV1V2 motif. Mutation of S2 to alanine (p20s2/a) completely prevented cleavage. While p20k/a (in this construct the K is replaced by A) and p20s1/a (in this construct the S1 is replaced by A) (6 and 3%) showed almost the same result as the wild-type p20 transfectant (4%), 79, 39, 22, 17, and 14% of the products from p20g/a (in this construct the G is replaced by A), p20i/a (in this construct the I is replaced by A), p20l/a (in this construct the L is replaced by A), p20v2/a (in this construct the V2 is replaced by A), and p20v1/a (in this construct the V1 is replaced by A) remained uncleaved. The cleaved N-terminal fragment of the p20s1/a transfectant was 26 kDa, but the N-terminal fragments from p20, p20g/a, p20l/a, p20k/a, p20i/a, p20v1/a, and p20v2/a were 30 kDa. The S1 residue was possibly O-glycosylated, which was supported by deglycosylation with O-cocktail (a mixture of glycosidases). The N-terminal fragment of p20s1/a transfected cells was present at high levels in the spent media. Thus, the S2, G, I, L, V2, and V1 residues within the conserved cleavage motif, LS1KGS2IV1V2, are important for cleavage and contribute to the structural formation and conformational stress of the small loop between the beta2 and the beta3 strands. The S1 residue is possibly O-glycosylated, and mutation of S1 residue to alanine does not affect the cleavage of the LS1KGS2IV1V2 motif, but it is important for the dissociation and further release of the cleaved N-terminal fragment from the cell surface.

Objective: Morphine plays an important role in postoperative analgesia after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there are limited data that investigate the administration ways of morphine. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding morphine to periarticular infiltration analgesia (PIA) combined with single-dose epidural morphine for the patients undergoing TKA. Methods:In total, 120 patients with knee osteoarthritis who underwent the primary TKA from April 2021 and March 2022 were randomized into three groups (a cocktail containing morphine with single-dose epidural morphine [Group A]; a cocktail containing morphine [Group B]; and a cocktail free of morphine [Group C]). The three groups were compared based on the Visual Analog Score at rest and during motion, requirement of tramadol, functional recovery including quadriceps strength and range of motion, and adverse events including nausea and vomiting and local and systemic adverse events. The repetitive measure analysis of variance and chi-square test among three groups were used to analyze the results.Results: Analgesia strategy in Group A (0.4 AE 0.8, and 0.9 AE 1.0 points, respectively) significantly reduced rest pain at 6 and 12 h after surgery relative to Group B (1.6 AE 1.2, and 2.2 AE 1.4 points, respectively) (p < 0.001), and the analgesic effect of Group B was stronger than that of Group C (2.1 AE 0.9, and 2.6 AE 0.9 points, respectively) (p < 0.05). Rest pain at 24 h after surgery was significantly lower in Group A (2.5 AE 0.8 points) and B (1.9 AE 1.0 points) than in Group C (2.5 AE 0.8) (p < 0.05). Within 24 h after surgery, the requirements for tramadol in Group A (0.25 g) and Group B (0.35 g) were significantly lower than those in Group C (0.75 g) (p < 0.05). Within 4 days of surgery, the quadriceps strength in the three groups increased gradually, and no statistical significance was noted among the three groups (p > 0.05). From the second day to the fourth day after surgery, although the three groups showed no statistical difference in the range of motion, the result of Group C was inferior to that of the other two groups. There were no significant differences in the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and metoclopramide consumption among the three groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion:PIA combined with single-dose epidural morphine effectively reduces early postoperative pain and tramadol requirement as well as few complications, which can become a safe and effective measure to improve postoperative pain after TKA.