Ultrathin Hematite Photoanode with Gradient Ti Doping.

The poor photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance derived from insufficient charge separation in hematite photoanode crucially limits its application. Gradient doping with band bending in a large region is then considered as a promising strategy, facilitating the charge transfer ability due to the built-in electric field. Herein, we developed a synthetic strategy to prepare gradient Ti-doped ultrathin hematite photoelectrode and systematically investigated its PEC performance.

A Comparative Study on the Clinical Features of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia With Other Pneumonias.

Background: A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has raised world concern since it emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The infection may result in severe pneumonia with clusters of illness onsets. Its impacts on public health make it paramount to clarify the clinical features with other pneumonias.

Preoperative diagnosis of malignant pulmonary nodules in lung cancer screening with a radiomics nomogram.

Background: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Its survival rate can be significantly improved by early screening. Biomarkers based on radiomics features have been found to provide important physiological information on tumors and considered as having the potential to be used in the early screening of lung cancer.

An esophagectomy Surgical Apgar Score (eSAS)-based nomogram for predicting major morbidity in patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Background: Performing an esophagectomy for a malignancy presents an operation with an elevated risk of complications. The esophagectomy Surgical Apgar Score (eSAS) has been confirmed to be a strong predictor of major postoperative morbidity. The purpose of this study was to construct and establish an eSAS-based nomogram for predicting major morbidity after esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma.

Anti-PD-1 Therapy plus Chemotherapy and/or Bevacizumab as Second Line or later Treatment for Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy exhibited outstanding efficacy in first line setting for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients. However, whether PD-1 inhibitor combined treatment is effective in second line or later setting remains unknown. Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of combined therapy of PD-1 inhibitor with chemotherapy and/or bevacizumab compared to PD-1 inhibitor alone for aNSCLC patients in second line or later setting.

Extracting more light for vertical emission: high power continuous wave operation of 1.3-μm quantum-dot photonic-crystal surface-emitting laser based on a flat band.

For long distance optical interconnects, 1.3-μm surface-emitting lasers are key devices. However, the low output power of several milliwatts limits their application.

Coordinated organization of mitochondrial lamellar cristae and gain of COX function during mitochondrial maturation in .

Mitochondrial cristae contain electron transport chain complexes and are distinct from the inner boundary membrane (IBM). While many details regarding the regulation of mitochondrial structure are known, the relationship between cristae structure and function during organelle development is not fully described. Here, we used serial-section tomography to characterize the formation of lamellar cristae in immature mitochondria during a period of dramatic mitochondrial development that occurs after emergence as an adult.

Predictive value of intraoperative factors for complications after oesophagectomy.

Objectives: Oesophagectomy for malignancy is a highly complex and difficult procedure associated with considerable postoperative complications. In this study, we aimed to identify the ability of an intraoperative factor (IPFs)-based classifier to predict complications after oesophagectomy.

Methods: This retrospective review included 251 patients who underwent radical oesophagectomy from October 2015 to December 2017.

Quantitative analysis of binding affinities and characterization of β-lactoglobulin and λ-carrageenan as a function of pH.

λ-Carrageenan (λcar) interacted with β-lactoglobulin (βlg) immediately to form βlg-λcar complexes when used as an additive in milk. The formation of complexes is the key process through which to explore the bioapplication of λcar, which is a complicated process and influenced by many factors. In this study, the formation process and effect of pH were ascertained by the binding affinity, hydrodynamic diameter, and secondary structure.

A New Route for Indirect Mineralization of Carbon Dioxide-Sodium Oxalate as a Detergent Builder.

Here, we bridge the gap between carbon mineralization and laundry detergent builder with sodium oxalate. Daily laundry can help mineralize carbon dioxide. First, we screen an environment-friendly process to produce sodium oxalate, using CO as a raw material.

Molecular Energetics of Doxorubicin Pumping by Human P-Glycoprotein.

The pumping of antitumor drugs by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) causes multidrug resistance (MDR) and consequent failure of chemotherapy. However, the understanding on the molecular mechanism of P-gp for transporting substrates is still far from adequate. Herein, the transport of a typical antitumor drug, doxorubicin, by P-gp is investigated using targeted molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) analysis.

Loss tailoring of high-power broad-area diode lasers.

Broad-area diode lasers (BALs) with high power are highly desirable for a variety of applications. However, such lasers suffer from strongly deteriorated beam quality due to multimode behavior in the lateral direction. In this Letter, we present an approach to flexibly tailor the optical loss of different-order lateral modes by etching micro-holes on the laser mesa with controlled position and numbers.

Corresponding anatomical and coactivation architecture of the human precuneus showing similar connectivity patterns with macaques.

The precuneus (PCun) is one of the most expanded areas of the association cortex and plays an important role in integrating information from different modalities. However, whether the functional architecture of PCun is shared by humans and macaques is an open question. We used both anatomical connectivity and task-dependent coactivation patterns to parcellate the human PCun and consistently identified three subregions in the human PCun using two independent datasets.

Losmapimod Protected Epileptic Rats From Hippocampal Neuron Damage Through Inhibition of the MAPK Pathway.

This research aimed to validate the therapeutic effect of losmapimod and explore the underlying mechanism in its treatment of epilepsy. A rat model of epilepsy was constructed with an injection of pilocarpine. Microarray analysis was performed to screen aberrantly expressed mRNAs and activated signaling pathways between epileptic rats and normal controls.

[Features of new-onset organ dysfunction in children with sepsis].

Objective: To study the features of new-onset organ dysfunction in children with sepsis in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of children with sepsis who were admitted to the PICU from 2015 to 2016. There were 34 children with severe sepsis and 69 with non-severe sepsis, and the two groups were compared in terms of the incidence rate of new-onset organ dysfunction and the functional status on admission and at discharge.

Identification and molecular characterization of exosome-like vesicles derived from the Taenia asiatica adult worm.

Taenia asiatica is an important food-borne parasite that poses a threat to food-safety and animal husbandry hygine, yet little is known about its specific infection and immune escape mechanisms. Exosome-like vesicles have recently emerged as a regulator in the interactions between parasites and hosts, providing a new direction for research on infection of T. asiatica.

Altered whole brain functional connectivity pattern homogeneity in medication-free major depressive disorder.

Background: Many previous studies have revealed abnormal functional connectivity patterns between brain areas underlying the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). However, how to exactly characterize the voxel-wise whole brain functional connectivity pattern changes in MDD remains unclear, which will provide more convincing evidence for localizing the exactly functional connectivity abnormality in MDD.

Methods: In this study, we employed our newly developed whole brain functional connectivity homogeneity (FcHo) method to identify the voxel-wise changes of functional connectivity patterns in 27 medication-free MDD patients and 34 gender-, age-, and education level-matched healthy controls (HC).

A new insight into the SO adsorption behavior of oxidized carbon materials using model adsorbents and DFT calculations.

Heteroatom-doped carbon materials have been proven to be very effective for gas adsorption. Herein, edge-carboxylated graphene nanoplatelets with gradient oxygen contents and consistent pore structures were used as model adsorbents to independently determine the effects of the oxygen functionalization of carbon materials on the SO2 adsorption. The OGnPs were obtained by employing a simple ball milling method using dry ice by which an oxygen content as high as 14.

[Anti-tumor and immune-modulating effect of decoction in mice bearing hepatoma H22 tumor].

Objective: To investigate the antitumor activity of decoction and study its liver and kidney toxicity and its effect on the immune system in a tumor-bearing mouse model.

Methods: Hepatoma H22 tumor-bearing mouse models were randomized into model group, cyclophosphamide (CTX) group, and low-, moderate-, and high-dose decoction groups (JW-L, JW-M, and JW-H groups, respectively). The antitumor activity of decoction was assessed by calculating the tumor inhibition rate and pathological observation of the tumor tissues.

Enhancing Third- and Fifth-Order Nonlinearity via Tunneling in Multiple Quantum Dots.

The nonlinearity of semiconductor quantum dots under the condition of low light levels has many important applications. In this study, linear absorption, self-Kerr nonlinearity, fifth-order nonlinearity and cross-Kerr nonlinearity of multiple quantum dots, which are coupled by multiple tunneling, are investigated by using the probability amplitude method. It is found that the linear and nonlinear properties of multiple quantum dots can be modified by the tunneling intensity and energy splitting of the system.

Fractional flow reserve-guided complete revascularization versus culprit-only revascularization in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and multi-vessel disease patients: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Background: Approximately 30-50% patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STMEI) were found to have non-infarct-related coronary artery (IRA) disease, which was significantly associated with worse prognosis. However, challenges still remain for these patients: which non-infarct-related lesion should be treated and when should the procedure be performed? The present study aims to investigate Fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided complete revascularization (CR) in comparison to culprit-only revascularization (COR) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multi-vessel disease (MVD).

Methods: Three appropriate randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected from the PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library /CENTRAL databases.

Parity-time symmetry in coherent asymmetric double quantum wells.

A coherently prepared asymmetric double semiconductor quantum well (QW) is proposed to realize parity-time (PT) symmetry. By appropriately tuning the laser fields and the pertinent QW parameters, PT-symmetric optical potentials are obtained by three different methods. Such a coherent QW system is reconfigurable and controllable, and it can generate new approaches of theoretically and experimentally studying PT-symmetric phenomena.

Macrophage ERα promoted invasion of endometrial cancer cell by mTOR/KIF5B-mediated epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) exert tumor-promoting effects. There have been reports that estrogen receptors (ERs) are expressed on the infiltrating macrophages of endometriosis, ovarian cancer and lung cancer. However, the role of ERs in macrophages is not well characterized.