Visible transparency modulated cooling windows using pseudorandom dielectric multilayers.

The increasing global temperatures have escalated the demand for indoor cooling, thus requiring energy-saving solutions. Traditional approaches often integrate metal layers in cooling windows to block near-infrared (NIR) sunlight, which, albeit effective, lack the broad modulation of visible transmission and lead to heat accumulation due to sunlight absorption. Here, we address these limitations by developing cooling windows using ZnS/MgF multilayers, optimized through a binary optimization-based active learning process.

A nomogram based on PNI and preoperative TACE can predict overall survival in patients with larger than 2 cm HCC after hepatectomy.

This study was to construct a nomogram based on prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) to predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) larger than 2 cm after hepatectomy. 307 and 131 patients were included in the development and validation sets, respectively. The clinical endpoint was OS.

Can Thermal Nonreciprocity Help Radiative Cooling?

Radiative cooling has witnessed substantial progress while its performance is constrained by the thermal reciprocal Kirchhoff's law. Violating Kirchhoff's law to pursue nonreciprocal radiative cooling seems promising; however, the energy conservation requirement and radiant flux integrated over the entire hemisphere make the nonreciprocal benefit insignificant. This commentary discusses the practical limits of nonreciprocal radiative cooling and points toward the future direction of directional radiative cooling.

Enhanced effect of ferrous sulfate on nitrogen retention and PBAT degradation during co-composting by combing with biochar-loaded FN1 bacterial composites.

The treatment of biodegradable plastics through composting has garnered increasing attention. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Biochar FN1 bacteria and ferrous sulfate on nitrogen retention, greenhouse gas emissions, and degradable plastics during composting and to elucidate their synergistic mechanisms on microbial communities. Compared with the control, applying biochar-loaded FN1 bacteria composites combined with Ferrous sulfate (SGC) markedly accelerated organic matter degradation and reduced cumulative CO and NH emissions.

Mechanical-Stimuli-Driven Pseudo-Conductive Channels Along Dielectric Heterojunction Interfaces for Mechanoelectric Energy Conversion and Transmission.

Mechanoelectric energy conversion holds promise for energy conversion and transmission devices, yet conventional configurations rely on large-area conductive materials in active regions, limiting architectural design for cutting-edge devices. Here, a rational strategy is reported to create mechanical stimuli-driven pseudo-conductive (MSPC) channels entirely from dielectric materials, eliminating the need for electrodes in active regions. An in-depth investigation of MSPC channel formation mechanism at dielectric interfaces is conducted, employing energy band analyses.

Advances in flexible ionic thermal sensors: present and perspectives.

Ionic thermal sensors (ITSs) represent a promising frontier in sensing technology, offering unique advantages over conventional electronic sensors. Comprising a polymer matrix and electrolyte, these sensors possess inherent flexibility, stretchability, and biocompatibility, allowing them to establish stable and intimate contact with soft surfaces without inducing mechanical or thermal stress. Through an ion migration/dissociation mechanism similar to biosensing, ITSs ensure low impedance contact and high sensitivity, especially in physiological monitoring applications.

Development and validation of a model for predicting who can benefit from multiple TACE in HCC patients.

This study was to develop and validate a model for predicting who can benefit from multiple transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.228 and 98 patients were included in the development and validation sets, respectively. The primary clinical endpoint was benefiting from consecutive multiple TACE treatments.

Promoting role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and biochar on nitrogen retention and degradation of PBAT plastics during composting.

Since the increasing number of polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT)-based plastics entering the environment, the search for sustainable treatment methods has become a primary focus of contemporary research. Composting offers a novel approach for managing biodegradable plastics. However, a significant challenge in the composting process is how to control nitrogen loss and enhance plastic degradation.

Case report: Clinical analysis and literature review of five cases of metastatic solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas.

Background: Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas (SPN) is a rare and low-grade malignant tumor. It mainly occurs in women of reproductive age, accounting for approximately 1-3% of all pancreatic tumors. SPN has a low incidence rate and is difficult to diagnose before surgery.

Impact of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on postoperative long-term survival in patients with nonsmall hepatocellular carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis.

Background: The purpose of this propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was to compare the effects of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and non-TACE on the long-term survival of patients who undergo radical hepatectomy.

Methods: PSM analysis was performed for 387 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (single > 3 cm or multiple) who underwent radical resection of HCC at our centre from January 2011 to June 2018. The patients were allocated to a preoperative TACE group (n = 77) and a non-TACE group (n = 310).

Ultrahigh-efficient material informatics inverse design of thermal metamaterials for visible-infrared-compatible camouflage.

Multispectral camouflage technologies, especially in the most frequently-used visible and infrared (VIS-IR) bands, are in increasing demand for the ever-growing multispectral detection technologies. Nevertheless, the efficient design of proper materials and structures for VIS-IR camouflage is still challenging because of the stringent requirement for selective spectra in a large VIS-IR wavelength range and the increasing demand for flexible color and infrared signal adaptivity. Here, a material-informatics-based inverse design framework is proposed to efficiently design multilayer germanium (Ge) and zinc sulfide (ZnS) metamaterials by evaluating only ~1% of the total candidates.

Leveraging Hydrophilic Hierarchical Channels to Regulate Excessive Water for High-Efficiency Solar Steam Yield.

Both the solar absorptance and water content in solar-driven interface evaporation (SDIE) devices are of equal importance for efficient solar steam yield and freshwater production, but water content regulation has garnered relatively less attention, as it is more challenging to balance the water supply rate and the evaporation rate inside SDIE devices. Herein, an SDIE device is designed by coating natural luffa with polypyrrole, which could effectively regulate the water content during the solar steam yield by its unique hydrophilic hierarchical channels to transform excessive water from the bulk state into the film state on the porous skeleton. The hierarchical channels revealed by cryoelectron microscopy experiments not only reduce the loss of heat in unevaporated water but also offer abundant escape channels for solar steam, thus enabling the proposed SDIE device to achieve an evaporation rate of 2.

High-thermopower polarized electrolytes enabled by methylcellulose for low-grade heat harvesting.

Low-grade heat exists ubiquitously in the environment. Thermogalvanic cells (TGCs) are promising for converting the widespread low-grade heat directly into electricity owing to relatively high thermopowers of redox reactions. This work reports polarized electrolytes with ultrahigh thermopowers of -8.