Reversible Switching Between Microwave Absorption and EMI Shielding of VO2 Composite Foam.

Developing lightweight composite with reversible switching between microwave (MW) absorption and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding is promising yet remains highly challenging due to the completely inconsistent attenuation mechanism for electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Here, a lightweight vanadium dioxide/expanded polymer microsphere composites foam (VO2/EPM) is designed and fabricated with porous structures and 3D VO2 interconnection, which possesses reversible switching function between MW absorption and EMI shielding under thermal stimulation. The VO2/EPM exhibits MW absorption with a broad effective absorption bandwidth of 3.25 GHz at room temperature (25 °C), while provides EMI shielding of 23.1 dB at moderately high temperature (100 °C). This reversible switching performance relies on the porous structure and tunability of electrical conductivity, complex permittivity, and impedance matching, which are substantially induced by the convertible crystal structure and electronic structure of VO2. Finite element simulation is employed to qualitatively investigate the change in interaction between EM waves and VO2/EPM before and after the phase transition. Moreover, the application of VO2/EPM is demonstrated with a reversible switching function in controlling wireless transmission on/off, showcasing its excellent cycling stability. This kind of smart material with a reversible switching function shows great potential in next-generation electronic devices.

Enhancing the Interaction of Carbon Nanotubes by Metal-Organic Decomposition with Improved Mechanical Strength and Ultra-Broadband EMI Shielding Performance.

The remarkable properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have led to promising applications in the field of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. However, for macroscopic CNT assemblies, such as CNT film, achieving high electrical and mechanical properties remains challenging, which heavily depends on the tube-tube interactions of CNTs. Herein, we develop a novel strategy based on metal-organic decomposition (MOD) to fabricate a flexible silver-carbon nanotube (Ag-CNT) film. The Ag particles are introduced in situ into the CNT film through annealing of MOD, leading to enhanced tube-tube interactions. As a result, the electrical conductivity of Ag-CNT film is up to 6.82 × 105 S m-1, and the EMI shielding effectiveness of Ag-CNT film with a thickness of ~ 7.8 µm exceeds 66 dB in the ultra-broad frequency range (3-40 GHz). The tensile strength and Young's modulus of Ag-CNT film increase from 30.09 ± 3.14 to 76.06 ± 6.20 MPa (~ 253%) and from 1.12 ± 0.33 to 8.90 ± 0.97 GPa (~ 795%), respectively. Moreover, the Ag-CNT film exhibits excellent near-field shielding performance, which can effectively block wireless transmission. This innovative approach provides an effective route to further apply macroscopic CNT assemblies to future portable and wearable electronic devices.

A cyclic peptide-based PROTAC induces intracellular degradation of palmitoyltransferase and potently decreases PD-L1 expression in human cervical cancer cells.

Introduction: Our previous research has found that degradation of palmitoyltransferase in tumor cells using a linear peptide PROTAC leads to a significant decrease in PD-L1 expression in tumors. However, this degradation is not a sustained and efficient process. Therefore, we designed a cyclic peptide PROTAC to achieve this efficient anti-PD-L1 effect. Methods: We designed and synthesized an improvement in linear peptide PROTAC targeting palmitoyltransferase DHHC3, and used disulfide bonds to stabilize the continuous N- and C-termini of the peptides to maintain their structure. Cellular and molecular biology techniques were used to test the effect of this cyclic peptide on PD-L1. Results: In human cervical cancer cells, our cyclic peptide PROTAC can significantly downregulate palmitoyl transferase DHHC3 and PD-L1 expressions. This targeted degradation effect is enhanced with increasing doses and treatment duration, with a DC50 value much lower than that of linear peptides. Additionally, flow cytometry analysis of fluorescence intensity shows an increase in the amount of cyclic peptide entering the cell membrane with prolonged treatment time and higher concentrations. The Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) method used in this study indicates effective binding between our novel cyclic peptide and DHHC3 protein, leading to a change in the thermal stability of the latter. The degradation of PD-L1 can be effectively blocked by the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Results from clone formation experiments illustrate that our cyclic peptide can enhance the proliferative inhibition effect of cisplatin on the C33A cell line. Furthermore, in the T cell-C33A co-culture system, cyclic peptides target the degradation of PD-L1, thereby blocking the interaction between PD-L1 and PD-1, and promoting the secretion of IFN-γ and TNF-α in the co-culture system supernatant. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that a disulfide-bridged cyclic peptide PROTAC targeting palmitoyltransferase can provide a stable and improved anti-PD-L1 activity in human tumor cells.

Stapled peptide PROTAC induced significantly greater anti-PD-L1 effects than inhibitor in human cervical cancer cells.

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are monoclonal antibodies that target immune checkpoints that suppress immune cell activity. Low efficiency and high resistance are currently the main barriers to their clinical application. As a representative technology of targeted protein degradation, proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are considered to have potential for addressing these limitations. Methods: We synthesized a stapled peptide-based PROTAC (SP-PROTAC) that specifically targeted palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC3 and resulted in the decrease of PD-L1 in human cervical cancer cell lines. Flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, protein immunoblotting, Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA), and MTT assay analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of the designed peptide and verify its safety in human cells. Results: In cervical cancer celllines C33A and HeLa, the stapled peptide strongly downregulated PD-L1 to < 50% of baseline level at 0.1 µM. DHHC3 expression decreased in both dosedependentand time-dependent manners. MG132, the proteasome inhibitor, can alleviate the SP-PROTAC mediated degradation of PD-L1 in human cancer cells. In a co-culture model of C33A and T cells, treatment with the peptide induced IFN-γ and TNF-α release in a dose-dependent manner by degrading PD-L1. These effects were more significant than that of the PD-L1 inhibitor, BMS-8. Conclusions: Cells treated with 0.1 µM of SP-PROTAC or BMS-8 for 4 h revealed that the stapled peptide decreased PD-L1 more effectively than BMS-8. DHHC3-targeting SP-PROTAC decreased PD-L1 in human cervical cancer more effectively than the inhibitor BMS-8.

Enhancing the Chemical Stability of MXene Through Synergy of Hydrogen Bond and Coordination Bond in Aqueous Solution.

MXenes with unique physicochemical properties have shown substantial potential in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. However, the chemical instability and mechanical fragility of MXenes has become a major hurdle for their application. Abundant strategies have been dedicated to improving the oxidation stability of colloidal solution or mechanical properties of films, which always come at the expense of electrical conductivity and chemical compatibility. Here, hydrogen bond (H-bond) and coordination bond are employed to achieve chemical and colloidal stability of MXenes (0.1 mg mL-1 ) by occupying the reaction sites of Ti3 C2 Tx attacking of water and oxygen molecules. Compared to the Ti3 C2 Tx , the Ti3 C2 Tx modified with alanine via H-bond shows significantly improved oxidation stability (at room temperature over 35 days), while the Ti3 C2 Tx modified with cysteine by synergy of H-bond and coordination bond can be maintained even after 120 days. Simulation and experimental results verify the formation of H-bond and Ti-S bond by a Lewis acid-base interaction between Ti3 C2 Tx and cysteine. Furthermore, the synergy strategy significantly improves the mechanical strength of the assembled film (up to 78.1 ± 7.9 MPa), corresponding the increment of 203% compared to untreated one, almost without compromising the electrical conductivity and EMI shielding performance.

A review of recent advances on single use of antibody-drug conjugates or combination with tumor immunology therapy for gynecologic cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have made significant progress in the treatment of various cancers. However, due to the low ICI responsive rate for the gynecologic cancer, ICI two-drug combination therapy tends to be a predominant way for clinical treatment. Antibody-drug conjugates, a promising therapeutic modality for cancer, have been approved by the FDA for breast cancer, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and gastric cancer. On September 2021, the FDA granted accelerated approval to tisotumab vedotin for patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. Currently, the role of therapy of ADCs on gynecologic tumors was also included in medication regimens. Now more than 30 ADCs targeting for 20 biomarkers are under clinical trials in the field, including monotherapy or combination with others for multiple lines of therapy. Some ADCs have been proved to enhance the antitumor immunity effect on both pre-clinical models and clinical trials. Therefore, combination of ADCs and ICIs are expected in clinical trials. In this review, we discuss current development of ADCs in gynecologic oncology and the combination effects of ICIs and ADCs.

Impact of Smoking on Anal Abscess and Anal Fistula Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have investigated the association between smoking and anal abscess and anal fistula (AA/F) diseases. However, the relationship between cigarette smoking and AA/F remains unclear. This study sought to assess the role of smoking in anorectal male patients in a Chinese population. METHODS: In this retrospective study, a questionnaire, including smoking history, was completed over a 3-month period by male inpatients in the Proctology Department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital. "Cases" were patients who had AA/F, and "controls" were patients with other anorectal complaints. Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test were carried out to examine differences in baseline characteristics between groups. Subsequently, multivariate logistic regression was used to explore any related factors. RESULTS: A total of 977 patients aged from 18 to 80 years were included, excluding those diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease or diabetes mellitus. Out of this total, 805 patients (82.4%) completed the entire questionnaire. Among the 805 patients, 334 (41.5%) were cases and 471 (58.5%) were controls. Results showed significant differences between cases and controls (χ2 = 205.2, P < 0.001), with smoking found to be associated with the development of AA/F diseases (odds ratio: 12.331, 95% confidence interval: 8.364-18.179, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested smoking to be a potential risk factor for the development of AA/F diseases in a Chinese population. Consequently, current smoking patients should be informed of this relationship, and further research should be conducted to explore and investigate this further.

Comparing the effect of An's Shaobei Injection ([symbols; see text]) with Xiaozhiling Injection ([symbols; see text]) in patients with internal hemorrhoids of grade I-III: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of An's Shaobei Injection ([symbols; see text]) with Xiaozhiling Injection ([symbols; see text]) in patients with internal hemorrhoids of grade I-III. METHODS: This cohort study included 1,520 internal hemorrhoids patients with grade I-III who were scheduled for liquid injection treatment from July 2003 to July 2009. The cohort included patients who underwent either An's Shaobei Injection treatment (the treatment group, 760 cases) or Xiaozhiling Injection treatment (the control group, 760 cases). All patients were followed up regularly for 3 years; the observing indices included anal function recovery and clinical response after operation. RESULTS: Among the 1,520 patients, 1,508 (99.2%) completed the 3-year follow-up. The efficacy rate was 97.5% in the treatment group, significantly higher than the control group (91.8%, P<0.01). The recurrence rate in the treatment group was 0.5%, significantly lower than that of the control group (1.3%, P<0.01). In addition, perianal callosity occurred in 8 cases (1.1%) and anorectal stricture in 26 cases (3.5%) after operation in the control group. There was no perianal callosity and anorectal stricture in the treatment group. CONCLUSION: The treatment with An's Shaobei Injection demonstrated superior clinical effect to Xiaozhiling Injection with fewer adverse effects.

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome due to massive wasp stings: an autopsy case report.

We reported a case of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) following about 300 wasp stings. The diagnosis was based on autopsy findings of acute pulmonary edema, acute kidney injury, hepatic and cardiac dysfunction, and cerebral edema. MODS is a life-threatening complication, and should be considered a possibility after multiple wasp stings. Our autopsy helped to establish the cause of unexpected death due to wasp stings and to elucidate a possible mechanism of MODS.

[Not to ignore the dry eye of cataract patients after surgery].

Dry eye syndrome following cataract surgery was concerned about recently. Two kinds of dry eye were clinically observed after cataract surgery, early dry eye and chronic dry eye. Most cases of early dry eye, who usually had the normal lacrimal secretion before surgery, were reversible and involved in some of factors associated with surgery and post-surgery medication. But most cases of chronic dry eye, who have abnormal lacrimal secretion or "borderline state" of lacrimal secretion test before surgery, may suffer from the ocular surface diseases related to irreversible dry eye disease. It is significantly important for maintaining of the ocular surface stability and recovery of vision acuity after cataract surgery to do early diagnose and promptly manage the dry eye syndrome.

[Prediction of myopic shift in paediatric pseudophakia using a neural network: a preliminary study].

OBJECTIVE: To train and evaluate a backpropagation (BP) neural network to predict the pseudophakic refraction of a child at any age. METHODS: The clinical data of paediatric pseudophakia were consecutively collected from the patients for subsequent visits to Cataract Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital during June to October in 2006 and 70 eyes of 41 patients that met the inclusion criteria were identified. We reviewed the case history, preoperative examinations, surgical process and follow-up results of these patients and recorded the main following data: axial length and corneal curvature of both eyes before intraocular lens (IOL) implantation surgery, targeted postoperative refraction, IOL power, laterality, age at cataract extraction and IOL implantation surgery, age and refraction at last follow up. 70 eyes were divided into a training set and a test set by simple random sampling. The training set of 55 eyes was used for training a BP neural network and updating the network weights and biases. The test set of 15 eyes was used to work out the test set prediction of the pseudophakic refraction at last follow up, which was compared with that produced by a logarithmic regression advanced by McClatchey and his colleagues. RESULTS: For the test data, the correlation between network outputs and target outputs was statistically significant (r = 0.603, P = 0.017); The difference between network outputs and target outputs was not statistically significant (paired-samples t test, P = 0.270). Mean error and mean absolute error from predicted refraction were +0.69 diopters (D) and 1.34 D by BP neural network respectively and were +1.03 D and 1.98 D by logarithmic regression respectively. The differences in predictive errors and absolute errors between two predictive methods were not significant but in absolute errors the P value was close to 0.05 (P = 0.075) by paired-samples t test. The predictions by two predictive methods both underestimated the myopic shift of paediatric pseudophakia and the prediction by logarithmic regression tended towards more hyperopia. CONCLUSIONS: BP neural network improved prediction of pseudophakic refraction of a child at any age compared with the logarithmic regression advanced by McClatchey and his colleagues in this study. It can be a useful tool in predicting myopic shift in paediatric pseudophakia.

[The prevalence and its effective factors of primary angle-closure glaucoma in defined populations of rural and urban in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) of urban and rural residents in Beijing, China. A quantitative comparison was made based on the data collected from this epidemiological survey. We also identify some of the most typical risk factors associated with PACG. METHODS: Glaucomatous screening examination was applied to specific age group populations (aged 40 and older) in the defined district of Beijing and its remote rural county, from June to October, 2001. There are 4451 subjects in all, 1980 rural subjects and 2471 urban subjects, 1939 males and 2512 females. The screen and diagnostic methods used in this survey included van Herick methods and gonioscopy examination to estimate the peripheral depth of the anterior chamber, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, refraction status, stereoscopic fundus photography, and threshold-related visual field tests. Subjects regarded as suspected glaucoma and glaucoma patients are reexamined with standard glaucomatous examination. RESULTS: The response rate of rural and urban population is 79.6% (1980/2488), 87.1% (2471/2836), respectively. The prevalence of PACG (in aged 40 years or older population) resulted from this survey was 1.2% (95% CI 0.9% - 1.5%). However, the prevalence was different between urban and rural residents, 1.1% (95% CI 0.8% - 1.4%) vs. 1.6% (95% CI 1.2% - 2.0%). The prevalence of PACG in female was more than that in male, 1.7% (95% CI 1.3% - 2.1%) vs.0.8% (95% CI 0.5% - 1.1%). A drastic increase in prevalence of PACG with age increase was identified in both survey sites, however, this increase in rural subjects (aged 60-69 years group) occurred ten years earlier than those from urban subjects (aged more than 70 years group). Compared to urban residents, rural residents showed higher prevalence of unilateral low vision (39.3% vs. 20.6%) and blindness (28.6% vs. 14.7%). This survey also confirmed that, as people aging, refraction status became hyperopia, the depth of peripheral anterior chamber became narrow. In the different age groups, female and male groups, the changes of refraction status and the depth of peripheral anterior chamber paralleled the prevalence of PACG. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of PACG was obviously different in different groups. This could due to several factors including gender, age, change of refraction status and chamber angle as well.

[The prevalence and its screening methods of primary open angle glaucoma in defined population-based study of rural and urban in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in persons aged 40 or above in Beijing, China. METHODS: From June 2001 to October 2001, the screening population was identified by a door-to-door census in five metropolitan resident areas in the north of Beijing and three villages in a county south to Beijing. The screening included visual acuity, frequency doubling perimetry (FDP, C-20 screening program), non-contact tonometry, slit lamp microscopy, anterior chamber depth (Van Herick method), and fundus photography. The suspect glaucoma and definite glaucoma patients were asked to have an examination of Octopus 1-2-3 perimetry (G1X TOP threshold program), repeat tonometry, gonioscopy and fundus stereo-photography at Beijing Tongren Hospital. RESULTS: There were 4451 subjects who were examined at the study sites. The response rates in rural and urban were 79.58% and 87.13%, respectively. In this 40 years-old or above population, the prevalences of POAG were 1.97% in rural men, 2.07% in urban men, 1.04% in rural women and 1.42% in urban women. In this study, 92.30% POAG patients in rural and 87.30% POAG patients in urban were new diagnosed cases. The prevalence of POAG increased with age and the change was exponential. In 50% POAG patients first IOP measurement was less than 21 mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa). The prevalence of monocular eye blindness was 15.40% and 10.90% in rural and urban, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Owing to use fundus photography and integrated evaluation of optic disc, it is possible to diagnose in earlier stage of POAG. This study identifies more patients with POAG than any previous population-based studies of China, and is similar to other studies of Asia such as in India and Singapore. The reason of lower POAG prevalence in rural women than in urban may be that the anterior chamber depth of rural women is shallower than that of urban women. It may cause difficult to differentiate the chronic primary angle closure glaucoma from POAG at screening sites, so the part POAG patients may be included in primary angle closure glaucoma patients.

[Study on the intervening mechanism of taurine on streptozotocin-induced diabetic cataracts].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of various concentrations of taurine on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic cataracts in rats by biochemistry, radioimmunology and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). METHODS: One hundred Sprague-Dowley (SD) male rats, weight 180 approximately 200 g, were randomly divided into 5 groups: normal control, STZ plus saline, STZ plus 2% taurine, STZ plus 4% taurine and STZ plus 8% taurine groups. After being fasted for 12 hours, the rats of the STZ group (with or without taurine) were prepared by STZ intraperitoneal injection (55 mg/kg b.w.). Taurine-treated groups received 2%, 4% and 8% taurine injections once daily for 12 weeks (5 ml/kg b.w.). STZ group without taurine received a saline injection once daily for 12 weeks (5 ml/kg b.w.). During the experiment period, blood sugar was measured by ONE TOUCH II. At the end of experiment, several biochemical parameters were measured by Beckman CX-7, insulin was measured by (125)I-insulin radioimmunological detecting kit and the level of taurine in the aqueous humor and the lens was measured by Beckman 5500 capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) model. RESULTS: Three weeks after the administration of STZ, the lenses showed vesicle and light opacity in the STZ group. Taurine suppressed the occurrence of early stage cataract obviously. Four to 12 weeks after the administration of STZ, the lens opacity in the 4% and 8% taurine treatment groups was markedly delayed as compared with that of the STZ group. The level of blood glucose in the 4% and 8% taurine groups was decreased evidently compared to that of the STZ group on 4 days, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks (the 4% taurine group). No difference could be detected between the STZ group and taurine treatment groups in 12 weeks. In the 4% and 8% taurine groups, the level of triglycerides decreased markedly compared to that of the STZ group and was near that of the control group. There were no differences of other biochemical parameters among all groups. In the 8% taurine group, the level of taurine in the aqueous humor and lens was increased obviously compared to that of the STZ group (P = 0.036 or P = 0.000, respectively). CONCLUSION: The intervening effect of taurine on STZ-induced diabetic cataract is dose-dependent. This effect is not only related to decreases in the levels of blood sugar and triglycerides, but is also related to an increase in the taurine level in the aqueous humor and lens of diabetic rats, which enables the lens to escape from oxidant injury.