First-in-human study of DP303c, a HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate in patients with HER2 positive solid tumors.

DP303c is a HER2-targeted ADC with a cleavable linker-MMAE payload. Previous in vitro studies demonstrated that DP303c showed similar or better antitumor activity than T-DM1 in xenograft models. This was a multicenter, dose escalation and dose expansion phase 1 study in China. Eligible patients were 18-75 years old with HER2-positive advanced solid tumors who were unable to benefit from standard therapy. DP303c was administered intravenously every 3 weeks, with accelerated titration at lower dose of 0.5 mg/kg and 3 + 3 design with dose levels of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 mg/kg at dose escalation part, followed by the selected dose level at dose expansion part. The primary endpoints were safety and tolerability, as well as identification of recommended phase 2 dose. As of Feb 28, 2023, 94 patients were enrolled and received DP303c (dose escalation: n = 22; dose expansion: n = 72), of whom 68 patients had breast cancer. One dose limiting toxicity (Grade 3 eye pain) was observed at 4.0 mg/kg dose, and the maximum tolerated dose was not reached. The most common treatment-related adverse events at grade 3 or higher were blurred vison (16.0%), dry eye (6.4%), and peripheral neuropathy (5.3%). No treatment-related death occurred. Overall, among 91 efficacy evaluable patients, 39 patients (42.9%) achieved an objective response. Disease control was observed in 62 patients (68.1%). In 66 efficacy evaluable patients with breast cancer, 34 patients achieved an objective response (51.5%). Disease control was achieved in 51 patients (77.3%). Median PFS was 6.4 months. On a molar basis, DP303c Cmax at 3.0 mg/kg doses was 132-folder higher than that for free MMAE. DP303c demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity with acceptable safety in patients with pre-treated advanced HER2 positive solid tumors, especially in breast cancer. Based on safety and efficacy results, 3.0 mg/kg Q3W was determined as recommended phase 2 dose for DP303c. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04146610).

Rigid Ligand Confined Synthesis of Carbon Supported Dimeric Fe Sites with High-performance Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity for Quasi-solid-state Rechargeable Zn-air Batteries.

Dimeric metal sites (DiMSs) in carbon-based single atom catalysts (SACs) offer distinct advantages in optimizing the adsorption energies of the catalytic intermediates and reaction pathways over single atom sites, and thus inspires the investigations on the rational design of DiMSs-based SACs and the accurate discernment of catalytic mechanisms. Here, dimeric Fe sites on carbon blacks (DiFe-N/CBs) are prepared using the precursor of metal-organic complex with a controlled structure, and the rigid ligand confinement secures the preservation of dimeric Fe sites during the thermal treatment. DiFe-N/CBs shows excellent electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with a positive half-wave potential of 0.917 V, and excellent durability with negligible activity decay. Theoretical studies reveal that the dimeric Fe sites have an optimal adsorption of OOH* with the Yeager-type binding, illustrating the advantages of DiMSs over SAs in catalyzing ORR. The rechargeable aqueous and quasi-solid-state Zn-air battery assembled using DiFe-N/CBs-based air cathodes achieve small voltage gaps after long term charge/discharge test, showing great promises for practical applications. This synthetic strategy serves a novel platform to produce a scope of catalysts incorporating multimeric metal sites, and studies on the catalytic mechanism lay the foundation for establishing cooperative effect for multidentate adsorption reactions.

Ultra-Wideband Circular Polarized Implantable Patch Antenna for Implantable Blood Glucose Detection System Applications.

To address the current demands for antenna miniaturization, ultra-bandwidth, and circular polarization in advanced medical devices, a novel ISM band implantable antenna for blood glucose monitoring has been developed. This antenna achieves miniaturization by incorporating slots in the radiation patch and adding symmetric short-circuit probes, resulting in a compact size of only 0.054λ0 × 0.054λ0 × 0.005λ0 (λ0 is the wavelength in free space in respect of the lowest working frequency). By combining two resonance points and utilizing a differential feed structure, the antenna achieves ultra-broadband and circular polarization. Simulations indicate a |S11| bandwidth of 1.1 GHz (1.65-2.75 GHz) and an effective axial ratio (based on 3 dB axis ratio) bandwidth of 590 MHz (1.89-2.48 GHz), able to cover both the ISM frequency band (2.45 GHz) and the mid-field frequency band (1.9 GHz). The antenna exhibits CP gains of -20.04 dBi at a frequency of 2.45 GHz, while it shows gains of -24.64 dBi at 1.9 GHz. Furthermore, a superstrate layer on the antenna's radiating surface enhances its biocompatibility and minimizes its impact on the human body. Simulation and experimental results indicate that the antenna can establish a stable wireless communication link for implantable continuous blood glucose monitoring systems.

Engineered probiotic Escherichia coli elicits immediate and long-term protection against influenza A virus in mice.

Influenza virus infection remains a major global health problem and requires a universal vaccine with broad protection against different subtypes as well as a rapid-response vaccine to provide immediate protection in the event of an epidemic outbreak. Here, we show that intranasal administration of probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 activates innate immunity in the respiratory tract and provides immediate protection against influenza virus infection within 1 day. Based on this vehicle, a recombinant strain is engineered to express and secret five tandem repeats of the extracellular domain of matrix protein 2 from different influenza virus subtypes. Intranasal vaccination with this strain induces durable humoral and mucosal responses in the respiratory tract, and provides broad protection against the lethal challenge of divergent influenza viruses in female BALB/c mice. Our findings highlight a promising delivery platform for developing mucosal vaccines that provide immediate and sustained protection against respiratory pathogens.

Disclosing the influence mechanism of facet-dependent pyrite photo-activation and photo-dissolution processes on the reduction of Cr(VI).

The photo-activation and photo-dissolution processes of pyrite (FeS2) can affect the environmental behavior of the co-existing hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). But the photochemical performance of FeS2 is intimately dependent on its exposed facets. Herein, FeS2 nanosheets (FeS2 NS) and FeS2 nanocubes (FeS2 NC) with the dominant exposed facets of (001) and (210)/(100) respectively are prepared. The more Fe3+, Fe2+, and SO42- are released in the FeS2 NS system than the other system due to its more excellent generation ability of photogenerated electrons and reactive oxygen species. The higher surface energy on (001) facet leads to the faster dissolution rate of FeS2 NS. Due to the optimal production ability of photogenerated electrons and Fe2+ of (001) facet, the much higher Cr(VI) elimination efficiency in the FeS2 NS system is observed than that in the FeS2 NC (72.8%) system within 120 min. This work could help to unveil the influence of FeS2 on the fate of Cr(VI) in surface environment, and offer a theoretical support to clarify the influence of heavy metal ions on the iron sulfide minerals.

Deciphering the impact of aging on splenic endothelial cell heterogeneity and immunosenescence through single-cell RNA sequencing analysis.

BACKGROUND: Aging is associated with significant structural and functional changes in the spleen, leading to immunosenescence, yet the detailed effects on splenic vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and their immunomodulatory roles are not fully understood. In this study, a single-cell RNA (scRNA) atlas of EC transcriptomes from young and aged mouse spleens was constructed to reveal age-related molecular changes, including increased inflammation and reduced vascular development and also the potential interaction between splenic endothelial cells and immune cells. RESULTS: Ten clusters of splenic endothelial cells were identified. DEGs analysis across different EC clusters revealed the molecular changes with aging, showing the increase in the overall inflammatory microenvironment and the loss in vascular development function of aged ECs. Notably, four EC clusters with immunological functions were identified, suggesting an Endothelial-to-Immune-like Cell Transition (EndICLT) potentially driven by aging. Pseudotime analysis of the Immunology4 cluster further indicated a possible aging-induced transitional state, potentially initiated by Ctss gene activation. Finally, the effects of aging on cell signaling communication between different EC clusters and immune cells were analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive atlas elucidates the complex interplay between ECs and immune cells in the aging spleen, offering new insights into endothelial heterogeneity, reprogramming, and the mechanisms of immunosenescence.

Effects of different parameters of Tai Chi on the intervention of chronic low back pain: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of Tai Chi in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain by Meta-analysis and to investigate its influencing factors. METHODS: The study searched eight databases (PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China Knowledge Network, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM) from inception to October 2023. Two investigators independently selected 10 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCT) against inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by data extraction and study quality assessment by ROB 2. The outcomes of interest were pain intensity and disability. The studies were combined using meta-analysis when statistical pooling of data was possible. The quality of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: 10 randomized controlled studies with a total sample of 886 cases were included, of which 4 (40%) were assessed as low risk of bias. The effect size of Tai Chi for chronic low back pain was [Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = -1.09 (-1.26, -0.92), p < 0.01], all achieving large effect sizes and statistically significant; the effect size for disability was [Standard Mean Difference (SMD) with 95% CI = -1.75 (-2.02, -1.48), p < 0.01], and the combined effect sizes of physical health and mental health for quality of life were [WMD (95% CI) = 4.18 (3.41, 4.95), p < 0.01; WMD (95% CI) = 3.23 (2.42, 4.04), p < 0.01] respectively. The incidence of adverse reactions was low. Meta regression and subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant effect on intervention measures (Tai Chi alone, Tai Chi as additional therapy, water Tai Chi), Tai Chi school (Chen and Yang) and the number of total intervention sessions (> 30 and ≤ 30). The evidence quality evaluation showed that the evidence of pain, physical health of quality of life and mental health score was medium quality, while the evidence of disability and adverse reactions was low quality. CONCLUSIONS: Tai Chi has an obvious effect of in relieving chronic low back pain. Tai Chi alone and Tai Chi as supplementary therapy have good effects. Tai Chi in water have not been verified. Chen style Tai Chi and Yang's Tai Chi, intervention more than 30 times or less than 30 times had no significant difference in the effect of intervention on CLBP.

TAX1BP1 and FIP200 orchestrate non-canonical autophagy of p62 aggregates for mouse neural stem cell maintenance.

Autophagy plays a pivotal role in diverse biological processes, including the maintenance and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Interestingly, while complete deletion of Fip200 severely impairs NSC maintenance and differentiation, inhibiting canonical autophagy via deletion of core genes, such as Atg5, Atg16l1, and Atg7, or blockade of canonical interactions between FIP200 and ATG13 (designated as FIP200-4A mutant or FIP200 KI) does not produce comparable detrimental effects. This highlights the likely critical involvement of the non-canonical functions of FIP200, the mechanisms of which have remained elusive. Here, utilizing genetic mouse models, we demonstrated that FIP200 mediates non-canonical autophagic degradation of p62/sequestome1, primarily via TAX1BP1 in NSCs. Conditional deletion of Tax1bp1 in fip200 hGFAP conditional knock-in (cKI) mice led to NSC deficiency, resembling the fip200 hGFAP conditional knockout (cKO) mouse phenotype. Notably, reintroducing wild-type TAX1BP1 not only restored the maintenance of NSCs derived from tax1bp1-knockout fip200 hGFAP cKI mice but also led to a marked reduction in p62 aggregate accumulation. Conversely, a TAX1BP1 mutant incapable of binding to FIP200 or NBR1/p62 failed to achieve this restoration. Furthermore, conditional deletion of Tax1bp1 in fip200 hGFAP cKO mice exacerbated NSC deficiency and p62 aggregate accumulation compared to fip200 hGFAP cKO mice. Collectively, these findings illustrate the essential role of the FIP200-TAX1BP1 axis in mediating the non-canonical autophagic degradation of p62 aggregates towards NSC maintenance and function, presenting novel therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

An innovative Zn3In2S6/ZnIn2S4 homojunction photocatalyst with enhanced interfacial charge transfer for the highly efficient degradation of tetracycline under visible radiation.

The interfacial charge transfer ability is a decisive factor influencing the photocatalytic performance of composite photocatalysts. Compared with heterojunctions that combine two or more semiconductors with different properties, homojunctions that combine two semiconductors with similar properties can accelerate the interfacial charge shift and achieve higher photocatalyticability. In this study, a Zn3In2S6/ZnIn2S4 homojunction photocatalyst (ZIS-5) with a Zn3In2S6 to ZnIn2S4 molar ratio of 5:1 was synthesized by selecting Zn3In2S6 nano-microspheres as the substrate material and growing ZnIn2S4 flocs on the nano-microspheres. The photocatalytic performance of the ZIS-5 homojunction was assessed by using tetracycline (TC) as a typical pollutant. The photocatalytic performance and mineralization rate of the ZIS-5 homojunction were significantly improved compared with those of Zn3In2S6 and ZnIn2S4, and its photocatalytic performance was increased by 10.2% and 20.9%, compared with Zn3In2S6 and ZnIn2S4, respectively, while the mineralization rate was enhanced by 22.78% and 43.28%, respectively. The results of the comparison experiment revealed that the interfacial electron transfer ability of the ZIS-5 homojunction is 1.6 times that of the g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4-5 heterojunction. The density functional theory (DFT) computation and Mott-Schottky plots verified the formation of an internal electric field. The toxicity analysis showed that the ZIS-5 homojunction system effectively reduced the toxicity of TC. This work supplies a valuable route for inventing catalysts with efficient photocatalytic performances.

Prognostic biomarker tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes failed to serve as a predictive biomarker for postoperative radiotherapy in completely resected pN2 non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that radiotherapy is a potent immunomodulator in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Conversely, it has rarely been demonstrated if immune infiltration can influence radiotherapy efficacy. Herein, we explored the effect of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) on the response to postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in completely resected stage III-pN2 NSCLC. METHODS: This retrospective study included 244 patients with pathologically confirmed stage III-N2 NSCLC who underwent complete resection at our institution between 2014 and 2020. TILs were assessed with permanent full-face hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) sections and the evaluation of TILs was based on a published guideline. Patients were stratified into the TILlow or TILhigh group with a cutoff value of 50%. Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were utilized to assess disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were conducted to determine prognostic indicators. RESULTS: Among 244 patients, a total of 121 patients received PORT whereas 123 did not. TILs level in patients with PORT was significantly higher than that in patients without PORT (p < 0.001). High TILs level was significantly associated with an improved DFS and OS in all the entire chort (DFS, p < 0.001; OS, p = 0.001), PORT chort (DFS, p = 0.003; OS, p = 0.011) and non-PORT chort (DFS, p < 0.001; OS, p = 0.034). There were no significant survival differences between different treatment modalities in the low TILs infiltration (DFS, p = 0.244; OS, p = 0.404) and high TILs infiltration (DFS, p = 0.167; OS, p = 0.958) groups. CONCLUSIONS: TILs evaluated with H&E sections could represent a prognostic biomarker in patients with completely resected pN2 NSCLC, and high TILs infiltration was associated with favorable survival outcomes.The predictive value of TILs for PORT still need to be further explored in the future.

Design of a water-soluble transmembrane receptor kinase with intact molecular function by QTY code.

Membrane proteins are critical to biological processes and central to life sciences and modern medicine. However, membrane proteins are notoriously challenging to study, mainly owing to difficulties dictated by their highly hydrophobic nature. Previously, we reported QTY code, which is a simple method for designing water-soluble membrane proteins. Here, we apply QTY code to a transmembrane receptor, histidine kinase CpxA, to render it completely water-soluble. The designed CpxAQTY exhibits expected biophysical properties and highly preserved native molecular function, including the activities of (i) autokinase, (ii) phosphotransferase, (iii) phosphatase, and (iv) signaling receptor, involving a water-solubilized transmembrane domain. We probe the principles underlying the balance of structural stability and activity in the water-solubilized transmembrane domain. Computational approaches suggest that an extensive and dynamic hydrogen-bond network introduced by QTY code and its flexibility may play an important role. Our successful functional preservation further substantiates the robustness and comprehensiveness of QTY code.

Highly Horizontal Oriented Tricomponent Exciplex Host with Multiple Reverse Intersystem Crossing Channels for High-Performance Narrowband Electroluminescence and Eye-Protection White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

Despite multiple-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitters with small full-width at half maximum are attractive for wide color-gamut display and eye-protection lighting applications, their inefficient reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) process and long exciton lifetime induce serious efficiency roll-off, which significantly limits their development. Herein, a novel device concept of building highly efficient tricomponent exciplex with multiple RISC channels is proposed to realize reduced exciton quenching and enhanced upconversion of nonradiative triplet excitons, and subsequently used as a host for high-performance MR-TADF organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Compared with traditional binary exciplex, the tricomponent exciplex exhibits obviously improved photoluminescence quantum yield, emitting dipole orientation and RISC rate constant, and a record-breaking external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 30.4% is achieved for tricomponent exciplex p-PhBCzPh: PO-T2T: DspiroAc-TRZ (50: 20: 30) based OLED. Remarkably, maximum EQEs of 36.2% and 40.3% and ultralow efficiency roll-off with EQEs of 26.1% and 30.0% at 1000 cd m-2 are respectively achieved for its sky-blue and pure-green MR-TADF doped OLEDs. Additionally, the blue emission unit hosted by tricomponent exciplex is combined with an orange-red TADF emission unit to achieve a double-emission-layer blue-hazard-free warm white OLED with an EQEmax of 30.3% and stable electroluminescence spectra over a wide brightness range.

Modulation of Intermolecular Interactions in Organic Emitters for Highly Efficient Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

The adverse aggregated-caused quenching (ACQ) problem of most electroluminescent materials existing in highly doped thin films is one of the key factors impeding the commercialization of high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) panel. Whereas, by delicately constructing and modulating moderate intermolecular interactions, some aggregates have been demonstrated to present distinct luminescent properties such as tunable emission spectra, improved photoluminescence quantum yields, different emission mechanism and enhanced horizontal transition dipole ratio (Θ) of emitting layer, providing feasible solution for ACQ problem. The luminescence from newly generated emissive state in aggregates is different from the traditional "isolated" molecules in organic electronics and will possess novel properties and applications. Herein, we summarize the different types of intermolecular interactions within emitter aggregates exhibiting distinct luminescent mechanisms, as well as their effects on photoluminescent and electroluminescent properties, offering reliable reference for the advancement of highly efficient OLEDs utilizing aggregated emitters.

Intraocular mRNA delivery with endogenous MmPEG10-based virus-like particles.

Virus-like particles (VLP) are a promising tool for intracellular gene delivery, yet their potential in ocular gene therapy remains underexplored. In this study, we bridged this knowledge gap by demonstrating the successful generation and application of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSVG)-pseudotyped mouse PEG10 (MmPEG10)-VLP for intraocular mRNA delivery. Our findings revealed that PEG10-VLP can efficiently deliver GFP mRNA to adult retinal pigment epithelial cell line-19 (ARPE-19) cells, leading to transient expression. Moreover, we showed that MmPEG10-VLP can transfer SMAD7 to inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in RPE cells effectively. In vivo experiments further substantiated the potential of these vectors, as subretinal delivery into adult mice resulted in efficient transduction of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and GFP reporter gene expression without significant immune response. However, intravitreal injection did not yield efficient ocular expression. We also evaluated the transduction characteristics of MmPEG10-VLP following intracameral delivery, revealing transient GFP protein expression in corneal endothelial cells without significant immunotoxicities. In summary, our study established that VSVG pseudotyped MmPEG10-based VLP can transduce mitotically inactive RPE cells and corneal endothelial cells in vivo without triggering an inflammatory response, underscoring their potential utility in ocular gene therapy.

Cross-Modal Hashing Method with Properties of Hamming Space: A New Perspective.

Cross-modal hashing (CMH) has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Almost all existing CMH methods primarily focus on reducing the modality gap and semantic gap, i.e., aligning multi-modal features and their semantics in Hamming space, without taking into account the space gap, i.e., difference between the real number space and the Hamming space. In fact, the space gap can affect the performance of CMH methods. In this paper, we analyze and demonstrate how the space gap affects the existing CMH methods, which therefore raises two problems: solution space compression and loss function oscillation. These two problems eventually cause the retrieval performance deteriorating. Based on these findings, we propose a novel algorithm, namely Semantic Channel Hashing (SCH). Firstly, we classify sample pairs into fully semantic-similar, partially semantic-similar, and semantic-negative ones based on their similarity and impose different constraints on them, respectively, to ensure that the entire Hamming space is utilized. Then, we introduce a semantic channel to alleviate the issue of loss function oscillation. Experimental results on three public datasets demonstrate that SCH outperforms the state-of-the-art methods. Furthermore, experimental validations are provided to substantiate the conjectures regarding solution space compression and loss function oscillation, offering visual evidence of their impact on the CMH methods. Codes are available at https://github.com/hutt94/SCH.

Cryo-EM Structure of Porphyromonas gingivalis RNA Polymerase.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, an anaerobic CFB (Cytophaga, Fusobacterium, and Bacteroides) group bacterium, is the keystone pathogen of periodontitis and has been implicated in various systemic diseases. Increased antibiotic resistance and lack of effective antibiotics necessitate a search for new intervention strategies. Here we report a 3.5 Å resolution cryo-EM structure of P. gingivalis RNA polymerase (RNAP). The structure displays new structural features in its ω subunit and multiple domains in ß and ß' subunits, which differ from their counterparts in other bacterial RNAPs. Superimpositions with E. coli RNAP holoenzyme and initiation complex further suggest that its ω subunit may contact the σ4 domain, thereby possibly contributing to the assembly and stabilization of initiation complexes. In addition to revealing the unique features of P. gingivalis RNAP, our work offers a framework for future studies of transcription regulation in this important pathogen, as well as for structure-based drug development.

The role of lateral hypothalamic nucleus in mediating locomotive behaviors in pigeons (Columba livia).

The lateral hypothalamic nucleus (LHy) is located in the dorsolateral hypothalamus of birds, and it is essential to many life processes. However, limited information is available about the role of LHy in mediating locomotive behaviors. In this work, we investigated the structure and function of LHy in pigeons (Columba livia) by Nissl staining, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, insituhybridization (ISH) staining and constant current stimulation methods. The results showed that LHy appears crescent in shape, and three-dimensional coordinate value range of LHy is: A: 5.0-8.0 mm, L: 0.7-1.2 mm, D: 9.5-10.3 mm. The dopaminergic neurons in LHy were distributed in small amount and concentrated manner, while the glutamatergic neurons were distributed in a large number and uniform manner. The distribution of the above two neurons at each coronal level showed a significant positive correlation (R2 = 0.7516, P < 0.001). Our work demonstrated that LHy mainly mediates forward movement (P < 0.01) and ipsilateral lateral movement (P < 0.001), and these movements were significantly effected by electrical stimulation intensity. Our results showed that LHy can mediate the generation of directional behavior and this will provide technical support for the study of locomotor behavior regulation in birds.

Bifunctional Sulfhydryl-Based Polyimides for Highly Active Cathodes of Li-S Batteries.

Sulfhydryl-based polyimides were synthesized by the nucleophilic ring-opening reaction of thiolactone monomers (BPDA-T, ODPA-T, BTDA-T) with polyethylenimine (PEI), and they were coated on carbon nanotubes as host materials (BPTP@CNT, ODTP@CNT, and BTTP@CNT) of the sulfur cathode. BPTP@CNT/S, ODTP@CNT/S, and BTTP@CNT/S as cathode materials not only promote the covalent bonding of sulfur and polysulfide with sulfhydryl-based polyimides but also reduce the shuttle effect of soluble polysulfide in the redox process. Moreover, sulfhydryl-based polyimides can help improve the compatibility and interfacial contact between sulfur and conductive carbon while alleviating the volume expansion of the cathode. In addition, the conductive network of carbon nanotubes improves the electronic conductivity of the cathode materials. The BTTP@CNT/S cathode showed superior stability (the initial capacity was 902 mAh g-1 at 1C, and the capacity retention rate was 88.58% after 500 cycles) and the initial capacity could reach 718 mAh g-1 when the sulfur loading was 4.8 mg cm-2 (electrolyte/sulfur ratio: 10 µL mg-1), which fully proves the feasibility of the large-scale application of sulfhydryl-based polyimide materials.

Citric acid-induced photochemical behavior of Cr(III)-substituted ferrihydrite: Fe and Cr release, mineral transformation and reactive oxygen species generation.

Cr(III)-substituted ferrihydrite (Fh-Cr(III)) is widespread in the surrounding environment of mining areas. Fh-Cr(III) is unstable and susceptible to the influence of environmental factors, such as dissolved organic matter (DOM) and light, so Cr species embedded in mineral crystal layers are likely to have more profound negative effects on the environment with the photochemical behaviors of minerals. However, the photochemical behaviors of Fh-Cr(III) in the presence of DOM remains poorly understood. For this reason, citric acid (CA) was chosen as the representative DOM to study its combined effects with visible light irradiation on Fh-Cr(III) dissolution and phase transition. The results showed that CA hindered the agglomeration of Fh-Cr(III) particles, thereby slowing the phase transition of Fh-Cr(III). However, CA exacerbated the release of Fe and Cr by maintaining Fh-Cr(III) under unstable crystal structure. Moreover, due to the occurrence of ligand-metal charge transfer (LMCT) in (CA)n-Fh-Cr(III) formed on the Fh-Cr(III) surface, the synergistic effect between CA and light irradiation greatly promoted the dissolution of Fh-Cr(III). In the mixed system of Fh-Cr(III) (3 g/L) and CA (5 mM) at initial pH 3.0, the maximum concentrations of TFe and TCr were 18.17 and 5.68 mg/L after 6 h of light reaction, which were 1.82 and 3.62 times of those in the corresponding system in the darkness. Meanwhile, the Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling in solution and solid surfaces was affected by various reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from the LMCT process, in which the photoproduced Fe(II) further accelerated Cr(III) dissolution under acidic solution. The fast release of Cr(III) may pose greater danger to the environment as the more toxic Cr(VI) can be easily formed through the oxidation of dissolved Cr(III). This work offers fresh insights into the migration and transformation of Cr elements in the natural environment.

Recurrence/prognosis estimation using a molecularly positive surgical margin-based model calls for alternative curative strategies in pIIIA/N2 NSCLC.

Stage pIIIA/N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is primarily treated by complete surgical resection combined with neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapies. However, up to 40% of patients experience tumor recurrence. Here, we studied 119 stage pIIIA/N2 NSCLC patients who received complete surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The paired tumor and resection margin samples were analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Although all patients were classified as negative resection margins by histologic methods, NGS revealed that 47.1% of them had molecularly positive surgical margins. Patients who tested positive for NGS-detected residual tumors had significantly shorter disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.002). Additionally, metastatic lymph node ratio, erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) mutations, and SWI/SNF-related, matrix-associated, actin-dependent regulator of chromatin, subfamily a, member 4 (SMARCA4) mutations were also independently associated with DFS. We used these four features to construct a COX model that could effectively estimate recurrence risk and prognosis. Notably, mutational profiling through broad-panel NGS could more sensitively detect residual tumors than the conventional histologic methods. Adjuvant CT and adjuvant CRT exhibited no significant difference in eliminating locoregional recurrence risk for stage pIIIA/N2 NSCLC patients with molecularly positive surgical margins.