Rise of Metal-Organic Frameworks: From Synthesis to E-Skin and Artificial Intelligence.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attained broad research attention in the areas of sensors, resistive memories, and optoelectronic synapses on the merits of their intriguing physical and chemical properties. In this review, recent progress on the synthesis of MOFs and their electronic applications is introduced and discussed. Initially, the crystal structures and properties of MOFs encompassing optical, electrical, and chemical properties are discussed in brief. Subsequently, advanced synthesis methods for MOFs are introduced, categorized into hydrothermal approach, microwave synthesis, mechanochemical synthesis, and electrochemical deposition. After that, the various roles of MOFs in widespread applications, including sensing, information storage, optoelectronic synapses, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, are discussed, highlighting their versatility and the innovative solutions they provide to long-standing challenges. Finally, an outlook on remaining challenges and a future perspective for MOFs are proposed.

Baseline Performance of Ultrasound-Based Strategies in Breast Cancer Screening Among Chinese Women.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: There is a notable absence of robust evidence on the efficacy of ultrasound-based breast cancer screening strategies, particularly in populations with a high prevalence of dense breasts. Our study addresses this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of such strategies in Chinese women, thereby enriching the evidence base for identifying the most efficacious screening approaches for women with dense breast tissue. METHODS: Conducted from October 2018 to August 2022 in Central China, this prospective cohort study enrolled 8996 women aged 35-64 years, divided into two age groups (35-44 and 45-64 years). Participants were screened for breast cancer using hand-held ultrasound (HHUS) and automated breast ultrasound system (ABUS), with the older age group also receiving full-field digital mammography (FFDM). The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) was employed for image interpretation, with abnormal results indicated by BI-RADS 4/5, necessitating a biopsy; BI-RADS 3 required follow-up within 6-12 months by primary screening strategies; and BI-RADS 1/2 were classified as negative. RESULTS: Among the screened women, 29 cases of breast cancer were identified, with 4 (1.3‰) in the 35-44 years age group and 25 (4.2‰) in the 45-64 years age group. In the younger age group, HHUS and ABUS performed equally well, with no significant difference in their AUC values (0.8678 vs. 0.8679, P > 0.05). For the older age group, ABUS as a standalone strategy (AUC 0.9935) and both supplemental screening methods (HHUS with FFDM, AUC 0.9920; ABUS with FFDM, AUC 0.9928) outperformed FFDM alone (AUC 0.8983, P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between HHUS alone and FFDM alone (AUC 0.9529 vs. 0.8983, P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that both HHUS and ABUS exhibit strong performance as independent breast cancer screening strategies, with ABUS demonstrating superior potential. However, the integration of FFDM with these ultrasound techniques did not confer a substantial improvement in the overall effectiveness of the screening process.

Recent Progress on Flexible Self-Powered Tactile Sensing Platforms for Health Monitoring and Robotics.

Over the past decades, tactile sensing technology has made significant advances in the fields of health monitoring and robotics. Compared to conventional sensors, self-powered tactile sensors do not require an external power source to drive, which makes the entire system more flexible and lightweight. Therefore, they are excellent candidates for mimicking the tactile perception functions for wearable health monitoring and ideal electronic skin (e-skin) for intelligent robots. Herein, the working principles, materials, and device fabrication strategies of various self-powered tactile sensing platforms are introduced first. Then their applications in health monitoring and robotics are presented. Finally, the future prospects of self-powered tactile sensing systems are discussed.

Extreme condition-tolerant stretchable flexible supercapacitor and triboelectric nanogenerator based on carrageenan-enhanced gel for energy storage, energy collection and self-powered sensing.

As flexible electronics devices for energy storage, mechanical energy collection and self-powered sensing, stretchable flexible supercapacitor and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) have attracted extensive attention. However, it is difficult to satisfy the requirements of high safety and resistance to extreme conditions. Dual roles of mechanical and electrical enhancement of inorganic salt are put forward, and a carrageenan (CG) enhanced poly (N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide)/CG/lithium chloride/glycerol (PCLG) conductive gel is prepared by designing hydrogen bonding self-crosslinking and chain entanglement. A high concentration and rapid deposition strategy is proposed to prepare a PCLG gel-based stretchable flexible all-in-one supercapacitor for energy storage, and a single electrode PCLG gel-based TENG is designed for mechanical energy collection, self-powered strain and tactile sensing. The supercapacitor has high capacitance, excellent cycling stability. The TENG possesses efficient energy harvesting with high and stable output voltage and power density, and sensitive and stable self-powered strain and tactile sensing without external power supply. Even under extreme conditions such as low temperatures, self-healing after damage, prolonged placement, deformation, post-deformation, multiple continuous work, pinprick and burning, the supercapacitor and TENG still have excellent properties. Therefore, we provide novel ideas to design flexible supercapacitor and TENG used under extreme conditions for future wearable electronics.

Risk-based lung cancer screening in heavy smokers: a benefit-harm and cost-effectiveness modeling study.

BACKGROUND: Annual screening through low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is recommended for heavy smokers. However, it is questionable whether all individuals require annual screening given the potential harms of LDCT screening. This study examines the benefit-harm and cost-effectiveness of risk-based screening in heavy smokers and determines the optimal risk threshold for screening and risk-stratified screening intervals. METHODS: We conducted a comparative cost-effectiveness analysis in China, using a cohort-based Markov model which simulated a lung cancer screening cohort of 19,146 heavy smokers aged 50 ~ 74 years old, who had a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years and were either current smokers or had quit for < 15 years. A total of 34 risk-based screening strategies, varying by different risk groups for screening eligibility and screening intervals (1-year, 2-year, 3-year, one-off, non-screening), were evaluated and were compared with annual screening for all heavy smokers (the status quo strategy). The analysis was undertaken from the health service perspective with a 30-year time horizon. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold was adopted as three times the gross domestic product (GDP) of China in 2021 (CNY 242,928) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. RESULTS: Compared with the status quo strategy, nine risk-based screening strategies were found to be cost-effective, with two of them even resulting in cost-saving. The most cost-effective strategy was the risk-based approach of annual screening for individuals with a 5-year risk threshold of ≥ 1.70%, biennial screening for individuals with a 5-year risk threshold of 1.03 ~ 1.69%, and triennial screening for individuals with a 5-year risk threshold of < 1.03%. This strategy had the highest incremental net monetary benefit (iNMB) of CNY 1032. All risk-based screening strategies were more efficient than the status quo strategy, requiring 129 ~ 656 fewer screenings per lung cancer death avoided, and 0.5 ~ 28 fewer screenings per life-year gained. The cost-effectiveness of risk-based screening was further improved when individual adherence to screening improved and individuals quit smoking after being screened. CONCLUSIONS: Risk-based screening strategies are more efficient in reducing lung cancer deaths and gaining life years compared to the status quo strategy. Risk-stratified screening intervals can potentially balance long-term benefit-harm trade-offs and improve the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screenings.

Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Nomogram in Nonsmoking Chinese Women: Retrospective Cross-sectional Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: It is believed that smoking is not the cause of approximately 53% of lung cancers diagnosed in women globally. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to develop and validate a simple and noninvasive model that could assess and stratify lung cancer risk in nonsmoking Chinese women. METHODS: Based on the population-based Cancer Screening Program in Urban China, this retrospective, cross-sectional cohort study was carried out with a vast population base and an immense number of participants. The training set and the validation set were both constructed using a random distribution of the data. Following the identification of associated risk factors by multivariable Cox regression analysis, a predictive nomogram was developed. Discrimination (area under the curve) and calibration were further performed to assess the validation of risk prediction nomogram in the training set, which was then validated in the validation set. RESULTS: In sum, 151,834 individuals signed up to take part in the survey. Both the training set (n=75,917) and the validation set (n=75,917) were comprised of randomly selected participants. Potential predictors for lung cancer included age, history of chronic respiratory disease, first-degree family history of lung cancer, menopause, and history of benign breast disease. We displayed 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year lung cancer risk-predicting nomograms using these 5 factors. In the training set, the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year lung cancer risk areas under the curve were 0.762, 0.718, and 0.703, respectively. In the validation set, the model showed a moderate predictive discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: We designed and validated a simple and noninvasive lung cancer risk model for nonsmoking women. This model can be applied to identify and triage people at high risk for developing lung cancers among nonsmoking women.

Special issue "The advance of solid tumor research in China": Participants with a family history of cancer have a higher participation rate in low-dose computed tomography for lung cancer screening.

We aimed to determine participation in low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) of individuals with a family history of common cancers in a population-based screening program to provide timely evidence in high-risk populations in China. The analysis was conducted using data from the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China (CanSPUC), which recruited 282 377 participants aged 40 to 74 years from eight cities in the Henan province. Using the CanSPUC risk score system, 55 428 participants were evaluated to have high risk for lung cancer and were recommended for LDCT. We calculated the overall and group-specific participation rates using family history of common cancers and compared differences in participation rates between different groups. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were derived by multivariable logistic regression. Of the 55 428 participants, 22 260 underwent LDCT (participation rate, 40.16%). Family history of lung, esophageal, stomach, liver and colorectal cancer was associated with increased participation in LDCT screening. The odds of participants with a family history of one, two, three and four or more cancer cases undergoing LDCT screening were 1.9, 2.7, 2.8 and 3.5 times, respectively, than those without a family history of cancer. Compared to those without a history of cancer, participation in LDCT gradually increased as the number of cancer cases in the family increased (P < .001). Our findings suggest that there is room for improvement in lung cancer screening given the relatively low participation rate. Lung cancer screening in populations with a family history of cancer may improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness; however, this requires further verification.

Clinicopathological and surgical comparisons of differentiated thyroid cancer between China and the USA: A multicentered hospital-based study.

Background: Thyroid cancer (TC), was the fastest-rising tumor of all malignancies in the world and China, predominantly differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, evidence on TC stage distribution and influencing factors of late-stage were limited in China. Methods: We carried out a retrospective study and enrolled TC patients who were first diagnosed and hospitalized in 8 hospitals in China in 2017. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between influencing factors and DTC stage. We extracted eligible primary DTC records newly diagnosed in 2017 from the USA's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We compared clinicopathological features and surgical treatment between our DTC records and those from the SEER database. Results: A total of 1970 eligible patients were included, with 1861 DTC patients with known stage. Among patients ≥45 years old, males (OR = 1.76, 95%CI 1.17-2.65) and those with new rural cooperative medical scheme insurance (NCMS) (OR = 1.99, 95%CI 1.38-2.88) had higher risks of late-stage DTC (stage III-IV). Compared with SEER database, over-diagnosis is more common in China [more DTC patients with onset age< 45 years old (50.3 vs. 40.7%, P < 0.001), with early-stage (81.2 vs. 76.0%, P < 0.001), and with tumors<2cm (74.9 vs. 63.7%, P < 0.001)]. Compared with the USA, TC treatment is more conservative in China. The proportion of lobectomy in our database was significantly higher than that in the SEER database (41.3 vs. 17.0%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Unique risk factors are found to be associated with late-stage DTC in China. The differences in the aspect of clinicopathological features and surgical approaches between China and the USA indicate that potential over-diagnosis and over-surgery exist, and disparities on surgery extent may need further consideration. The findings provided references for other countries with similar patterns.

A cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of esophageal and gastric cancer screening in mortality reduction in a non-high-incidence area: methodology and initial results.

Background: A cluster randomized controlled trial of endoscopy-based screening for esophageal cancer (EC) and gastric cancer (GC) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of this strategy in a non-high-incidence rural area of China. The trial design and baseline findings are presented here. Methods: A total of 33 eligible villages in Luoshan County in Henan Province were assigned randomly to the intervention or control group in a 1:1 ratio by a computer-generated randomization list. Local residents aged 40 to 69 years were enrolled from the villages. Participants in the intervention group were risk-stratified with a questionnaire, and high-risk individuals were subsequently screened by endoscopy. The primary outcomes were EC and GC mortality. The secondary outcomes comprised the detection rate, stage distribution, and the treatment rate. In this study, baseline characteristics were assessed by a questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to explore factors associated with endoscopy compliance. Results: Trial recruitment was completed in 2017, and ultimately, there were 12,475 and 11,442 participants allocated to the intervention (17 clusters) and the control group (16 clusters), respectively. We included 23,653 participants in the analysis, with 12,402 in the intervention group and 11,251 in the control group. A total of 6,286 (50.7%) participants in the intervention group were estimated as high-risk individuals, and 2,719 (43.3%) underwent endoscopy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that some factors including age, gender, education, personality and mental health, and upper gastrointestinal diseases or symptoms might affect endoscopy compliance. The detection rates for positive cases of EC and GC were 0.22% and 0.55%, respectively. The rates for esophageal and gastric precancerous lesions were 0.70% and 2.35%, respectively. The early detection rates for EC and GC were 50.0% and 33.3%, respectively. Additionally, the overall treatment rate for positive cases was 90.0%. Conclusions: The diagnostic yield of endoscopy-based screening for EC and GC was relatively low in a non-high-incidence rural area. The study may offer clues for the improvement of endoscopy compliance and the optimization of screening strategies for upper gastrointestinal cancer in non-high-incidence areas. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-EOR-16008577.

Time-trend of the incidence and mortality of esophageal cancer from 2010 to 2018 and its statistics in 2018 in Henan, China.

Background: It is great of significance to figure the time-trend of esophageal cancer (EC) and its current status for effective prevention and control, especially in EC high risk areas. As one of world-renowned high-risk areas, the epidemiology of EC in Henan has not been recently updated. Therefore, we aimed to depict the status quo of EC and analyze its time-trend in Henan. Methods: The EC data were extracted from the Henan Provincial Cancer registry database derived from the population based cancer registry system, which covered 30.51% of the whole population in Henan and were qualified according to national and international guidelines. The incidence and mortality of EC were estimated by area (rural/urban), gender, and age groups. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) were calculated according to the Segi's population. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) to evaluate the time-trend of EC. Results: As estimated, there were 29,913 new EC cases in Henan, 2018. The crude incidence and the age-standardized incidence rate by world standard population (ASIRW) was 27.43/105 and 19.96/105, respectively. The incidence in males and rural was 1.83 and 1.51 times higher than that in females and urban areas, respectively. Meanwhile, it was estimated that 22,688 deaths occurred in 2018. The crude mortality and the age-standardized mortality rate by world standard population (ASMRW) were 20.80/105 and 14.47/105, respectively. Similarly, males and rural areas had higher mortality compared with females and urban areas. The age-specific incidence and mortality of EC showed significant increasing after 60-64 years group. In general, the time-trend of incidence (APC: -8.9, P<0.001) and mortality (APC: -7.6, P<0.001) of EC showed a significant decreasing trend since 2014, and downward trend were also observed in rural areas for incidence (APC: -5.2, P<0.001) and mortality (APC: -3.9, P<0.001) from 2010 to 2018. Conclusions: The EC incidence and mortality in Henan has exhibited a significant declining trend in past years. Nonetheless, the disease burden remains high, especially in males and rural areas. Therefore, the ongoing prevention and control strategies of EC should be maintained alongside the establishment of more effective strategies.

Tough Adhesive, Antifreezing, and Antidrying Natural Globulin-Based Organohydrogels for Strain Sensors.

Hydrogels are often used to fabricate strain sensors; however, they also suffer from freezing at low temperatures and become dry during long-time storage. Encapsulation of hydrogels with elastomers is one of the methods to solve these problems although the adhesion between hydrogels and elastomers is usually low. In this work, using bovine serum protein (BSA) as the natural globulin model and glycerol/H2O as the mixture solvent, BSA/polyacrylamide organohydrogels (BSA/PAAm OHGs) were prepared by a facile photopolymerization approach. At the optimal condition, BSA/PAAm OHG demonstrated not only high toughness but also tough adhesion properties, which could strongly adhere to various substrates, such as glass, metals, rigid polymeric materials (even poly(tetrafluoroethylene), i.e., PTFE), and soft elastomers. Moreover, BSA/PAAm OHG was flexible and showed tough adhesion at -20 °C. The toughening mechanism and the adhesive mechanism were proposed. On being encapsulated by poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), it illustrated good antidrying performance. After introducing a conductive filler, the encapsulated BSA/PAAm OHG could be used as a strain sensor to detect human motions. This work provides a better understanding of the adhesive mechanism of natural protein-based organohydrogels.

Corrigendum: Construction and Validation of a Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Model for Non-Smokers in China.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.766939.].

A risk prediction model for selecting high-risk population for computed tomography lung cancer screening in China.

OBJECTIVE: Two large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that low dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening reduces lung cancer mortality. Risk-prediction models have been proved to select individuals for lung cancer screening effectively. With the focus on established risk factors for lung cancer routinely available in general cancer screening settings, we aimed to develop and internally validated a risk prediction model for lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using data from the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China (CanSPUC) in Henan province, China between 2013 and 2019, we conducted a prospective cohort study consisting of 282,254 participants including 126,445 males and 155,809 females. Detailed questionnaire, physical assessment and follow-up were completed for all participants. Using Cox proportional risk regression analysis, we developed the Henan Lung Cancer Risk Models based on simplified questionnaire. Model discrimination was evaluated by concordance statistics (C-statistics), and model calibration was evaluated by the bootstrap sampling, respectively. RESULTS: By 2020, a total of 589 lung cancer cases occurred in the follow-up yielding an incident density of 64.91/100,000 person-years (pyrs). Age, gender, smoking, history of tuberculosis and history of emphysema were included into the model. The C-index of the model for 1-year lung cancer risk was 0.766 and 0.741 in the training set and validation set, respectively. In stratified analysis, the model showed better predictive power in males, younger participants, and former or current smoking participants. The model calibrated well across the deciles of predicted risk in both the overall population and all subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: We developed and internally validated a simple risk prediction model for lung cancer, which may be useful to identify high-risk individuals for more intensive screening for cancer prevention.

Strong, tough, anti-freezing, non-drying and sensitive ionic sensor based on fully physical cross-linked double network hydrogel.

Ionic conductive double network (DN) sensors have attracted increasing attention in wearable electronic devices. However, their low mechanical and sensing properties as well as poor moisture retention and freezing resistance restrict severely their applications. Herein, we synthesized a fully physical cross-linked poly (N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide)/agar/ethylene glycol (PHA/Agar/EG) ionic conductive DN hydrogel exhibiting high strength and toughness, fast self-recovery, good fatigue resistance and good self-healing. Agar could form a physical network via reversible sol-gel transition, and interact with physical cross-linked poly (N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) and sodium chloride (NaCl) via hydrogen bonds and salting-out effect, respectively. Meanwhile, ethylene glycol and NaCl improved the mechanical properties, long-lasting moisture retention and anti-freezing ability. The PHA/Agar/EG gel-based flexible sensor possessed excellent long-lasting and fatigue resistant sensing properties, and could monitor various human activities stably and sensitively. Therefore, this work would provide a simple and promising strategy to fabricate flexible sensors with integrated high performances for smart wearable devices.

The Risk Stratification for Cervical Cancer and Precursors of Domestic HPV Testing With HPV 16/18 Genotyping in Women With NILM Cytology in CentralChina: A Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical performance and utility for risk stratification of DH3 HPV assay in women (≥30 years) with NILM cytology. METHODS: A prospective cohort was established in Central China between November 8 to December 14, 2016 which consisted of 2180 women aging 30-64 years with NILM cytology. At baseline, all women were screened using DH3 HPV assay. HPV 16/18 positive women would be assigned to colposcopy and biopsied if necessary. Then, hr-HPV positive women without CIN2+ lesions would be followed up by cytology every 12 months for two years. In the 3rd year of follow up, all women that were not biopsy proven CIN2+ would be called back and screened by cytology again. In follow-up period, women with ASC-US and above were referred to colposcopy and biopsied if clinically indicated. CIN2+ was the primary endpoint in analysis. The clinical performance and utility for risk stratification of DH3 HPV assay were assessed by SPSS 22.0 and SAS 9.4. RESULTS: Of 2180 qualified women, the prevalence of hr-HPV was 8.5% (185/2180), 45(2.1%) were HPV 16/18 positive. The clinical performance for HPV16/18 was 91.7% for sensitivity, 98.4% for specificity, respectively against CIN2+ detection at baseline. In four years of study, the corresponding rates of HPV 16/18 were 51.5% and 98.7%, respectively. The cumulative absolute risk for the development of CIN2+ was as high as 37.8% for HPV 16/18 positive women, followed by hr-HPV positive (14.6%), other hr-HPV positive (11.0%) and HPV negative (0.3%) in three years. The relative risk was 125.6 and 3.4 for HPV 16/18 positive group when compared with HPV negative and other hr-HPV positive group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: DH3 HPV assay demonstrated excellent clinical performance against CIN2+ detection in cervical cancer screening and utility of risk stratification by genotyping to promote scientific management of women with NILM cytology.

Construction and Validation of a Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Model for Non-Smokers in China.

BACKGROUND: About 15% of lung cancers in men and 53% in women are not attributable to smoking worldwide. The aim was to develop and validate a simple and non-invasive model which could assess and stratify lung cancer risk in non-smokers in China. METHODS: A large-sample size, population-based study was conducted under the framework of the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China (CanSPUC). Data on the lung cancer screening in Henan province, China, from October 2013 to October 2019 were used and randomly divided into the training and validation sets. Related risk factors were identified through multivariable Cox regression analysis, followed by establishment of risk prediction nomogram. Discrimination [area under the curve (AUC)] and calibration were further performed to assess the validation of risk prediction nomogram in the training set, and then validated by the validation set. RESULTS: A total of 214,764 eligible subjects were included, with a mean age of 55.19 years. Subjects were randomly divided into the training (107,382) and validation (107,382) sets. Elder age, being male, a low education level, family history of lung cancer, history of tuberculosis, and without a history of hyperlipidemia were the independent risk factors for lung cancer. Using these six variables, we plotted 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year lung cancer risk prediction nomogram. The AUC was 0.753, 0.752, and 0.755 for the 1-, 3- and 5-year lung cancer risk in the training set, respectively. In the validation set, the model showed a moderate predictive discrimination, with the AUC was 0.668, 0.678, and 0.685 for the 1-, 3- and 5-year lung cancer risk. CONCLUSIONS: We developed and validated a simple and non-invasive lung cancer risk model in non-smokers. This model can be applied to identify and triage patients at high risk for developing lung cancers in non-smokers.

Effectiveness of one-time endoscopic screening programme in prevention of upper gastrointestinal cancer in China: a multicentre population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effectiveness of endoscopic screening programme in reducing incidence and mortality of upper gastrointestinal cancer in high risks areas of China. DESIGN: This multicentre population-based cohort study was conducted in six areas in China from 2005 to 2015. All permanent residents aged 40 to 69 years were identified as target subjects. We refer to those who were invited for screening collectively as the invited group. Of these, we classify those who were invited and undertook endoscopic screening as the screened group and those who were invited but did not accept screening as the non-screened group. Target subjects who were not invited to the screening were assigned to the control group. The effectiveness of the endoscopic screening and screening programme were evaluated by comparing reductions in incidence and mortality from upper gastrointestinal cancer in the screened and invited group with control group. RESULTS: Our cohort analysis included 637 500 people: 299 483 in the control group and 338 017 in the invited to screening group, 113 340 (33.53%) of whom were screened eventually. Compared with subjects in the control group, upper gastrointestinal cancer incidence and mortality decreased by 23% (relative risk (RR)=0.77, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.81) and 57% (RR=0.43, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.47) in the screened group, respectively, and by 14% (RR=0.86, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.89) and 31% (RR=0.69, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.72) in the invited group, respectively. CONCLUSION: Among individuals aged 40 to 69 years in high risk areas of upper gastrointestinal cancer, one-time endoscopic screening programme was associated with a significant decrease in upper gastrointestinal cancer incidence and mortality.

Orange light spectra filtered through transparent colored polyvinyl chloride sheet enhanced pigment content and growth of Arthrospira cells.

Microalgae are significantly affected by the spectra composition with various wavelengths. The development of light harvesting pigments can be controlled with specific wavelength of filtered light received by microalgae. Coverage of open raceway pond using transparent colored polyvinyl chloride sheets (PVCS) to filter light spectra, was assessed for the capacity to enhance biomass growth rate. Results showed that orange PVCS filtered light spectra at wavelengths from 480 to 665 nm, increased biomass dry weight (3.3 g/L) by 61% compared with control condition (white PVCS = 350-750 nm). Light spectra filtered through orange PVCS were more easily absorbed by the light harvesting pigment protein complex (phycobilisome) of Arthrospira platensis cells and subsequently transferred to intracellular photosynthesis reaction centers. Therefore, A. platensis cells cultivated with light spectra filtered through orange PVCS contained 62.7 mg/L chlorophyll-a and 23.5 mg/L carotenoid, which were 40% and 29% higher than control condition (with white PVCS).

Developing staggered woven mesh aerator with three variable-micropore layers in recycling water pipeline to enhance CO2 conversion for improving Arthrospira growth.

A staggered woven mesh (SWM) aerator equipped with three variable-micropore layers was developed to enhance the CO2 conversion into HCO3- in a recycling water pipeline for promoting CO2 utilization efficiency and Arthrospira growth in large-scale raceway ponds. The input CO2 gas was broken into smaller bubbles (0.78- 2.43 mm) through the first-stage shear with axial rectangles, second-stage shear with radial rectangles (equivalent pore diameter = 150 µm), and third-stage shear with uniform micropores. A high-speed camera (MotionXtra HG-100K CMOS) and an Image J image processing software were employed to capture the bubble pictures. Compared to the traditional steel pipe (TSP) aerator, the bubble generation diameter and time in the SWM aerator reduced by 72.3% and 48.6%, respectively. The optimized structure (ε = 14, pore = 23 µm) of the SWM aerator promoted the carbonization efficiency and HCO3- conversion efficiency into biomass by 78.6% and 64.6% than the TSP aerator. Further, the chlorophyll fluorescence and biomass measurements showed an increase in the actual photochemical efficiency (analyzed by Hansatech FMS1 chlorophyll fluorescence instrument) and biomass yield by 1.8 times and 80.1%.

Strengthening mass transfer with the Tesla-valve baffles to increase the biomass yield of Arthrospira platensis in a column photobioreactor.

In this study, the Tesla-valve (TV) baffles were used to optimize the flow field in a column photobioreactor (PBR) in order to promote mass transfer of CO2 gas in the solution. The TV baffles were composed of many tilted plates with central holes and curved arcs facing downwards, installed along inner rising section of the column PBR. Many clockwise and anti-clockwise vortices were generated during the rising flow while passing through proposed TV baffles. An optimum TV baffle structure (30° plate angle, 8 cm arc width) decreased mixing time by 36.4% and increased the mass transfer coefficient by 50%. The TV baffles supported the movement of the A.platensis cells between light and dark regions to enhance their photochemical efficiency ϕPSII by 24.6% and Fv/Fm by 12.7%. Therefore, the biomass yield increased by 28.1% and exhibited an increased helix pitch and trichome length in comparison with traditional column PBR without baffles.