Normobaric Hyperoxia Combined With Endovascular Treatment Based on Temporal Gradient: A Dose-Escalation Study.

BACKGROUND: Normobaric hyperoxia (NBO) has neuroprotective effects in acute ischemic stroke. Thus, we aimed to identify the optimal NBO treatment duration combined with endovascular treatment. METHODS: This is a single-center, randomized controlled, open-label, blinded-end point dose-escalation clinical trial. Patients with acute ischemic stroke who had an indication for endovascular treatment at Tianjin Huanhu Hospital were randomly assigned to 4 groups (1:1 ratio) based on NBO therapy duration: (1) control group (1 L/min oxygen for 4 hours); (2) NBO-2h group (10 L/min for 2 hours); (3) NBO-4h group (10 L/min for 4 hours); and (4) NBO-6h group (10 L/min for 6 hours). The primary outcome was cerebral infarction volume at 72 hours after randomization using an intention-to-treat analysis model. The primary safety outcome was the 90-day mortality rate. RESULTS: Between June 2022 and September 2023, 100 patients were randomly assigned to the following groups: control group (n=25), NBO-2h group (n=25), NBO-4h group (n=25), and NBO-6h group (n=25). The 72-hour cerebral infarct volumes were 39.4±34.3 mL, 30.6±30.1 mL, 19.7±15.4 mL, and 22.6±22.4 mL, respectively (P=0.013). The NBO-4h and NBO-6h groups both showed statistically significant differences (adjusted P values: 0.011 and 0.027, respectively) compared with the control group. Compared with the control group, both the NBO-4h and NBO-6h groups showed significant differences (P<0.05) in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores at 24 hours, 72 hours, and 7 days, as well as in the change of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores from baseline to 24 hours. Additionally, there were no significant differences among the 4 groups in terms of 90-day mortality rate, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, early neurological deterioration, or severe adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of NBO therapy was associated with oxygen administration duration. Among patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent endovascular treatment, NBO therapy for 4 and 6 hours was found to be more effective. Larger-scale multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT05404373.

Icariin improves oxidative stress injury during ischemic stroke via inhibiting mPTP opening.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke presents a significant threat to human health due to its high disability rate and mortality. Currently, the clinical treatment drug, rt-PA, has a narrow therapeutic window and carries a high risk of bleeding. There is an urgent need to find new effective therapeutic drugs for ischemic stroke. Icariin (ICA), a key ingredient in the traditional Chinese medicine Epimedium, undergoes metabolism in vivo to produce Icaritin (ICT). While ICA has been reported to inhibit neuronal apoptosis after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), yet its underlying mechanism remains unclear. METHODS: PC-12 cells were treated with 200 µM H2O2 for 8 h to establish a vitro model of oxidative damage. After administration of ICT, cell viability was detected by Thiazolyl blue tetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis level, mPTP status and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were detected by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Apoptosis and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) related proteins were assessed by Western blotting. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was used to establish I/R injury in vivo. After the treatment of ICA, the neurological function was scored by ZeaLonga socres; the infarct volume was observed by 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining; HE and Nissl staining were used to detect the pathological state of the ischemic cortex; the expression changes of mPTP and apoptosis related proteins were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: In vitro: ICT effectively improved H2O2-induced oxidative injury through decreasing the ROS level, inhibiting mPTP opening and apoptosis. In addition, the protective effects of ICT were not enhanced when it was co-treated with mPTP inhibitor Cyclosporin A (CsA), but reversed when combined with mPTP activator Lonidamine (LND). In vivo: Rats after MCAO shown cortical infarct volume of 32-40%, severe neurological impairment, while mPTP opening and apoptosis were obviously increased. Those damage caused was improved by the administration of ICA and CsA. CONCLUSIONS: ICA improves cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting mPTP opening, making it a potential candidate drug for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Urinary microbiome dysbiosis is associated with an inflammatory environment and perturbed fatty acids metabolism in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer is a common malignancy with high recurrence rate. Early diagnosis and recurrence surveillance are pivotal to patients' outcomes, which require novel minimal-invasive diagnostic tools. The urinary microbiome is associated with bladder cancer and can be used as biomarkers, but the underlying mechanism is to be fully illustrated and diagnostic performance to be improved. METHODS: A total of 23 treatment-naïve bladder cancer patients and 9 non-cancerous subjects were enrolled into the Before group and Control group. After surgery, 10 patients from the Before group were further assigned into After group. Void mid-stream urine samples were collected and sent for 16S rDNA sequencing, targeted metabolomic profiling, and flow cytometry. Next, correlations were analyzed between microbiota, metabolites, and cytokines. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the urinary biomarkers were plotted and compared. RESULTS: Comparing to the Control group, levels of IL-6 (p < 0.01), IL-8 (p < 0.05), and IL-10 (p < 0.05) were remarkably elevated in the Before group. The α diversity of urine microbiome was also significantly higher, with the feature microbiota positively correlated to the level of IL-6 (r = 0.58, p < 0.01). Significant differences in metabolic composition were also observed between the Before and Control groups, with fatty acids and fatty acylcarnitines enriched in the Before group. After tumor resection, cytokine levels and the overall microbiome structure in the After group remained similar to that of the Before group, but fatty acylcarnitines were significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Pathway enrichment analysis revealed beta-oxidation of fatty acids was significantly involved (p < 0.001). ROC curves showed that the biomarker panel of Actinomycetaceae + arachidonic acid + IL-6 had superior diagnostic performance, with sensitivity of 0.94 and specificity of 1.00. CONCLUSIONS: Microbiome dysbiosis, proinflammatory environment and altered fatty acids metabolism are involved in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer, which may throw light on novel noninvasive diagnostic tool development.

Autophagy-related biomarkers in preeclampsia: the underlying mechanism, correlation to the immune microenvironment and drug screening.

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is a life-threatening disease of pregnancy that lacks effective pharmaceuticals which can target its pathogenesis. Since preeclampsia involves complex pathological processes, including autophagy, this study aims to explore autophagy-related mechanisms of preeclampsia and to screen potential drugs. METHODS: Firstly, the datasets GSE75010, GSE24129, GSE66273, and autophagic genes lists were downloaded from public databases. Then, a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to filter autophagic-related hub genes of preeclampsia. The differential expression levels of the hub genes were validated with datasets GSE24129 and GSE66273. Next, the GO and KEGG enrichment, protein-protein interacting (PPI) network, as well as the downstream pathways was analyzed via the starBase, STRING and Cytoscape to determine the functions and regulatory network of the hub genes. Additionally, the immune microenvironment of preeclampsia was investigated by the CIBERSORTX database. Finally, three herb ingredients, berberine, baicalein, and luteolin were screened by molecular docking in comparison to pravastatin, metformin, and aspirin, to predict potential drugs for treating preeclampsia. RESULTS: A total of 54 autophagy-related genes were filtered by WGCNA. After filtering with |GS| > 0.5 and |MM| > 0.8, three hub genes, namely PKM, LEP, and HK2, were identified and validated. Among these genes, PKM and LEP were overexpressed in women older than 35 years old ( p<0.05; p<0.05); the expression of PKM, LEP, and HK2 differed remarkably in women with different BMI (all p<0.05); PKM overexpressed in women with hypertension (p<0.05). The regulatory network of hub genes demonstrated that they were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways, including the AMPK signaling pathway, glucagon signaling pathway, adipocytokine signaling pathway, and central carbon metabolism. Then, immune microenvironment analysis turned out that M2 macrophages were reduced in preeclampsia women (p<0.0001) and were negatively correlated with the expression of PKM (r=-0.2, p<0.05), LEP (r=-0.4, p<0.0001), and HK2 (r=-0.3, p<0.001). Lastly, molecular docking showed baicalein and luteolin could bind intimately to hub genes. CONCLUSION: PKM, LEP, and HK2 could be promising biomarkers for preeclampsia, which might regulate the pathogenesis of preeclampsia via metabolism pathways and immune microenvironment. Baicalein and luteolin could be potential therapeutics for preeclampsia.

A Triazine Membrane for Sustainable Acquisition of Au(III) from Wastewater.

The recovery of Au(III) from solution using adsorbents in the form of granules or powders is challenging due to issues such as instability during the recovery process or mass loss caused by small particle size. This study introduces a PEI-TCT/PVDF composite membrane designed to intercept and capture Au(III) in wastewater. Experimental results demonstrated that the PEI-TCT/PVDF membrane exhibits a broad pH range (1-8) and a high retention efficiency for Au(III) of 97.8%, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 294.5 mg/g. The mechanism of Au(III) adsorption on the PEI-TCT/PVDF membrane was mainly through electrostatic adsorption, which caused AuCl4- to aggregate on the surface of the membrane and gradually reduced to Au0 and Au+. Furthermore, the membrane can be entirely regenerated within 20 min and maintains its performance in subsequent adsorption cycles. This study highlights the potential of PEI-TCT/PVDF membranes for the recovery of precious Au(III).

Involvement of IGF1 in endoplasmic reticulum stress contributes to cataract formation through regulating Nrf2/NF-κB signaling.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is reportedly involved in the development of ophthalmic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the role and potential mechanism of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in ER stress. A mouse cataract model was constructed by subcutaneous injection of sodium selenite, and sh-IGF1 was used to evaluate the effect of silencing IGF1 on cataract progression. Slit-lamp and histological examination of the lens were performed to examine lens damage. The regulatory effects of IGF1 on inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and ER stress were evaluated using ELISA, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and immunoblotting analysis. Tunicamycin was used to induce ER stress in the lens of epithelial cells. The NF-E2 related factor-2 (Nrf2) inhibitor ML385 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) agonist diprovocim were used to confirm whether IGF1 regulates inflammation and ER stress through Nrf2/NF-κB signaling. Silencing IGF1 alleviated lens damage and reduced lens turbidity in the cataract mice. Silencing IGF1 inhibited inflammatory response, oxidative stress and ER stress response. Meanwhile, IGF1 was highly expressed in sodium selenite-treated lens epithelial cells. The ER stress agonist tunicamycin suppressed cell viability as well as induced ER stress, oxidative stress and inflammation. Silencing IGF1 increased cell viability, EdU-positive rate and migration. Also, silencing of IGF1 reduced inflammation and ER stress via regulating Nrf2/NF-κB pathway. This study reveals silencing IGF1 attenuated cataract through regulating Nrf2/NF-κB signaling, which shares novel insights into the underlying mechanism of cataract and provides potential therapeutic target for cataract.

Tumor lesion detection in patients with cervical cancer by indocyanine green near-infrared imaging.

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility and accuracy of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging for detecting the extent of tumor invasion in cervical cancer using indocyanine green (ICG). METHODS: We enrolled 51 patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer with FIGO stage IB1-IIA2 disease. Patients were administered indocyanine green (ICG) at a dose of 5 mg/kg 24 h prior to surgery. A customized near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging system was used to identify the extent of tumor invasion when radical hysterectomy specimens were harvested. The relationship between tumor fluorescence intensity and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 51 enrolled patients, 3 patients did not have residual tumors after cervical conization, and tumor lesions were identified by NIRF imaging in all the remaining 48 patients. The results of NIRF imaging were in agreement with the postoperative pathological findings in 95.8% of the patients with stromal invasion, 100% of those with surgical margin invasion, 100% of those with parametrial tumor involvement, and 100% of patients with uterine corpus invasion. The mean signal-to-background ratio (SBR) of the cervical tumors was 2.91 ± 1.64, and the SBR was independent of clinicopathological characteristics. Fluorescence microscopy confirmed that ICG fluorescence was present in the tumor nests. CONCLUSIONS: NIRF imaging enables objective, accurate, and safe identification of tumor invasion during cervical cancer surgery. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04224467.

Effect of annualized surgeon volume on major surgical complications for abdominal and laparoscopic radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer in China, 2004-2016: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that higher surgeon volume leads to improved perioperative outcomes for oncologic surgery; however, the effect of surgeon volumes on surgical outcomes might differ according to the surgical approach used. This paper attempts to evaluate the effect of surgeon volume on complications or cervical cancer in an abdominal radical hysterectomy (ARH) cohort and laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) cohort. METHODS: We conducted a population-based retrospective study using the Major Surgical Complications of Cervical Cancer in China (MSCCCC) database to analyse patients who underwent radical hysterectomy (RH) from 2004 to 2016 at 42 hospitals. We estimated the annualized surgeon volumes in the ARH cohort and in the LRH cohort separately. The effect of the surgeon volume of ARH or LRH on surgical complications was examined using multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: In total, 22,684 patients who underwent RH for cervical cancer were identified. In the abdominal surgery cohort, the mean surgeon case volume increased from 2004 to 2013 (3.5 to 8.7 cases) and then decreased from 2013 to 2016 (8.7 to 4.9 cases). The mean surgeon case volume number of surgeons performing LRH increased from 1 to 12.1 cases between 2004 and 2016 (P < 0.01). In the abdominal surgery cohort, patients treated by intermediate-volume surgeons were more likely to experience postoperative complications (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.11-2.15) than those treated by high-volume surgeons. In the laparoscopic surgery cohort, surgeon volume did not appear to influence the incidence of intraoperative or postoperative complications (P = 0.46; P = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS: The performance of ARH by intermediate-volume surgeons is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. However, surgeon volume may have no effect on intraoperative or postoperative complications after LRH.

Impact of different postoperative adjuvant therapies on the survival of early-stage cervical cancer patients with one intermediate-risk factor: A multicenter study of 14 years.

OBJECTIVE: To compare survival outcomes of different postoperative adjuvant therapies (PATs) for early-stage cervical cancer (ECC) patients with one intermediate-risk pathological factor (IPF). METHODS: A total of 2889 patients with stage IA1 to IIA2 cervical cancer were included in this study. Three PAT groups were identified, namely a no adjuvant therapy (NAT) group (n = 773), an adjuvant radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy (ART) group (n = 1648) and an adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) group (n = 468). Kaplan-Meier analysis and COX regression analysis were used to compare the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) among the three groups, before and after propensity score matching (PSM). RESULTS: The recurrence and mortality rate rates in the NAT, ART and ACT groups were 9.2%, 8.6%, and 7.9%, respectively (p = 0.737). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated no significant differences in the NAT, ART, and ACT groups in 5-year OS rates (92.8% vs. 93.6% vs. 94.7%, p = 0.594) and DFS rates (88.7% vs. 89.6% vs. 90.5%, p = 0.772). Post-hoc tests yielded similar results, with no differences in 5-year OS and DFS (NAT vs. ART, before and after matching, p > 0.05); (NAT vs. ACT, before and after matching, p > 0.05); and (ACT vs. ART, before and after matching, p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, and chemotherapy are not associated with survival outcomes of ECC patients with one IPF. Considering the side effects and impact on patients' quality of life, the PATs should be carefully considered.

Comparison between laparoscopic and abdominal radical hysterectomy for cervical adenosquamous carcinoma at stage IA2 to IIA2: A multicenter retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the 5-year oncological outcomes of laparoscopic/abdominal radical hysterectomy (LRH/ARH) in patients with cervical adenosquamous carcinoma at stage IA2 to IIA2 based on the 2009 or 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging criteria. METHODS: Based on the clinical diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in China (Four C) database, Cox risk regression models were applied to analyze tumor prognosis treated with ARH/LRH in FIGO 2009 and 2018 IA2-IIA2 patients and stratified findings according to tumor diameter (≤4 and >4 cm subgroups). And to avoid bias, propensity score matching (PSM) was also used for the cohort study. RESULTS: Based on FIGO 2009 staging criteria (n = 474), there was no significant difference between the ARH and LRH groups in 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS). Lymph node metastasis was a risk factor for 5-year DFS in this stage. After PSM, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) was an independent risk factor for 5-year OS in the tumors ≤4 cm subgroup. Based on FIGO2018 staging criteria (n = 322), cervical interstitial infiltration depth was an independent risk factor for 5-year OS in the total population and the tumor diameter ≤4 cm subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic surgery was not a risk factor affecting the oncologic prognosis of adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix based on either FIGO 2009 or 2018 staging of stage IA2-IIA2. In addition, LRH may be considered for patients with early-stage cervical adenosquamous carcinoma.

Laparoscopic versus open radical hysterectomy in FIGO 2018 early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma: Long-term survival outcomes after propensity score matching.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the long-term survival outcomes of laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) and open radical hysterectomy (ORH) in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2018 early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Based on the clinical diagnosis and treatment for cervical cancer in mainland China (Four C) database, the medical records of 1098 patients with FIGO 2018 early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. Long-term and short-term survival outcomes of the two groups were compared using a multivariate Cox regression model and the log-rank method in the whole study population and after propensity score matching. RESULTS: There was no difference in disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.921, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.532-1.595, p = 0.770) and overall survival (HR 1.168, 95% CI: 0.526-2.592, p = 0.702) between LRH (n = 468) and ORH (n = 468) in the risk-adjusted analysis. LRH resulted in significantly lower estimated blood loss (342.7 vs. 157.5 mL, p < 0.001) and shorter postoperative anal exhaust time (2.8 vs. 2.5 days, p < 0.001) in risk-adjusted analysis. The overall rates of intraoperative complications (2.4% vs. 4.3%, p = 0.100) and postoperative complications (7.5% vs. 6.2%, p = 0.437) showed no significant difference between the two groups. However, the LRH group had a significantly higher incidence of ureter injury (0.4% vs. 2.4%, p = 0.012) and great vessel injury (0.0% vs. 0.9%, p = 0.045) compared to the other group. No statistical variation in the site of recurrence was observed between the two groups (p = 0.613). CONCLUSIONS: LRH has comparable survival outcomes with ORH and was associated with earlier recovery in FIGO 2018 early-stage adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. However, the LRH group had higher risk of ureter injury and great vessel injury.

MIL-161 Metal-Organic Framework for Efficient Au(III) Recovery from Secondary Resources: Performance, Mechanism, and DFT Calculations.

The recovery of precious metals from secondary resources is significant economically and environmentally. However, their separation is still challenging because they often occur in complex metal ion mixtures. The poor selectivity of adsorbents for gold in complicated solutions prevents further application of adsorption technology. In this study, a Zr-based MOF adsorbent, MIL-161, was synthesized using s-tetrazine dicarboxylic acid (H2STz) as an organic ligand. MIL-161 demonstrated a high adsorption capacity of up to 446.49 mg/g and outstanding selectivity for gold(III) in a simulated electronic waste solution as a result of the presence of sulfur- and nitrogen-containing groups. In addition, the MIL-161 adsorbents were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Brunner-Emment-Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Additionally, the adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics of the MOF adsorbents were also thoroughly examined. More importantly, the experimental results and DFT calculations indicate that chelation and electrostatic interactions are the main adsorption mechanisms.

Modelling and Research on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Goal-Based Attack and Defence Game for Infrastructure Networks.

Network attack and defence games are gradually becoming a new approach through which to study the protection of infrastructure networks such as power grids and transportation networks. Uncertainty factors, such as the subjective decision preferences of attackers and defenders, are not considered in existing attack and defence game studies for infrastructure networks. In this paper, we introduce, respectively, the attacker's and defender's expectation value, rejection value, and hesitation degree of the target, as well as construct an intuitionistic fuzzy goal-based attack and defence game model for infrastructure networks that are based on the maximum connectivity slice size, which is a network performance index. The intuitionistic fuzzy two-player, zero-sum game model is converted into a linear programming problem for solving, and the results are analysed to verify the applicability and feasibility of the model proposed in this paper. Furthermore, different situations, such as single-round games and multi-round repeated games, are also considered. The experimental results show that, when attacking the network, the attacker rarely attacks the nodes with higher importance in the network, but instead pays more attention to the nodes that are not prominent in the network neutrality and median; meanwhile, the defender is more inclined to protect the more important nodes in the network to ensure the normal performance of the network.

Pallister-Hall syndrome, GLI3, and kidney malformation.

Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS) is a rare autosomal dominant disease diagnosed by the presence of hypothalamic hamartoma, mesoaxial polydactyly and a truncating variant in the middle third of the GLI-Kruppel family member 3 (GLI3) gene. PHS may also include a wide range of clinical phenotypes affecting multiple organ systems including congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). The observed clinical phenotypes are consistent with the essential role of GLI3, a transcriptional effector in the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, in organogenesis. However, the mechanisms by which truncation of GLI3 in PHS results in such a variety of clinical phenotypes with variable severity, even within the same organ, remain unclear. In this study we focus on presentation of CAKUT in PHS. A systematic analysis of reported PHS patients (n = 78) revealed a prevalence of 26.9% (21/78) of CAKUT. Hypoplasia (± dysplasia) and agenesis were the two main types of CAKUT; bilateral and unilateral CAKUT were reported with equal frequency. Examination of clinical phenotypes with CAKUT revealed a significant association between CAKUT and craniofacial defects, bifid epiglottis and a Disorder of Sex Development, specifically affecting external genitalia. Lastly, we determined that PHS patients with CAKUT predominately had substitution type variants (as opposed to deletion type variants in non-CAKUT PHS patients) in the middle third of the GLI3 gene. These results provide a foundation for future work aimed at uncovering the molecular mechanisms by which variant GLI3 result in the wide range and severity of clinical features observed in PHS.

V2 O3 /MnS Arrays as Bifunctional Air Electrode for Long-Lasting and Flexible Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries.

Exploring highly efficient, stable, and cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts is crucial for the wide commercialization of rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Herein, a vanadium-oxide-based hybrid air electrode comprising a heterostructure of V2 O3 and MnS (V2 O3 /MnS) is reported. The V2 O3 /MnS catalyst shows a decent catalytic activity that is comparable to Pt/C toward the oxygen reduction reaction and acceptable toward oxygen evolution. The extraordinary stability as well as the low cost set the V2 O3 /MnS among the best bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts. In a demonstration of an assembled liquid-state Zn-air battery using V2 O3 /MnS as cathode, high power density (118 mW cm-2 ), specific capacity (808 mAh gZn -1 ), and energy density (970 Wh kgZn -1 ), as well as the outstanding rechargeability and durability for 4000 cycles (>1333 h, i.e., >55 days) are enabled. The V2 O3 /MnS is also integrated into an all-solid-state Zn-air battery to demonstrate its great potential as a flexible power source for next-generation electronics. Density functional theory calculations further elucidate the origin of the intrinsic activity and stability of the V2 O3 /MnS heterostructure.

Electroreductive synthesis of polyfunctionalized pyridin-2-ones from acetoacetanilides and carbon disulfide with oxygen evolution.

A chemical reductant or a sacrificial electron donor is required in any reduction reactions, generally resulting in undesired chemical waste. Herein, we report a reductant-free reductive [3 + 2 + 1] annulation of ß-keto amides with CS2 enabled by the synergy of electro/copper/base using water as an innocuous anodic sacrifice with O2 as a sustainable by-product. This electrochemical protocol is mild and provides access to polyfunctionalized pyridin-2-ones from simple starting materials in a single step.

Defects and Aliovalent Doping Engineering in Electroceramics.

Since the positive influences of defects on the performance of electroceramics were discovered, investigations concerning on defects and aliovalent doping routes have grown rapidly in the fields of inorganic chemistry and condensed matter physics. In this article, we summarized the types of defects in electroceramics as well as characterization tools of defects and highlighted the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic defects on the material performances with the emphasis on dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties. We mainly introduced defect related theoretical simulation and experimental results in several typical incipient ferroelectrics, ferroelectrics, and antiferroelectrics. Hence, the influences of defects on the crystal lattice were summed up, and then the main physical mechanisms were highlighted. Particularly, the performance enhancements of aliovalently doped electroceramics were also evaluated and reviewed. Finally, the outlook and challenges were discussed on the basis of their current developments. This article covers not only an overview of the state-of-the-art advances of defects and aliovalent doping routes in electroceramics but also the future prospects that may open another window to tune the electrical performance of electroceramics via intentionally introducing certain defects.

Quantum conductivity in the topological surface state in the SbV3S5 kagome lattice.

We have successfully predicted the local topological bands in the frustrated kagome lattice SbV3S5. An important future research direction is to raise the kagome band with novel co-existing strong nonlinear dispersion and strong cohesion due to the anisotropic inner field of kagome SbV3S5 to the Fermi level. The Z2 topological index of T-invariant systems provides evidence for a σyz near the Fermi level that determines the quantum anomalous Hall state. This shows that the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) phase of the kagome lattice SbV3S5 has a weak topological stability that is sensitive to weak disorder and field interactions. Neighbouring van Hove singularities near the Fermi level induced a quantum anomalous Hall conductivity and charge density wave platform.

Evaluation of staff satisfaction after the implementation of a daily goals sheet in the routine work of an oral outpatient department and its influence on work efficiency.

BACKGROUND: In March 2021, the supervision group of our hospital inspected the daily work of the outpatient department in the branch and found many problems in the process, such as an excessive number of daily check-up forms, nurses' confusion regarding the daily check-up process, and the omission of daily check-up items. Therefore, focusing on these problem, our hospital established a quality improvement team to conduct a status survey and perform this study. This study evaluated the feasibility, availability and sustainability of using a daily goals sheet in the routine work of a stomatological outpatient department and investigated the satisfaction of the nursing staff with the sheet. METHODS: After determining the theme of this study through the status survey, 60 nurses were randomly selected and divided into an experimental group and a control group by a random grouping method. Then, the study was divided into two stages: Applying the PDCA cycle method and following the MECE (Mad Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) principle to design, manufacture and apply the daily goals sheet. After the expert group performed Stage one, an analysis of work efficiency and routine omissions and a staff satisfaction survey were carried out. The results of the groups either using the daily goals sheet (n = 30) or not (n = 30) were analysed and compared. RESULTS: The average work time of the daily goals sheet group was 15.20 ± 1.70 min, and that of the nondaily goals sheet group was 25.30 ± 2.70 min (P < 0.001). The omission rate was 0% in the daily goals sheet group and 16.67% in the nondaily goals sheet group. Staff satisfaction with the use of the daily goals sheet was high. CONCLUSION: The daily goals sheet can make routine work more efficient and convenient in a stomatological outpatient department. It is recommended for use in stomatological outpatient departments or hospitals.

Tr-Predictior: An Ensemble Transfer Learning Model for Small-Sample Cloud Workload Prediction.

Accurate workload prediction plays a key role in intelligent scheduling decisions on cloud platforms. There are massive amounts of short-workload sequences in the cloud platform, and the small amount of data and the presence of outliers make accurate workload sequence prediction a challenge. For the above issues, this paper proposes an ensemble learning method based on sample weight transfer and long short-term memory (LSTM), termed as Tr-Predictor. Specifically, a selection method of similar sequences combining time warp edit distance (TWED) and transfer entropy (TE) is proposed to select a source domain dataset with higher similarity for the target workload sequence. Then, we upgrade the basic learner of the ensemble model two-stage TrAdaBoost.R2 to LSTM in the deep model and enhance the ability of the ensemble model to extract sequence features. To optimize the weight adjustment strategy, we adopt a two-stage weight adjustment strategy and select the best weight for the learner according to the sample error and model error. Finally, the above process determines the parameters of the target model and uses the target model to predict the short-task sequences. In the experimental validation, we arbitrarily select nine sets of short-workload data from the Google dataset and three sets of short-workload data from the Alibaba cluster to verify the prediction effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that compared with the commonly used cloud workload prediction methods Tr-Predictor has higher prediction accuracy on the small-sample workload. The prediction indicators of the ablation experiments show the performance gain of each part in the proposed method.