Regulating Lewis Acidic Sites of 1T-2H MoS2 Catalysts for Solar-Driven Photothermal Catalytic H2 Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass.

Solar-driven photothermal catalytic H2 production from lignocellulosic biomass was achieved by using 1T-2H MoS2 with tunable Lewis acidic sites as catalysts in an alkaline aqueous solution, in which the number of Lewis acidic sites derived from the exposed Mo edges of MoS2 was successfully regulated by both the formation of an edge-terminated 1T-2H phase structure and tunable layer number. Owing to the abundant Lewis acidic sites for the oxygenolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, the 1T-2H MoS2 catalyst shows high photothermal catalytic lignocellulosic biomass-to-H2 transformation performance in polar wood chips, bamboo, rice straw corncobs, and rice hull aqueous solutions, and the highest H2 generation rate and solar-to-H2 (STH) efficiency respectively achieves 3661 µmol·h-1·g-1 and 0.18% in the polar wood chip system under 300 W Xe lamp illumination. This study provides a sustainable and cost-effective method for the direct transformation of renewable lignocellulosic biomass to H2 fuel driven by solar energy.

Dimensional and Doping Engineering of Chiral Perovskites with Enhanced Spin Selectivity for Green Emissive Spin Light-Emitting Diodes.

Chiral perovskites play a pivotal role in spintronics and optoelectronic systems attributed to their chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Specifically, they allow for spin-polarized charge transport in spin light-emitting diodes (LEDs), yielding circularly polarized electroluminescence at room temperature without external magnetic fields. However, chiral lead bromide-based perovskites have yet to achieve high-performance green emissive spin-LEDs, owing to limited CISS effects and charge transport. Herein, we employ dimensional regulation and Sn2+-doping to optimize chiral bromide-based perovskite architecture for green emissive spin-LEDs. The optimized (PEA)x(S/R-PRDA)2-xSn0.1Pb0.9Br4 chiral perovskite film exhibits an enhanced CISS effect, higher hole mobility, and better energy level alignment with the emissive layer. These improvements allow us to fabricate green emissive spin-LEDs with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 5.7% and an asymmetry factor |gCP-EL| of 1.1 × 10-3. This work highlights the importance of tailored perovskite architectures and doping strategies in advancing spintronics for optoelectronic applications.

Freeze Metal Halide Perovskite for Dramatic Laser Tuning: Direct Observation via In Situ Cryo-Electron Microscope.

A frozen-temperature (below -28 °C) laser tuning way is developed to optimize metal halide perovskite (MHP)'s stability and opto-electronic properties, for emitter, photovoltaic and detector applications. Here freezing can adjust the competitive laser irradiation effects between damaging and annealing/repairing. And the ligand shells on MHP surface, which are widely present for many MHP materials, can be frozen and act as transparent solid templates for MHP's re-crystallization/re-growth during the laser tuning. With model samples of different types of CsPbBr3 nanocube arrays,an attempt is made to turn the dominant exposure facet from low-energy [100] facet to high-energy [111], [-211], [113] and [210] ones respectively; selectively removing the surface impurities and defects of CsPbBr3 nanocubes to enhance the irradiation durability by 101 times; and quickly (tens of seconds) modifying a Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) boundary into another type of boundary like twinning, and so on. The laser tuning mechanism is revealed by an innovative in situ cryo-transmission electron microscope (cryo-TEM) exploration at atomic resolution.

Prognostic value of pre-treatment [18F] FDG PET/CT in recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma without distant metastasis.

BACKGROUND: [18 F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has the ability to detect local and/or regional recurrence as well as distant metastasis. We aimed to evaluate the prognosis value of PET/CT in locoregional recurrent nasopharyngeal (lrNPC). METHODS: A total of 451 eligible patients diagnosed with recurrent I-IVA (rI-IVA) NPC between April 2009 and December 2015 were retrospectively included in this study. The differences in overall survival (OS) of lrNPC patients with and without PET/CT were compared in the I-II, III-IVA, r0-II, and rIII-IVA cohorts, which were grouped by initial staging and recurrent staging (according to MRI). RESULTS: In the III-IVA and rIII-IVA NPC patients, with PET/CT exhibited significantly higher OS rates in the univariate analysis (P = 0.045; P = 0.009; respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that with PET/CT was an independent predictor of OS in the rIII-IVA cohort (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.476; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.267 to 0.847; P = 0.012). In the rIII-IVA NPC, patients receiving PET/CT sacns before salvage surgery had a better prognosis compared with MRI alone (P = 0.036). The recurrent stage (based on PET/CT) was an independent predictor of OS. (r0-II versus [vs]. rIII-IVA; HR = 0.376; 95% CI: 0.150 to 0.938; P = 0.036). CONCLUSION: The present study showed that with PET/CT could improve overall survival for rIII-IVA NPC patients. PET/CT appears to be an effective method for assessing rTNM staging.

Feasibility of Auto-Quantified Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Predicting Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Catheter Ablation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to build an auto-segmented artificial intelligence model of the atria and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) on computed tomography (CT) images, and examine the prognostic significance of auto-quantified left atrium (LA) and EAT volumes for AF.Methods and Results: This retrospective study included 334 patients with AF who were referred for catheter ablation (CA) between 2015 and 2017. Atria and EAT volumes were auto-quantified using a pre-trained 3-dimensional (3D) U-Net model from pre-ablation CT images. After adjusting for factors associated with AF, Cox regression analysis was used to examine predictors of AF recurrence. The mean (±SD) age of patients was 56±11 years; 251 (75%) were men, and 79 (24%) had non-paroxysmal AF. Over 2 years of follow-up, 139 (42%) patients experienced recurrence. Diabetes, non-paroxysmal AF, non-pulmonary vein triggers, mitral line ablation, and larger LA, right atrium, and EAT volume indices were linked to increased hazards of AF recurrence. After multivariate adjustment, non-paroxysmal AF (hazard ratio [HR] 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4-0.8; P=0.003) and larger LA-EAT volume index (HR 1.1; 95% CI 1.0-1.2; P=0.009) remained independent predictors of AF recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: LA-EAT volume measured using the auto-quantified 3D U-Net model is feasible for predicting AF recurrence after CA, regardless of AF type.

Genomic data revealed inbreeding despite a geographically connected stable effective population size since the Holocene in the protected Formosan Long-Arm Scarab beetle, Cheirotonus formosanus.

Biodiversity conservation is a top priority in the face of global environmental change, and the practical restoration of biodiversity has emerged as a key objective. Nevertheless, the question of how to effectively contribute to biodiversity restoration and identify suitable systems for such efforts continues to present major challenges. By using genome-wide SNP data, our study revealed that populations from different mountain ranges of the Formosan Long-Arm Scarab beetle, a flagship species that receives strict protection, exhibited a single genetic cluster with no subdivision. Additionally, our result implied an association between the demographic history and historical fluctuations in climate and environmental conditions. Furthermore, we showed that, despite a stable and moderately sized effective population over recent history, all the individuals we studied exhibited signs of genetic inbreeding. We argued that the current practice of protecting the species as one evolutionarily significant unit remains the best conservation plan and that recent habitat change may have led to the pattern of significant inbreeding. We closed by emphasizing the importance of conservation genetic studies in guiding policy decisions and highlighting the potential of genomic data for identifying ideal empirical systems for genetic rescue, or assisted gene flow studies.

Comparing Human-Smartphone Interactions and Actigraphy Measurements for Circadian Rhythm Stability and Adiposity: Algorithm Development and Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between adiposity and circadian rhythm and compare the measurement of circadian rhythm using both actigraphy and a smartphone app that tracks human-smartphone interactions. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that the app-based measurement may provide more comprehensive information, including light-sensitive melatonin secretion and social rhythm, and have stronger correlations with adiposity indicators. METHODS: We enrolled a total of 78 participants (mean age 41.5, SD 9.9 years; 46/78, 59% women) from both an obesity outpatient clinic and a workplace health promotion program. All participants (n=29 with obesity, n=16 overweight, and n=33 controls) were required to wear a wrist actigraphy device and install the Rhythm app for a minimum of 4 weeks, contributing to a total of 2182 person-days of data collection. The Rhythm app estimates sleep and circadian rhythm indicators by tracking human-smartphone interactions, which correspond to actigraphy. We examined the correlations between adiposity indices and sleep and circadian rhythm indicators, including sleep time, chronotype, and regularity of circadian rhythm, while controlling for physical activity level, age, and gender. RESULTS: Sleep onset and wake time measurements did not differ significantly between the app and actigraphy; however, wake after sleep onset was longer (13.5, SD 19.5 minutes) with the app, resulting in a longer actigraphy-measured total sleep time (TST) of 20.2 (SD 66.7) minutes. The obesity group had a significantly longer TST with both methods. App-measured circadian rhythm indicators were significantly lower than their actigraphy-measured counterparts. The obesity group had significantly lower interdaily stability (IS) than the control group with both methods. The multivariable-adjusted model revealed a negative correlation between BMI and app-measured IS (P=.007). Body fat percentage (BF%) and visceral adipose tissue area (VAT) showed significant correlations with both app-measured IS and actigraphy-measured IS. The app-measured midpoint of sleep showed a positive correlation with both BF% and VAT. Actigraphy-measured TST exhibited a positive correlation with BMI, VAT, and BF%, while no significant correlation was found between app-measured TST and either BMI, VAT, or BF%. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that IS is strongly correlated with various adiposity indicators. Further exploration of the role of circadian rhythm, particularly measured through human-smartphone interactions, in obesity prevention could be warranted.

Facial Anthropometric Analysis of Gender-Related Characteristics in Computed Tomography.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, facial feminization surgery (FFS) has gained increasing popularity because of increases in transgender individuals and the acceptance of diversity in gender identity. However, there is still a scarcity of anthropometric research to guide evidence-based practices for FFS in Taiwan. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to provide a reference for surgeons to achieve optimal outcomes for patients undergoing FFS. The anthropometric analysis could help surgeons meet patients' specific requirements and improve patients' alignment with their gender identity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 100 patients (50 males and 50 females) who had undergone cranial computed tomography at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan because of the indication of blunt injuries to the head and face with suspected skull and facial fractures. The computed tomography images were imported into the OsiriX image software to conduct an anthropometric evaluation. The parameters used in the measurements included 2 aspects: bone and soft tissue anthropometric analysis. RESULTS: Anthropometric data were obtained from 50 males (age 32.6 ± 11.4 years) and 50 females (age 33.7 ± 10.3 years). The results for bone measurements showed that both the forehead bossing length and nasal bone width in the male group were significantly greater. The frontal angle in both bone and soft tissue in the male group was significantly smaller. The chin height and bigonial width in both bone and soft tissue in the male group were significantly greater. Although the average gonial angle was greater in the female group, the difference was not significant. For the measurements of lip projection, the results showed that there was no significant difference. Although this group of Asian males had more acute nasolabial angles, the difference was not statistically significant. However, the average nasofrontal angle among females was significantly more obtuse than among males. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that Asian males tend to have more prominent superior orbital rims, wider nasal bones, and wider and taller mandibles compared with Asian females. Despite showing some trends, the gonial angle and lip projections did not reveal any significant differences, which is likely because of a large amount of variation.

Experimental Demonstration of Fully Passive Quantum Key Distribution.

The passive approach to quantum key distribution (QKD) consists of removing all active modulation from the users' devices, a highly desirable countermeasure to get rid of modulator side channels. Nevertheless, active modulation has not been completely removed in QKD systems so far, due to both theoretical and practical limitations. In this Letter, we present a fully passive time-bin encoding QKD system and report on the successful implementation of a modulator-free QKD link. According to the latest theoretical analysis, our prototype is capable of delivering competitive secret key rates in the finite key regime.

AGR2 and FOXA1 as prognostic markers in ER-positive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic role of either forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) or anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) in breast cancer has been found separately. Considering that there were interplays between them depending on ER status, we aimed to assess the statistical interaction between AGR2 and FOXA1 on breast cancer prognosis and examine the prognostic role of the combination of them by ER status. METHODS: AGR2 and FOXA1 expression in tumor tissues were evaluated with tissue microarrays by immunohistochemistry in 915 breast cancer patients with follow up data. The expression levels of these two markers were treated as binary variables, and many different cutoff values were tried for each marker. Survival and Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between AGR2, FOXA1 and prognosis, and the statistical interaction between them on the prognosis was assessed on multiplicative scale. RESULTS: Statistical interaction between AGR2 and FOXA1 on the PFS was significant with all the cutoff points in ER-positive breast cancer patients but not ER-negative ones. Among ER-positive patients, the poor prognostic role of the high level of FOXA1 was significant only in patients with the low level of AGR2, and vice versa. When AGR2 and FOXA1 were considered together, patients with low levels of both markers had significantly longer PFS compared with all other groups. CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistical interaction between AGR2 and FOXA1 on the prognosis of ER-positive breast cancer. The combination of AGR2 and FOXA1 was a more useful marker for the prognosis of ER-positive breast cancer patients.

Light Scattering of Electrospinning Jet with Internal Structures by Flow-Induced Phase Separation.

Herein, the direct morphological evidence of the extension-induced phase-separated structures in the electrospinning jet observed by high-speed video imaging and by light scattering technique is reported. Model solutions of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/water are electrospun. Two types of internal structures, that is, long strings and short ellipsoids, are found. A light scattering model is derived for the Vv scattering configuration to account for the scattered intensities contributed from the liquid jet itself and those from the internal structures. For the severely stretching jet of PVA/water, the Vv intensity profile is dominant by the internal structures to mask the scattering contribution from the jet itself. Moreover, the Hv intensity profile reflects the anisotropy of the oriented chains parallel to the jet axis. For the 7 wt% solution, the derived extension rate in the vicinity of the Taylor cone apex is about 3420 s-1 , which is higher than the Rouse relaxation rate measured by rheometer. It is concluded that extension-induced phase separation of the single-phase PVA solution is likely to occur in Taylor-cone apex to trigger the self-assembly process for producing strings (and/or bulges) in the flowing jet, which eventually transform to become the nanofibers, after solvent removal, to be collected on the grounded collector.

Targeting proteasomal deubiquitinases USP14 and UCHL5 with b-AP15 reduces 5-fluorouracil resistance in colorectal cancer cells.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is the first-line treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but the development of acquired resistance to 5-FU remains a big challenge. Deubiquitinases play a key role in the protein degradation pathway, which is involved in cancer development and chemotherapy resistance. In this study, we investigated the effects of targeted inhibition of the proteasomal deubiquitinases USP14 and UCHL5 on the development of CRC and resistance to 5-FU. By analyzing GEO datasets, we found that the mRNA expression levels of USP14 and UCHL5 in CRC tissues were significantly increased, and negatively correlated with the survival of CRC patients. Knockdown of both USP14 and UCHL5 led to increased 5-FU sensitivity in 5-FU-resistant CRC cell lines (RKO-R and HCT-15R), whereas overexpression of USP14 and UCHL5 in 5-FU-sensitive CRC cells decreased 5-FU sensitivity. B-AP15, a specific inhibitor of USP14 and UCHL5, (1-5 µM) dose-dependently inhibited the viability of RKO, RKO-R, HCT-15, and HCT-15R cells. Furthermore, treatment with b-AP15 reduced the malignant phenotype of CRC cells including cell proliferation and migration, and induced cell death in both 5-FU-sensitive and 5-FU-resistant CRC cells by impairing proteasome function and increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In addition, b-AP15 inhibited the activation of NF-κB pathway, suppressing cell proliferation. In 5-FU-sensitive and 5-FU-resistant CRC xenografts nude mice, administration of b-AP15 (8 mg·kg-1·d-1, intraperitoneal injection) effectively suppressed the growth of both types of tumors. These results demonstrate that USP14 and UCHL5 play an important role in the development of CRC and resistance to 5-FU. Targeting USP14 and UCHL5 with b-AP15 may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of CRC.

Combined low levels of H4K16ac and H4K20me3 predicts poor prognosis in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Results of previous studies about the prognostic roles of histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation (H4K16ac) and histone H4 lysine 20 trimethylation (H4K20me3) in breast cancer were inconsistent. Cellular experiments revealed the interplays between H4K16ac and H4K20me3, but no population study explored the interaction between them on the prognosis. METHODS: H4K16ac and H4K20me3 levels in tumors were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for 958 breast cancer patients. Hazard ratios for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated using Cox regression models. Interaction was assessed on multiplicative scale. Concordance index (C-index) was calculated to verify the predictive performance. RESULTS: The prognostic roles of the low level of H4K16ac or H4K20me3 were significant only in patients with the low level of another marker and their interactions were significant. Moreover, compared with joint high levels of both them, only the combined low levels of both them was associated with a poor prognosis but not the low level of single one. The C-index of the clinicopathological model combined the joint expression of H4K16ac and H4K20me3 [0.739 for OS; 0.672 for PFS] was significantly larger than that of the single clinicopathological model [0.699 for OS, P < 0.001; 0.642 for PFS, P = 0.003] or the model combined with the single H4K16ac [0.712 for OS, P < 0.001; 0.646 for PFS, P < 0.001] or H4K20me3 [0.724 for OS, P = 0.031; 0.662 for PFS, P = 0.006]. CONCLUSIONS: There was an interaction between H4K16ac and H4K20me3 on the prognosis of breast cancer and the combination of them was a superior prognostic marker compared to the single one.

Discovery of Fibrinogen γ-chain as a potential urinary biomarker for renal interstitial fibrosis in IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a major cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Renal interstitial fibrosis is a hallmark of CKD progression. Non-invasive biomarkers are needed to dynamically evaluate renal fibrosis. Data independent acquisition (DIA)-based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) was used to identify candidate urinary biomarkers in IgAN patients with different renal interstitial fibrosis degrees. METHODS: Eighteen biopsy-proven IgAN patients and six healthy controls were recruited in a discovery cohort. Interstitial fibrosis changes were evaluated according to Oxford MEST-C scores. Urinary samples were analyzed with DIA-MS to identify hub proteins. Hub proteins were then confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a validation cohort and the associated gene mRNA expression was analyzed using public gene expression omnibus (GEO) datasets. RESULTS: Complement and coagulation cascades pathway was the main KEGG pathway related to the over-expressed proteins. Fibrinogen γ-Chain (FGG) was selected as the potential urinary marker for further validation. Urinary FGG to creatinine ratio (uFGG/Cr) levels were higher in both disease controls and IgAN group than in healthy controls, but were not significantly different between IgAN and disease groups. uFGG/Cr was confirmed to be increased with the extent of renal fibrosis and presented moderate correlations with T score (r = 0.614, p < 0.01) and eGFR (r = -0.682, p < 0.01), and a mild correlation with UTP (r = 0.497, p < 0.01) in IgAN group. In disease control group, uFGG/Cr was higher in patients with T1 + 2 compared to those with T0. uFGG/Cr had a good discriminatory power to distinguish different fibrosis stages in IgAN: interstitial fibrosis ≤ 5% (minimal fibrosis) vs. interstitial fibrosis (mild fibrosis) > 5%, AUC 0.743; T0 vs. T1 + 2, AUC 0.839; T0 + 1 vs. T2, AUC 0.854. In disease control group, uFGG/Cr showed better performance of AUC than UTP between minimal and mild fibrosis (p = 0.038 for Delong's test). Moreover, GSE104954 dataset showed that FGG mRNA expression was up-regulated (fold change 1.20, p = 0.009) in tubulointerstitium of IgAN patients when compared to healthy living kidney donors. CONCLUSION: Urinary FGG is associated with renal interstitial fibrosis and could be used as a noninvasive biomarker for renal fibrosis in IgAN.

Management Strategies for Geriatric Maxillofacial Fractures: An Anthropometric and Clinical Study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Geriatric maxillofacial trauma has become an increasingly pressing clinical issue in Taiwan because of increased life expectancy. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to investigate the anthropometric changes and the posttrauma outcomes in the aging population and to optimize the management strategies for geriatric facial fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2015 to 2020, a total of 30 patients 65 years or older were identified to have suffered from maxillofacial fractures and presented at the emergency department of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH). These patients were categorized into group III, representing the elderly group. Two other groups (group I, age 18-40 years; group II, age 41-64 years) of patients were categorized based on their age. After applying propensity score matching to reduce bias caused by a large case number difference, patient demographics, anthropometric data, and management methods were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: Among 30 patients 65 years or older who met the inclusion criteria, the mean age of the matched group III was 77.31 ± 14.87 years, and the mean number of retained teeth was 11.77 (range, 3-20 teeth). The elderly patients had a significantly lower number of retained teeth (group I vs group II vs group III, 27.3 vs 25.23 vs 11.77; P < 0.001). Anthropometric data showed that facial bone structure degenerated significantly with advancing age. Outcome analysis demonstrated that falls accounted for 43.3% of injury mechanisms in the elderly group, followed by motorcycle accidents (30%) and car accidents (23.3%). Nineteen elderly patients (63%) received nonsurgical management. On the other hand, 86.7% of cases in the other 2 age groups underwent surgery. The average numbers of total hospital and intensive care unit stays in group III patients were 16.9 (range, 3-49 days) and 4.57 (range, 0-47 days), which was significantly longer than the other 2 age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that not only surgery is feasible for elderly patients with facial fractures, but an acceptable result is often obtainable. However, an eventful course, including extended hospital/intensive care unit stays and an increased risk of associated injuries and complications, may be expected.

Large-Scale Ultrafast Strain Engineering of CVD-Grown Two-Dimensional Materials on Strain Self-Limited Deformable Nanostructures toward Enhanced Field-Effect Transistors.

Strain engineering of 2D materials is capable of tuning the electrical and optical properties of the materials without introducing additional atoms. Here, a method for large-scale ultrafast strain engineering of CVD-grown 2D materials is proposed. Locally nonuniform strains are introduced through the cooperative deformation of materials and metal@metal oxide nanoparticles through cold laser shock. The tensile strain of MoS2 changes and the band gap decreases after laser shock. The mechanism of the ultrafast straining is investigated by MD simulations. MoS2 FETs were fabricated, and the field-effect mobility of devices could be increased from 1.9 to 44.5 cm2 V-1 s-1 by adjusting the strain level of MoS2. This is currently the maximum value of MoS2 FETs grown by CVD with SiO2 as the dielectric. As a large-scale and ultrafast manufacturing method, laser shock provides a universal strategy for large-scale adjustment of 2D material strain, which will help to promote the manufacturing of 2D nanoelectronic devices.

Surface Modification of Polylactic Acid Bioscaffold Fabricated via 3D Printing for Craniofacial Bone Tissue Engineering.

Bone tissue engineering is a promising solution for advanced bone defect reconstruction after severe trauma. In bone tissue engineering, scaffolds in three-dimensional (3D) structures are crucial components for cell growth, migration, and infiltration. The three-dimensional printing technique is well suited to manufacturing scaffolds since it can fabricate scaffolds with highly complex designs under good internal structural control. In the current study, the 3D printing technique was utilized to produce polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds. BMSCs were seeded onto selected scaffolds, either hydrogel-mixed or not, and cultivated in vitro to investigate the osteogenic potential in each group. After osteogenic incubation in vitro, BMSC-seeded scaffolds were implanted onto rat cranium defects, and bone regeneration was observed after 12 weeks. Our results demonstrated that BMSCs were able to seed onto 3D-printed PLA scaffolds under high-resolution observation. Real-time PCR analysis showed their osteogenic ability, which could be further improved after BMSCs were mixed with hydrogel. The in vivo study showed significantly increased bone regeneration when rats' cranium defects were implanted with a hydrogel-mixed BMSC-seeded scaffold compared to the control and those without cell or hydrogel groups. This study showed that 3D-printed PLA scaffolds are a feasible option for BMSC cultivation and osteogenic differentiation. After mixing with hydrogel, BMSC-seeded 3D-printed scaffolds can facilitate bone regeneration.

Synthesis of zero-valent iron supported with graphite and plastic based carbon from recycling spent lithium ion batteries and its reaction mechanism with 4-chlorophenol in water.

Graphite and plastic recycled from spent lithium ion batteries were used to synthesize zero-valent iron/graphite (ZVI/G), zero-valent iron/plastic-based carbon (ZVI/P), and zero-valent iron/graphite and plastic-based carbon (ZVI/GP) with iron oxide through carbothermic reduction. The aim of preparing these catalysts is to improve the performance of ZVI in the removal of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in water through heterogeneous Fenton reactions. The structural and textural properties of materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption/desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The synthesis procedure successfully disperses ZVI particles on the synthesized materials. The combination of graphite and plastic-based carbon in ZVI/GP resulted in the best 4-CP removal performance. The degradation data fitted pseudo-first-order kinetic well. The Increase in the ZVI/GP dosage and the hydrogen peroxide concentration enhanced the 4-CP removal due to the increase in the amount of Fe2+ ions and reactive sites. Acidic pH increased the 4-CP removal percentage due to the high H+ concentration. The increase in the temperature favored the •OH formation and facilitated the 4-CP removal. The reaction energy of ZVI/GP reaches 53.54 kJ mol-1, which is competitive among the iron catalysts reported in literatures, and showing the 4-CP removal is reaction-controlled process. This study shows a promising way of recycling graphite and plastic in spent LIBs to prepare ZVI materials for wastewater treatment with the advantages of improved conductivity by graphite and added functional groups by plastic based carbon.

Research progress of the artificial intelligence application in wastewater treatment during 2012-2022: a bibliometric analysis.

This study identified literatures from the Web of Science Core Collection on the application of artificial intelligence in wastewater treatment from 2011 to 2022, through bibliometrics, to summarize achievements and capture the scientific and technological progress. The number of papers published is on the rise, and especially, the number of papers issued after 2018 has increased sharply, with China contributing the most in this regard, followed by the US, Iran and India. The University of Tehran has the largest number of papers, WATER is the most published journal, and Nasr M has the largest number of articles. Collaborative network has been developed mainly through cooperation between European countries, China and the US. Remote sensing in developing countries needs to be further integrated with water quality monitoring programs. It is worth noting that artificial neural network is a research hotspot in recent years. Through keyword clustering analysis, 'machine learning' and 'deep learning' are hot keywords that have emerged since 2019. The use of neural networks for predicting the effectiveness of treatment of difficult to degrade wastewater is a future research trend. The rapid advancement of deep learning provides the opportunity to build automated pipeline defect detection systems through image recognition.

Elective upper-neck versus whole-neck irradiation of the uninvolved neck in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an open-label, non-inferiority, multicentre, randomised phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this trial was to address whether elective ipsilateral upper-neck irradiation (UNI) sparing the uninvolved lower neck provides similar regional relapse-free survival compared with standard whole-neck irradiation (WNI) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS: This open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial was done at three Chinese medical centres. Patients aged 18-65 years with untreated, non-keratinising, non-distant metastatic (M0) nasopharyngeal carcinoma; with N0-N1 disease (according to International Union Against Cancer-American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classification, seventh edition); and a Karnofsky performance status score of 70 or higher were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive elective UNI or WNI of the uninvolved neck. Total radiation doses of 70 Gy (for the primary tumour volume and the enlarged retropharyngeal nodes), 66-70 Gy (for the involved cervical lymph nodes), 60-62 Gy (for the high-risk target volume), and 54-56 Gy (for the low-risk target volume) were administered in 30-33 fractions, five fractions per week. Patients with stage II-IVA disease were recommended to receive combined intravenous cisplatin-based chemotherapy (either induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone). Randomisation was done centrally by the Clinical Trials Centre of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre by means of a computer-generated random number code with a block size of four. Patients were stratified according to treatment centre and nodal status. Investigators and patients were not masked to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was regional relapse-free survival in the intention-to-treat population. Non-inferiority was indicated if the upper limit of the 95% CI of the difference in 3-year regional relapse-free survival between the UNI and WNI groups was within 8%. Adverse events were analysed in the safety population (defined as all patients who commenced the randomly assigned treatment). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02642107, and is closed. FINDINGS: Between Jan 22, 2016, and May 23, 2018, 446 patients from 469 screened were randomly assigned to receive UNI (n=224) or WNI (n=222). Median follow-up was 53 months (IQR 46-59). 3-year regional relapse-free survival was similar in the UNI and WNI groups (97·7% [95% CI 95·7-99·7] in the UNI group vs 96·3% [93·8-98·8] in the WNI group; difference -1·4% [95% CI -4·6 to 1·8]; pnon-inferiority<0·0001). Although acute radiation-related toxic effects were similar between the groups, the incidence of late toxicity was lower in the UNI group than in the WNI group, including any-grade hypothyroidism (66 [30%] of 222 patients vs 87 [39%] of 221), skin toxicity (32 [14%] vs 55 [25%]), dysphagia (38 [17%] vs 71 [32%]), and neck tissue damage (50 [23%] vs 88 [40%]). No patients died during treatment. After treatment, one patient in the WNI group died from a non-cancer-related cause (dermatomyositis). INTERPRETATION: Elective UNI of the uninvolved neck provides similar regional control and results in less radiation toxicity compared with standard WNI in patients with N0-N1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma. FUNDING: Sun Yat-sen University Clinical Research 5010 Program, the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, and the Overseas Expertise Introduction Project for Discipline Innovation. TRANSLATION: For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.