Achieving Non-Interfacial Blocking Zinc Ion Transport Based on MOF Derived Manganese Oxides and Amorphous Carbon Hybrid Materials.

How to coordinate electron and ion transport behavior across scales and interfaces within ion battery electrodes? The exponential increase in surface area observed in nanoscale electrode materials results in an incomprehensibly vast spatial interval. Herein, to address the problems of volume expansion, dissolution of cathode material, and the charge accumulation problem existing in manganiferous materials for zinc ion batteries, metal organic framework is utilized to form the architecture of non-interfacial blocking ~10 nm Mn2O3 nanoparticles and amorphous carbon hybrid electrode materials, demonstrating a high specific capacity of 361 mAh g-1 (0.1 A g-1), and excellent cycle stability of 105 mAh g-1 after 2000 cycles under 1 A g-1. The uniform and non-separated disposition of Mn and C atoms constitutes an interconnected network with high electronic and ionic conductivity, minimizing issues like structural collapse and volume expansion of the electrode material during cycling. The cooperative insert mechanism of H+ and Zn2+ are analyzed via ex-situ XRD and in-situ Raman tests. The model battery is assembled to present practical possibilities. The results indicate that MOF-derived carbonization provides an effective strategy for exploring Mn-based electrode materials with high ion and electron transport capacity.

Prohibitin 2 deficiency in photoreceptors leads to progressive retinal degeneration and facilitated Müller glia engulfing microglia debris.

Müller glia and microglia are capable of phagocytosing fragments of retinal cells in response to retinal injury or degeneration. However, the direct evidence for their mutual interactions between Müller glia and microglia in the progression of retinal degeneration (RD) remains largely unclear. This study aims to construct a progressive RD mouse model and investigate the activated pattern of Müller glia and the interplay between Müller glia and microglia in the early stage or progression of RD. A Prohibitin 2 (Phb2) photoreceptor-specific knockout (RKO) mouse model was generated by crossing Phb2flox/flox mice with Rhodopsin-Cre mice. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), histological staining, and Electroretinography (ERG) assessed retinal structure and function, and RKO mice exhibited progressive RD from six weeks of age. In detail, six-week-old RKO mice showed no significant retinal impairment, but severe vision dysfunction and retina thinning were shown in ten-week-old RKO mice. Furthermore, RKO mice were sensitive to Light Damage (LD) and showed severe RD at an early age after light exposure. Bulk retina RNA-seq analysis from six-week-old control (Ctrl) and RKO mice showed reactive retinal glia in RKO mice. The activated pattern of Müller glia and the interplay between Müller glia and microglia was visualized by immunohistology and 3D reconstruction. In six-week-old RKO mice or light-exposed Ctrl mice, Müller glia were initially activated at the edge of the retina. Moreover, in ten-week-old RKO mice or light-exposed six-week-old RKO mice with severe photoreceptor degeneration, abundant Müller glia were activated across the whole retinas. With the progression of RD, phagocytosis of microglia debris by activated Müller glia were remarkably increased. Altogether, our study establishes a Phb2 photoreceptor-specific knockout mouse model, which is a novel mouse model of RD and can well demonstrate the phenotype of progressive RD. We also report that Müller glia in the peripheral retina is more sensitive to the early damage of photoreceptors. Our study provides more direct evidence for Müller glia engulfing microglia debris in the progression of RD due to photoreceptor Phb2 deficiency.

Prevalence and Residual Risk of HIV in Volunteer Blood Donors of Zhejiang Province, China, from 2018 to 2022.

Background: Blood safety levels have been significantly improved since the implementation of nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) testing for blood donors. However, there remains a residual risk of transfusion transmission infections. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HIV and its residual risk transmission among volunteer blood donors of Zhejiang Province, China, for five years after NAT implementation. Materials and Methods: All specimens and information were collected from voluntary unpaid donors at all blood services in Zhejiang Province, China, from January 2018 to December 2022. The HIV antibody or antigen and HIV RNA were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and NAT, respectively. The HIV residual risk transmission was calculated using the incidence or window period model. Results: A total of 3,375,678 voluntary blood donors were detected, revealing an HIV prevalence of 9.92/100000. The HIV prevalence of blood donors in 12 blood services in Zhejiang Province was 6.11, 6.98, 7.45, 8.21, 8.36, 8.94, 9.04, 9.66, 9.73, 10.22, 11.80, and 12.47 per 100000 donors, without statistically significant difference observed among the services (p > 0.05). The HIV prevalence of males (15.49/100000) was significantly higher compared to females (1.95/100000; p < 0.05). There was an insignificant difference in HIV prevalence among blood donors of all different age groups (p > 0.05), but the HIV prevalence in the 26-35 age group and 18-25 age group was significantly higher compared to the 36-45 age group (p < 0.05). The difference in HIV prevalence between first-time blood donors (13.65/100,000) and repeat blood donors (6.78/100,000) was statistically significant (p < 0.05). From 2018 to 2022, the HIV residual risk in blood transfusion transmission was 0.266/100000. Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV among blood donors in Zhejiang Province, China, is associated with age, gender, and times of blood donation. The HIV residual risk in blood transfusion transmission remains low in the province, and increasing the rate of repeat blood donors is beneficial to improve blood safety.

Cryoprecipitate contaminated with Cupriavidus pauculus: A rare cautionary case report.

AIMS: The aim was to define the source of contamination of cryoprecipitate intercepted during visual inspection before transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A clot was observed in one unit of cryoprecipitate before blood transfusion at the Dongyang People's Hospital. Bacterial cultures were performed using the BacT/ALERT system (BacT/ALERT 3D, bioMerieux, Durham, NC). The isolated bacteria were identified through conventional biochemical identification, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, and molecular analysis based on 16sr RNA. Samples from all individuals who came into direct contact with the cryoprecipitate were cultured, and the positive samples were then referred for bacterial identification. RESULTS: A leak was found at the edge of a blood bag containing the cryoprecipitate. Cupriavidus paucula was identified both in the cryoprecipitate and water from the water bath. However, there was no growth of C. paucula in the samples obtained from the red blood cell suspension co-component, puncture site of the blood donor, blood storage refrigerator, transport case, and centrifuge. CONCLUSION: C. paucula in the water from the water bath contaminated the cryoprecipitate through the invisible slit in the blood bag during thawing. Regular disinfection of water baths, double-bagging of blood products during thawing, and careful screening of blood products before transfusion should be performed to prevent the transfusion of contaminated cryoprecipitate.

Inhibiting HIF-1 signaling alleviates HTRA1-induced RPE senescence in retinal degeneration.

BACKGROUND: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), characterized by the degeneration of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and photoreceptors, is the leading cause of irreversible vision impairment among the elderly. RPE senescence is an important contributor to AMD and has become a potential target for AMD therapy. HTRA1 is one of the most significant susceptibility genes in AMD, however, the correlation between HTRA1 and RPE senescence hasn't been investigated in the pathogenesis of AMD. METHODS: Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect HTRA1 expression in WT and transgenic mice overexpressing human HTRA1 (hHTRA1-Tg mice). RT-qPCR was used to detect the SASP in hHTRA1-Tg mice and ARPE-19 cells infected with HTRA1. TEM, SA-ß-gal was used to detect the mitochondria and senescence in RPE. Retinal degeneration of mice was investigated by fundus photography, FFA, SD-OCT and ERG. The RNA-Seq dataset of ARPE-19 cells treated with adv-HTRA1 versus adv-NC were analyzed. Mitochondrial respiration and glycolytic capacity in ARPE-19 cells were measured using OCR and ECAR. Hypoxia of ARPE-19 cells was detected using EF5 Hypoxia Detection Kit. KC7F2 was used to reduce the HIF1α expression both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: In our study, we found that RPE senescence was facilitated in hHTRA1-Tg mice. And hHTRA1-Tg mice became more susceptible to NaIO3 in the development of oxidative stress-induced retinal degeneration. Similarly, overexpression of HTRA1 in ARPE-19 cells accelerated cellular senescence. Our RNA-seq revealed an overlap between HTRA1-induced differentially expressed genes associated with aging and those involved in mitochondrial function and hypoxia response in ARPE-19 cells. HTRA1 overexpression in ARPE-19 cells impaired mitochondrial function and augmented glycolytic capacity. Importantly, upregulation of HTRA1 remarkably activated HIF-1 signaling, shown as promoting HIF1α expression which mainly located in the nucleus. HIF1α translation inhibitor KC7F2 significantly prevented HTRA1-induced cellular senescence in ARPE-19 cells, as well as improved the visual function in hHTRA1-Tg mice treated with NaIO3. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed elevated HTRA1 contributes to the pathogenesis of AMD by promoting cellular senescence in RPE through damaging mitochondrial function and activating HIF-1 signaling. It also pointed out that inhibition of HIF-1 signaling might serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for AMD. Video Abstract.

Bioinspired PLCL/Elastin Nanofibrous Vascular Tissue Engineering Scaffold Enhances Endothelial Cells and Inhibits Smooth Muscle Cells.

In vascular tissue engineering, a scaffold that can enhance the proliferation of endothelial cells (ECs) while inhibiting the synthetic differentiation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is crucial to prevent thrombus and restenosis after graft implantation. However, it is always challenging to incorporate both properties simultaneously in a vascular tissue engineering scaffold. In this study, a novel composite material was developed by combining a synthetic biopolymer of poly(l-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) and a natural biopolymer of elastin through electrospinning. Cross-linking of the PLCL/elastin composite fibers using EDC/NHS was performed to stabilize the elastin component. The incorporation of elastin into PLCL was found to enhance the hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of the resulting PLCL/elastin composite fibers, as well as the mechanical properties. Additionally, as a natural component of the extracellular matrix, elastin displayed antithrombotic properties reducing platelet adhesion and improving blood compatibility. Results of cell culture experiments with human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) and human umbilical artery SMCs (HUASMCs) showed that the composite fiber membrane had high cell viability, promoting the proliferation and adhesion of HUVECs and inducing a contractile phenotype in HUASMCs. These results indicate that the PLCL/elastin composite material has great potential for use in vascular graft applications due to its favorable properties and rapid endothelialization and contractile phenotypes of cells.

Investigation of the Functional Requirements and Influencing Factors of Self-management App Use in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Objective: Diabetes self-management apps can provide convenient and personalized health information and reduce glycosylated haemoglobin, weight, the occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia and disease burden. This study aims to describe the attitudes towards and needs of self-management apps among diabetic patients in China. Methods: A self-administered cross-sectional survey was offered to patients in Changzhou from March to December 2021. Participants were included if they were≥ 18 years old, had the ability to read and write, and completed the questionnaire independently. Responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with attitudes towards the use of self-management apps. Results: We surveyed 615 diabetes patients and found that 60% of the patients were willing to use self-management applications. The scores indicating importance of functional needs were sequentially ordered as follows: contact and interaction with medical practitioners (4.16), reminder to assess blood glucose levels (4.07), alert indicating abnormal blood glucose levels (4.06), medication reminder (3.93), documentation of intake per meal (3.91), calculation of carbohydrate intake (3.85), graphic presentation of blood glucose levels (3.84), setting of personal goals (3.82), reminder to exercise (3.80), and providing diabetes knowledge (3.77). Factors influencing the usage of mobile applications included age (OR:0.956, 95%CI:0.935-0.977, P < .01), employed (OR:2.822, 95%CI:1.373-5.802, P < .05), medical insurance (OR:2.084, 95%CI:1.073-4.047, P < .05) and the eHealth Literacy Scale score (OR:1.128, 95%CI:1.088-1.169, P < .01). The main reason for unwillingness to use self-management applications was a lack of experience using it. Conclusions: The functional needs of patients using diabetes self-management apps include contacting and interacting with medical staff, recording and alarming blood glucose, reminding medicine, recording and calculating intake, providing graphic representation of blood glucose, setting health goals, recording exercise and sending diabetes knowledge. Age, employed, medical insurance and the eHealth Literacy Scale score were the factors influencing willingness to use self-management applications. The main reason for reluctance to use self-management applications was lack of experience.

Association Between Concerns About COVID-19 Infection and Blood Donation Intention: Cross-Sectional Survey Study Through a Mobile Communication Platform.

BACKGROUND: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on blood transfusion and collection. At the beginning of the pandemic, most blood transfusion services had a tough challenge in maintaining an optimal blood inventory. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to understand the public's psychological cognition and intention toward blood donation as well as the factors influencing their worries. We aimed to find a solution for increasing blood donations and provide a scientific reference for policy formulation regarding blood donation during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the future. METHODS: A random survey with a 14-item scale on worries related to blood donation was conducted from December 31, 2022, to January 3, 2023, among residents aged 18-60 years in Zhejiang province via SMS text messaging. The results of 8 worry items in this study were compared with the survey results of March 2022, during which COVID-19 was not considered as an epidemic in Zhejiang province. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the factors affecting respondents' blood donation intention and concerns. The degree of worry about blood donation was assigned from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), and 2-sided t tests were performed to analyze the differences in blood donation intention and worries about blood donation. RESULTS: In total, 1254 valid questionnaire responses were obtained. Males accounted for 62.36% (782/1254) of the sample, 78.39% (983/1254) were 18-45 years old, 60.61% (760/1254) had a university education, and 69.06% (866/1254) had no previous blood donation experience. Approximately 36.52% (458/1254) of the public clearly expressed that they had blood donation worries regarding COVID-19. The main concerns of the respondents were temporary physical weakness caused by blood donation, their own physical conditions not meeting the requirements of blood donation, inconvenient location and working hours for blood donation, and family (or friends) worrying about blood donation. Compared with the results in 2022, the results in 2023 regarding the harmful effects of blood donation on health, temporary physical weakness, infection in donated blood, and family (friends) worrying increased significantly (P<.001). The factors influencing blood donation worries regarding COVID-19 were COVID-19 infection status, adverse reactions to the donated blood, family (or friends) worrying, and unsatisfactory blood donation experience. The factors influencing blood donation intention were gender, age, previous blood donation times, blood donation worries regarding COVID-19, harmful effects of blood donation on health, and blood donation anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Blood transfusion services should make full use of the recovery phase of COVID-19 infection as an important time point, publicize the blood donation process and operation standardization, reduce the public's concerns about blood donation, correct negative evaluations, and increase perceived behavioral control and subjective norms.

Proton Intercalation/De-intercalation Chemistry in Phenazine-based Anode for Hydronium-ion Batteries.

Hydronium-ion batteries have received significant attention owing to the merits of extraordinary sustainability and excellent rate abilities. However, achieving high-performance hydronium-ion batteries remains a challenge due to the inferior properties of anode materials in strong acid electrolyte. Herein, a hydronium-ion battery is constructed which is based on a diquinoxalino [2,3-a:2',3'-c] phenazine (HATN) anode and a MnO2 @graphite felt cathode in a hybrid acidic electrolyte. The fast kinetics of hydronium-ion insertion/extraction into HATN electrode endows the HATN//MnO2 @GF battery with enhanced electrochemical performance. This battery exhibits an excellent rate performance (266 mAh g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 , 97 mAh g-1 at 50 A g-1 ), attractive energy density (182.1 Wh kg-1 ) and power density (31.2 kW kg-1 ), along with long-term cycle stability. These results shed light on the development of advanced hydronium-ion batteries.

Web-Based Short Video Intervention and Short Message Comparison of Repeat Blood Donation Behavior Based on an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior: Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial Study.

BACKGROUND: Although blood is an indispensable and important resource for clinical treatment, an imbalance between supply and demand may occur as the population ages and diversifies. Studies indicate that repeat blood donors are safe blood sources because of their voluntary blood donation education and frequent blood screening. However, the high rate of reduction in the number of first-time voluntary blood donors and low rate of repeated blood donation are common problems worldwide. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an intervention in nonregular blood donors using web-based videos and SMS text messages, in which the former was guided by the extended theory of planned behavior, to discover effective intervention methods to improve repeat blood donation rates among nonregular blood donors. METHODS: A total of 692 nonregular blood donors in Zhejiang province were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The control group received regular, short reminder messages for a 6-month period, whereas the intervention group received web-based videos on the WeChat platform. The intervention group was guided by an extended theory of planned behavior, which included 9 factors: the respondents' attitude, subjective behavioral norms, perceived behavioral control, the willingness to donate blood, outcome expectations, self-identity, blood donation-related anxiety, cognition of the blood donation environment, and previous blood donation experience. The intervention group was divided into 2 stages: those with an intervention at 3 months and those with a follow-up 3 months later. After 6 months, the redonation rate was evaluated for the 2 groups, and the scale in the intervention group was determined both before and after the intervention. A t test, chi-square test, logistic stepwise regression, and ANOVA were performed. RESULTS: The intervention group's redonation rate was 16.14%, which was significantly higher than the control group's redonation rate of 5.16%; P<.001. Men who were aged 31 to 45 years and had donated blood twice had a higher redonation rate after the web-based video intervention than after the SMS text messages; P<.05. The repeat donors' improved blood donation anxiety (P=.01), outcome expectations (P=.008), and cognition of the blood donation environment (P=.005) after the intervention were significantly higher than those of the nonrepeat donors. CONCLUSIONS: The web-based short video intervention based on the extended theory of planned behavior can effectively improve redonation rates. Outcome expectations, blood donation anxiety, and cognition of the blood donation environment can directly influence irregular blood donors to redonate blood.

TRPC1/4/5 channels contribute to morphine-induced analgesic tolerance and hyperalgesia by enhancing spinal synaptic potentiation and structural plasticity.

Opioid analgesics remain the mainstay for managing intractable chronic pain, but their use is limited by detrimental side effects such as analgesic tolerance and hyperalgesia. Calcium-dependent synaptic plasticity is a key determinant in opiates tolerance and hyperalgesia. However, the exact substrates for this calcium-dependent synaptic plasticity in mediating these maladaptive processes are largely unknown. Canonical transient receptor potential 1, 4, and 5 (TRPC1, 4, 5) proteins assemble into heteromultimeric nonselective cation channels with high Ca2+ permeability and influence various neuronal functions. However, whether and how TRPC1/4/5 channels contribute to the development of opiates tolerance and hyperalgesia remains elusive. Here, we show that TRPC1/4/5 channels contribute to the generation of morphine tolerance and hyperalgesia. Chronic morphine exposure leads to upregulation of TRPC1/4/5 channels in the spinal cord. Spinally expressed TRPC1, TPRC4, and TRPC5 are required for chronic morphine-induced synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) as well as remodeling of synaptic spines in the dorsal horn, thereby orchestrating functional and structural plasticity during the course of morphine-induced hyperalgesia and tolerance. These effects are attributed to TRPC1/4/5-mediated Ca2+ elevation in the spinal dorsal horn induced by chronic morphine treatment. This study identifies TRPC1/4/5 channels as a promising novel target to prevent the unwanted morphine tolerance and hyperalgesia.

An MRI study of the tibial nerve in the ankle canal and its branches: a method of multiplanar reformation with 3D-FIESTA-C sequences.

BACKGROUND: The visualization of the tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal is helpful for the diagnosis of local lesions and compression, and it is also useful for clinical observation and surgical planning. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of three-dimensional dual-excitation balanced steady-state free precession sequence (3D-FIESTA-C) multiplanar reformation (MPR) display of the tibial nerve and its branches in the ankle canal. METHODS: The subjects were 20 healthy volunteers (40 ankles), aged 22-50 years, with no history of ankle joint disease. The 3D-FIESTA-C sequence was used in the 3.0 T magnetic resonance equipment for imaging. During scanning, each foot was at an angle of 90° to the tibia. The tibial nerve of the ankle canal and its branches were displayed and measured at the same level through MPR. RESULTS: Most of the tibial nerve bifurcation points were located in the ankle canal (57.5%), few bifurcation points (42.5%) were located at the proximal end of the ankle canal, and none of them were found away from the distal end. The bifurcation between the medial plantar nerve and the lateral plantar nerve was on the line between the tip of the medial malleolus and the calcaneus, and it's angle ranged between 6° and 35°. In MPR images, the display rates of both the medial calcaneal nerve and the subcalcaneal nerve were 100%, and the starting point of the subcalcaneal nerve was always at the distal end of the starting point of the medial calcaneal nerve. In 55% of cases, there were more than two medial calcaneal nerve innervations. CONCLUSION: The 3D-FIESTA-C MPR can display the morphological features and positions of the tibial nerve and its branches and the bifurcation point's projection position can be marked on the body surface. This method not only benefited the imaging diagnosis of the tibial nerve and branch-related lesions in the ankle canal, but it also provided a good imaging basis to plan a clinical operation of the ankle canal and avoid surgical injury.

Impact of COVID-19 on blood centres in Zhejiang province China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions of people. A 'closed-off management' protocol has been launched nationwide in China to cope with this major public health emergency. However, these procedures may cause a crisis for blood donation and blood supply. In this study, we assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood donation and supply in Zhejiang province, which could provide reference and insight for developing countermeasures in other countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood donor and supply information from 38 blood centres during the Spring Festival of 2019 and 2020 were reviewed. A self-administered questionnaire was carried out. RESULTS: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of whole blood donors dropped by 67%. The success rate of recruitment for donations dropped by 60%. Most respondents (81·2%) were worried about the 'possibility of acquiring COVID-19 during blood donation'. The total amount of RBCs supply dropped by 65%. In the first week of the outbreak, the weekly amount of issued RBC units (10171·5 u) was almost six times higher than the collected units (1347·5 u). The mean haemoglobin value for RBCs transfusion was about 6·3 g/dl. About 4% of RBCs and 2·8% of frozen plasma were used in COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSION: The secondary consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are blood shortages caused by the unavailability of blood donors, and this is likely to be replicated in many countries with high burdens of COVID-19. Practical actions to broaden sources and reduce use for the global crisis must be taken proactively.

Deficiency of Ttyh1 downstream to Notch signaling results in precocious differentiation of neural stem cells.

Mammalian neural stem cells (NSCs) are not only responsible for normal development of the central nervous system (CNS), but also participate in brain homeostasis and repair, thus hold promising clinical potentials in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and trauma. However the molecular networks regulating the stemness and differentiation of NSCs have not been fully understood. In this study, we show that Tweety-homolog 1 (Ttyh1), a five-pass transmembrane protein specifically expressed in mouse brain, is involved in maintaining stemness of murine NSCs. Blocking or activating Notch signal led to downregulation and upregulation of Ttyh1 in cultured NSCs, respectively, suggesting that Ttyh1 is under the control of Notch signaling. Knockdown of Ttyh1 in cultured NSCs resulted in a transient increase in the number and size of neurospheres, followed by a decrease of stemness as manifested by compromised neurosphere formation, downregulated stem cell markers, and increased neuronal differentiation. We generated Ttyh1 knockout mice by deleting its exon 4 using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Surprisingly, in contrast to a previous report, Ttyh1 knockout did not result in embryonic lethality. NSCs derived from Ttyh1 knockout mice phenocopied NSCs transfected with Ttyh1 siRNA. Immunofluorescence showed that loss of Ttyh1 leads to the increase of neurogenesis in adult mice. Taken together, these findings indicate that Ttyh1, which is likely downstream to Notch signaling, plays an important role in regulating NSCs.

A Comparative Texture Analysis Based on NECT and CECT Images to Differentiate Lung Adenocarcinoma from Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

The purpose of the study was to compare the texture based discriminative performances between non-contrast enhanced computed tomography (NECT) and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images in differentiating lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients. Eighty-seven lung cancer subjects were enrolled in the study, including pathologically proved 47 ADC patients and 40 SCC patients, and 261 texture features were extracted from the manually delineated region of interests on CECT and NECT images respectively. Fisher score was then used to select the effective discriminative texture features between groups, and the selected texture features were adopted to differentiate ADC from SCC using Support Vector Machine and Leave-one-out cross-validation. Both NECT and CECT images could achieve the same best classification accuracy of 95.4%, and most of the informative features were from the gray-level co-occurrence matrix. In addition, CECT images were found with enhanced texture features compared with NECT images, and combining texture features of CECT and NECT images together could further improve the prediction accuracy. Besides the texture feature, the tumor location information also contributed to the differential diagnosis between ADC and SCC.

Effects of plant diversity on greenhouse gas emissions in microcosms simulating vertical constructed wetlands with high ammonium loading.

Wastewater with relatively high nitrogen concentrations is a major source of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions and exerts multiple stresses on the environment. Studies have shown that plant diversity plays an important role in ecosystem functioning. However, the effects of plant species diversity on CH4 and N2O emissions under high ammonium (NH4+-N) loading rates remain unclear. In this study, a microcosm experiment simulating vertical constructed wetlands supplied with high NH4+-N water levels was established. The treatments included four species richness levels (1, 2, 3, 4) and 15 species compositions. There was no significant relationship between species richness and N2O emissions. However, N2O emissions were significantly reduced by specific plant species composition. Notably, the communities with the presence of Rumex japonicus L. reduced N2O emissions by 62% compared to communities without this species. This reduction in N2O emissions may have been a result of decreased N concentrations and increased plant biomass. CH4 emissions did not respond to plant species richness or species identity. Overall, plant species identity surpassed species richness in lowering N2O emissions from constructed wetlands with high NH4+-N water. The results also suggest that communities with R. japonicus could achieve higher N removal and lower greenhouse gas emissions than other wetland species.

Passive Q-switching induced by few-layer MoTe2 in an Yb:YCOB microchip laser.

We report on passive Q-switching action induced by a few-layer MoTe2 saturable absorber in an Yb:YCa4O(BO3)3 (Yb:YCOB) microchip laser. With a sapphire-based few-layer MoTe2 incorporated into the 4 mm long plane-parallel resonator of the Yb:YCOB microchip laser, efficient stable passively Q-switched operation was achieved under output couplings of 40%-70%, producing, at an incident pump power of 5.0 W, an average output power of 1.58 W at a repetition rate of 704 kHz with a slope efficiency of 36%; the pulse energy and peak power were respectively 2.25 µJ and 40.8 W, while the shortest pulse duration obtained was 52 ns.

Few-layer Bi2Te3: an effective 2D saturable absorber for passive Q-switching of compact solid-state lasers in the 1-µm region.

An experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the potential of few-layer Bi2Te3 topological insulator in use as a saturable absorber for passive Q-switching of compact solid-state lasers in the 1-µm spectral region. By incorporating a sapphire-based few-layer Bi2Te3 sample into a Yb:LuPO4 laser that was formed with a 4-mm plane-parallel resonator, we realized efficient, high-power, high-repetition-rate pulsed laser operation. Depending on the output coupling utilized, single- or dual-wavelength laser action could be achieved. A maximum output power of 5.02 W at 1014.5 nm was produced at a pulse repetition rate of 1.67 MHz, with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 41% and a slope efficiency of 54%; while operating at 1004.9/1012.7 nm, the pulsed laser could produce an output power of 3.94 W at 1.38 MHz, with a pulse duration being as short as 34 ns. The largest pulse energy and highest peak power achieved were 3.0 µJ and 85.3 W. The results demonstrated in our experiment reveal the great potential of the few-layer Bi2Te3 topological insulator in the development of pulsed compact solid-state lasers in the 1-µm region.

Watt-level passively Q-switched Yb:LuPO4 miniature crystal laser with few-layer MoS2 saturable absorber.

We demonstrate a Yb:LuPO4 miniature crystal laser that is formed with a 5 mm long plane-parallel resonator, and is passively Q-switched by a few-layer MoS2 saturable absorber. With 6.53 W of pump power absorbed, an average output power of 2.06 W at 1020.8 nm is generated at a pulse repetition rate of 429 kHz with a slope efficiency of 50%; the resulting pulse energy, duration, and peak power are respectively 4.8 µJ, 83 ns, and 57.8 W. While operating at 1010.5 nm, the laser is capable of producing an average output power of 1.53 W at a repetition rate of 870 kHz, with pulse duration being shortened to 61 ns. These results represent a significant progress in the development of Yb- or Nd-ion lasers passively Q-switched by two-dimensional MoS2.

Chronic cervical radiculopathic pain is associated with increased excitability and hyperpolarization-activated current ( Ih) in large-diameter dorsal root ganglion neurons.

Cervical radiculopathic pain is a very common symptom that may occur with cervical spondylosis. Mechanical allodynia is often associated with cervical radiculopathic pain and is inadequately treated with current therapies. However, the precise mechanisms underlying cervical radiculopathic pain-associated mechanical allodynia have remained elusive. Compelling evidence from animal models suggests a role of large-diameter dorsal root ganglion neurons and plasticity of spinal circuitry attached with Aß fibers in mediating neuropathic pain. Whether cervical radiculopathic pain condition induces plastic changes of large-diameter dorsal root ganglion neurons and what mechanisms underlie these changes are yet to be known. With combination of patch-clamp recording, immunohistochemical staining, as well as behavioral surveys, we demonstrated that upon chronic compression of C7/8 dorsal root ganglions, large-diameter cervical dorsal root ganglion neurons exhibited frequent spontaneous firing together with hyperexcitability. Quantitative analysis of hyperpolarization-activated cation current ( Ih) revealed that Ih was greatly upregulated in large dorsal root ganglion neurons from cervical radiculopathic pain rats. This increased Ih was supported by the enhanced expression of hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-modulated channels subunit 3 in large dorsal root ganglion neurons. Blockade of Ih with selective antagonist, ZD7288 was able to eliminate the mechanical allodynia associated with cervical radiculopathic pain. This study sheds new light on the functional plasticity of a specific subset of large-diameter dorsal root ganglion neurons and reveals a novel mechanism that could underlie the mechanical allodynia associated with cervical radiculopathy.