[Epidemiological and clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer in Hunan].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the epidemiological and clinicopathological characteristics of PCa and provide some strategies for the clinical prevention and treatment of the malignancy. METHODS: This study included 1 594 cases of pathologically diagnosed PCa after radical prostatectomy in Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020. We collected the basic information about the patients, their main complaints and clinicopathological results, and analyzed the epidemiological and clinicopathological data. RESULTS: The patients were aged from 28 to 93 years, and the number of PCa cases showed an overall upward trend from 2010 to 2020. Urinary system symptoms were most common (62.53%) as initial symptoms, followed by increased PSA (17.82%), PCa, prostate nodule, prostate mass (8.43%) and bone metastasis (2.94%) found at physical examinations, and the cases of PSA elevation among the clinic visitors increased year by year from 2010 to 2020. Gleason score 7 was found in a largest proportion of the PCa patients, and adenocarcinoma was the main pathological type (78.6%). Logistic regression analysis showed that high Gleason score, instead of age and expressions of Ki67, AR and ERG, was an independent risk factor for intraductal carcinoma. CONCLUSION: The incidence of PCa shows an increasing trend, and is more common in those over 50 years old. PSA screening is gradually popularized in China. Intraductal carcinoma, as a major risk factor for aggressive PCa and poor prognosis of the malignancy, is significantly correlated with high Gleason scores.

Progress of biodegradable polymer application in cardiac occluders.

Cardiac septal defect is the most prevalent congenital heart disease and is typically treated with open-heart surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass. Since the 1990s, with the advancement of interventional techniques and minimally invasive transthoracic closure techniques, cardiac occluder implantation represented by the Amplazter products has been the preferred treatment option. Currently, most occlusion devices used in clinical settings are primarily composed of Nitinol as the skeleton. Nevertheless, long-term follow-up studies have revealed various complications related to metal skeletons, including hemolysis, thrombus, metal allergy, cardiac erosion, and even severe atrioventricular block. Thus, occlusion devices made of biodegradable materials have become the focus of research. Over the past two decades, several bioabsorbable cardiac occluders for ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect have been designed and trialed on animals or humans. This review summarizes the research progress of bioabsorbable cardiac occluders, the advantages and disadvantages of different biodegradable polymers used to fabricate occluders, and discusses future research directions concerning the structures and materials of bioabsorbable cardiac occluders.

Windows of sensitivity for risk of adverse birth outcomes related to gestational PM2.5 exposure: Evidence from a natural experiment.

While numerous studies have associated maternal exposure to PM2.5 with adverse birth outcomes, findings remain inconsistent and difficult to generalize. We aimed to investigate the causal relationship and window of sensitivity between gestational exposure to PM2.5 and birth outcomes. We leveraged high-resolution satellite data to quantify gestational PM2.5 exposure at the individual level, along with a combined model to determine daily relative risks (RRs) of birth outcomes in COVID-19 prelockdown and lockdown groups. RRs between the two groups were further compared using a longitudinal pre-post non-experimental design to identify sensitivity windows of adverse birth outcomes. A total of 73,781 pregnant women from the COVID-19 prelockdown group and 6267 pregnant women from the lockdown group were included for analysis. The daily mean PM2.5 concentrations in the lockdown group decreased by 21.7% compared to the prelockdown group. During the first trimester, every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 significantly increased the risk of congenital abnormalities of major organs such as the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, urinary system, and respiratory system. Moreover, gestational exposure to PM2.5 during the first trimester was associated with higher risks of premature delivery and term low birth weight. While PM2.5 exposure during the second trimester was positively correlated with macrosomia. Gestational exposure to PM2.5 is associated with increased risks of various adverse birth outcomes with specific sensitive windows. We demonstrated that gestational exposure to PM2.5 increased risks of various adverse birth outcomes with specific window of sensitivity through the natural experiment design. Our findings underscore the urgent need for policies and initiatives targeting PM2.5 reduction, especially during critical periods of pregnancy.

A novel visible-light-driven Z-scheme C3N5/BiVO4 heterostructure with enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance.

As a visible-light response semiconductor materials, bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is extensively applied in photodegradation organic dye field. In this study, we synthesized C3N5 nanosheets and coupled with decahedral BiVO4 to construct a Z-scheme C3N5/BiVO4 heterostructure with close interface contact. By introducing C3N5 into BiVO4, the built Z-scheme transfer pathway provides silky channel for charge carrier migration between different moieties and enables photoexcited electrons and holes accumulated on the surface of BiVO4 and C3N5. The accelerated separation of charge carriers ensures C3N5/BiVO4 heterostructures with a powerful oxidation capacity compared with pure BiVO4. Due to the synergistic effect in Z-scheme heterostructure, the C3N5/BiVO4 demonstrated an improved photodegradation ability of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) that of bare BiVO4.

Advancing Understanding of Childhood Asthma: Lessons Learned from Birth Cohort Studies.

Asthma and allergies are some of the most common chronic disorders affecting children, the prevalence of which has been increasing in countries and regions undergoing rapid development like China. To curb the rising tide of allergies and safeguard the health of future generations, it is of critical importance to understand how asthma inception is influenced by factors acting at different life stages. Birth cohorts represent a powerful tool to investigate the temporal sequence of exposures along the natural course of asthma. We examined recent evidence on birth cohort studies of asthma and allergic diseases and evaluated their strengths and weaknesses. Essential elements for a successful birth cohort are proposed to further elucidate asthma etiology and pathogenies. Initiating new cohorts in understudied populations with the application of advanced analytical approaches will be needed. Moreover, fostering collaborative networks using standardized methodologies should be prioritized to enable integration of findings across diverse cohorts. There remains an urgent and unmet need to further translate the seminal findings from asthma birth cohort studies into targeted primary prevention strategies to eradicate the disease.

Detailed characterization of particle emissions due to thermal failure of batteries with different cathodes.

Sufficient levels of thermal, electrical, mechanical, or electrochemical abuse can cause thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries, leading to the release of electrolyte vapor, combustible gas mixtures, and high-temperature particles. Particle emissions due to thermal failure of batteries may cause serious pollution of the atmosphere, water sources, and soil as well as enter the human biological chain through crops, posing a potential threat to human health. Furthermore, high-temperature particle emissions may ignite the flammable gas mixtures produced during the thermal runaway process, resulting in combustion and explosions. This research focused on determining the particle size distribution, elemental composition, morphology, and crystal structure of particles released from different cathode batteries after thermal runaway. Accelerated adiabatic calorimetry tests were performed on a fully charged Li(Ni0.3Co0.3Mn0.3)O2 battery (NCM111), Li(Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3)O2 battery (NCM523), and Li(Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2)O2 battery (NCM622). Results of all three batteries indicate that particles with a diameter less than or equal to 0.85 mm exhibit an increase in volume distribution followed by a decrease in volume distribution as the diameter increases. F, S, P, Cr, Ge, and Ge were detected in particle emissions with mass percentages ranging from 6.5% to 43.3%, 0.76-1.20%, 2.41-4.83%,1.8-3.7%, and 0-0.14%, respectively. When present in high concentrations, these may have negative impacts on human health and the environment. In addition, the diffraction patterns of the particle emissions were approximately the same for NC111, NCM523, and NCM622, with emissions primarily composed of Ni/Co elemental, graphite, Li2CO3, NiO, LiF, MnO, and LiNiO2. This study can provide important insights into the potential environmental and health risks associated with particle emissions from thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries.

A comparative analysis on thermal runaway behavior of Li (NixCoyMnz) O2 battery with different nickel contents at cell and module level.

The problem of thermal runaway (TR) propagation challenges the safety design of battery packs, because it aggravates the thermal hazards to accidents. There are many unsolved scientific questions in understanding the mechanisms of TR and its propagation behavior for large format lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). LiNixCoyMnzO2(NCM) is considered as one of the most promising cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries LIBs, given its higher energy design and lower cost. However, higher Nickel (Ni) content of cathode material worsens the thermal stability of LIBs. This paper provides a comparative analysis on the TR propagation behavior of NCM battery with different Ni ratios. Results have shown that when the characteristic temperatures of TR {T1, T2, T3}and the specific electrochemical energy of the cell are similar, TR propagation behavior will be similar, no matter what kinds of chemistry the cell has. Observation suggests that the average propagation time within a large format cell is 7-10 s in module tests. Besides, the internal temperature of the cell has an order of NCM622 ≥ NCM523 ≥ NCM111,whereas the mass is ordered by NCM622 > NCM523 > NCM111.This work firstly reports the TR feature in large format LIBs with different Ni ratios, both at cell and module level, providing the guidelines for engineering practice and further theoretical researches.