Fluorescence spectroscopic profiling of urine samples for predicting kidney transplant rejection.

Rejection is the primary factor affecting the functionality of a kidney post-transplant, where its prompt prediction of risk significantly influences therapeutic strategies and clinical outcomes. Current graft health assessment methods, including serum creatinine measurements and transplant kidney puncture biopsies, possess considerable limitations. In contrast, urine serves as a direct indicator of the graft's degenerative stage and provides a more accurate measure than peripheral blood analysis, given its non-invasive collection of kidney-specific metabolite. This research entailed collecting fluorescent fingerprint data from 120 urine samples of post-renal transplant patients using hyperspectral imaging, followed by the development of a learning model to detect various forms of immunological rejection. The model successfully identified multiple rejection types with an average diagnostic accuracy of 95.56 %.Beyond proposing an innovative approach for predicting the risk of complications post-kidney transplantation, this study heralds the potential introduction of a non-invasive, rapid, and accurate supplementary method for risk assessment in clinical practice.

Interfacial Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 1Cr18Ni9Ti/1Cr21Ni5Ti Stainless Steel Joints Brazed with Mn-Based Brazing Filler.

The problem of stainless steel brazing is still the focus of scientific research. In this work, the Mn-based brazing filler was used to braze 1Cr18Ni9Ti and 1Cr21Ni5Ti stainless steel. The typical microstructure of the 1Cr18Ni9Ti/1Cr21Ni5Ti joint was analyzed in detail, and the interface structure of the joint was determined to be 1Cr18Ni9Ti/Mn(s, s)/1Cr21Ni5Ti. The brazing temperature and holding time were shown to have a great influence on the microstructure of the brazed joint. The tensile strength of brazed joints first increased and then decreased with the rising of the brazing temperature and the holding time. The maximum tensile strength was 566 MPa when the joints were brazed at 1125 °C for 15 min. The diffusion of Mn and Cr was an important factor affecting the quality of the joints. The diffusion distances of Mn and Cr at different brazing temperatures and holding times were measured, and the diffusion activation energy and diffusion coefficient were achieved by the Arrhenius equation.

All-in-One Sulfur Host: Smart Controls of Architecture and Composition for Accelerated Liquid-Solid Redox Conversion in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The development of Li-S batteries (LSBs) is largely impeded by sluggish redox kinetics and notorious polysulfide shuttling. Herein, hierarchical MoC@Ni-NCNT arrays are reported as a multifunctional sulfur host in Li-S batteries, which comprised a flexible carbon fiber cloth substrate decorated with vertical MoC porous nanorods rooted by interconnected nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs). In the designed host, the inner MoC porous backbone (composed of nanoparticles) along with the in situ-grafted interwoven NCNT shell can greatly maximize the host-guest interactive surface for homogeneous sulfur dispersion, thus realizing decent high-sulfur-loading performance. Ni nanoparticles, encapsulated within NCNTs in the outer shell, act as strong chemical-anchoring centers effectively trap-escaped polysulfides and propel the bidirectional sulfur transformation kinetics. In merit of sufficient adsorption and catalytic sites, the cell configured with the MoC@Ni-NCNT cathode delivers not only high capacity (1421 mA h g-1 at 0.1 C) but also superior rate performance and ultralong lifespan. The cell can still achieve a superb areal capacity of 6.1 mA h cm2 under an increased sulfur loading up to 6 mg cm-2. This work could open a new avenue for the construction of a multifunctional cathode for high-performance LSBs.

Self-Assembly Lightweight Honeycomb-Like Prussian Blue Analogue on Cu Foam for Lithium Metal Anode.

As a next-generation anode material for lithium batteries, Li metal anode suffers from inherent drawbacks such as infinite volume expansion and uneven Li plating/stripping. Herein, we propose a lightweight lithiophilic Prussian blue analogue (PBA) with honeycomb-like structure on Cu foam by self-assembly method to address these issues. The unique honeycomb-like architecture could provide enlarged surface areas and abundant deposition sites for homogenizing Li+ flux during Li plating. Consequently, the elaborate PBA-decorated Cu foam current collector enables long-term (1800 h) reversible plating/stripping behavior and an observably improved Coulombic efficiency (98.3% after 350 cycles). The concept of the direct self-assembly synthesis method on metal foam provides new insights into the design of a lightweight 3-dimensional current collector for Li metal anode.

Bioinspired Metal-Intermetallic Laminated Composites for the Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Responsive Wettability.

Hundreds of copper and titanium foils were applied to prepare biomimetic metal-intermetallic laminated composites by diffusion bonding. The cross sections of the obtained diffusion bonded bulks were etched selectively with FeCl3 solution to get regular microarray structures. This kind of microstructure was controlled accurately and promptly by simple parameter adjustment. The etched surfaces were modified with 1-dodecanethiol, and the water contact angles (WCAs) were measured. The relationship between the microstructure and wettability of the achieved material was discussed, and the reason for the anisotropic wettability was also analyzed. Then etched surfaces were anodized in different electrolyte solutions to obtain different nanostructures. The morphology and chemical compositions of the surfaces were analyzed. The surfaces with CuO nanostructures by modification show superhydrophobicity with self-cleaning, on which the WCA and water sliding angle are 160.9° and 0.8°, respectively. The surfaces with TiO2 nanostructures without modification show ultraviolet light-responsive wettability. After modification with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid and 1-decanethiol, the surfaces also exhibit pH-responsive wettability. The superhydrophobic surfaces with responsive wettability have potential applications in biotechnology and microfluidics.

Joining Alumina and Sapphire by Growing Aluminium Borate Whiskers In-Situ, and the Whiskers' Orientation Relationship with the Sapphire Substrate.

Bonding between polycrystal alumina and sapphire with (0001), (10 1 ¯ 0), (11 2 ¯ 0), (1 1 ¯ 02) orientations is successfully achieved by growing aluminium borate whiskers in the joint. The morphology of the whiskers in the joint is characterised by (Scanning Electron Microscopy) SEM. The relationship between the growing direction of the aluminium borate whiskers and the orientation of the sapphire substrate is investigated. The effect of the growing direction of the aluminium borate whiskers on the mechanical properties of the joint is discussed. The results show that the whiskers on the sapphire with (10 1 ¯ 0) orientation grow perpendicular to the surface of the substrate while the whiskers show a random growth on the other substrates. It is found that there is an orientation relationship between the whiskers (220) and sapphire (10 1 ¯ 0) and the morphology of the whiskers has great influence on the mechanical properties of the joint. The joint between polycrystal alumina and sapphire with (10 1 ¯ 0) orientation exhibits the highest strength, which reaches 26 MPa.

Mn and S dual-doping of MOF-derived Co3O4 electrode array increases the efficiency of electrocatalytic generation of oxygen.

Owing to low-cost and 3d electronic configurations, Co3O4 material is considered as promising candidate for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst, but the intrinsically low conductivity and limited active site exposure greatly limit the electrocatalytic performances, Herein, we successfully achieve modulation of Co3O4 arrays by Mn and S dual-doping for OER. Results demonstrate that Mn doping modifies the electronic structure of Co center to boost the intrinsic activity of active site in Co3O4, while inducing S in Co3O4 increases the electrical conductivity and provides ample S sites for proton adsorption. In addition, Mn and S dual-doping effectively increase the proportion of Co3+, resulting in facilitating the four-electron transfer and thus higher electrochemical activities. Consequently, the optimal Mn and S dual-doping Co3O4 presents low overpotentials of 330, 407 and 460 mV at 10, 100 and 300 mA cm-2 for OER, as well as a low Tafel slope of 68 mV dec-1 and a good durability after 20 h. Current work highlights a feasible strategy to design electrocatalysts via dual-doping and maximizing the high-valence transition metal ions.

Defect-Rich Heterogeneous MoS2/NiS2 Nanosheets Electrocatalysts for Efficient Overall Water Splitting.

Designing and constructing bifunctional electrocatalysts is vital for water splitting. Particularly, the rational interface engineering can effectively modify the active sites and promote the electronic transfer, leading to the improved splitting efficiency. Herein, free-standing and defect-rich heterogeneous MoS2/NiS2 nanosheets for overall water splitting are designed. The abundant heterogeneous interfaces in MoS2/NiS2 can not only provide rich electroactive sites but also facilitate the electron transfer, which further cooperate synergistically toward electrocatalytic reactions. Consequently, the optimal MoS2/NiS2 nanosheets show the enhanced electrocatalytic performances as bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting. This study may open up a new route for rationally constructing heterogeneous interfaces to maximize their electrochemical performances, which may help to accelerate the development of nonprecious electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.

Understanding the Effect of Surface Machining on the YSZ/Ti6Al4V Joint via Image Based Modelling.

A method to improve the brazing between YSZ and Ti6Al4V by femtosecond laser surface machining is introduced. The highest strength of ~150 MPa (which is 95.2% higher than that of the flat YSZ/Ti6Al4V joint) is achieved when the processing speed is 200 µm/s. To understand the strengthen mechanism of the surface machining on the joint strength, image based models, based on the observed microstructure, have been used to probe the stress distribution in the joint. It is found that through surface machining on the ceramic, the residual stress distribution in ceramic becomes nonlinear. Upon shear testing, for the joint with a flat interface, the failure happens in the reaction layer and the out of plane stress in this layer is found to be tensile, which acts as the driving force for the crack generation and propagation. But for the joint with a rumpled interface, the compressive out of plane stress at the boundary of the grooves in the reaction layer could inhibit the propagation of the cracks. Finally, by surface machining on the ceramic, the maximum shear stress in the reaction layer is decreased, which could also help to improve the reliability of the joint.

Bifunctional Electrocatalysts Based on Mo-Doped NiCoP Nanosheet Arrays for Overall Water Splitting.

Rational design of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts is highly imperative but still a challenge for overall water splitting. Herein, we construct novel freestanding Mo-doped NiCoP nanosheet arrays by the hydrothermal and phosphation processes, serving as bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting. Notably, Mo doping could effectively modulate the electronic structure of NiCoP, leading to the increased electroactive site and improved intrinsic activity of each site. Furthermore, an electrochemical activation strategy is proposed to form Mo-doped (Ni,Co)OOH to fully boost the electrocatalytic activities for oxygen evolution reaction. Benefiting from the unique freestanding structure and Mo doping, Mo-doped NiCoP and (Ni,Co)OOH show the remarkable electrochemical performances, which are competitive among current researches. In addition, an overall water splitting device assembled by both electrodes only requires a cell voltage of 1.61 V to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Therefore, this work opens up new avenues for designing nonprecious bifunctional electrocatalysts by Mo doping and in situ electrochemical activation.

Rapamycin ameliorates psoriasis by regulating the expression and methylation levels of tropomyosin via ERK1/2 and mTOR pathways in vitro and in vivo.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease, affecting more than millions of people in the world. Recently, the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin (RAPA) was reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Haematoxylin and eosin staining was used to examine the effects of RAPA on inflammatory level of lesional tissues from patients with psoriasis and animal models. Quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot assay were performed to assess the effects of RAPA on tropomyosins (TPMs) expression in patients with psoriasis, cell models and animal models. Phalloidin staining was used to assess the RAPA effects on cell skeleton. The effects of RAPA on cell proliferation and cell cycle were detected by CCK-8 assay, EdU staining and flow cytometry. Methylation status of TPMs was analysed by methylation-specific PCR. The expression of TPM1 and TPM2 was significantly downregulated, while their methylation level was obviously higher in the lesional tissues, cell models and animal models of psoriasis. After treated with RAPA, the expression and methylation levels of TPMs were all restored in the cell models and animal models of psoriasis. RAPA inhibited cell proliferation and decreased the ratio of S phase cell in Hacat or human epidermal keratinocytes cell models of psoriasis. Finally, the activated ERK1/2 and mTOR pathways in the cell model and animal model of psoriasis were suppressed by the treatment of RAPA. RAPA could be used as an effective agent for the treatment of psoriasis by decreasing the methylation level of TPM1 and TPM2 via inhibiting the ERK1/2 and mTOR signalling pathways.

Development and validation of dissolution testings in acidic media for rabeprazole sodium delayed-release capsules.

Rabeprazole sodium (RAB) dissolved in acidic media is accompanied by its degradation in the course of dissolution testing. To develop and establish the accumulative release profiles of ACIPHEX(®) Sprinkle (RAB) delayed-release capsules (ACIPHEX(®) Sprinkle) in acidic media using USP apparatus 2 (paddle apparatus) as a dissolution tester, the issues of determination of accumulative release amount of RAB in these acidic media and interference of hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose phthalate were solved by adding appropriate hydrochloric acid (HCl) into dissolution samples coupled with centrifugation so as to remove the interference and form a solution of degradation products of RAB, which is of a considerably stable ultraviolet (UV) absorbance at the wavelength of 298 nm within 2.0 h. Therefore, the accumulative release amount of RAB in dissolution samples at each sample time points could be determined by UV-spectrophotometry, and the accumulative release profiles of ACIPHEX(®) Sprinkle in the media of pH 1.0, pH 6.0, and pH 6.8 could be established. The method was validated per as the ICH Q2 (R1) guidelines and demonstrated to be adequate for quality control of ACIPHEX(®) Sprinkle and the accumulative release profiles can be used as a tool to guide the formulation development and quality control of a generic drug for ACIPHEX(®) Sprinkle.

Erythrodermic psoriasis with bullous pemphigoid: combination treatment with methotrexate and compound glycyrrhizin.

We report a case of erythrodermic psoriasis with bullous pemphigoid (BP) in a 68-year-old male. The patient had a history of psoriasis for 35 years and tense, blisterlike lesions for 4 months. He presented with diffuse flushing, infiltrative swelling, and tense blisterlike lesions on his head, trunk, and limbs. This patient was successfully treated by a combination of methotrexate and compound glycyrrhizin. We also discuss the clinical manifestations, histopathological features, and differentiation of erythrodermic psoriasis with BP and present a review of the pertinent literature. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1853737109114076.