Efficacy of Transarterial Chemoembolization Combined With Camrelizumab in the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary cancer of liver tissue and is often caused by chronic liver diseases. The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system is commonly used to determine the stage and prognosis of HCC. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the recommended first-line therapy for intermediate-stage HCC (patients who have asymptomatic, multi-nodular hepatocellular carcinoma). Over the past 10 years, the combination of TACE with immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as Camrelizumab, has shown promising results in treating HCC. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Elsevier, Scopus, ATC abstracts, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases was performed to identify relevant studies on the effectiveness of TACE combined with Camrelizumab in the treatment of HCC. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assurance were conducted by independent investigators. From 1023 identified citations, six studies were included in the final analysis. The combined results of these studies showed a complete response rate of 7.35%, a partial response rate of 37.10%, stable disease in 28.76% of patients, an objective response rate of 46.13%, a disease control rate of 77.19%, and progression-free survival of 6.2 months. The combination of TACE and Camrelizumab appears to be a safe and effective treatment option for patients with advanced, recurrent, and unresectable HCC. However, the included studies had limitations such as retrospective design and small sample sizes. Further research is needed to validate and expand on these findings.

Enhanced Photoluminescence and Reduced Dimensionality via Vacancy Ordering in a 10H Halide Perovskite.

Vacancy-ordered halide perovskites have received great interest in optoelectronic applications. In this work, we report the novel inorganic halide Cs10MnSb6Cl30 with a distinctive 10H (10-layer hexagonal) perovskite polytype structure with (hcccc)2 stacking. Cs10MnSb6Cl30 has 30% B-site vacancies ordered at both corner- and face-sharing sites, resulting in [MnSb6Cl30]10-n columns, i.e., a reduction of octahedral connectivity to 1D. This results in enhanced photoluminescence in comparison to the previously reported 25% vacancy-ordered 3C polytype Cs4MnSb2Cl12 with 2D connectivity. This demonstrates not only the existence of the 10H perovskite structure in halides but also demonstrates the degree of B-site deficiency and stacking sequence variation as a direction to tune the optical properties of perovskite polytypes via vacancy rearrangements.

Highly efficient, heat dissipating, stretchable organic light-emitting diodes based on a MoO3/Au/MoO3 electrode with encapsulation.

Stretchable organic light-emitting diodes are ubiquitous in the rapidly developing wearable display technology. However, low efficiency and poor mechanical stability inhibit their commercial applications owing to the restrictions generated by strain. Here, we demonstrate the exceptional performance of a transparent (molybdenum-trioxide/gold/molybdenum-trioxide) electrode for buckled, twistable, and geometrically stretchable organic light-emitting diodes under 2-dimensional random area strain with invariant color coordinates. The devices are fabricated on a thin optical-adhesive/elastomer with a small mechanical bending strain and water-proofed by optical-adhesive encapsulation in a sandwiched structure. The heat dissipation mechanism of the thin optical-adhesive substrate, thin elastomer-based devices or silicon dioxide nanoparticles reduces triplet-triplet annihilation, providing consistent performance at high exciton density, compared with thick elastomer and a glass substrate. The performance is enhanced by the nanoparticles in the optical-adhesive for light out-coupling and improved heat dissipation. A high current efficiency of ~82.4 cd/A and an external quantum efficiency of ~22.3% are achieved with minimum efficiency roll-off.

Impact of tunable 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)acetonitrile based fluorophores towards optical, thermal and electroluminescence properties.

Herein, we have synthesized 4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole and 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)acetonitrile based donor-π-acceptor fluorophores and studied their optical, thermal, electroluminescence properties. Both the fluorophores exhibit high fluorescence quantum yield (Φ f = <0.6) and good thermal stability (T d10 = <300 °C), and could be excellent candidates for OLED applications. Moreover, the ground and excited state properties of the compounds were analysed in various solvents with different polarities. The geometric and electronic structures of the fluorophores in the ground and excited states have been studied using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods. The absorption of BIPIAN and BITIAN in various solvents corresponds to S0 → S1 transitions and the most intense bands with respect to the higher oscillator strengths are mainly contributed by HOMO → LUMO transition. Significantly, the vacuum deposited non-doped OLED device was fabricated using BITIAN as an emitter, and the device shows electroluminescence (EL) at 564 nm, maximum current efficiency (CE) 0.687 cd A-1 and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.24%.

Replacement of n-type layers with a non-toxic APTES interfacial layer to improve the performance of amorphous Si thin-film solar cells.

Hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells (TFSCs) generally contain p/n-type Si layers, which are fabricated using toxic gases. The substitution of these p/n-type layers with non-toxic materials while improving the device performance is a major challenge in the field of TFSCs. Herein, we report the fabrication of a-Si:H TFSCs with the n-type Si layer replaced with a self-assembled monolayer (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the amine groups from APTES attached with the hydroxyl groups (-OH) on the intrinsic Si (i-Si) surface to form a positive interfacial dipole towards i-Si. This interfacial dipole facilitated the decrease in electron extraction barrier by lowering the work function of the cathode. Consequently, the TFSC with APTES showed a higher fill factor (0.61) and power conversion efficiency (7.68%) than the reference device (without APTES). This performance enhancement of the TFSC with APTES can be attributed to its superior built-in potential and the reduction in the Schottky barrier of the cathode. In addition, the TFSCs with APTES showed lower leakage currents under dark conditions, and hence better charge separation and stability than the reference device. This indicates that APTES is a potential alternative to n-type Si layers, and hence can be used for the fabrication of non-toxic air-stable a-Si:H TFSCs with enhanced performance.

Effects of probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic with and without feed restriction on performance, hematological indices and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic with and without feed restriction on broilers performance, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and feed cost of production from 1 to 56 days of age. METHODS: Two hundred and forty unsexed one day-old chicks of Arbor Acres breed were used. Two trials, I and II, were conducted, with 120 birds in both. Each trial was divided into 4 equal groups. The birds in trial I were fed ad libitum throughout the experiment, while the chicks in trial II were fed ad libitum during the first week of age, then subjected to 5 hours/d of feed restriction from the beginning of the second week up to the end of the experiment. In both trials, the birds in group 1 were fed on a control diet while the other groups were given the same control diet supplemented either with a probiotic in group 2, prebiotic in group 3, or synbiotic in group 4. RESULTS: It was found that chicks fed diets supplemented with probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic (with and without feed restriction) exhibited higher body weight and feed efficiency than chicks fed the control diets. The feed additives in both trials did not affect hemoglobin, serum total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, and total cholesterol, except the packed cell volume which was increased in the additive treatments with restriction at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the dietary treatments did not influence the carcass yield. However, the relative weights of liver, gizzard and proventriculus, small intestine and bursa of fabricius were found to be increased. The additives decreased the visible fat in the carcass, with more decreasing effect in the additive groups with restriction. The lowest feed cost per kg of weight gain was observed in the birds fed diets supplemented with synbiotic, probiotic and prebiotic. Feed restriction improved the feed conversion ratio, economic return, but decreased the feed intake, serum total cholesterol and visible fat in comparison with non-restricted groups. CONCLUSION: The biological feed additives could be routinely added to broiler diets, especially when a feed restriction program is followed. Finally, it can be recommended to restrict feed, and add probiotic or synbiotic to increase weight, improve feed conversion rate and reduce feed cost of production.