Phylodynamic and Epistatic Analysis of Coxsackievirus A24 and Its Variant.

Coxsackievirus A24 (CV-A24) is a human enterovirus that causes acute flaccid paralysis. However, a Coxsackievirus A24 variant (CV-A24v) is the most common cause of eye infections. The causes of these variable pathogenicity and tissue tropism remain unclear. To elucidate the phylodynamics of CV-A24 and CV-A24v, we analyzed a dataset of 66 strains using Bayesian phylodynamic approach, along with detailed sequence variation and epistatic analyses. Six CV-A24 strains available in GenBank and 60 CV-A24v strains, including 11 Taiwanese strains, were included in this study. The results revealed striking differences between CV-A24 and CV-A24v exhibiting long terminal branches in the phylogenetic tree, respectively. CV-A24v presented distinct ladder-like clustering, indicating immune escape mechanisms. Notably, 10 genetic recombination events in the 3D regions were identified. Furthermore, 11 missense mutation signatures were detected to differentiate CV-A24 and CV-A24v; among these mutations, the F810Y substitution may significantly affect the secondary structure of the GH loop of VP1 and subsequently affect the epitopes of the capsid proteins. In conclusion, this study provides critical insights into the evolutionary dynamics and epidemiological characteristics of CV-A24 and CV-A24v, and highlights the differences in viral evolution and tissue tropism.

Lysophosphatidylcholine Impairs the Mitochondria Homeostasis Leading to Trophoblast Dysfunction in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy disorder associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia and macrosomia. Recent research has shown that the buildup of excess lipids within the placental trophoblast impairs mitochondrial function. However, the exact lipids that impact the placental trophoblast and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. GDM cases and healthy controls were recruited at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital. The placenta and cord blood were taken during birth. Confocal and electron microscopy were utilized to examine the morphology of the placenta and mitochondria. We determined the lipid composition using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in data-independent analysis mode (LC/MSE). In vitro studies were carried out on choriocarcinoma cells (JEG3) to investigate the mechanism of trophoblast mitochondrial dysfunction. Results showed that the GDM placenta was distinguished by increased syncytial knots, chorangiosis, lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-1 (LOX-1) overexpression, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) 16:0 was significantly elevated in the cord blood LDL of GDM patients. In vitro, we demonstrated that LPC dose-dependently disrupts mitochondrial function by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and HIF-1α signaling. In conclusion, highly elevated LPC in cord blood plays a pivotal role in GDM, contributing to trophoblast impairment and pregnancy complications.

The cerebellum computes frequency dynamics for motions with numerical precision and cross-individual uniformity.

Cross-individual variability is considered the essence of biology, preventing precise mathematical descriptions of biological motion1-7 like the physics law of motion. Here we report that the cerebellum shapes motor kinematics by encoding dynamic motor frequencies with remarkable numerical precision and cross-individual uniformity. Using in-vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics in mice, we confirmed that deep cerebellar neurons encoded frequencies via populational tuning of neuronal firing probabilities, creating cerebellar oscillations and motions with matched frequencies. The mechanism was consistently presented in self-generated rhythmic and non-rhythmic motions triggered by a vibrational platform, or skilled tongue movements of licking in all tested mice with cross-individual uniformity. The precision and uniformity allowed us to engineer complex motor kinematics with designed frequencies. We further validated the frequency-coding function of the human cerebellum using cerebellar electroencephalography recordings and alternating-current stimulation during voluntary tapping tasks. Our findings reveal a cerebellar algorithm for motor kinematics with precision and uniformity, the mathematical foundation for brain-computer interface for motor control.

Urine biomarkers in type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without microvascular complications.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of nine (9) urine biomarkers in people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with or without microvascular complications. METHODS: In total, 407 people with T2DM were enrolled from 2021 to 2022. According to diabetic retinopathy (DR) and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR), the 407 people were divided into four (4) groups, DR(-)UACR(-), DR(+)UACR(-), DR(-)UACR(+), and DR( + )UACR(+). In addition, 112 healthy volunteers were enrolled during the same period. The nine (9) urine markers included α1-microglobulin (u-α1MG), immunoglobulin G (u-IgG), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipid carrier protein (u-NGAL), cystatin C (u-CysC), retinol-binding protein (u-RBP), ß2-microglobulin (u-ß2MG), N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (u-NAG), transferrin (u-Trf), and collagen type IV (u-Col). For each marker, the respective level of 97.5 percentile in healthy volunteers was taken as an upper reference limit. RESULTS: Among the 407 people, 248 individuals (61%) were DR(-)UACR(-), 100 (25%) were DR(-)UACR(+), 37 (9%) were DR(+)UACR(-), and 22 (5%) were DR(+)UACR(+). The u-NAG/Cr biomarker level showed a significant difference between healthy participants and people with T2DM. In the DR(-)UACR(-)group, u-Trf/Cr showed the highest positive rate (21.37%), followed by u-IgG/Cr (14.52%); u-NAG/Cr (10.48%); u-ß2MG/Cr (4.44%); u-CysC/Cr (4.03%); u-NGAL/Cr (4.03%); u-RBP/Cr (2.82%); u-α1MG/Cr (2.42%); 17.34% of people with T2DM showed multiple biomarkers positive (≥2 biomarkers). The positive rates of one biomarker (21.33%) and two biomarkers (18.67%) in people who have less than five (5) years of T2DM were almost close to those of the DR(-)UACR(-) group (21.37%, and 12.10%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Renal tubule biomarkers may be used as an indicator in the early detection and monitoring of renal injury in diabetes mellitus. The u-NAG biomarker should be measured for the people with T2DM of the first-time diagnosis.

Microfluidic fabrication of monodisperse microcapsules with gas cores.

A facile strategy for efficient and continuous fabrication of monodisperse gas-core microcapsules with controllable sizes and excellent ultrasound-induced burst performances is developed based on droplet microfluidics and interfacial polymerization. Monodisperse gas-in-oil-in-water (G/O/W) double emulsion droplets with a gas core and monomer-contained oil layer are fabricated in the upstream of a microfluidic device as templates, and then water-soluble monomers are added into the aqueous continuous phase in the downstream to initiate rapid interfacial polymerization at the O/W interfaces to prepare monodisperse gas-in-oil-in-solid (G/O/S) microcapsules with gas cores. The sizes of both microbubbles and G/O/W droplet templates can be precisely controlled by adjusting the gas supply pressure and the fluid flow rates. Due to the very thin shells of G/O/S microcapsules fabricated via interfacial polymerization, the sizes of the resultant G/O/S microcapsules are almost the same as those of the G/O/W droplet templates, and the microcapsules exhibit excellent deformable properties and ultrasound-induced burst performances. The proposed strategy provides a facile and efficient route for controllably and continuously fabricating monodisperse microcapsules with gas cores, which are highly desired for biomedical applications.

Dialdehyde starch cross-linked aminated gelatin sponges with excellent hemostatic performance and biocompatibility.

Developing a hemostatic material suitable for rapid hemostasis remains a challenge. This study presents a novel aminated gelatin sponge cross-linked with dialdehyde starch, exhibiting excellent biocompatibility and hemostatic ability. This aminated gelatin sponge features hydrophilic surface and rich porous structure with a porosity of up to 80 %. The results show that the aminated gelatin sponges exhibit superior liquid absorption capacity and can absorb up to 30-50 times their own mass of simulated body fluid within 5 min. Compared with the commercial gelatin hemostatic sponge and non-aminated gelatin hemostatic sponge, the aminated gelatin hemostatic sponge can accelerate the hemostatic process through electrostatic interactions, demonstrating superior hemostatic performance in both in vitro and in vivo hemostasis tests. The aminated gelatin sponge can effectively control the hemostatic time within 80 s in the in vivo rat femoral artery injury model, significantly outperforming both commercial and non-aminated gelatin sponges. In addition, the aminated gelatin sponge also exhibits good biocompatibility and certain antibacterial properties. The proposed aminated gelatin sponge has very good application prospects for the management of massive hemorrhage.

Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) as adjuvant enhances the immune effects of Aeromonas veronii inactivated vaccine in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) has emerged as a significant economic fish species, with a rise in Aeromonas veronii infections in farming. However, research on adjuvants for vaccines against A. veronii in largemouth bass remains scarce. In present study, recombinant largemouth bass IL-1ß (LbIL-1ß) was expressed to explore its adjuvant effect on the A. veronii inactivated vaccine. Following vaccination with recombinant LbIL-1ß (rLbIL-1ß) and the inactivated A. veronii, higher serum SOD levels and lysozyme activities were observed in largemouth bass from inactivated A. veronii + rLbIL-1ß vaccinated group. Furthermore, it was discovered that rLbIL-1ß was able to boost the serum-specific antibody levels induced by the inactivated A. veronii. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed that rLbIL-1ß also enhanced the expression of IgM, CD4, and MHC II in largemouth bass triggered by the inactivated A. veronii. After challenged with live A. veronii, the outcomes demonstrated that the relative percentage survival (RPS) for largemouth bass resulting from the inactivated A. veronii in combination with rLbIL-1ß was 76.67 %, surpassing the RPS of 60 % in the inactivated A. veronii group. Collectively, these findings indicate that rLbIL-1ß enhances the protective effect of the A. veronii inactivated vaccine on largemouth bass, showcasing potential as an adjuvant for further development.

Genomic structures of insulin-like growth factor from golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) and their expression responses to the feed types.

Golden pompano is an important aquaculture product in the coastal regions of southern China, which is highly dependent on insulin-like growth factor (IGF) for various biological processes. The cDNAs of ToIGF1, ToIGF2, and ToIGF3 are 1718 bp, 1658 bp, and 2272 bp in length, respectively, with corresponding amino acid sequences of 185 aa, 215 aa, and 194 aa. These sequences consist of 5 parts, including the signal peptide, the B domain, the C domain, the A domain, the D domain, and the E domain, which are also found in other species. While ToIGF1 has no SSR polymorphism, ToIGF2 and ToIGF3 have 3 and 1 SSR polymorphism sites, respectively. In terms of tissue expression, ToIGF1 is predominantly expressed in the liver, ToIGF2 shows its highest expression in the gills, and ToIGF3 also shows its highest expression in the gills, but no expression in the liver and spleen. These tissue distribution results suggest that ToIGFs are not only present in growth-related tissues such as the brain, muscle, and liver, but also in reproductive tissues, tissues that regulate osmotic pressure, and tissues related to food intake. This observation is consistent with other bony fish species and highlights the extensive biological functions of ToIGFs that need to be further explored and exploited. In addition, the expression levels of ToIGFs were found to be different in the different dietary groups, including the pelleted food group, the frozen squid group, and the frozen fish group. In the pelleted diet group, ToIGF1 and ToIGF2 were highly expressed in the liver and intestinal tissues, followed by the frozen fish group. These results suggest that the type of diet can affect the body's energy metabolism by influencing tissue expression of growth-related genes, which in turn affects individual growth.

Performance of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure: A Prospective, Single-Center Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) may have benefits in achieving glycemic control in critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of the Freestyle Libre H (professional version similar to the Libre Pro) in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: Fifty-two adult patients with ARF were selected. The performance of CGM was evaluated using the arterial blood glucose (aBG) and point-of-care (POC) glucose levels as the reference values. Numerical accuracy was evaluated by the mean absolute relative difference, Bland-Altman analysis, %15/15 (the percentage of CGM values within 15 mg/dL or 15% of reference values <100 or >100 mg/dL, respectively), %20/20, and %30/30. Clinical accuracy was assessed using the Clarke error grid analysis. RESULTS: A total of 519 and 1504 pairs of aBG/CGM and POC/CGM glucose values were analyzed. The mean absolute relative difference values were 13.8% and 14.7%, respectively. The mean deviations of the Bland-Altman analysis were 0.82 mmol/L and 0.81 mmol/L. The proportions of CGM values within %15/15, %20/20, and %30/30 of the aBG values were 62.6%, 75.5%, and 92.4%, respectively; those within %15/15, %20/20, and %30/30 of the POC values were 57.1%, 72.9%, and 88.7%, respectively. The Clarke error grid analysis showed that 97.8% and 99.3% of the values were located in zone A + B. Additionally, the accuracy of CGM was not affected by general patient factors. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the accuracy of CGM in patients with ARF is lower than that in most outpatients and it is not affected by general patient factors. Whether CGM is beneficial to glucose management in the intensive care unit needs further evaluation.

Effects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on Mental Health and Sleep in Acute Kidney Injury Patients with Ureteral Calculi in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) resulting from ureteral stones in the emergency department is typically accompanied with anxiety and sleep issues in patients, which can have adverse effects on their mental health and quality of life. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is helpful in improving mental health and sleep. This work aims to analyse the effects of CBT on mental health and sleep of AKI patients caused by ureteral calculi in the emergency department. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with AKI caused by ureteral calculi in the emergency department of our hospital from February 2021 to February 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the control group (routine nursing) and observation group (cognitive behavioural nursing) according to the different nursing methods of data recording. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to balance the confounding factors of the two groups. After matching, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Adult (MUIS) and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After matching at a ratio of 1:1, 130 patients were included in the observation group and the control group, with 65 cases in each group. No significant difference was observed in STAI, ISI, MUIS and SF-36 scores between the two groups before nursing (p > 0.05). After nursing, the STAI, ISI and MUIS scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the SF-36 score of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive behavioural nursing for patients with AKI caused by ureteral calculi in the emergency department may help in retrieving patients' anxiety, reducing the severity of disease uncertainty and insomnia, improving the quality of life of patients and providing theoretical reference for clinical practice.

Innovative technologies for the fabrication of 3D/4D smart hydrogels and its biomedical applications - A comprehensive review.

Repairing and regenerating damaged tissues or organs, and restoring their functioning has been the ultimate aim of medical innovations. 'Reviving healthcare' blends tissue engineering with alternative techniques such as hydrogels, which have emerged as vital tools in modern medicine. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a practical manufacturing revolution that uses building strategies like molding as a viable solution for precise hydrogel manufacturing. Recent advances in this technology have led to the successful manufacturing of hydrogels with enhanced reproducibility, accuracy, precision, and ease of fabrication. Hydrogels continue to metamorphose as the vital compatible bio-ink matrix for AM. AM hydrogels have paved the way for complex 3D/4D hydrogels that can be loaded with drugs or cells. Bio-mimicking 3D cell cultures designed via hydrogel-based AM is a groundbreaking in-vivo assessment tool in biomedical trials. This brief review focuses on preparations and applications of additively manufactured hydrogels in the biomedical spectrum, such as targeted drug delivery, 3D-cell culture, numerous regenerative strategies, biosensing, bioprinting, and cancer therapies. Prevalent AM techniques like extrusion, inkjet, digital light processing, and stereo-lithography have been explored with their setup and methodology to yield functional hydrogels. The perspectives, limitations, and the possible prospects of AM hydrogels have been critically examined in this study.

Neuronal population activity in the olivocerebellum encodes the frequency of essential tremor in mice and patients.

Essential tremor (ET) is the most prevalent movement disorder, characterized primarily by action tremor, an involuntary rhythmic movement with a specific frequency. However, the neuronal mechanism underlying the coding of tremor frequency remains unexplored. Here, we used in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, and simultaneous motion tracking in the Grid2dupE3 mouse model to investigate whether and how neuronal activity in the olivocerebellum determines the frequency of essential tremor. We report that tremor frequency was encoded by the temporal coherence of population neuronal firing within the olivocerebellums of these mice, leading to frequency-dependent cerebellar oscillations and tremors. This mechanism was precise and generalizable, enabling us to use optogenetic stimulation of the deep cerebellar nuclei to induce frequency-specific tremors in wild-type mice or alter tremor frequencies in tremor mice. In patients with ET, we showed that deep brain stimulation of the thalamus suppressed tremor symptoms but did not eliminate cerebellar oscillations measured by electroencephalgraphy, indicating that tremor-related oscillations in the cerebellum do not require the reciprocal interactions with the thalamus. Frequency-disrupting transcranial alternating current stimulation of the cerebellum could suppress tremor amplitudes, confirming the frequency modulatory role of the cerebellum in patients with ET. These findings offer a neurodynamic basis for the frequency-dependent stimulation of the cerebellum to treat essential tremor.

Prognostic and Predictive Significance of Ki67 in Primary Non-metastatic or Recurrent Acral Melanoma: Evidence from a Multicenter Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this work was to investigate the prognostic significance of Ki67 in acral melanoma (AM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ki67 values in primary lesions (pKi67) of 481 patients with primary non-metastatic AM (primary cohort) from three tertiary hospitals and in recurrent lesions (rKi67) of 97 patients (recurrent cohort) were recorded. The associations of p/rKi67 with clinicopathological features and prognosis were analyzed. RESULTS: In the primary cohort, high pKi67 group tended to have more ulceration, pT4, lymph node metastasis (LNM), nodal macrometastases, and recurrence (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that pKi67 was significantly associated with pT4 and LNM (P = 0.004 and 0.027, respectively). Furthermore, both 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates in high pKi67 group were significantly worse than those in moderate and low pKi67 groups (OS 47.8% versus 55.7 versus 76.8%, P = 0.002; RFS: 27.1 versus 42.8 versus 61.8%, P < 0.001). Similarly, in the recurrent cohort, the 5-year survival after recurrence (SAR) rates in high rKi67 group was significantly worse than those in moderate and low rKi67 groups (31.7 versus 47.4 versus 75%; P = 0.026). Stratified analysis also indicated a significant survival difference among pKi67 groups within various subgroups. Most importantly, multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated that pKi67 could be independently associated with OS and RFS, as well as rKi67 for SAR (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A high Ki67 value was significantly associated with adverse pathological and prognostic features in both primary and recurrent AM cohorts. Ki67 should be routinely evaluated to guide risk stratification and prognostic prediction.

Exciton polariton condensation from bound states in the continuum at room temperature.

Exciton-polaritons (polaritons) resulting from the strong exciton-photon interaction stimulates the development of novel low-threshold coherent light sources to circumvent the ever-increasing energy demands of optical communications1-3. Polaritons from bound states in the continuum (BICs) are promising for Bose-Einstein condensation owing to their theoretically infinite quality factors, which provide prolonged lifetimes and benefit the polariton accumulations4-7. However, BIC polariton condensation remains limited to cryogenic temperatures ascribed to the small exciton binding energies of conventional material platforms. Herein, we demonstrated room-temperature BIC polariton condensation in perovskite photonic crystal lattices. BIC polariton condensation was demonstrated at the vicinity of the saddle point of polariton dispersion that generates directional vortex beam emission with long-range coherence. We also explore the peculiar switching effect among the miniaturized BIC polariton modes through effective polariton-polariton scattering. Our work paves the way for the practical implementation of BIC polariton condensates for integrated photonic and topological circuits.

Boosting exciton mobility approaching Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit in Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites by anchoring the organic cation.

Exciton transport in two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite plays a pivotal role for their optoelectronic performance. However, a clear photophysical picture of exciton transport is still lacking due to strong confinement effects and intricate exciton-phonon interactions in an organic-inorganic hybrid lattice. Herein, we present a systematical study on exciton transport in (BA)2(MA)n-1PbnI3n+1 Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites using time-resolved photoluminescence microscopy. We reveal that the free exciton mobilities in exfoliated thin flakes can be improved from around 8 cm2 V-1 s-1 to 280 cm2V-1s-1 by anchoring the soft butyl ammonium cation with a polymethyl methacrylate network at the surface. The mobility of the latter is close to the theoretical limit of Mott-Ioffe-Regel criterion. Combining optical measurements and theoretical studies, it is unveiled that the polymethyl methacrylate network significantly improve the lattice rigidity resulting in the decrease of deformation potential scattering and lattice fluctuation at the surface few layers. Our work elucidates the origin of high exciton mobility in Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites and opens up avenues to regulate exciton transport in two-dimensional materials.

Phase and Composition Engineering of Self-Intercalated 2D Metallic Tantalum Sulfide for Second-Harmonic Generation.

Self-intercalation in two-dimensional (2D) materials is significant, as it offers a versatile approach to modify material properties, enabling the creation of interesting functional materials, which is essential in advancing applications across various fields. Here, we define ic-2D materials as covalently bonded compounds that result from the self-intercalation of a metal into layered 2D compounds. However, precisely growing ic-2D materials with controllable phases and self-intercalation concentrations to fully exploit the applications in the ic-2D family remains a great challenge. Herein, we demonstrated the controlled synthesis of self-intercalated H-phase and T-phase Ta1+xS2 via a temperature-driven chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach with a viable intercalation concentration spanning from 10% to 58%. Atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy-annular dark field imaging demonstrated that the self-intercalated Ta atoms occupy the octahedral vacancies located at the van der Waals gap. The nonperiodic Ta atoms break the centrosymmetry structure and Fermi surface properties of intrinsic TaS2. Therefore, ic-2D T-phase Ta1+xS2 consistently exhibit a spontaneous nonlinear optical (NLO) effect regardless of the sample thickness and self-intercalation concentrations. Our results propose an approach to activate the NLO response of centrosymmetric 2D materials, achieving the modulation of a wide range of optoelectronic properties via nonperiodic self-intercalation in the ic-2D family.

Two birds with one stone: One-pot concurrent Ta-doping and -coating on Ni-rich LiNi0.92Co0.04Mn0.04O2 cathode materials with fiber-type microstructure and Li+-conducting layer formation.

A novel scalable Taylor-Couette reactor (TCR) synthesis method was employed to prepare Ta-modified LiNi0.92Co0.04Mn0.04O2 (T-NCM92) with different Ta contents. Through experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the phase and microstructure of Ta-modified NCM92 were analyzed, showing that Ta provides a bifunctional (doping and coating at one time) effect on LiNi0.92Co0.04Mn0.04O2 cathode material through a one-step synthesis process via a controlling suitable amount of Ta and Li-salt. Ta doping allows the tailoring of the microstructure, orientation, and morphology of the primary NCM92 particles, resulting in a needle-like shape with fine structures that considerably enhance Li+ ion diffusion and electrochemical charge/discharge stability. The Ta-based surface-coating layer effectively prevented microcrack formation and inhibited electrolyte decomposition and surface-side reactions during cycling, thereby significantly improving the electrochemical performance and long-term cycling stability of NCM92 cathodes. Our as-prepared NCM92 modified with 0.2 mol% Ta (i.e., T2-NCM92) exhibits outstanding cyclability, retaining 84.5 % capacity at 4.3 V, 78.3 % at 4.5 V, and 67.6 % at 45 â„ƒ after 200 cycles at 1C. Even under high-rate conditions (10C), T2-NCM92 demonstrated a remarkable capacity retention of 66.9 % after 100 cycles, with an initial discharge capacity of 157.6 mAh g-1. Thus, the Ta modification of Ni-rich NCM92 materials is a promising option for optimizing NCM cathode materials and enabling their use in real-world electric vehicle (EV) applications.

Comparison of Micro-flow Imaging and Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Ultrasound-Guided Microwave Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules.

OBJECTIVE: The study described here was aimed at ascertaining the utility of micro-flow imaging (MFI) during ultrasound (US)-guided microwave ablation (MWA) of thyroid nodules by contrasting its effectiveness with that of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). METHODS: Seventy-three patients with eighty-eight thyroid nodules who underwent US-guided MWA were included in our study from January 2020 to June 2023. Thirty-five patients underwent CEUS during the MWA process, and thirty-eight patients underwent MFI during the MWA process. We compared the two groups' baseline characteristics, tumor volume (V), volume reduction rate (VRR), complications and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Both groups exhibited similar outcomes with respect to V and VRR at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 mo after MWA (p > 0.05). Consistency was observed with respect to post-operative complications, supplementary ablation times and surgical duration (p > 0.05). It is worth noting that the MFI group had lower treatment costs compared with the CEUS group (11,337.64 ± 80.93 yuan for the MFI group versus 12,971.23 ± 254.89 yuan for the CEUS group, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In the MWA procedure for thyroid nodules, MFI is similar to CEUS with respect to safety and efficacy. Simultaneously, it offers the advantage of reducing surgical expenses, which lessens the economic burden for patients.

Doping-Induced Surface and Grain Boundary Effects in Ni-Rich Layered Cathode Materials.

In this work, the effects of dopant size and oxidation state on the structure and electrochemical performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) are investigated. It is shown that doping with boron (B) which has a small ionic radius and an oxidation state of 3+, leads to the formation of a boron oxide-containing surface coating (probably Li3BO3), mainly on the outer surface of the secondary particles. Due to this effect, boron only slightly affects the size of the primary particle and the initial capacity, but significantly improves the capacity retention. On the other hand, the dopant ruthenium (Ru) with a larger ionic radius and a higher oxidation state of 5+ can be stabilized within the secondary particles and does not experience a segregation to the outer agglomerate surface. However, the Ru dopant preferentially occupies incoherent grain boundary sites, resulting in smaller primary particle size and initial capacity than for the B-doped and pristine NCM811. This work demonstrates that a small percentage of dopant (2 mol%) cannot significantly affect bulk properties, but it can strongly influence the surface and/or grain boundary properties of microstructure and thus the overall performance of cathode materials.