A combination of fluorine-induced effect and co-sensitization for highly efficient and stable dye-sensitized solar cells.

Developing dyes with high open-circuit photovoltage (Voc) is a vital strategy to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of co-sensitized solar cells (co-DSSCs). Herein, three organic fluorine-containing dyes [YY-ThP(3F), YY-ThP(2F), and YY-ThP(26F)] are designed and synthesized for investigating the fluorine-induced effect on photophysical and photovoltaic performances. Consequently, this effect can significantly broaden the UV-vis absorption spectra of dyes but fail to improve the light-harvesting capability of DSSCs. Strikingly, YY-ThP(3F), featuring 3-position fluorine substitution to cyanoacrylic acid, yields a relatively high Voc compared to the corresponding fluorine-free dye (YY-ThP). Furthermore, the co-sensitization of YY-ThP+YY-ThP(3F) achieves a remarkably high PCE and long-term stability. This work implies that the combination of judicious molecular engineering and co-sensitization is a promising strategy for highly efficient and stable DSSCs.

An Extracellular Matrix-like Surface for Zn Alloy to Enhance Bone Regeneration.

Zn-based alloys are promising biodegradable implants for bone defect repair due to their good mechanical performance and degradability. However, local Zn2+ released from Zn-based implants can seriously affect adhering cell behaviors as well as new bone formation on implant surfaces. To address this issue, we have fabricated a bone-mimetic extracellular matrix (ECM)-like surface on Zn-1Ca implants using a hybrid process of anodization, hydrothermal treatment (HT), and fluorous-curing. The ECM-like surface consisted of Zn2SiO4 nanorods layered with collagen I (Col-I). The Zn2SiO4 nanorods were hemicrystallized and transformed by the reaction of Zn(OH)2 and SiO44- during the HT. The Zn2SiO4 nanorods effectively protected the substrate from corrosion; the Col-I layer decreased the degradation of Zn2SiO4 nanorods and further reduced Zn2+ release into the medium. This ECM-like surface generated a microenvironment with appropriate Zn2+ levels, nanorod-like topography, and Col-I. It significantly improved adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of osteoblasts on implant surfaces and vascularization of endothelial cells in the extract medium. The in vivo results are in good agreement with in vitro tests, with the ECM-like surface significantly enhancing new bone formation and bone-implant contact compared to the bare implant surface. Overall, this bone-mimetic ECM-like material of Col-I layered Zn2SiO4 nanorods is a promising scaffold that promotes the bone regeneration of Zn-based implants.

An optimal molecule-matching co-sensitization system for the improvement of photovoltaic performances of DSSCs.

Three biphenyl co-sensitizers (4OBA, 8OBA and 12OBA) with different terminal oxyalkyl chains were synthesized and co-sensitized respectively with the main dye (NP-1) in co-sensitized solar cells (co-DSSCs). The effects of the terminal oxyalkyl chains on the photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties of the co-DSSCs were systematically investigated. The optimal molecular matching relationship between the co-sensitizers and the main dye was obtained through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Consequently, 4OBA has the most appropriate three-dimensional (3D) molecular structure, which could not only fill the gap between the large-size dyes but also plays a partial shielding role, inhibiting dye aggregation and electron recombination, therefore yielding the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) for the co-DSSCs with NP-1@4OBA. This study suggests that adjusting the terminal oxyalkyl chains of the co-sensitizers can be used to enhance the intramolecular charge transfer efficiency and inhibit electron recombination, ultimately improving the photovoltaic performances of the co-DSSCs.

Building biointegration of Fe2O3-FeOOH coated titanium implant by regulating NIR irradiation in an infected model.

Killing bacteria, eliminating biofilm and building soft tissue integration are very important for percutaneous implants which service in a complicated environment. In order to endow Ti implants with above abilities, multifunctional coatings consisted of Fe2O3-FeOOH nanograins as an outer layer and Zn doped microporous TiO2 as an inner layer were fabricated by micro-arc oxidation, hydrothermal treatment and annealing treatment. The microstructures, physicochemical properties and photothermal response of the coatings were observed; their antibacterial efficiencies and cell response in vitro as well as biofilm elimination and soft tissue integration in vivo were evaluated. The results show that with the increased annealing temperature, coating morphologies didn't change obviously, but lattices of ß-FeOOH gradually disorganized into amorphous state and rearranged to form Fe2O3. The coating annealed at 450 °C (MA450) had nanocrystallized Fe2O3 and ß-FeOOH. With a proper NIR irradiation strategy, MA450 killed adhered bacteria efficiently and increased fibroblast behaviors via up-regulating fibrogenic-related genes in vitro; in an infected model, MA450 eliminated biofilm, reduced inflammatory response and improved biointegration with soft tissue. The good performance of MA450 was due to a synergic effect of photothermal response and released ions (Zn2+ and Fe3+).

Post-buckling analysis of functionally graded multilayer graphene platelet reinforced composite cylindrical shells under axial compression.

Axially compressed composite cylindrical shells can attain multiple bifurcation points in their post-buckling procedure because of the natural transverse deformation restraint provided by their geometry. In this paper, the post-buckling analysis of functionally graded (FG) multilayer graphene platelets reinforced composite (GPLRC) cylindrical shells under axial compression is carried out to investigate the stability of such shells. Rather than the critical buckling limit, the focus of the present study is to obtain convergence post-buckling response curves of axially compressed FG multilayer GPLRC cylindrical shells. By introducing a unified shell theory, the nonlinear large deflection governing equations for post-buckling of FG multilayer GPLRC cylindrical shells with wide range of thickness are established, which can be easily changed into three widely used shell theories. Load-shortening curves for both symmetric and asymmetric post-buckling modes are obtained by Galerkin's method. Numerical results illustrate that the present solutions agree well with the existing theoretical and experimental data. The effects of geometries and material properties on the post-buckling behaviours of FG multilayer GPLRC cylindrical shells are investigated. The differences in the three shell theories and their scopes are discussed also.

Serum Deoxyribonuclease 1-like 3 is a potential biomarker for diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis.

BACKGROUND: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an autoimmune disease with high disability rate, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish from generalized osteoarthritis (GOA). Deoxyribonuclease 1-like 3 (DNASE1L3) was associated with a variety of autoimmune diseases. However, the serum DNASE1L3 level in AS and GOA remain unreported. Herein, this study was designed to gauge serum DNASE1L3 level in patients with AS and GOA, and to discern the utility of serum DNASE1L3 as a biomarker for assessing the severity of patients with AS. METHODS: The study population consisted of 60 patients with AS, 60 patients with GOA and 60 control subjects. Serum DNASE1L3 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay. Disease activity were assessed with Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) in AS patients. RESULTS: Our data showed that serum DNASE1L3 levels were significantly higher in patients with AS than that of the healthy controls and patients with GOA. Serum DNASE1L3 levels in patients with AS were positively correlated with BASDAI scores, C3 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Furthermore, serum DNASE1L3 showed higher discriminatory accuracy in the diagnosis of AS from GOA (AUC = 0.851, sensitivity = 78.33% and specificity = 81.67%). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated Serum DNASE1L3 levels in patients with AS were significantly associated with the clinic features and disease activity. DNASE1L3 could be a serum biomarker with a positive diagnostic value in patients with AS, and which could be used as a differential diagnostic indicator for GOA and AS.

Elevated serum visfatin levels are associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Visfatin is considered a pro-inflammatory adipocytokine, and it is commonly increased in obesity-related diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of serum visfatin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its diagnostic and predictive value in detecting HCC. Fasting serum levels of visfatin of 135 HCC patients, 115 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, 129 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, and 149 healthy controls were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Meanwhile, serum alpha fetal protein (AFP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were also assayed. The median serum visfatin concentration in HCC patients was 1.113 ng/mL (range: 0.823-2.214 ng/mL), which was significant higher than those of healthy controls, CHB patients, and LC patients (P<0.05). The serum visfatin concentration in HCC patients was positively correlated with AFP (r=0.595, P<0.001) and IL-6 (r=0.261, P<0.015) and was also associated with tumor size and tumor node metastasis stage. Moreover, elevated levels of serum visfatin were associated with a higher HCC risk for CHB and LC patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis had shown that HCC patients with high levels of serum visfatin had significantly shorter overall survival times than those with low serum visfatin levels (P<0.001). Using a cutoff visfatin level of 1.403 ng/mL, the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed unappealing sensitivity and specificity values (45.76% and 74.79%, respectively; AUC=0.626) regarding visfatin's use as a diagnostic marker for HCC. Our results indicate that increased serum visfatin levels are associated with poor prognosis of HCC. Visfatin may be a potential therapeutic target of HCC.

Genetic variant in visfatin gene promoter contributes to reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in a Chinese population.

Knowledge on the role of gene variants in the visfatin promoter region in the hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver diseases is limited. In this study, we genotyped two potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the visfatin promoter region, -1535C>T (rs61330082) and -3187G>A (rs11977021), in 120 HBV-related chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, 140 HBV-related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) patients, 243 HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) patients, and 224 asymptomatic HBV carriers. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression. The results showed subjects with a TT genotype of -1535C>T had a significantly decreased risk of HBV-HCC related to the CC and CC + CT genotypes (adjusted OR = 0.493, 95% CI = 0.313-0.778; OR = 0.535, 95% CI = 0.362-0.791, respectively). A lowered risk also appeared in the comparison between allele T and allele C (OR = 0.734, 95%, CI = 0.581-0.950). However, these associations existed only in people with Zhuang ethnicity, but not in people with Han ethnicity. There were no significant associations between -3187G>A polymorphisms and the risk of HBV-related liver diseases. Our results suggested that visfatin -1535C>T polymorphisms might be associated with decreased risk of HBV-HCC among the ethnic Zhuang population in Guangxi, China.

CA153 in Breast Secretions as a Potential Molecular Marker for Diagnosing Breast Cancer: A Meta Analysis.

PURPOSE: Many studies have reported that carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153) in breast secretions (BS) can discriminate breast cancer (BC) patients from healthy individuals, indicating CA153 in BS as a potential index for BC. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the actual diagnostic value of CA153 in BS. METHODS: Related papers were obtained from Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, Ovid, Sciverse, the Cochrane library, Chinese Biomedical literature Database (CBM), Technology of Chongqing (VIP), Wan Fang Data, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of CA153 in BS for BC diagnosis were analyzed with the random effect model. SROC and the area under the curve (AUC) were applied to assess overall diagnostic efficiency. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included five studies with a total of 329 BC patients and 381 healthy subjects. For CA153 in BS, the summary sensitivity, specificity, and DOR to diagnose BC were 0.63 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57∼0.68), 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78∼0.86), and 9.18 (95% CI: 4.22∼19.95), respectively. Furthermore, the AUC of BS CA153 in the diagnosis of BC was 0.8614. CONCLUSIONS: CA153 in BS is a valuable molecular marker in diagnosing BC and should be applied in standard clinical practices of BC screening upon confirmation of our findings in a larger prospective study.

Association of Interferon Gamma +874T/A Polymorphism and Leukemia Risk: A Meta-Analysis.

Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) has antitumor and antiproliferative effects, and previous studies indicated IFN-γ +874T/A (rs2430561) polymorphism were related to the risk of many types of cancer. However, the association between IFN-γ +874T/A polymorphism and leukemia risk remained controversial.We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement (PRISMA). Electronic database of Embase, Pubmed, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible articles published up to December 13, 2015. The association between genetic polymorphisms and leukemia risk was measured by odds ratios (ORs) and its corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).A total of 8 studies amounting to 420 patients and 767 control subjects were retrieved for this study. Although associations between IFN-γ +874T/A polymorphism and overall leukemia risks were lacking, decreased chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) risk was detected in the allelic model (T vs A, OR=0.660, 95%CI = 0.483-0.902, P = 0.009, I = 0.0% and P = 0.863 for heterogeneity), the codominant model (TT vs AA, OR = 0.472, 95%CI = 0.247-0.902, P = 0.023, I = 0.0% and P = 0.994 for heterogeneity), and dominant model (TT + TA vs AA, OR = 0.457, 95%CI = 0.285-0.734, P = 0.001, I = 40.3% and P = 0.195 for heterogeneity) by using fixed-effect model separately. On the contrary, results indicated T carries have an increased chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) risk in dominant model (TT + TA vs AA, OR = 1.783, 95%CI = 1.236-2.573, P = 0.002, I = 19.0% and P = 0.295 for heterogeneity).This study suggests IFN-γ +874T/A polymorphism are related to CML and CLL risk. In addition, our work also points out IFN-γ +874T/A polymorphism may play dual contrasting role in leukemia risk.

CEA in breast ductal secretions as a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Other studies have shown that levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in breast ductal secretions (BDS) differ significantly between breast cancer (BC) patients and healthy individuals, providing direct evidence for CEA in BDS as a promising biomarker for BC. This meta-analysis was designed to assess the potential diagnostic value of CEA in BDS. METHODS: Relevant articles were retrieved from Embase, Pubmed, and the Cochrane Library. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of CEA in BDS for diagnosing BC were pooled using random effects models. SROC and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to estimate overall diagnostic performance. RESULTS: This meta-analysis comprised five studies with a total of 340 BC patients and 448 healthy controls. For CEA in BDS, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, and DOR to diagnose BC were 58 % [95 % confidence interval (CI): 52-63 %], 87 % (95 % CI: 84-90 %), and 7.07 (95 % CI: 3.10-16.12), respectively. Moreover, the AUC of CEA in the diagnosis of BC was 0.8570. CONCLUSIONS: CEA in BDS is a promising biomarker in the diagnosis of BC and should be evaluated as a standard screening tool upon verification of our results in a larger study population.

High-visfatin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: evidence from a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies regarding visfatin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) showed conflicting results. To evaluate the visfatin levels in PCOS, a meta-analysis was performed. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search of eligible studies in Embase, Pubmed and the Cochrane Library was undertaken through November 2014. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the strength of the association. RESULTS: A total of 1341 subjects (695 cases and 646 controls) were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled analysis results indicated that the visfatin levels were significantly higher in PCOS patients than that of controls (SMD = 1.19, 95% CI 0.77-1.60, p = 0.000). The results from stratified analysis and univariate analysis suggested that high-visfatin levels were not related to body mass index (BMI), insulin resistance (IR) and total testosterone ratio. Significant heterogeneity was observed in all analysis. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that high-circulating visfatin level is an intrinsic characteristic of PCOS, which suggests visfatin could be a potential biomarker for PCOS.

AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism contributes to increased cancer risk: evidence based on a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Variants in the axis inhibition 2 (AXIN2) gene might alter the protein's structure or function or create a multiprotein destruction complex in the Wnt signaling pathway and thus affect an individual's susceptibility to cancer. The objective of this study is to evaluate broadly the evidence available for the AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism and risk of cancer. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was undertaken for eligible studies in Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library up to Nov 30, 2014. Odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to measure the strength of the models. RESULTS: Eight articles (10 case-control studies with 1,502 cases and 1,590 controls) were included in this analysis. Overall, the AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism was associated with a significant increase in the risk of cancer (G allele vs. A allele: OR = 1.21, 95 % CI = 1.05-1.40, I (2) = 39.5 % and P Q = 0.094 for heterogeneity; GG vs. AA: OR = 1.30, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.63, I (2) = 35.9 % and P Q = 0.121 for heterogeneity; GG vs. GA + AA: OR = 1.36, 95 % CI = 1.17-1.58, I (2) = 19.5 % and P Q = 0.263 for heterogeneity). Asian populations showed similar results. Stratified analysis by cancer types indicated that the AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism increases the risk of lung cancer (G allele vs. A allele: OR = 1.36, 95 % CI = 1.17-1.59; GA vs. AA: OR = 1.43, 95 % CI = 1.01-2.02; GG vs. AA: OR = 1.93, 95 % CI = 1.36-2.75; GG + GA vs. AA: OR = 1.65, 95 % CI = 1.18-2.30; GG vs. GA + AA: OR = 1.45, 95 % CI = 1.18-1.79. All I (2) < 50 % and P Q > 0.100 for heterogeneity). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism contribute to increasing the risk of cancer, especially lung cancer in Asian populations.