Cation vacancy modulated Cu3P-CoP heterostructure electrocatalyst for boosting hydrogen evolution at high current densities and coupling Zn-H2O battery.

Exploiting highly efficient, cost-effective and stable electrocatalysts is key to decreasing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) kinetics energy barrier. Herein, the alkaline HER kinetics energy barrier can greatly reduce by the joint strategies of the cation vacancy and heterostructure engineering, which is seldom explored and remains ambiguous. In this study, an efficient and stable copper foam-supported Cu3P-CoP heterostructure electrocatalyst with cation vacancy defects (defined as Cu3P-CoP-VAl/CF) was designed for HER via the successive coprecipitation, electrodeposition, alkali etching and phosphorization treatments. As anticipated, the as-obtained Cu3P-CoP-VAl/CF electrocatalyst reveals a remarkable catalytic activity for HER with a low overpotential of 205 mV at a current density of 100 mA·cm-2, a high turnover frequency value of 1.05 s-1 at an overpotential of 200 mV and a small apparent activation energy (Ea) of 9 kJ·mol-1, while shows superior long-term stability at large current densities of 100 and 240 mA·cm-2. Systematic experiment and characterization data demonstrate that the formed cation vacancy could optimize the Ea, leading to the decrease of the kinetic barriers of Cu3P-CoP/CF heterostructure, as well as the established heterogeneous interface induced a synergistic effect between biphasic components on boosting the kinetics toward HER. The results of density functional theory disclose that the synergistic effect of Cu3P-CoP heterostructure could decrease the energy barrier and optimize Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption, resulting in the enhancement of intrinsic catalytic activity of Cu3P-CoP-VAl/CF. More significantly, the alkali-cell assembled by Cu3P-CoP-VAl/CF (cathode) and RuO2/CF (anode) behaves outstanding water splitting performance, delivering a current density of 10 mA·cm-2 at a relatively small applied voltage of 1.58 V, along with encouraging long-term durability. In addition, the alkaline Zn-H2O battery with Cu3P-CoP-VAl/CF as the cathode has been fabricated for the simultaneous generation of electricity and hydrogen, which displays a large power density of up to 4.1 mW·cm-2. The work demonstrates that rational strategy for the design of competent electrocatalysts can effectively accelerate the kinetics of HER, which supplies valuable insights for practical applications in overall water splitting.

LIMS2 is Downregulated in Osteosarcoma and Inhibits Cell Growth and Migration.

Methods: GEO, GEPIA, and UALCAN databases were used to assess LIMS2 expression in OS. UALCAN and CCLE databases were applied to assess the methylation levels of LIMS2 in OS tissues and cells, which was verified in OS cells using the methylation specific PCR. The effects of LIMS2 on regulating OS cell growth, migration and invasion were determined by CCK-8, Edu staining, and transwell chambers, respectively. The role of LIMS2 in the activation of MAPK signaling was assessed using western blotting assay in OS cells. Results: LIMS2 expression was declined in OS tissues and cells, while its methylation level was increased. The low expression of LIMS2 was associated with shorter overall survival and disease-free survival. Overexpression of LIMS2 inhibited cell growth, migration, and invasion and decreased the levels of p-ERK/ERK, p-P38/P38, and p-JNK/JNK. Conclusion: LIMS2 expression was decreased in OS, which was associated with hypermethylation level and poor prognosis. LIMS2 overexpression inhibited OS cell growth and migration, which may be caused by the suppression of MAPK signaling.

Au-Based Thin-Film Metallic Glasses for Propagating Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Sensor Applications.

We deposited Au-Cu-Si, an Au-based thin-film metallic glass (TFMG) of ∼50 nm thickness, as the activation layer for propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR)-based sensors on a BK7 glass substrate to substitute the commonly used gold layer. The film composition was tuned to yield the maximum Au content (∼65 at %), while the structure remained amorphous. The results showed that the Au-based TFMG could support surface plasmon resonance and gave rise to the extinction in the angle-resolved reflection spectrum. Using deionized water and ethyl alcohol with the refractive index difference of ∼0.03 as the analytes, the angle shift given by Au-based TFMG was 4° compared to 5° given by the Au film. Hence, Au-based TFMG is feasible to be used as the activation layer in PSPR-based sensors. Compared to the Au film, Au-based TFMG has the advantages of being less expensive, lacking grain boundary scattering, better adhesion to the substrate, and higher resistance to scratch and corrosion because of its amorphous structure with excellent mechanical properties.

Pain management of surgical abortion using transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation: An orthogonal prospective study.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the optimal combination of parameters for the management of pain during surgical abortion using transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TEAS). METHODS: This study recruited patients scheduled for surgical abortion between October 2014 and August 2015. The treatment protocol was created using three levels for each factor (stimulating time, acupoints, age, and parity). The primary outcomes were intraoperative visual analog scale (VAS), postoperative VAS, cervical relaxation degree and intraoperative blood loss. The secondary outcomes were the vital signs. RESULTS: Stimulation time was associated with intraoperative VAS scores (P < 0.001), acupoints were associated with postoperative VAS scores (P = 0.037), and age was associated with postoperative VAS scores (P < 0.043). Parity (P = 0.025) was associated with heart rate. A comprehensive analysis of the parameters revealed the best levels for each (stimulation time: from 15 min before operation to immediate postoperative; acupoints: SP 6 and LR 3; patient age 25.1-30.0 years; and parity: G≥2 P0 A≥1 ). Seven patients did not complete follow-up. The remaining 135 subjects did not show continuous vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, fever or any other adverse effect. CONCLUSION: During surgical abortion, TEAS stimulation from 15 min before operation to immediate postoperative, SP 6 and LR 3, age 25.1-30.0 years and G≥2 P0 A≥1 were associated with the best analgesic effect.

Apparent Diffusion Coefficient of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Evaluation of Cervical Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: An Observational Study with 3.0 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

AIMS: To investigate the correlation between the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and cervical intervertebral disc degeneration in adult symptomatic patients. METHODS: A total of 52 symptomatic and 40 healthy volunteers were included. DWI and routine MRI examinations were performed to their cervical spines. The cervical discs (from C2-C3 to C6-C7) were graded according to the Pfirrmann grading system, and ADC values of the nucleus pulposus (NP) were measured. Differences of the ADC values between different genders and anatomic levels were analyzed; the correlation between the ADC value and the Pfirrmann grade was investigated. The cut-off ADC values of each Pfirrmann grade were calculated. RESULTS: The mean ADC value of the NP decreased with increasing Pfirrmann grade (I-V) upon both patients and asymptotic volunteers. The ADC value decreased descendingly from C2-C3 to C5-C6 (P < 0.05) and then increased at C6-C7 (P < 0.05). Additionally, the comparison of the ADC values between different genders achieved statistical significance at each anatomical level (P < 0.05), except at C6-C7 (P > 0.05). Significant negative correlations between the ADC value and either age or Pfirrmann grade were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary findings suggest that the ADC value obtained by DWI can provide a reliable indicator to evaluate the cervical disc degeneration.

Transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation pain management after surgical abortion: A cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TEAS) is a standard therapy for painful conditions. This study evaluated pain-relieving effects of treatment with TEAS before and after surgical abortion. METHODS: In this cohort study 140 nulliparae requesting pregnancy termination with intravenous anesthesia from August to December 2013 at the outpatient clinic of Wenzhou Medical University First Affiliated Hospital were recruited and divided into three cohorts who received TEAS pre-, post-, and both pre- and post-operation, alongside a control group. The cohorts underwent TEAS treatment for 30 min before and/or after the procedure while the control group received no TEAS treatment. Pain levels were evaluated upon recovery at 10, 30, and 45 min, respectively, after abortion. RESULTS: Mean Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores in pre-operation cohorts, but not the post-operation cohort, were significantly lower than those obtained for the control group at 10 min (p < 0.01). VAS scores at 30 min and 45 min postoperatively were similar in each cohort but lower than control values (p < 0.001). More cohort patients reported mild or no pain than control patients (p < 0.05); the pre-operation cohorts had more women with no pain compared with the post-operation group (p < 0.05). There were no differences among groups in medical treatment required after 45 min. There were fewer complications of nausea and vomiting in the cohorts compared with the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Performing TEAS before and after surgical abortion provides postoperative pain relief. However, receiving TEAS before surgery allowed more women to experience mild or no pain. IMPLICATIONS: Transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation shows potential as an adjunct to conventional pain treatment following surgical abortion in nulliparae.

Correlations between 18F-FDG PET/CT parameters and pathological findings in patients with rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: This study examined the correlations between F-FDG PET/CT results and tumor specimen pathology in patients with rectal cancer. METHODS: Sixty-seven patients with rectal cancer who had received preoperative PET/CT were included in this study. Autosegmentation methods were used to determine the maximum PET/CT-based tumor length (TL), tumor width (TW), and metabolic tumor volume for each patient. The TL and TW values were compared with the maximum pathological length and width of the tumor specimen. To forecast the pathological T and N stages, a receiver operating characteristic curve was created for each parameter to evaluate its predictive ability. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of pathology. RESULTS: The values of 30% of maximum uptake for TL and 40% of maximum uptake for TW provided the best match with the maximum pathological tumor length and width (Pearson r = 0.72, P < 0.001; r = 0.44, P < 0.001, respectively). Metabolic tumor volume with a fixed threshold of 2.5 emerged as an independent factor for predicting the pathological T3 or T4 stage (P = 0.001; odds ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-2.60). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative PET/CT can be used as a supplemental tool in predicting pathological findings for patients with rectal cancer requiring operation.