Experience from transport teams on interhospital transfer of patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can be a life-saving treatment for patients requiring advanced cardiopulmonary support. Several ECMO centres offer interhospital transport (ECMO IHT) services that involve establishing ECMO teams to initiate ECMO at referring hospitals and then transfer patients to ECMO centres. ECMO IHT is often high risk and complex. Understanding the experience of transport team members is crucial to ensure patient safety and promote quality improvement. AIM: To explore the experiences of transport teams performing ECMO IHT. STUDY DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative methodology was adopted. RESULTS: Thirteen health care professionals who have performed ECMO IHT at a general hospital in China agreed to be interviewed and enrolled in this study. Two investigators conducted face-to-face individual interviews in September-November 2022. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Three main themes and nine sub-themes were developed: (1) practicing with good organizational management (conducting training programs, cultivating the spirit of good teamwork and developing a standardized transport procedure), (2) dedicated to ensuring patient safety (adequate preparation and regular checking to reduce risk, accurate evaluation to avoid futility and maintaining communication to increase safety) and (3) having confidence despite being uneasy (feeling stressed is common, facing insecurity in transport settings and gaining confidence through practice). CONCLUSIONS: Health care professionals must adequately prepare and assess ECMO IHT to ensure patient safety. Supportive measures should be taken to ensure team members' health and improve patient safety. Good communication and teamwork could improve this challenging task. Further research is required for training programs and establishing standardized transport procedures. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study presents multi-professional perspectives on the experience of performing ECMO IHT to help management identify what needs to be further developed. With the increasing number of ECMO IHT, promoting its standardization is warranted.

Post-stroke cognitive impairment: exploring molecular mechanisms and omics biomarkers for early identification and intervention.

Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a major stroke consequence that has a severe impact on patients' quality of life and survival rate. For this reason, it is especially crucial to identify and intervene early in high-risk groups during the acute phase of stroke. Currently, there are no reliable and efficient techniques for the early diagnosis, appropriate evaluation, or prognostication of PSCI. Instead, plenty of biomarkers in stroke patients have progressively been linked to cognitive impairment in recent years. High-throughput omics techniques that generate large amounts of data and process it to a high quality have been used to screen and identify biomarkers of PSCI in order to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the disease. These techniques include metabolomics, which explores dynamic changes in the organism, gut microbiomics, which studies host-microbe interactions, genomics, which elucidates deeper disease mechanisms, transcriptomics and proteomics, which describe gene expression and regulation. We looked through electronic databases like PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and common databases for each omics to find biomarkers that might be connected to the pathophysiology of PSCI. As all, we found 34 studies: 14 in the field of metabolomics, 5 in the field of gut microbiomics, 5 in the field of genomics, 4 in the field of transcriptomics, and 7 in the field of proteomics. We discovered that neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and atherosclerosis may be the primary causes of PSCI development, and that metabolomics may play a role in the molecular mechanisms of PSCI. In this study, we summarized the existing issues across omics technologies and discuss the latest discoveries of PSCI biomarkers in the context of omics, with the goal of investigating the molecular causes of post-stroke cognitive impairment. We also discuss the potential therapeutic utility of omics platforms for PSCI mechanisms, diagnosis, and intervention in order to promote the area's advancement towards precision PSCI treatment.

Evaluating the reliability of the lateral femoral condyle measuring methods by different modalities for patients with lateral patellar dislocation.

BACKGROUND: A variety of measurement methods and imaging modalities are in use to quantify the morphology of lateral femoral condyle (LFC), but the most reliable method remains elusive in patients with lateral patellar dislocation (LPD). The purpose of this study was to determine the intra- and inter-observer reliability of different measurement methods for evaluating the morphology of LFC on different imaging modalities in patients with LPD. METHODS: Seventy-three patients with LPD were included. Four parameters for quantifying the morphology of LFC were retrospectively measured by three observers on MRI, sagittal CT image, conventional radiograph (CR), and three-dimensional CT (3D-CT). The intra-class correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the intra- and inter-observer reliability. Bland-Altman analysis was conducted to identify the bias between observers. RESULTS: The lateral femoral condyle index (LFCI) showed better intra- and inter-observer reliability on MRI and 3D-CT than on CR and sagittal CT images. The mean difference in the LFCI between observers was lowest on 3D-CT (0.047), higher on MRI (0.053), and highest on sagittal CT images (0.062). The LFCI was associated with the lateral femoral condyle ratio (ρ = 0.422, P = 0.022), lateral condyle index (r = 0.413, P = 0.037), and lateral femoral condyle distance (r = 0.459, P = 0.014). The LFCI could be reliably measured by MRI and 3D-CT. CONCLUSION: The LFCI could be reliably measured by MRI and 3D-CT. The LFCI was associated with both the height and length of LFC and could serve as a comprehensive parameter for quantifying the morphology of LFC in patients with LPD.

Tetra-Ln3+-Implanted Tellurotungstates Covalently Modified by dl-Malic Acid: Proton Conduction and Photochromic Properties.

Three unique dl-malic acid covalently modified tetra-Ln3+-implanted tellurotungstates [H2(CH3)2]9NaH9[Ln4(H2O)14W6O13(OH)5(Mal)2(B-α-TeW9O33)4]·48H2O [Ln = La3+ (1), Ce3+ (2), Pr3+ (3); H3Mal = dl-malic acid] were fabricated by reacting Na2TeO3, Na2WO4·2H2O, Mal, and LnCl3·6H2O with dimethylamine hydrochloride in an aqueous solution. The most prominent architectural feature of these compounds is the covalent connection mode of an organic ligand and a polyoxometallate backbone, which is relatively rare in the realm of polyoxotungstates. The tetrameric polyanion can be deemed as four [TeW9O33]8- fragments fused together via an intriguing hexanuclearity [W6O13(OH)5(Mal)2Ln4(H2O)14]13+ cluster. Impedance measurements manifest that all three complexes display splendid proton conduction properties, with an exceptional conductivity for 2 up to 2.48 × 10-2 S·cm-1 under 85 °C and 95% relative humidity. Moreover, compounds 1 and 3 exhibited fast reversible photochromic properties with allochroic half-life periods t1/2 of 1.046 and 0.544 min, respectively.

HYENA detects oncogenes activated by distal enhancers in cancer.

Somatic structural variations (SVs) in cancer can shuffle DNA content in the genome, relocate regulatory elements, and alter genome organization. Enhancer hijacking occurs when SVs relocate distal enhancers to activate proto-oncogenes. However, most enhancer hijacking studies have only focused on protein-coding genes. Here, we develop a computational algorithm "HYENA" to identify candidate oncogenes (both protein-coding and non-coding) activated by enhancer hijacking based on tumor whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing data. HYENA detects genes whose elevated expression is associated with somatic SVs by using a rank-based regression model. We systematically analyze 1,146 tumors across 25 types of adult tumors and identify a total of 108 candidate oncogenes including many non-coding genes. A long non-coding RNA TOB1-AS1 is activated by various types of SVs in 10% of pancreatic cancers through altered 3-dimensional genome structure. We find that high expression of TOB1-AS1 can promote cell invasion and metastasis. Our study highlights the contribution of genetic alterations in non-coding regions to tumorigenesis and tumor progression.

Health-related quality of life assessment instruments for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation survivors: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been successfully and widely used in adult patients for the past 5 years. About 50% of these patients can survive and are discharged from hospitals. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is crucial for evaluating survived ECMO patients. This scoping review aims to identify instruments commonly used to measure HRQOL of ECMO survivors and give pertinent instrument characteristics. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE (OVID), MEDLINE (OVID), CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane Library, and three Chinese databases from January 2012 to December 2021. Two reviewers independently reviewed publication selection and data extraction. RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies (93%) were cross-sectional, and the median (or average) follow-up time ranged from 3 months to 9 years. Two prospective studies (7%) followed patients longitudinally until 1 year after discharge. ECMO survivors had poorer long-term HRQOL than the general population. However, it is comparable to or better than patients with other critical or chronic illnesses. Identified HRQOL assessment instruments show four generic HRQOL instruments, one disease-specific HRQOL instrument, and nineteen single-dimensional instruments. Seven instruments were used in more than three articles. SF-36 (86.2%), IES/IES-R (41.4%), and HADS (37.9%) were the most frequently used instruments. CONCLUSION: The timing, frequency, and tools for HRQOL assessment of ECMO survivors are variable. No ECMO-specific HRQOL instrument was developed and validated. Further studies on assessment instruments are warranted. Research is also needed to identify interventions that may enhance HRQOL in ECMO survivors.

Two Tetra-Nuclear Ln-Substituted Prazine Dicarboxylic Acid-Functionalized Selenotungstates with Catalytic Oxidation of Thioether Properties.

Two two-dimensional Ln-substituted prazine dicarboxylic acid-functionalized selenotungstates Na3H9[(H2N(CH3)2]2{(Se4W27O100)[Ln4(H2O)8(Hpzdc)2(pzdc)]}·26H2O [Ln = Nd (1) and Ce (2)]; H2pzdc = 2,3-pyrazine dicarboxylic acid) have been synthesized by one-pot self-assembly strategy, in which the basic polyanion [Se4W27O100]22-was composed of two [SeW8O31]10- fragments, a [SeW9O33]8- segment and an intriguing {SeO} group, simultaneously tetra-nuclear Ln3+ ions with H2pzdc pendants were embedded. Compounds 1 and 2 showed excellent catalytic oxidation of thioether properties within a short time (20 min) with high 100% conversion and 98.9% selectivity. In addition, the pioneering Ln-substituted selenotungstates were used as catalysts to degrade sulfur mustard simulant 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide at room temperature with 99% conversion and 100% selectivity. The chemical kinetic experiment studies revealed that the catalytic reaction was in compliance with the first-order reaction, and the kinetic half-life (t1/2) values were 3.814 and 3.849 min, respectively.

Individualized folic acid supplementation based on MTHFR and MTRR gene polymorphisms reduces the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in a Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: Folic acid (FA) may contribute to the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but available studies are inconsistent. We studied the genotype distribution and allele frequencies of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T, A1298C, and methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) A66G polymorphisms in pregnant Chinese women and compared the effects of individualized and traditional FA supplementation on GDM. METHODS: In this retrospective study, genotype distribution and allele frequencies in 968 pregnant women were tested. FA metabolism was tested by dividing patients into four groups, each of which was supplemented with different doses of FA at different times. Pregnancy complications were followed up and compared to 1940 pregnant women traditionally supplemented with FA in the same hospital as a control group. RESULTS: The allele frequencies were 63.3% (C) and 36.7% (T) for MTHFR C677T, 79.3% (A) and 20.7% (C) for MTHFR A1298C and 75.0% (A) and 25.0% (G) for MTRR A66G. The incidence of GDM after FA supplementation was significantly lower in the case group compared to the control group, especially in high-risk pregnancies. CONCLUSION: Using genetic polymorphisms to elucidate FA metabolism in pregnant women and providing appropriate FA supplementation can be effective in reducing GDM, especially in high-risk groups.

SFyNCS detects oncogenic fusions involving non-coding sequences in cancer.

Fusion genes are well-known cancer drivers. However, most known oncogenic fusions are protein-coding, and very few involve non-coding sequences due to lack of suitable detection tools. We develop SFyNCS to detect fusions of both protein-coding genes and non-coding sequences from transcriptomic sequencing data. The main advantage of this study is that we use somatic structural variations detected from genomic data to validate fusions detected from transcriptomic data. This allows us to comprehensively evaluate various fusion detection and filtering strategies and parameters. We show that SFyNCS has superior sensitivity and specificity over existing algorithms through extensive benchmarking in cancer cell lines and patient samples. We then apply SFyNCS to 9565 tumor samples across 33 tumor types in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort and detect a total of 165,139 fusions. Among them, 72% of the fusions involve non-coding sequences. We find a long non-coding RNA to recurrently fuse with various oncogenes in 3% of prostate cancers. In addition, we discover fusions involving two non-coding RNAs in 32% of dedifferentiated liposarcomas and experimentally validated the oncogenic functions in mouse model.

SFyNCS detects oncogenic fusions involving non-coding sequences in cancer.

Fusion genes are well-known cancer drivers. However, very few known oncogenic fusions involve non-coding sequences. We develop SFyNCS with superior performance to detect fusions of both protein-coding genes and non-coding sequences from transcriptomic sequencing data. We validate fusions using somatic structural variations detected from the genomes. This allows us to comprehensively evaluate various fusion detection and filtering strategies and parameters. We detect 165,139 fusions in 9,565 tumor samples across 33 tumor types in the Cancer Genome Atlas cohort. Among them, 72% of the fusions involve non-coding sequences and many are recurrent. We discover two long non-coding RNAs recurrently fused with various partner genes in 32% of dedifferentiated liposarcomas and experimentally validated the oncogenic functions in mouse model.

Atherosclerotic patients with diabetes mellitus may break through the threshold of healthy TMAO levels formed by long-term statins therapy.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading course of disease-related death in both developed and developing countries. Atherosclerosis is main pathology of CVD, and its severity is thought to be related to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) level in plasma. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply understand the synergistic patterns between TMAO and other contribution variables to atherosclerosis, allowing for effective and timely monitoring or intervention. Methods: A total of 359 participants were recruited in our study, including 190 atherosclerosis patients, 82 MI or stroke patients, 68 non-atherosclerosis controls and 19 healthy controls. Information on their risk associated with atherosclerosis and plasma TMAO concentration were collected. LASSO regression, multivariate analysis and univariate analysis were then performed to confirm the correlation between TMAO level and risk factors of atherosclerosis. Results: Compared to patients and non-atherosclerosis controls, healthy participants had a normal BMI range (lower than 24), lower triglyceride concentration, and healthy lifestyle habits (no smoking and low salt diet). However, under backgrounds of statins treatment and balanced dietary preferences, TMAO levels were not significantly different among patients, non-atherosclerosis controls and healthy controls. Using LASSO regression model, four indicators was identified to have contribution to TMAO levels, including diabetes, atherosclerosis, low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol. Subsequent univariate analysis further confirmed that the presence or absence of diabetes had a decisive effect on patients' plasma TMAO levels, even though they had been taking statin lipid-lowering drugs for a long time. Conclusion: Diabetics have abnormally high plasma TMAO levels even under continuous statins treatment, which may contribute to the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on monitoring TMAO levels in diabetic patients to reduce adverse cardiovascular events in diabetic patients.

Identification and preparation of selenium-containing peptides from selenium-enriched Pleurotus eryngii and their protective effect on lead-induced oxidative damage in NCTC1469 hepatocytes.

BACKGROUND: Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic and persistent substance that easily accumulates in living organisms, eliciting cellular toxicity and oxidative stress. Some selenium-containing proteins and peptides prepared from plant extracts are beneficial for protecting the body's health and resisting external disturbances. In the present study, selenium-containing peptide species were prepared from selenium-enriched Pleurotus eryngii protein hydrolysates and to evaluate the benefits of selenium-containing peptides on Pb-induced oxidative stress in NCTC1469 hepatocytes. RESULTS: Trypsin was selected as primary enzyme to hydrolyze the selenium-enriched protein (SPH). The optimal hydrolysis conditions were: hydrolysis time, 1.5 h; initial pH 8.0. The SPH was digested by trypsin and then purified by ultrafiltration, gel filtration chromatography and reversed-phase HPLC to obtain the selenium-containing peptides SPH-I-2. Furthermore, SPH-I-2 was analyzed and a number of total 12 selenium-containing peptides were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy. The NCTC1469 cell culture study showed that selenium-containing peptides were capable of reducing reactive oxygen species levels and regulating the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway by upregulating Nrf2, HO-1, GCLC, GCLM and NQO1 genes and downregulating Keap1 genes. Moreover, selenium-containing peptides were also able to suppress Pb-induced elevated levels of nitric oxide (NO), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA), increase antioxidant enzyme activity and alleviate cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that the selenium-containing peptides could protect cells from Pb2+ -induced oxidative stress. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Geriatric drug trials on solid tumor are scarce worldwide.

Background: Conducting geriatric trials is the most feasible way to address the vast underrepresentation of older adults in clinical trials of cancer therapies. This study is a globally comprehensive examination of geriatric trials for solid tumor worldwide over the last decade. Methods: Up-to-date information on cancer drug trials in older adults aged over 59 years from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2021 was collected from Trialtrove and Pharmaprojects. The number of identified trials was the dependent variable and corresponding analysis was conducted from the perspective of time trend, status quo and comparisons by region and country, sponsor type and cancer type, study status and phase. Results: A total of 292 geriatric cancer drug trials were identified, of which 287 were single-region studies, 219 were initiated by academic groups, and 55 (18.8%) were terminated. Decreasing trends in the annual number of all trials (-9.2% per year) and the annual number of trials by academic groups (-9.4%) were observed over time. Of the geriatric trials, 183 were conducted in Asia; this number was significantly higher than that in Europe (74), North America (37), Oceania (4), and South America (1). Similar difference was found in participation rate in trials by academic groups ranging from 71.7% in Asia to 0.5% in South America. Of the trials, 19 and 97 were initiated before drug and indication approval, respectively, and the remaining 176 were initiated after indication approval. Phase II trials accounted for the highest proportion of trials (213, 72.9%), while phase I trials accounted for the lowest proportion (14, 4.8%). Trials by academic groups had a higher termination rate (21.5% vs. 11.0%) and fewer were phase IV trials (8.2% vs. 21.9%). Treatment was explored for 16 different cancers, with lung, colorectal and breast cancers being the most common. Conclusion: Geriatric trials of solid tumor drugs are scarce and partially prematurely terminated. Moreover, the number of geriatric trials has decreased and differs according to region. Global guidance and regulatory supervision are needed to facilitate the acquisition of adequate evidence on drug risk-benefit profiles in older adults, and thus to achieve high-quality care and safe medication.

Oxygen-Vacancy Abundant Nanoporous Ni/NiMnO3/MnO2@NiMn Electrodes with Ultrahigh Capacitance and Energy Density for Supercapacitors.

High-performance energy storage devices (HPEDs) play a critical role in the realization of clean energy and thus enable the overarching pursuit of nonpolluting, green technologies. Supercapacitors are one class of such lucrative HPEDs; however, a serious limiting factor of supercapacitor technology is its sub-par energy density. This report presents hitherto unchartered pathway of physical deformation, chemical dealloying, and microstructure engineering to produce ultrahigh-capacitance, energy-dense NiMn alloy electrodes. The activated electrode delivered an ultrahigh specific-capacitance of 2700 F/cm3 at 0.5 A/cm3. The symmetric device showcased an excellent energy density of 96.94 Wh/L and a remarkable cycle life of 95% retention after 10,000 cycles. Transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography studies revealed the evolution of a unique hierarchical microstructure comprising fine Ni/NiMnO3 nanoligaments within MnO2-rich nanoflakes. Theoretical analysis using density functional theory showed semimetallic nature of the nanoscaled oxygen-vacancy-rich NiMnO3 structure, highlighting enhanced carrier concentration and electronic conductivity of the active region. Furthermore, the geometrical model of NiMnO3 crystals revealed relatively large voids, likely providing channels for the ion intercalation/de-intercalation. The current processing approach is highly adaptable and can be applied to a wide range of material systems for designing highly efficient electrodes for energy-storage devices.

Targeting rare tumors: new focus for clinical research in China.

Rare tumor has a huge unmet medical need without standard regimens, calling for novel therapeutic interventions. The National Cancer Center of China identified a threshold of incidence for rare tumor as 2.5/100,000, based on the characteristics of Chinese population. Molecular profiles for rare tumor patients in China further provided prospects for precise and individualized targeted treatment. An ongoing phase II clinical trial, the PLATFORM study, is the first trial tailored for rare solid tumors in China, featured by molecule-guided therapeutics. With the promulgation of supportive policies to encourage the development of innovative drugs for rare tumors in China, opportunities will be provided for these patients and the gap will be filled in the treatment of rare tumors.

The reliability and integrity of overall survival data based on follow-up records only and potential solutions to the challenges.

Overall survival (OS) is considered the standard clinical endpoint to support effectiveness claims in new drug applications globally, particularly for lethal conditions such as cancer. However, the source and reliability of OS in the setting of clinical trials have seldom been doubted and discussed. This study first raised the common issue that data integrity and reliability are doubtful when we collect OS information or other time-to-event endpoints based solely on simple follow-up records by investigators without supporting material, especially since the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. Then, two rounds of discussions with 30 Chinese experts were held and 12 potential source scenarios of three methods for obtaining the time of death of participants, including death certificate, death record and follow-up record, were sorted out and analysed. With a comprehensive assessment of the 12 scenarios by legitimacy, data reliability, data acquisition efficiency, difficulty of data acquisition, and coverage of participants, both short-term and long-term recommended sources, overall strategies and detailed measures for improving the integrity and reliability of death date are presented. In the short term, we suggest integrated sources such as public security systems made available to drug inspection centres appropriately as soon as possible to strengthen supervision. Death certificates provided by participants' family members and detailed standard follow-up records are recommended to investigators as the two channels of mutual compensation, and the acquisition of supporting materials is encouraged as long as it is not prohibited legally. Moreover, we expect that the sharing of electronic medical records and the legal disclosure of death records in established health registries can be realized with the joint efforts of the whole industry in the long-term. The above proposed solutions are mainly based on the context of China and can also provide reference for other countries in the world.

Terahertz hybrid optical-plasmonic modes: tunable resonant frequency, narrow linewidth, and strong local field enhancement.

Hybrid optical-plasmonic modes have the characteristics of low loss and small mode volume, which will result in the strong localization and enhancement of electromagnetic field. Such advantages of hybrid optical-plasmonic mode are important for the enhancement of light-matter interactions. Here, terahertz (THz) hybrid modes of Fabry-Perot resonances (FPRs) and spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) in the modified Otto scheme are investigated both in theoretical and experimental aspects. The device structure is composed of a metal grating silicon waveguide (MGSW) and a metal slit grating (MSG). The two components are vertically stacked with a variable air gap between them. The THz hybrid modes are originated from the far-field coupling of the FPRs and the SSPP supported by the air gap and the MSG, respectively. By changing the thickness of the air gap, the resonant frequency of the FPR-SSPP modes can be tuned in a frequency range of about 0.1 THz. An anti-crossing behavior between two reflection dips corresponding to the guided-mode resonance in the MGSW and the FPR-SSPP mode is observed, which leads to the narrowing of the reflection dips in the anti-crossing region. Numerical simulations show that at the resonant frequencies of FPR-SSPP mode, there is a huge volume-averaged electromagnetic energy enhancement of about 1600 times in the grooves of the MSG, which is around 8.7 times larger than that induced by the SSPP directly launched by free-space electromagnetic field. The hybrid FPR-SSPP modes can be used to construct THz sensors and detectors with high sensitivity.

The Separation of Chlorobenzene Compounds from Environmental Water Using a Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Chitosan Membrane.

In this work, a magnetic molecularly imprinted chitosan membrane (MMICM) was synthesized for the extraction of chlorobenzene compounds in environmental water using the membrane separation method. The optimal extraction amount for chlorobenzene (9.64 mg·L-1) was found to be a 1:2 solid to liquid ratio, with a 20 min extraction time and 35 °C extraction temperature. This method proved to be successfully applied for the separation and trace quantification of chlorobenzene compounds in environmental water, with the limit of detection (LOD) (0.0016-0.057 ng·L-1), limit of quantification (LOQ) (0.0026-0.098 ng·L-1), and the recoveries ranging (89.02-106.97%).

Selenium biofortification in Pleurotus eryngii and its effect on lead adsorption of gut microbiota via in vitro fermentation.

It is of great significance to develop safe and efficient dietary selenium sources to improve lead toxicity. In this study, selenate, selenite, SeMet and Se-yeast were supplied to investigate the Se biofortification and bioaccessibility in Pleurotus eryngii. The effects of Se-enriched P. eryngii on lead binding bacteria were investigated via in vitro fermentation. With 40 mg/kg Se in the substrate, the total Se contents of P. eryngii treated with selenite and Se-yeast were 145.22 ± 8.00 mg/kg and 90.01 ± 7.01 mg/kg, respectively. Compared with selenite, Se-yeast treatment significantly increased the organic Se proportion in P. eryngii (SeCys2 2.85 ± 0.17%, MeSeCys 2.33 ± 0.21% and SeMet 78.19 ± 1.58%), which led to higher bioaccessibility. With 1 mg/L lead treatment during in vitro fermentation, Se-enriched P. eryngii promoted the growth of Desulfovibrio, which contributed to the increase of gut microbiota lead adsorption. Se-enriched P. eryngii cultivated with Se-yeast could be used as dietary Se sources for lead toxicity improvement.

Extended Shear Deformation of the Immiscible Cu-Nb Alloy Resulting in Nanostructuring and Oxygen Ingress with Enhancement in Mechanical Properties.

Deformation processing of immiscible systems is observed to disrupt thermodynamic equilibrium, often resulting in nonequilibrium microstructures. The microstructural changes including nanostructuring, hierarchical distribution of phases, localized solute supersaturation, and oxygen ingress result from high-strain extended deformation, causing a significant change in mechanical properties. Because of the dynamic evolution of the material under large strain shear load, a detailed understanding of the transformation pathway has not been established. Additionally, the influence of these microstructural changes on mechanical properties is also not well characterized. Here, an immiscible Cu-4 at. % Nb alloy is subjected to a high-strain shear deformation (∼200); the deformation-induced changes in the morphology, crystal structure, and composition of Cu and Nb phases as a function of total strain are characterized using transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. Furthermore, a multimodal experiment-guided computational approach is used to depict the initiation of deformation by an increase in misorientation boundaries by crystal plasticity-based grain misorientation modeling (strain ∼0.6). Then, co-deformation and nanolamination of Cu and Nb are envisaged by a finite element method-based computational fluid dynamic model with strain ranging from 10 to 200. Finally, the experimentally observed amorphization of the severely sheared supersaturated Cu-Nb-O phase was validated using the first principle-based simulation using density functional theory while highlighting the influence of oxygen ingress during deformation. Furthermore, the nanocrystalline microstructure shows a >2-fold increase in hardness and compressive yield strength of the alloy, elucidating the potential of deformation processing to obtain high-strength low-alloyed metals. Our approach presents a step-by-step evolution of a microstructure in an immiscible alloy undergoing severe shear deformation, which is broadly applicable to materials processing based on friction stir, extrusion, rolling, and surface shear deformation under wear and can be directly applied to understanding material behavior during these processes.