Biomass-derived carbon dots as emerging visual platforms for fluorescent sensing.

Biomass-derived carbon dots (CDs) are non-toxic and fluorescently stable, making them suitable for extensive application in fluorescence sensing. The use of cheap and renewable materials not only improves the utilization rate of waste resources, but it is also drawing increasing attention to and interest in the production of biomass-derived CDs. Visual fluorescence detection based on CDs is the focus of current research. This method offers high sensitivity and accuracy and can be used for rapid and accurate determination under complex conditions. This paper describes the biomass precursors of CDs, including plants, animal remains and microorganisms. The factors affecting the use of CDs as fluorescent probes are also discussed, and a brief overview of enhancements made to the preparation process of CDs is provided. In addition, the application prospects and challenges related to biomass-derived CDs are demonstrated.

First Report of Rust Disease on Alcea rosea caused by Puccinia modiolae in China.

Alcea rosea, belonging to the Alcea genus in the Malvaceae family, originated from China, but it is now grown worldwide. A. rosea has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate constipation, pain, swelling, and sores. In February 2023, typical symptoms of fungal infection were observed on A. rosea at Guizhou Normal University in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China. The disease incidence was over 90% (n = 100) for the surveyed A. rosea plants, and the disease severity range from 30% to 90%. The initial symptoms of A. rosea rust were the appearance of chlorotic spots on the leaves. Subsequently, numerous reddish to dark-brown erumpent pustules (telia) were observed. Gradually, the entire plant was covered by rust and the center of each lesion turned brown, necrotic, and ruptured over times, eventually causing defoliation. Voucher specimens of infected A. rosea leaves as representative samples have been deposited at Guizhou Normal University (GNU2023LS008). Telia are round in shape, mostly aggregated in mass, with a diameter of 0.28-0.78 mm (0.46 mm, n = 20). They range in color from reddish-brown to dark brown, and are mainly hypophyllous but occasionally formed on the adaxial leaf surface. The teliospores are fusoid with dimensions of 31.3-93.8 × 10.9-21.3 µm (57.5 × 15.1 µm average, n = 50), hyaline or yellowish to light-brown in color, mostly two-celled, with a smooth wall (1.5-3.0 µm) and a thickened apex (3.0-9.0 µm). However, teliospores which are one-, three-, or four-celled with a notch at the apex, are rarely observed. The morphological characteristics of host symptoms and teliospores were similar to those of Puccinia modiolae (Aime and Abbasi 2018; Albu et al. 2019). For phylogenetic analysis, genomic DNA was extracted from the teliospores of infected leaves. To confirm the species-level identification, PCR was performed on the extracted DNA to amplify the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions using primer pairs ITS1/ITS4 (Schoch et al. 2012) and NL1/NL4 (Ziemiecki et al. 1990), respectively. The resulting ITS DNA sequence (GenBank accession no. OR607960) showed 100% identity with P. modiolae sequences (OP369291.1), when the query coverage was 100%. The LSU DNA sequence obtained (OR607961.2) shared 99.85% similarity with P. modiolae (MK458702.1). A phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA7.0 and the maximum likelihood method based on the ITS and LSU sequences. The fungal isolates collected in this study and several reference sequences of P. modiolae were grouped within a clade that included the isolates reported on A. rosea in Korea (Ryu et al. 2023), with 100% bootstrap support. Pathogenicity testing was conducted by gently pressing spore powder of naturally diseased leaves onto young leaves of three healthy A. rosea plants, with three noninoculated healthy plants serving as controls. The inoculated and noninoculated plants were kept in a growth chamber at the 26°C with a 12 hour light/dark cycle and 80% humidity. After 2 weeks, all inoculated A. rosea plants showed characteristic disease symptoms of rust infection and telia of P. modiolae, while control plants remained symptomless. The pathogen was identical to that observed on the original diseased leaves. The study results indicate that the causal fungus responsible for the disease is P. modiolae, which has been previously reported on Malvaceae plants (Farr and Rossman 2022). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. modiolae on A. rosea in China. This study will contribute to an increased understanding of the host range of Puccinia modiolae.

Li Dynamics in Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conducting Interlayer of All-Solid-State Li-metal Batteries.

Lithium-metal (Li0) anodes potentially enable all-solid-state batteries with high energy density. However, it shows incompatibility with sulfide solid-state electrolytes (SEs). One strategy is introducing an interlayer, generally made of a mixed ionic-electronic conductor (MIEC). Yet, how Li behaves within MIEC remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the Li dynamics in a graphite interlayer, a typical MIEC, by using operando neutron imaging and Raman spectroscopy. This study revealed that intercalation-extrusion-dominated mechanochemical reactions during cell assembly transform the graphite into a Li-graphite interlayer consisting of SE, Li0, and graphite-intercalation compounds. During charging, Li+ preferentially deposited at the Li-graphite|SE interface. Upon further plating, Li0-dendrites formed, inducing short circuits and the reverse migration of Li0. Modeling indicates the interface has the lowest nucleation barrier, governing lithium transport paths. Our study elucidates intricate mechano-chemo-electrochemical processes in mixed conducting interlayers. The behavior of Li+ and Li0 in the interlayer is governed by multiple competing factors.

Evaluation on Diagnostic Value of Ultrasonic Elastography Parameters and Serum Testosterone in the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical diagnostic value of ultrasound elastography (UE) combined with serum testosterone (T) detection in prostate cancer (PCa). METHOD: A total of 155 patients with suspected PCa admitted to Affiliated Qingdao Third People's Hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were included in this study. All the patients underwent UE detection and serum T examination and were divided into positive and negative groups based on histopathological examination results. The detection rates of UE detection, serum T detection and combined detection of the two were compared. T test, nonparametric test and binary logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. The diagnostic efficiencies of single and combined detection were analysed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULT: After the pathological confirmation, 71 cases were classified under the positive group and 84 cases in the negative group. The positive group had significantly higher elastic strain ratio and elastic-image compression index level and a significantly lower serum T level than the negative group (p < 0.05). Elastic strain ratio, elastic image compression index and serum T level were all risk factors for PCa (p < 0.05). ROC analysis showed that the sensitivity of combined detection was significantly higher than that of single detection. CONCLUSIONS: Offering a certain clinical application value, the application of combined UE and serum T detection in the clinical diagnosis of PCa can compensate for the shortcomings of single diagnosis, improve diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy and provide a new direction for the clinical diagnosis of PCa.

Evaluation on Diagnostic Value of Ultrasonic Elastography Parameters and Serum Testosterone in the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer

Objective: To explore the clinical diagnostic value of ultrasound elastography (UE) combined with serum testosterone (T) detection in prostate cancer (PCa). Method: A total of 155 patients with suspected PCa admitted to Affiliated Qingdao Third People’s Hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were included in this study. All the patients underwent UE detection and serum T examination and were divided into positive and negative groups based on histopathological examination results. The detection rates of UE detection, serum T detection and combined detection of the two were compared. T test, nonparametric test and binary logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. The diagnostic efficiencies of single and combined detection were analysed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Result: After the pathological confirmation, 71 cases were classified under the positive group and 84 cases in the negative group. The positive group had significantly higher elastic strain ratio and elastic-image compression index level and a significantly lower serum T level than the negative group (p < 0.05). Elastic strain ratio, elastic image compression index and serum T level were all risk factors for PCa (p < 0.05). ROC analysis showed that the sensitivity of combined detection was significantly higher than that of single detection.Conclusions: Offering a certain clinical application value, the application of combined UE and serum T detection in the clinical diagnosis of PCa can compensate for the shortcomings of single diagnosis, improve diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy and provide a new direction for the clinical diagnosis of PCa (AU)

Nb, Se-codoped ZnIn2S4/NbSe2composites with enhanced catalytic activity and photodegradation performance towards tetracycline.

Low quantum efficiency and serious photogenerated carrier recombination have been urgent bottleneck problems for photocatalytic materials. Herein, we prepared Nb, Se-codoped ZnIn2S4/NbSe2composites through a facile solvothermal method. The synergetic effect of codoping and cocatalyst was investigated on the photodegradation performance towards tetracycline under visible-light irradiation. By adjusting the final composition, the comprehensive characterization revealed that the optimum degradation efficiency of NS/ZIS-1.6 catalyst arrived at 75% in 70 min, which was 5.8 times higher than that of pure ZnIn2S4. Deep analysis indicated that the enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to higher light absorption, more efficient electron/hole separation, faster charge transport, and lower carrier recombination. This work may offer novel viewpoint for design of high-performance catalysts towards the visible-light-driven photodegradation system.

Review on Hybrid Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites with Nanocellulose, Nanomaterials, and Other Fibers.

The use of composite materials has seen many new innovations for a large variety of applications. The area of reinforcement in composites is also rapidly evolving with many new discoveries, including the use of hybrid fibers, sustainable materials, and nanocellulose. In this review, studies on hybrid fiber reinforcement, the use of nanocellulose, the use of nanocellulose in hybrid forms, the use of nanocellulose with other nanomaterials, the applications of these materials, and finally, the challenges and opportunities (including safety issues) of their use are thoroughly discussed. This review will point out new prospects for the composite materials world, enabling the use of nano- and micron-sized materials together and creating value-added products at the industrial scale. Furthermore, the use of hybrid structures consisting of two different nano-materials creates many novel solutions for applications in electronics and sensors.

Properties and Cementation Mechanism of Geopolymer Backfill Paste Incorporating Diverse Industrial Solid Wastes.

Industrialization has resulted in a large number of industrial waste slags being produced, which severely pollute the environment. This urgently needs resourceful treatment. The objective of this paper is to investigate the preparation, performance, and cementation mechanism of a novel geopolymer backfill paste for goaf. We reused diverse industrial waste slags based on low-calcium silica-alumina precursors (two fly ashes FAI, FAII, and red mud RM), high-calcium-based slags (carbide slag CS, soda residue SR, briquette residue slag BRS, and granulated blast furnace slag GBFS), and two additives (gypsum powder GP and lime powder LP). The hardening of backfill pastes was investigated by analyzing the effects of FAI, GBFS, RM, and LP on physical and chemical performance. The cementation mechanism of the prepared backfill paste was revealed through morphology, mineralogy, and chemical products through the use of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show that the prepared backfill paste incorporating various solid wastes (FAI, FAII, RM, CS, SR, GBFS, RBS, etc.) yields a 28-d compressive strength of 2.1 MPa (higher than the required value of 0.6 MPa) and a fluidity of 201 mm. Geopolymer gels (N,C)-A-S-H, calcium silicate hydrated C-S-H, and calcium aluminosilicate hydrated C-A-S-H gels serve as chemical cementers, whereas unreacted particles serve as physical filler skeletons. These findings provide an experimental and theoretical basis for the interchangeable use of various identical component solid wastes in backfill engineering materials.

Establishment and Validation for Predicting the Lymph Node Metastasis in Early Gastric Adenocarcinoma.

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is considered to be one of the important factors in determining the optimal treatment for early gastric cancer (EGC). This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to predict LNM in patients with EGC. A total of 842 cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were divided into training and testing sets with a ratio of 6 : 4 for model development. Clinical data (494 patients) from the hospital were used for external validation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the predictors using the training set. Logistic regression, LASSO regression, ridge regression, and elastic-net regression methods were used to construct the model. The performance of the model was quantified by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results showed that T stage, tumor size, and tumor grade were independent predictors of LNM in EGC patients. The AUC of the logistic regression model was 0.766 (95% CI, 0.709-0.823), which was slightly higher than that of the other models. However, the AUC of the logistic regression model in external validation was 0.625 (95% CI, 0.537-0.678). A nomogram was drawn to predict LNM in EGC patients based on the logistic regression model. Further validation based on gender, age, and grade indicated that the logistic regression predictive model had good adaptability to the population with grade III tumors, with an AUC of 0.803 (95% CI, 0.606-0.999). Our nomogram showed a good predictive ability and may provide a tool for clinicians to predict LNM in EGC patients.

Case report: pathological complete response in an IIIB non-small cell lung cancer patient after preoperative neoadjuvant nivolumab therapy combined with chemotherapy.

RATIONALE: For locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the neoadjuvant therapy strategy of preoperative nivolumab combined with chemotherapy has great potential, especially for locally advanced NSCLC which are initially unresectable. They may be cured after neoadjuvant immunotherapy, and this may become a new direction of treatment. We hope that this representative medical record and literature review can provide some assistance for clinicians using immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat lung cancer. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 50-year-old male patient was admitted to Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine on April 27, 2020 due to "coughing for more than one month.". The patient had nothing of note in either his medical history or that of his family, and no history of smoking. DIAGNOSIS: The diagnosis was cT4N2M0IIIB stage right lower lung NSCLC with right hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastasis. The stage was inoperable stage IIIB NSCLC, but the patient had a strong willingness for doing surgery. INTERVENTIONS: The patient received 3 rounds of the neoadjuvant nivolumab therapy combined with TP (paclitaxel plus cisplatin) regimen, on 5-14-21, 06-07-21 and 07-07-21. OUTCOMES: The tumor's area shrunk. Then the patient underwent thoracoscopic radical resection of the cancer in the right upper lung and postoperative pathology achieved pathological complete response (pCR). LESSONS: In this case, combined with the wishes of the patient and the latest research results, we confirmed pCR by radical surgery after 3 rounds of the neoadjuvant nivolumab therapy combined with chemotherapy. This may be a modality to cure more lung cancer patients in the future.

Experiment on the Properties of Soda Residue-Activated Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Mortars with Different Activators.

Soda residue (SR), a solid waste generated in the production of Na2CO3 during the ammonia soda process, with a high pH value of 12, can be used as an activator of alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) cementitious materials. Three groups of experiments on SR-activated GGBFS mortars were designed in this paper to assess the role of the dominant parameters on fluidity and compressive strength of mortars. The results indicate that for fluidity and mechanical properties, the optimal scheme of SR-activated GGBFS mortars is 16:84-24:76 S/G, 0.01 NaOH/b, 0.05 CaO/b, and 0.50 w/b, with fluidity and compressive strength (28 d) of the mortars being 181-195 mm and 32.3-35.4 MPa, respectively. Between 2.5-10% CaCl2 addition to CaO (5%)-SR (24%)-activated GGBFS mortar is beneficial to the improvement of the compressive strength of C2, whereas the addition of CaSO4 is harmful. The main hydration products of mortars are ettringite, Friedel's slat, and CSH gels. The results provide a theoretical basis and data support for the utilization of SR.

Beyond Pristine Metal-Organic Frameworks: Preparation of Hollow MOFs and Their Composites for Catalysis, Sensing, and Adsorption Removal Applications.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been broadly applied to numerous domains with a substantial surface area, tunable pore size, and multiple unsaturated metal sites. Recently, hollow MOFs have greatly attracted the scientific community due to their internal cavities and gradient pore structures. Hollow MOFs have a higher tunability, faster mass-transfer rates, and more accessible active sites when compared to traditional, solid MOFs. Hollow MOFs are also considered to be candidates for some functional material carriers. For example, composite materials such as hollow MOFs and metal nanoparticles, metal oxides, and enzymes have been prepared. These composite materials integrate the characteristics of hollow MOFs with functional materials and are broadly used in many aspects. This review describes the preparation strategies of hollow MOFs and their composites as well as their applications in organic catalysis, electrochemical sensing, and adsorption separation. Finally, we hope that this review provides meaningful knowledge about hollow-MOF composites and their derivatives and offers many valuable references to develop hollow-MOF-based applied materials.

Long-Term Physical and Mechanical Properties and Microstructures of Fly-Ash-Based Geopolymer Composite Incorporating Carbide Slag.

The long-term property development of fly ash (FA)-based geopolymer (FA-GEO) incorporating industrial solid waste carbide slag (CS) for up to 360 d is still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the fresh, physical, and mechanical properties and microstructures of FA-GEO composites with CS and to evaluate the effects of CS when the composites were cured for 360 d. FA-GEO composites with CS were manufactured using FA (as an aluminosilicate precursor), CS (as a calcium additive), NaOH solution (as an alkali activator), and standard sand (as a fine aggregate). The fresh property and long-term physical properties were measured, including fluidity, bulk density, porosity, and drying shrinkage. The flexural and compressive strengths at 60 d and 360 d were tested. Furthermore, the microstructures and gel products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the additional 20.0% CS reduces the fluidity and increases the conductivity of FA-GEO composites. Bulk densities were decreased, porosities were increased, and drying shrinkages were decreased as the CS content was increased from 0.0% to 20.0% at 360 d. Room temperature is a better curing condition to obtain a higher long-term mechanical strength. The addition of 20.0% CS is more beneficial to the improvement of long-term flexural strength and toughness at room temperature. The gel products in CS-FA-GEO with 20.0% CS are mainly determined as the mixtures of sodium aluminosilicate (N-A-S-H) gel and calcium silicate hydration (C-S-H) gel, besides the surficial pan-alkali. The research results provide an experimental basis for the reuse of CS in various scenarios.

Amphipathic Binder Integrating Ultrathin and Highly Ion-Conductive Sulfide Membrane for Cell-Level High-Energy-Density All-Solid-State Batteries.

Current sulfide solid-state electrolyte (SE) membranes utilized in all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASLBs) have a high thickness (0.5-1.0 mm) and low ion conductance (<25 mS), which limit the cell-level energy and power densities. Based on ethyl cellulose's unique amphipathic molecular structure, superior thermal stability, and excellent binding capability, this work fabricates a freestanding SE membrane with an ultralow thickness of 47 µm. With ethyl cellulose as an effective disperser and a binder, the Li6 PS5 Cl is uniformly dispersed in toluene and possesses superior film formability. In addition, an ultralow areal resistance of 4.32 Ω cm-2 and a remarkable ion conductance of 291 mS (one order higher than the state-of-the-art sulfide SE membrane) are achieved. The ASLBs assembled with this SE membrane deliver cell-level high gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of 175 Wh kg-1 and 675 Wh L-1 , individually.

Review on Nonconventional Fibrillation Methods of Producing Cellulose Nanofibrils and Their Applications.

The production of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) continues to receive considerable attention because of their desirable material characteristics for a variety of consumer applications. There are, however, challenges that remain in transitioning CNFs from research to widespread adoption in the industrial sectors, including production cost and material performance. This Review covers CNFs produced from nonconventional fibrillation methods as a potential alternative solution. Pretreating biomass by biological, chemical, mechanical, or physical means can render plant feedstocks more facile for processing and thus lower energy requirements to produce CNFs. CNFs from nonconventional fibrillation methods have been investigated for various applications, including films, composites, aerogels, and Pickering emulsifiers. Continued research is needed to develop protocols to standardize the characterization (e.g., degree of fibrillation) of the lignocellulosic fibrillation processes and resulting CNF products to make them more attractive to the industry for specific product applications.

Constructing efficient HCSs/Nb3O7F hybrids based on bonding interaction to boost simulated-sunlight photocatalytic performance.

Recently, Nb3O7F (NOF) semiconductor has been intensively studied owing to its excellent ultraviolet activity, good thermal stability and low carrier recombination. In this work, we report a five-step technique to synthesize hollow carbon spheres (HCSs)/NOF hybrids. Activating the surface of HCSs by creating oxyfluorinated functionalization can easily trigger an interaction between oxyfluorinated HCSs and NOF intermediates, finally resulting in the formation of HCSs/NOF hybrids. By manipulating the contents of HCSs with unexceptionable electron mobility, the hybrids can simultaneously achieve narrower band gap, stronger light absorption and rapider charge transfer. As a consequence, HCSs/NOF hybrids exhibit enhanced photodegradation performance towards RhB solutions under simulated sunlight irradiation. Specially, HCSs/NOF-1.0 catalysts with 95.7% degradation efficiency within 40 min demonstrate approximately four times higher photocatalytic activity than that of pure NOF catalysts. The results may offer new inspirations for a design of novel catalysts with higher photoactivity.

Properties and Hydration Mechanism of Soda Residue-Activated Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Cementitious Materials.

Soda residue (SR), an industrial solid waste, pollutes the environment due to its high alkalinity and chloride ion content. SR can be used as an alkali activator of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). This study investigated the effects of four types of SR-activated GGBFS cementitious materials (pastes) with different mass ratios of SR to GGBFS (8:92, 16:84, 24:76, 34:68) on the physical properties, mechanical strength, and chloride binding capacity. The hydration mechanism of the pastes was also studied. Results showed that with the increasing addition of SR, the density of the pastes decreased, and more white aggregates of SR appeared causing the increase of water absorption and porosity of the pastes. The pastes with 16% SR addition had the maximum compressive strength (34.1 MPa, 28 d), so the optimum proportion of SR addition in the pastes was 16%. With the increases of SR addition, the amount of chloride element in the initial pastes increases. When the proportion of SR addition is 8%, the mass percentage of free chloride ion in the pastes at 28 d is 0.13%. The main hydration products of the pastes were C-S-H gels, ettringite, and Friedel's salt, and the amount of ettringite varied with the amount of SR addition and curing time.

Nb/Se Co-doped BiOI nanomaterials with exposed (110) facets for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity.

Herein, an efficient strategy is demonstrated to prepare a visible-light-driven Nb/Se co-doped BiOI photocatalyst with exposed (110) facets. The results show that its photocatalytic activity is around 17 times higher than that of pure BiOI. This work paves the way towards the fabrication of efficient photocatalysts that have tunable charge dynamics.

Resistance of Soda Residue-Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Mortar to Acid and Sulfate Environments.

The early mechanical performances of low-calcium fly ash (FFA)-based geopolymer (FFA-GEO) mortar can be enhanced by soda residue (SR). However, the resistance of SR-FFA-GEO mortar to acid or sulfate environments is unclear, owing to the various inorganic calcium salts in SR. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term mechanical strengths of up to 360 d and evaluate the resistance of SR-FFA-GEO mortar to 5% HCl and 5% Na2SO4 environments through the losses in compressive strength and mass. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) experiments were conducted for the SR-FFA-GEO mortars, both before and after chemical attack, to clarify the attack mechanism. The results show that the resistances of the SR-FFA-GEO mortar with 20% SR (namely M10) to 5% HCl and 5% Na2SO4 environments are superior to those of cement mortar. The environmental HCl reacts with the calcites in SR to produce CaCl2, CO2 and H2O to form more pores under HCl attack, and the environmental Na+ cations from Na2SO4 go into Si-O-Al network structure, to further enhance the strength of mortar under Na2SO4 attack. These results provide the experimental basis for the durability optimization of SR-FFA-GEO mortars.