A Time-Varying Mixture Integer-Valued Threshold Autoregressive Process Driven by Explanatory Variables.

In this paper, a time-varying first-order mixture integer-valued threshold autoregressive process driven by explanatory variables is introduced. The basic probabilistic and statistical properties of this model are studied in depth. We proceed to derive estimators using the conditional least squares (CLS) and conditional maximum likelihood (CML) methods, while also establishing the asymptotic properties of the CLS estimator. Furthermore, we employed the CLS and CML score functions to infer the threshold parameter. Additionally, three test statistics to detect the existence of the piecewise structure and explanatory variables were utilized. To support our findings, we conducted simulation studies and applied our model to two applications concerning the daily stock trading volumes of VOW.

Preliminary evidence for endoscopic surgery combined with postoperative anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in advanced recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUD: Endoscopic surgery can be used as the main treatment for advanced recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC). However, there is a huge clinical controversy about the need for consolidated immunotherapy after surgery. METHODS: We performed a retrospective propensity score-matched analysis (1:2) of patients with locally advanced rNPC who underwent endoscopic nasopharyngectomy (ENPG) combined with anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) monotherapy or ENPG alone. The survival rate was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). Potential surgical-related complications and immune-related adverse events (AEs) were also assessed. RESULTS: We recruited 10 patients receiving ENPG plus anti-PD-1 monotherapy and 20 receiving ENPG alone. During the mean follow-up of 23.8 months, a significant improvement in the 2-year PFS was detected in the consolidation immunotherapy group compared to the ENPG alone group (80.0% vs. 40.0%; HR = 0.258; 95% CI: 0.09-0.72; p = 0.04), while the 2-year OS in the consolidation immunotherapy group was not significantly longer than that in the ENPG alone group (90.0% vs. 75.0%; HR = 0.482; 95% CI: 0.08-3.00; p = 0.50). The incidence of surgical-related complications in the consolidation immunotherapy group and ENPG alone group was 70.0 and 60.0%, respectively. Immune-related AEs were similar between the toripalimab arm (75.0%) and the camrelizumab arm (66.7%). Surgical-related complications depend on symptomatic treatments. Immune-related AEs were mild and tolerable. CONCLUSIONS: Consolidation immunotherapy regimen for patients with advanced rNPC after ENPG compared to ENPG alone provides a superior PFS rate with a manageable safety profile.

[Overview and prospects of endoscopic skull base surgery].

Endoscopic skull base surgery presents significant technical challenges and high surgical risks, requiring collaboration among multiple disciplines such as otolaryngology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and oral maxillofacial surgery. In recent years, there has been rapid development in endoscopic skull base surgery, characterized by flourishing anatomical research and an expanding range of surgical indications. The future brings both opportunities and challenges, and endoscopic skull base surgery must grasp new directions in medical development, actively providing patients with safer and more effective treatment options.

The promising role of miRNAs in radioresistance and chemoresistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant epithelial tumor that develops in the nasopharynx. It has a distinct ethnic and geographical distribution, and emerging evidence suggests that it is an ecological disease. Most patients respond well to radiation combined with chemotherapy as the primary treatment for NPC. However, some patients will eventually develop radio resistance and chemoresistance, resulting in recurrence and metastasis, which is a primary cause of poor prognosis. The processes underlying radio resistance and chemoresistance in NPC are complex and unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenic non-coding RNA molecules. They play a role in a variety of cell functions as well as development of disease such as cancer. There has been considerable data demonstrating the existence of numerous aberrant miRNAs in cancer tissues, cells, and biofluids, which indicates the importance of studying the influence of miRNAs on NPC. Therefore, this review comprehensively analyzes the elaborate mechanisms of miRNAs affecting the radio resistance and chemoresistance of NPC. Multiple tumor-specific miRNAs can be employed as therapeutic and prognostic biological indicators.

Is there heterogeneity and moderating effect of carbon trading pilot in promoting total factor productivity?

In order to analyze what factors may affect the role of carbon trading pilot in promoting total factor productivity, this paper constructs DID model combining information of listed companies with city and industry characteristics. The moderating effect model is used to research the influence of firms' induced behavior. The results show that (1) the characteristics of a city can influence the impact of carbon trading pilot, which is associated with the city's dominant industry, resource endowment, and geographical location; (2) the effect of carbon trading pilot is heterogeneous, primarily indicating a stronger effect on high-emission industries, while having no significant impact on high-pollution industries; and (3) the induced behavior of businesses, such as increasing green innovation and environmental protection expenditure, potentially "crowding out" the effects of the carbon trading pilot.

Fertility policy changes, maternal and foetal characteristics and birth timing patterns at a tertiary referral centre in Beijing: a ten-year retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the impacts of the changing national fertility policy on maternal and fetal characteristics, and birth timing patterns and provide a basis for the management of the obstetric and midwifery workforce. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Data from medical register of a tertiary referral centre in Beijing, China. PARTICIPANTS: We included 20 334 births with a gestational age more than 28 weeks during January 2013-September 2023. MAIN OUTCOMES: The main outcomes included birth numbers, maternal age, parity, birth modes, premature rates, neonatal birth weight, and birth timings. RESULTS: The birth rates showed a general rising trend before 2016. Afterwards, the birth rates kept decreasing and reached the bottom level in 2022. The caesarean section rates showed a declining trend, while the assisted birth rates were progressively rising, especially among primiparous women. From 2013 to 2022, the proportions of multiparous women (increasing from 9.3% to 36.6%) and women with advanced maternal age (increasing from 11.4% to 34.5%) were on the rise, together with increasing rates of premature birth (increasing from 5.7% to 8.5%) and neonatal low birth weight (rising from 4.3% to 7.2%) in this population. This study found a significant peak of births between 14:00 and 15:00, which remained unchanged despite shifts in the fertility policy (p<0.001 and [Formula: see text] values close to 1, respectively). CONCLUSION: The 'three-child' policy did not boost the birth rate further 2 years later after its enactment, and the proportion of multiparous women and women with advanced maternal age were on the rise, accompanied by an increase in rates of premature birth and low birth weight. Targeted training should be offered to healthcare professionals to empower them to deal with possible negative pregnancy outcomes and childbirth complications. Prepregnancy and antepartum education should be parity specific. Adequate midwifery staffing during this 14:00-15:00 is vital to promote a safe birth.

Paired Electrolysis Enabled Trifluoromethylheteroaromatization of Alkenes and Alkyne with Trifluoromethyl Thianthrenium Triflate (TT-CF3+OTf-) as a Bifunctional Reagent.

We report a strategic exploitation of trifluoromethyl thianthrenium triflate (TT-CF3+OTf-) as both electromediator and CF3 radical precursors for paired electrolysis. Enabled by this strategy, the three-component trifluoromethylheteroaromatization of alkenes and alkynes was realized. The superiority of TT-CF3+OTf- to other electrophilic CF3 reagents is attributed to the cathodic generation of thianthrene (TT) as a mediator, which shifts the heterogeneous oxidation of interest to a homogeneous one.

3D Printing Architecting ß-PVDF Reservoirs for Preferential ZnO Epitaxial Growth Toward Advanced Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting.

For polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based piezoelectric composites, epitaxial growth of ZnO nanorods (ZnO-nr) piezoceramic layer on PVDF is an effective way to improve their piezoelectric performance. However, the crystal nucleus of ZnO featuring polar surfaces that cannot be directly attached to hydrophobic PVDF with low surface energy. Herein, direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing is employed for the first time to create ß-PVDF reservoirs with significantly enhanced surface energy, facilitating the attachment and epitaxial growth of ZnO-nr. The printed ß-PVDF reservoirs designed with programmed macro-pores and abundant inner micropores, enable a higher loading of ZnO-nr by more than one magnitude, thereby boosting the electro-mechanical response. The resulting PVDF/ZnO core-shell piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) delivers an output voltage of 33.2 V, as well as an unprecedentedly high relative output voltage of 2.76 V/wt.%, which is 2.63 times that of the state-of-the-art 3D-printed PVDF/piezoceramics PEHs. Furthermore, it can differentiate subtle human motions whereas hybrid PEHs cannot distinct. This work demonstrates that the DIW 3D printing approach offers a simple and convenient design idea for creating high performance PEHs.

Fabrication of polymeric microspheres for biomedical applications.

Polymeric microspheres (PMs) have attracted great attention in the field of biomedicine in the last several decades due to their small particle size, special functionalities shown on the surface and high surface-to-volume ratio. However, how to fabricate PMs which can meet the clinical needs and transform laboratory achievements to industrial scale-up still remains a challenge. Therefore, advanced fabrication technologies are pursued. In this review, we summarize the technologies used to fabricate PMs, including emulsion-based methods, microfluidics, spray drying, coacervation, supercritical fluid and superhydrophobic surface-mediated method and their advantages and disadvantages. We also review the different structures, properties and functions of the PMs and their applications in the fields of drug delivery, cell encapsulation and expansion, scaffolds in tissue engineering, transcatheter arterial embolization and artificial cells. Moreover, we discuss existing challenges and future perspectives for advancing fabrication technologies and biomedical applications of PMs.

Survival Analysis and Prognostic Factors After Endonasal Resection of Advanced Olfactory Neuroblastomas: A Single Institution Experience.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the prognostic factors in patients with advanced olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) underwent endoscopic surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective medical records were reviewed of patients with pathologically proven ONB who underwent endoscopic surgical resection. Clinicopathological characteristics including patient demographics, treatment, complications, follow-up, and outcomes were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) curves were plotted. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to determine prognostic factors. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients with Kadish stage C ONB were examined. According to the various staging systems used, most patients harbored modified Kadish stage C (78.8%). Twenty-six patients (30.6%) underwent bony skull base resection, 11 (12.9%) underwent dura resection, and 24 (28.2%) underwent additional intracranial resection that included the olfactory bulb and duct. Median follow-up was 39 months. Five-year OS and DFS rates were 83.7% and 74.9%, respectively. Five-year OS was 100% in patients treated with bony skull base resection and 77.5% in those who were not (P = .052). Dura resection did not improve OS. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified perioperative complications (P = .009), gross total resection (P = .004), orbital invasion (P = .014), postoperative radiotherapy (P = .030), and bony skull base resection (P = .019) as independent prognostic predictors. CONCLUSION: For patients with advanced ONB, endoscopic surgery in conjunction with radiotherapy and chemotherapy is effective and safe. Dura resection should be performed with caution in selected patients to balance survival and complications. Postoperative radiotherapy is important to improve OS and DFS.

Superhydrophobic Surface-Assisted Preparation of Microspheres and Supraparticles and Their Applications.

Superhydrophobic surface (SHS) has been well developed, as SHS renders the property of minimizing the water/solid contact interface. Water droplets deposited onto SHS with contact angles exceeding 150°, allow them to retain spherical shapes, and the low adhesion of SHS facilitates easy droplet collection when tilting the substrate. These characteristics make SHS suitable for a wide range of applications. One particularly promising application is the fabrication of microsphere and supraparticle materials. SHS offers a distinct advantage as a universal platform capable of providing customized services for a variety of microspheres and supraparticles. In this review, an overview of the strategies for fabricating microspheres and supraparticles with the aid of SHS, including cross-linking process, polymer melting, and droplet template evaporation methods, is first presented. Then, the applications of microspheres and supraparticles formed onto SHS are discussed in detail, for example, fabricating photonic devices with controllable structures and tunable structural colors, acting as catalysts with emerging or synergetic properties, being integrated into the biomedical field to construct the devices with different medicinal purposes, being utilized for inducing protein crystallization and detecting trace amounts of analytes. Finally, the perspective on future developments involved with this research field is given, along with some obstacles and opportunities.

Sinonasal/basicranial myxofibrosarcoma: a report of 6 surgical cases combined with a literature review

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to report 6 cases of sinonasal/basicranial myxofibrosarcoma and review demographic data, clinical symptoms, diagnostic methods, therapeutic methods, and prognosis on this subject in the literature. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of six patients referred to our hospital during a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020. Results: In this series, there were four males and two females. The tumours originated from the maxillary sinus in all six cases. The symptoms were nonspecific, and all patients underwent endoscopic resection alone or combined with open resection. The postoperative period was uneventful. All patients were diagnosed with myxofibrosarcoma. After a median follow-up period of 36 (6-52) months, the recurrence rate of MFS was 66.7% (4/6), and the mortality rate was 50% (3/6). Conclusion: Sinonasal/basicranial MFS is a rare neoplasm, and the most common primary site is the maxillary sinus. When diagnosing MFS, osteolysis may help rule out benign lesions. So far surgery is the mainstay of treatment for sinonasal/basicranial MFS. Our surgical strategy using endoscopic resection or endoscopic resection combined with open resection to achieve a negative surgical margin and using re-excision operations to treat relapsed cases may be recommended to rhinologists who treat MFS. Prospective randomised trials are needed to study the role of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and our surgical strategy for sinonasal/basicranial MFS. Diagnosing patients at an earlier stage and better patient compliance with follow-up plans may improve the prognosis of patients.