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Objective • This work assessed the impact of drug therapy combined with pulmonary rehabilitation exercise training on specific lung function and respiratory parameters of lung cancer (LC) patients after thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods • 88 LC patients who had undergone thoracoscopic lobectomy were selected based on their surgical indications and health condition. The study aimed to explore methods to assist patients in their postoperative recovery; therefore, patients meeting the surgical criteria were chosen to ensure the internal validity and external applicability of the results. Meanwhile, these 88 LC patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy were randomly allocated into an experimental group (EG, 44 cases) and a control group (CG, 44 cases). The EG received inhalation therapy with albuterol sulfate nebulizer solution and personalized pulmonary rehabilitation exercise training, while the CG received nebulized treatment alone. The study lasted for three months. The pulmonary rehabilitation program included regular physical exercises, including respiratory training and physical fitness training, among other activities. Results • After pulmonary lobectomy surgery, both groups of patients showed a significant decrease in (1) forced vital capacity (FVC), (2) forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), (3) maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), and (4) peak expiratory flow (PEF). However, the values of FVC, FEV1, MVV, and PEF in the EG were significantly higher than those in the CG (P < .05). Furthermore, both groups demonstrated significant improvements in the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) results after lung lobectomy; however, the 6MWT results in the EG also significantly increased (P < .05). In terms of dyspnea index (DI), after lung lobectomy, the DI for both groups of patients significantly increased, but the DI in the EG was significantly lower than that in the CG (P < .05). Conclusions • The combined application of drug therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation exercise training contributed to promoting cardiopulmonary function and respiratory muscle recovery in LC patients after thoracoscopic lobectomy. This was crucial for improving the quality of life of patients, as enhanced cardiopulmonary function and respiratory muscle recovery can alleviate postoperative respiratory difficulties, increase the physical stamina and activity levels of patients. This may help reduce the risk of postoperative complications, shorten hospital stays, and potentially improve long-term survival rates. Consequently, these results could have a positive impact on the development of postoperative care and treatment strategies. However, this work was subjected to several limitations, including a relatively short duration, necessitating longer-term follow-up to assess long-term effects. Additionally, the sample size was relatively small, and further large-scale research was needed to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synergistic effect of a highly active surface/interface and an optimized electronic structure of electrocatalysts is of great significance to improve the performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, a superhydrophilic core@shell heterostructure nanorod-integrated electrode composed of an amorphous VOx nanoshell (3-7 nm) and a crystalline Ni3S2 core supported on Ni foam (CS--NS/NF) was prepared by an in situ conversion method. We prove that the amorphous VOx not only helps to kinetically decouple the adsorption/dissociation of hydroxyl/water, but also enriches the active sites, thereby significantly enhancing the electron transfer efficiency and electrocatalytic activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The optimized CS--NS/NF has excellent hydrogen production performance, with overpotentials of 335 and 394 mV at current densities of 500 and 1000 mA cm-2, respectively, as well as superior durability for over 68 h in 1 M KOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing cost-effective bifunctional catalysts with high-performance and durability is of great significance for renewable energy systems. Herein, typical Fe, Ni-codoped W18O49/NF was prepared via a simple solvothermal method. The incorporation of Fe ions enhanced the electronic interaction and enlarged the electrochemically active surface area. The increased W4+ leads to a high proportion of unsaturated W=O bonds, thus enhancing the adsorption capacity of water. The valence configuration of nickel (Ni) sites in such dual-cation doping is well adjusted, realizing a high proportion of trivalent Ni ions (Ni3+). Due to the orbital interactions, the Fe3+/Ni3+ ions and OER reaction intermediates exhibit strong orbital overlap. The positions of the valence band and conduction band are well modulated. As a result, the Fe, Ni-codoped W18O49/NF shows improved electrocatalytic activity, and achieves a low decomposition voltage of 1.58 V at 10 mA cm-2 and retains long-time stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given p, q \in Z\geq 2 with p \not = q, we study generalized Abel differential equations dx d\theta = A(\theta)xp+B(\theta)xq, where A and B are trigonometric polynomials of degrees n,m \geq 1, respectively, and we are interested in the number of limit cycles (i.e., isolated periodic orbits) that they can have. More concretely, in this context, an open problem is to prove the existence of an integer, depending only on p, q,m, and n and that we denote by \scrH p,q(n,m), such that the above differential equation has at most \scrH p,q(n,m) limit cycles. In the present paper, by means of a second order analysis using Melnikov functions, we provide lower bounds of \scrH p,q(n,m) that, to the best of our knowledge, are larger than the previous ones appearing in the literature. In particular, for classical Abel differential equations (i.e., p = 3 and q = 2), we prove that \scrH 3,2(n,m) \geq 2(n + m) 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time assessment of therapeutic response in patients with advanced lung cancer presents a major challenge throughout the treatment process. Currently, computed tomography imaging is often used; however, it is radiation-based and hysteretic and is not suitable for repeated use as a real-time assessment. Blood biomarkers represent a novel solution for assessing therapeutic response in patients with advanced lung cancer. In the present study, the efficacy of a methylation marker [methylated prostaglandin E receptor 4 (mPTGER4)] and four protein markers [carcinoma antigen 125 (CA125), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19-fragments (cyfra21-1) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE)] were simultaneously evaluated to determine their potential in facilitating therapeutic response monitoring as well as their prognostic values in patients with stage IV lung cancer. The results indicated that, following treatment, the blood levels of methylated PTGER4 and NSE had significantly decreased, and mPRGER4, CA125, CEA and NSE exhibited a significant decrease in percentage level. Since mPTGER4 exhibited a higher rate of positive detection prior to therapy, and a greater response of sensitivity to therapy compared to the protein markers, it may represent an improved marker for the monitoring of therapeutic response. The efficacy of the markers in predicting the overall survival (OS) rate of patients with stage IV lung cancer was also assessed. Results from the follow-up of patients (up to 891 days) revealed that the blood levels of mPTGER4, CA125 and NSE before treatment were able to predict overall survival (OS) rate. Additionally, the percentage change in expression levels of CA125, CEA and NSE was also able to predict the OS rate. In conclusion, the present results indicate that mPTGER4 represents an improved biomarker for monitoring therapeutic efficacy compared with CA125, CEA, Cyfra21-1 and NSE. In predicting the long-term survival of patients with stage IV lung cancer; however, the pre-treatment levels of mPTGER4, CA125 and NSE and the percentage changes of CA125, CEA and NSE may be used as the markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor speed synchronization is important in gear shifting of emerging clutchless automated manual transmissions (AMT) for electric vehicles and other kinds of parallel shaft-based powertrains for hybrid electric vehicles. This paper proposes a speed synchronization controller design for a kind of system integrating a traction motor and a dual clutch transmission (DCT), using optimal control and disturbances compensation. Based on the relativity between magnitudes of different system parameters, the optimal control law is simplified into the proportional (P) one to ease design and analysis. Relationship between the feedback gain and the duration of speed synchronization process is derived in an explicit way to facilitate model-based determination of controller parameters. To alleviate overshoot while maintaining predesigned performances, the explicit nominal speed trajectory rather than the fixed setpoint speed is chosen as the reference signal. To improve robustness of the controller, a time-domain disturbance observer (DO) is added to cancel effects from parameter drift, unmodeled dynamics, and other exogenous disturbances. As a result, the proposed controller possesses merits of few controller parameters to be determined, good transient response, and robustness. These features make it suitable for practical engineering use. Simulation and experiment results verify its effectiveness in attaining both a fast and small-overshoot speed synchronizing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a generic function for automated modeling and feedforward control of planetary gears (PGs). Given the information on configuration, namely, the internal connection relationship between each PG, location of external torques, location and locking state of each clutch, this function outputs a ready-to-use kinetic model. The derived model can then be converted into numeric form by substituting the symbols in the matrix with real values and used for simulation, analysis or controller design. Since the output of the function is in symbolic form, it provides the theoretically most accurate results. Furthermore, compared to other kinds of automated modeling techniques for PG, the proposed function is: (a) more "straightforward" in a sense that it relies solely on direct matrix formulation and no other methods such as system identification are needed and therefore can be implemented in a single environment such as matlab; (b) more "generic" since it is capable of deriving both full-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) and reduced-DOF models for virtually any configuration regardless of the number, connection, and location of input/output shafts or clutches. By exchanging certain variables in the list of unknowns and knowns, the function can also be used to facilitate the design of feedforward controllers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT) for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). Patients and methods: A total of 50 newly diagnosed patients with LA-NPC treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University between November 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received the combined treatment modality of nimotuzumab plus IMRT. Nimotuzumab was administered concurrently with IMRT at a weekly dose of 200 mg. Neoadjuvant, concurrent or adjuvant chemotherapy with the doublet regimen of taxanes (docetaxel or paclitaxel) plus platinum (cisplatin or nedaplatin) were administered. Among the 50 patients, 43 (86.0%) received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab (median 7 cycles, range 2-14 cycles) and 29 (58.0%) received two cycles of CCT with docetaxel plus nedaplatin. Results: With a median follow-up of 28.0 months, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 83.29% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.93%-91.72%) and 97.67% (95% CI: 84.62%-99.67%), respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that cycles of nimotuzumab were significantly associated with PFS. Patients who received <6 cycles of nimotuzumab showed a better PFS than those receiving ≥6 cycles (P=0.006), whereas the addition of CCT failed to improve PFS. Oral mucositis was the most common adverse event, which was recorded as grade 3-4 in 18 (36.0%) patients. Besides, two (4.0%) patients experienced nimotuzumab-related anaphylaxis, and no skin rash was found in any patient. Subgroup analysis revealed that the patients who received CCT had more grade 3-4 adverse events as compared to those who did not receive CCT (62.1% vs 33.3%, P=0.045). Conclusion: The regime of nimotuzumab plus IMRT for the treatment of LA-NPC was well tolerated, with encouraging survival data, and it could be an effective treatment alternative for patients with LA-NPC. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a robot collision avoidance method using Kinect and global vision to improve the industrial robot’s security. Global vision is installed above the robot, and a combination of the background-difference method and the Otsu algorithm are used. Human skeleton detection is then introduced to detect the location information of the human body. The collided objects are classified into nonhuman and human obstacle which is further categorized into the human head and non-head areas such as the arm. The Kalman filter is used to predict the human gesture. The human joints danger index is used to evaluate the risk level of the human on the basis of human body joints and robot’s motion information. Finally, a motion control strategy is adopted in view of obstacle categories and the human joint danger index. Results show that the proposed method can effectively improve robot’s security in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the mechanical and wet tribological properties, the carbon fabric/phenolic composites containing 0 wt% (F0), 0.5 wt% (F1) and 1 wt% (F2) aramid pulp were prepared by filtration method. Subsequently, their three-dimensional surface profiles, skeletal densities, porosities and compression modules were characterized. Results show that the bridging and strengthening effects of aramid pulp can dramatically enhance the interfacial bonding. The shear and tensile strengths increase with the rise of aramid pulp content and that of F2 are 1.23 MPa and 85.19 MPa, improved by 31% and 54% compared with F0. The incorporation of aramid pulp increases the friction coefficient and decreases the wear rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical tungsten oxide assemblies such as spindle-like structures, flowers with sharp petals, nanowires and regular hexagonal structures are successfully synthesized via a solvothermal reduction method by simply adjusting the reaction conditions. On the basis of the experimental results, it is determined that the reaction time significantly influences the phase transition, microstructure and photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples. The possible mechanisms for the morphology evolution process have been systematically proposed. Moreover, the as-prepared products exhibit significant morphology-dependent photocatalytic activity. The flower-like W18O49 prepared at 6 h possesses a large specific surface area (150.1 m²·g-1), improved separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs and decreased electron-transfer resistance according to the photoelectrochemical measurements. As a result, the flower-like W18O49 prepared at 6 h exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Methyl orange aqueous solution. The radical trap experiments showed that the degradation of MO was driven mainly by the participation of h+ and O2- radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to overcome the poor interfacial bond between carbon fabric and phenolic matrix, carbon fiber powders (CFPs) were obtained by dry ball-milling technique and then the carbon fabric/phenolic composites filled with 0 wt% (C0), 1 wt% (C1) and 2 wt% (C2). CFPs were fabricated by successive filtration method and hot-press technique. Their mechanical and wet tribological properties were investigated based on the characteristics of surface morphology, three-dimensional surface profiles, skeletal density, pore structure and compressibility. Results show that the incorporation of CFPs obviously improves the interfacial bond and further increases the mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the introduction of CFPs increases the friction coefficient and improves the wear resistance. Notably, C1 exhibits the biggest friction coefficient, the smallest wear rate and the biggest flexural, shear and tensile strengths. Besides, SEM observation of worn surfaces suggests that the matrix crack and fiber breakage induced by fiber bending are the main wear mechanisms for C0 and fiber breakage induced by wear debris is the chief wear mechanism for C1 and C2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An oxidation resistant SiC nanowire-toughened mullite coating for SiC pre-coated carbon/carbon composites (SiC C/C) was prepared by a two-step technique of hydrothermal electrophoretic deposition with a later pulse arc discharge deposition. Sic nanowires could efficiently decrease the size of microcracks and baffle the propagation of the microcracks by various toughening mechanisms, including devitrification, crack deflection, bridging and pull out of SiC nanowire. The results showed that the weight loss of the coated samples was only 0.03% after 50 thermal cycles, and the weight loss of the coated samples was only 107 g m −2 after oxidation in air at 1773 K for 235 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the interfacial adhesion of carbon fabric/phenolic composites, the glass powders modified by silane coupling agents were introduced by repeated filtration method. Subsequently, the effects of glass powder content (0-3 wt%) on their mechanical and wet tribological properties were investigated based on the characteristics of surface micrographs, three-dimensional surface profiles, skeletal densities, and porosities. Results show that the incorporation of glass powders not only promotes the interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix but further increases shear and flexural properties. Meanwhile, the introduction of glass powders enhances friction coefficients and improves wear resistance, whereas worsens friction stability. Notably, the carbon fabric composites containing 2 wt% glass powders exhibit the greatest shear strength, flexural modulus and strength, friction coefficient but the smallest wear rate. Optical morphology analysis demonstrates that the abrasion of counterpart stainless slider becomes gradually severe with the increase of glass powder content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fabric/phenolic composites with the filaments counts of 12,000 were prepared by dip-coating and hot-press techniques. The effects of operating conditions on the tribological properties were investigated. Results show that the dynamic friction coefficient ( u ) firstly increases and then decreases as the rotating speed and total inertia increase. However, the friction stability and shudder phenomenon become gradually poor. The influence of braking pressure on u is the largest, followed by the total inertia among the above three operating conditions. The adhesive wear and abrasive wear are the main wear mechanisms during 1000 continuous braking cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature plays a significant role in the tribology properties and failure of friction materials during engagement of wet clutch. In order to obtain the temperature field of carbon fabric wet clutch, the thermal model was developed and the finite element analysis was conducted with the heat flux, convective and conductive heat-transfer taken into account. The predicted temperatures of thermometer hole were compared with experimental values. The effects of the thermal parameters on the temperatures of engagement and the damage of carbon fabric composites were investigated. Results show the thermal is evaluated as effective and can well predict the temperature field. The lower skeletal density, lower specific heat capacity and higher thermal conductivity are indispensable for the purpose of lowering the temperature of engagement. The highest temperature appears at R = 0.0509 m, where the damage of friction lining easily occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymmetric nanocrystals have practical significance in nanotechnologies but present fundamental synthetic challenges. Thiol ligands have proven effective in breaking the symmetric growth of metallic nanocrystals but their exact roles in the synthesis remain elusive. Here, we synthesized an unprecedented Au nanorod-Au nanoparticle (AuNR-AuNP) dimer structure with the assistance of a thiol ligand. On the basis of our experimental observations, we unraveled for the first time that the thiol could cause an inhomogeneous distribution of surface strains on the seed crystals as well as a modulated reduction rate of metal precursors, which jointly induced the asymmetric growth of monometallic dimers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic network models have become increasingly precise and accurate as the most widespread and practical digital representations of living cells. The prediction functions were significantly expanded by integrating cellular resources and abiotic constraints in recent years. However, if unreasonable modeling methods were adopted due to a lack of consideration of biological knowledge, the conflicts between stoichiometric and other constraints, such as thermodynamic feasibility and enzyme resource availability, would lead to distorted predictions. In this work, we investigated a prediction anomaly of EcoETM, a constraints-based metabolic network model, and introduced the idea of enzyme compartmentalization into the analysis process. Through rational combination of reactions, we avoid the false prediction of pathway feasibility caused by the unrealistic assumption of free intermediate metabolites. This allowed us to correct the pathway structures of L-serine and Ltryptophan. A specific analysis explains the application method of the EcoETM-like model and demonstrates its potential and value in correcting the prediction results in pathway structure by resolving the conflict between different constraints and incorporating the evolved roles of enzymes as reaction compartments. Notably, this work also reveals the trade-off between product yield and thermodynamic feasibility. Our work is of great value for the structural improvement of constraints-based models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fabric/phenolic composites with different weave filaments counts were prepared by dip-coating and hot-press techniques, and then their mechanical and wet tribological properties were investigated based on the analysis of the three-dimensional surface profiles and the pore structures. Results show that the mechanical properties (elastic modulus, flexural modulus, tensile modulus, flexural strength and tensile strength) of the 3K carbon fabric/phenolic composites (Composite A) are better than that of the 12K carbon fabric/phenolic composites (Composite B). Fractured surfaces observation suggests that the dominant tensile failure mechanism is fiber breakage for Composite A and matrix fracture for Composite B. Compared with Composite B, Composite A possesses high friction coefficient in different loads and at different sliding speeds, and the friction coefficient of Composite A is more sensitive to load and sliding speed. The wear rate of Composite B is 39% greater than that of Composite A and the wear features of worn surfaces demonstrate the excellent wear resistance for Composite A. Based on the observation of worn surface, the wear mechanisms are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the wet clutch engagement more efficiently makes it necessary to simulate the wet clutch behavior. So, based on the modified Reynolds equation and torque balance equation, the modified numerical model was developed by introducing the carbon fabric contact coefficient and the surface pattern parameter for the carbon fabric wet clutch. It was found that there was a good agreement between computational results and experimental measurements. And subsequently, the influences of the applied pressure, the permeability and the fluid viscosity on the engagement characteristics were explored with the proposed numerical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NH 4 V 3 O 8 nanosheets and flakes have been prepared successfully by co-precipitation method through microwave heating (MH) and conventional heating (CH), respectively. The effect of MH on the structure and electrochemical performance of NH 4 V 3 O 8 as cathode material for lithium ion battery is investigated. In comparison with NH 4 V 3 O 8 flakes prepared through CH, NH 4 V 3 O 8 nanosheets prepared with MH possess much smaller thickness because of the uniform and rapid heating of microwave, and deliver higher discharge capacity, better cycling stability and better rate capability. The NH 4 V 3 O 8 nanosheets exhibit a maximum discharge capacity of 292 mA h g −1 at 15 mA g −1 and maintain a capacity of 267 mA h g −1 after 30 cycles. Results show that microwave heating is favorable to improve the electrochemical performance of NH 4 V 3 O 8 cathode material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NH 4 V 3 O 8 nanosheets and flakes have been prepared successfully by co-precipitation method through microwave heating (MH) and conventional heating (CH), respectively. The effect of MH on the structure and electrochemical performance of NH 4 V 3 O 8 as cathode material for lithium ion battery is investigated. In comparison with NH 4 V 3 O 8 flakes prepared through CH, NH 4 V 3 O 8 nanosheets prepared with MH possess much smaller thickness because of the uniform and rapid heating of microwave, and deliver higher discharge capacity, better cycling stability and better rate capability. The NH 4 V 3 O 8 nanosheets exhibit a maximum discharge capacity of 292 mA h g −1 at 15 mA g −1 and maintain a capacity of 267 mA h g −1 after 30 cycles. Results show that microwave heating is favorable to improve the electrochemical performance of NH 4 V 3 O 8 cathode material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to make clear the engagement behavior, the numerical research is conducted to explore the influence of interface pressure on the tribological properties of carbon fabric reinforced phenolic composites. It is found that the dynamic friction torque is a linear function of interface pressure by curve fitting. And then the coefficient of dynamic friction is derived as an inverse proportional function of interface pressure. To demonstrate the results, the contact model is presented based on Gaussian surface asperity height distribution and the assumption of elastic deformation. Meanwhile, the asperity contact area is considered as the critical factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon/carbon composites were modified with a borate sol precursor and ZrB2 micro-particles by a sol-gel/solvothermal method to improve the oxidation resistance property at low temperature. The phase compositions, surface and cross-section microstructures of the C/C matrix were investigated. Results show that the surface of the composites is covered by a B2O3 and ZrB2 layer. The internal micro-holes are occupied by B2O3 and ZrB2. The anti-oxidation property of the composites after modification improves with the increase of the solvothermal treatment time from 24 h to 60 h. Longer solvothermal treatment time is found to have more ZrB2 both on the surface and inside the matrix, resulting in better anti-oxidation property. The carbon/carbon composites modified at 453 K for 60 h exhibit the best anti-oxidation property, which can effectively protect carbon/carbon composites from oxidation in air at 1073 K for 12 h with a mass loss of 0.1%. The formation of B2O3 and ZrO2 is found to be helpful to improve the oxidation resistance of the composites. The oxidation of the modified C/C composites was particularly studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cristobalite aluminum phosphate (Cristobalite–AlPO4) coating was deposited on SiC pre-coated C/C composites (SiC–C/C) by a pulse arc discharge deposition. The phase compositions, microstructures and oxidation resistance of the multilayer coatings were investigated. Results show that pulse arc discharge deposition is an effective route to prepare dense and homogeneous AlPO4 coating on SiC–C/C composites. The AlPO4/SiC multilayer coatings can effectively protect C/C composites from oxidation in air at 1773K for 160h with a weight loss of 0.70% and at 1873K for 100h with a weight loss of 1.8%, and the corresponding weight loss rates are 1.14×10−3 gcm−2 h−1 and 4.84×10−3 gcm−2 h−1, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: SiC hollow spheres are obtained by a vapor–solid reaction using carbon spheres as templates. The prepared SiC hollow spheres are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The visible-light photocatalytic activity is evaluated by photocatalytic decomposition of the methylene blue in aqueous solution. Results show that the diameter of SiC hollow spheres ranges from 200 to 300nm and the shell thickness is about 50nm. The SiC hollow spheres have a high surface area of 83.5m2/g and exhibit a mesoporous structure characteristic. The photo-response of the SiC hollow spheres expand to visible-light region with band gap energy of 2.15eV. The SiC hollow spheres exhibit a significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity due to their high surface area as well as large light-harvesting efficiencies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a highly sensitive probe for molecular detection. The aim of this study was to develop an efficient platform for investigating the kinetics of catalytic reactions with SERS. To achieve this, we synthesized a novel Au-Pd bimetallic nanostructure (HIF-AuNR@AuPd) through site-specific epitaxial growth of Au-Pd alloy horns as catalytic sites at the ends of Au nanorods. Using high-resolution electron microscopy and tomography, we successfully reconstructed the complex three-dimensional morphology of HIF-AuNR@AuPd and identified that the horns are bound with high-index {11l} (0.25 < l < 0.43) facets. With an electron beam probe, we visualized the distribution of surface plasmon over the HIF-AuNR@AuPd nanorods, finding that strong longitudinal surface plasmon resonance concentrated at the rod ends. This unique crystal morphology led to the coupling of high catalytic activity with a strong SERS effect at the rod ends, making HIF-AuNR@AuPd an excellent bifunctional platform for in situ monitoring of surface catalytic reactions. Using the hydrogenation of 4-nitrothiophenol as a model reaction, we demonstrated that its first-order reaction kinetics could be accurately determined from this platform. Moreover, we clearly identified the superior catalytic activity of the rod ends relative to that of the rod bodies, owing to the different SERS activities at the two positions. In comparison with other reported Au-Pd bimetallic nanostructures, HIF-AuNR@AuPd offered both higher catalytic activity and greater detection sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study was undertaken to investigate the modification effect of Al–30Zn–5Zr–1B master alloy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ZnAl4Y alloy. The results show that with the addition of Al–30Zn–5Zr–1B master alloy to ZnAl4Y alloy, the morphology and the kind of primary phase vary considerably. Besides, the mechanical properties of the modified alloy can be improved remarkably. When the added amount of Al–30Zn–5Zr–1B master alloy is 1.3wt.%, the tensile strength, hardness, elongation and impact toughness of the modified alloy increase by 22.3%, 17.6%, 28.8% and 694%, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Tungsten oxide hydrates crystallites with a diversity of morphologies were successfully synthesized by employing peroxo-polytungstic acid as the precursor via a facile and additive-free hydrothermal process. The crystal structure, morphology and orientation relationship were investigated by using X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Results show that with the increase of the hydrothermal reaction time, the product morphology shows an obvious evolution from hexagonal plates to round angular blocks and to hexagonal gears, through irregular nanosheets and to cuboid rods finally. Furthermore, the driving force of this morphology evolution was found to be correspondent with the interesting change of the orientation growth and the phase transition of tungsten oxide hydrates under the hydrothermal process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present work focuses on reverse modification of Al–5wt.%Ti–1wt.%B master alloy on the structural characteristics and mechanical properties of hypoeutectic ZnAl4Y alloy. The results shows that with the increase of the adding amount of master alloy to ZnAl4Y alloy, the morphology and the kind of primary phase as well as the amount of eutectic structure of the modified alloy vary considerably. With the increase of the adding amount of Al–5wt.%Ti–1wt.%B, the tensile strength and the hardness of modified ZnAl4Y alloy increase. When the adding amount is 0.5wt.%, the impact toughness and the elongation of the alloy reach the maximum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dendritic Ag/Au bimetallic nanostructures have been synthesized via a galvanic replacement reaction (GRR) of Ag dendrites in a chlorauric acid (HAuCl4) solution. After short periods of time, one obtains structures with protruding flakes; these will mature into very porous structures with little Ag left over. The morphological, compositional, and crystal structural changes involved with reaction time twere analyzed by using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and X-ray diffraction. High-resolution TEM combined with EDX and selected area electron diffraction confirmed the replacement of Ag with Au. A proposed formation mechanism of the original Ag dendrites developing pores while growing Au flakes cover this underlying structure at longer reaction times is confirmed by exploiting surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by sodium borohydride (NaBH4) is strongly enhanced, implying promising applications in catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, one kind of subgroup in arbitrary group which similar to the linear subspace was constructed, and the generalization of the Hahn-Banach theorem on this kind of subgroup in arbitrary groups was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Polystyrene (PS)/carbon black (CB) composite microspheres were prepared using a modified CB, which was prepared by blending CB with a hindered phenol antioxidant Irganox 1330 in an internal mixer. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the modified CB adsorbed on the surface of PS microspheres homogenously to form a raspberry-like morphology composite. The non-covalent binding of Irganox 1330 on the surface of PS microsphere was observed from the UV-Vis absorption spectrum in ethanol, while the fluorescence of PS was almost totally quenched by the binding of Irganox 1330. These results implied there were aromatic interactions between Irganox 1330 and the PS microspheres, which played a crucial role in the formation of composite microspheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Location-based social networks (LBSNs) is playing an increasingly important role in our daily life, through which users can share their locations and location-related contents at any time. The Location information implicitly expresses user's behaviour preference. Therefore, LBSNs is being widely explored for Point-of-Interest (POI) recommendation in recent years. Most of existing POI recommenders only recommend a single POI, while sometimes successive POI sequence recommendation is more practical. For example, when we travel to a strange city, what we expect is not a single POI recommendation, but a POI sequence recommendation which contains a set of POIs and the order of visiting them. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel model called Context-Aware POI Sequence Recommendation (CPSR), which is developed based on an attention-based neural network. Neural network has made a great success in various of field because of its powerful learning ability. Recently, dozens of works has demonstrated that attention mechanism can make the neural network models more reasonable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To alleviate the problems of environmental pollution and energy crisis, aggressive development of clean and alternative energy technologies, in particular, water splitting, metal–air batteries, and fuel cells involving two key half reactions comprising hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen reduction (ORR), is crucial. In this work, an innovative hybrid comprising heterogeneous Cu/Co bimetallic nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed on a nitrogen-doped carbon layer (Cu/Co/NC) was constructed as a bifunctional electrocatalyst toward HER and ORR via a hydrothermal reaction along with post-solid-phase sintering technique. Thanks to the interfacial coupling and electronic synergism between the Cu and Co bimetallic nanoparticles, the Cu/Co/NC catalyst showed improved catalytic ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.865 V and an excellent stability of more than 30 h, even compared to 20 wt% Pt/C. The Cu/Co/NC catalyst also exhibited excellent HER catalytic performance with an overpotential of below 149 mV at 10 mA/cm2 and long-term operation for over 30 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barium tin hydroxide/tin dioxide nanorods are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The morphology, structure and optical performance of the nanorods are characterized via X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and solid ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflectance spectrum. The nanorods are mainly composed of monoclinic BaSn(OH)6 and orthorhombic SnO2 phases with the length and diameter of about 5 μm and 50-150 nm, respectively. The formation process of the nanorods is investigated based on the morphology and structure evolution of the products from different hydrothermal conditions. Solid UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum shows that the nanorods belong to typical semiconductor with the band gap of 3.74 eV. The barium tin hydroxide/tin dioxide nanorods are used for the photocatalytic degradation of gentian violet under UV light irradiation. The degradation efficiency reaches 93.2% with the irradiation time of 8 h adding 10 mg nanorods in 10 mL 10 mg mL-1 gentian violet solution. The reactive species trapping results show that hydroxyl radicals, holes and superoxide radicals are main reactive species for gentian violet degradation. The barium tin hydroxide/tin dioxide nanorods are stable for the photocatalytic reaction of the gentian violet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic Predisposition, Sedentary Behavior, and Incident Coronary Artery Disease: A Prospective Chinese Cohort Study. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 56, No. 1, pp. 103-109, 2024. Purpose: Whether the association of sedentary behaviors with coronary artery disease (CAD) can be influenced by genetic susceptibility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the joint and interplay effects between genetic risk and sedentary time (ST) and to further explore the extent to which the risk for CAD can be counteracted by reducing ST in different genetic groups. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 39,164 Chinese adults without CAD history. Genetic susceptibility was quantified by a predefined polygenic risk score (PRS) with 540 genetic variants, and daily ST was assessed by questionnaire. We analyzed the modification effect of genetic risk on the association of ST with CAD using the Cox proportional hazards models. Results: During a median follow-up of 11.60 yr, 1156 CAD events were documented. Higher ST and PRS were separately related to elevated CAD risk. Significant additive interaction was also observed (relative excess risk due to interaction: 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.27–1.28). Compared with participants with low genetic risk and low ST (<6 h·d−1 ), those with high genetic risk and high ST (≥10 h·d−1 ) had the highest CAD risk, with the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI of 4.22 (2.65–6.71). When stratified by genetic risks, participants with high ST had gradient increment of CAD risks across low, intermediate, and high genetic risk groups, with HR (95% CI) values of 1.21 (0.61–2.40), 1.57 (1.14–2.16), and 2.15 (1.40–3.31), respectively. For the absolute risk reduction, individuals with high genetic risk achieved the greatest benefit from low ST (Ptrend = 0.024). Conclusions: Genetic susceptibility may synergistically interact with ST to increase CAD risk. Reducing ST could attenuate the CAD risk, especially among individuals with high genetic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of single-atom catalysts (SACs) offers a novel strategy to minimize catalyst loadings while maintaining high electrocatalytic activity. Herein, a novel Ni/Ni single atom anchored porous graphitic nanocarbon (Ni/Ni-SA--NC) is synthesized by an alkali-assisted etching approach combined with post-calcination protocol. It is manifested that the in situ formed AlN not only can function as a template for the generation of porous nanoarchitecture but can also serve as an anchoring agent for synthesized Ni--Nx species. Benefitting from the high specific surface area, abundant electroactive sites, and highly conductive graphitic carbon matrix, the fabricated Ni/Ni-SA--NC displays superior HER performances with a quite low overpotential of 159 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2, far outperforming the Ni/C counterpart and long-term stability for over 50 h with unnoticeable current fluctuation in alkaline medium. Our work inspires the exploration of remarkable SACs electrocatalysts for cost-effective and large-scale hydrogen production in the energy conversion and storage field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Evidence remains limited about the association of maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm [PM2.5]) with fetal congenital heart defects (CHDs) in highly polluted regions, and few studies have focused on preconception exposure. METHODS: Using a nationwide surveillance-based case-control design in China, we examined the association between maternal exposure to PM2.5 during periconception (defined as 3 months before conception until 3 months into pregnancy) and risk of CHD in offspring. The study included 1 434 998 births involving 7335 CHDs from 2014 through 2017 on the basis of the National Population-Based Birth Defects Surveillance System, covering 30 provinces, municipalities, or municipal districts in China. We assigned maternal PM2.5 exposure during the periconception period to each participant using satellite-based PM2.5 concentrations at 1-km spatial resolution. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to calculate the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio and 95% CI for CHDs in offspring associated with maternal PM2.5 exposure, and the exposure–response association was investigated using restricted cubic spline analysis. Subgroup or sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify factors that may modify the association. RESULTS: The average maternal exposure to PM2.5 levels across all participants was 56.51 µg/m³ (range, 10.95 to 182.13 µg/m3). For each 10 µg/m³ increase in maternal PM2.5 exposure, the risk of CHDs in offspring was increased by 2% (odds ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.00 to 1.05]), and septal defect was the most influenced subtype (odds ratio, 1.04 [95% CI, 1.01 to 1.08]). The effect of PM2.5 on CHD risk was more pronounced during the preconception period. Mothers <35 years of age, those living in northern China, and those living in low-income areas were more susceptible to PM2.5 exposure than their counterparts (all P<0.05). PM2.5 exposure showed a linear association with total CHDs or specific CHD types. CONCLUSIONS: High maternal PM2.5 exposure, especially during the preconception period, increases risk of certain types of CHD in offspring. These findings are useful for CHD prevention and highlight the public health benefits of improving air quality in China and other highly polluted regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the integrated care in Luohu, China on the hypertension management. Methods: Hypertensive patients aged 35-74 years were recruited by the clusterrandomized sampling method from Luohu district which adopted integrated care and another district that remained original routine care during October 2018-January 2020, with 1353 and 583 patients from integrated and routine care communities, respectively. Health information, knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards cardiovascular diseases, pharmaceutical expenditure on hypertension and its comorbidities, and healthcare-related satisfaction were collected by questionnaires, with the expenditure additionally verified by hospitals billing records database. Continuous and categorical variables were compared by Wilcoxon test and Chi-square test, respectively. The agestandardized hypertension control rate was calculated by direct standardization. Results: The standardized hypertension management rate in the integrated care communities (45.75%) was significantly higher than that in routine care communities (14.07%) (P < 0.0001), while the age-standardized hypertension control rates were similar (integrated care: 50.3%, routine care: 52.65%, P = 0.518). The pharmaceutical expenditure on hypertension and its comorbidities in the integrated care communities was 264.23 ± 357.38/month/person, lower than that in the routine care communities (354.56 ± 430.59/month/person). Patients in the integrated care had higher KAP scores (73.48 ± 11.54), compared with routine care (68.89 ± 15.51) (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the integrated care communities had higher satisfaction rates towards the convenience of dual referral (90.15% vs. 77.99%) and service quality (95.18% vs. 87.81%) than routine care communities (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The practice of the integrated care in Luohu has substantially improved the hypertension management and the healthcare-related satisfaction while with relatively low pharmaceutical expenditure. The investigation of long-term impact of the integrated care on hypertension control and management is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ZrB 2 –SiO 2 coating was prepared on the SiC coated carbon/carbon composites by infiltrating silica sol into a porous ZrB 2 layer. The ZrB 2 –SiO 2 coating protected the composites from oxidation for 330 h at 1500 °C with a weight loss of 158 g/m 2 . The formation of ZrO 2 and ZrSiO 4 from ZrB 2 expanded the volume of solid phase, generating compressive stress in the coating at high-temperature oxidations. The phase transformation of ZrO 2 provided the compressive stress in the coating during cooling. These compressive stresses restrained the formation of cracks and improved the oxidation protection of the coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To make clear the changes of the service ability of carbon fabric wet clutch in their whole service life, the tribological properties were investigated under oil lubricated condition. Results show that the torque transmission ability firstly increases and then decreases as the engagement cycle increases. The friction stability and pedal feel become gradually poor and the shudder phenomenon becomes serious. Carbon fabric composites exhibit a combination of adhesive wear, abrasive wear and thermal degradation mechanism and the worn surface shows different wear characteristics in different directions. To prolong their service life, the excellent interfacial adhesion and heat-resistant matrix are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Updating topographic maps in multi-representation databases is crucial to a number of applications. An efficient way to update topographic maps is to propagate the updates from large-scale maps to small-scale maps. Because objects are often portrayed differently in maps of different scales, it is a complicated process to produce multi-scale topographic maps that meet specific cartographical criteria. In this study, we propose a new approach to update small-scale maps based on updated large-scale maps. We first group spatially-related objects in multi-scale maps and decompose the large-scale objects into triangles based on constrained Delaunay triangulation. We then operate the triangles and construct small-scale objects by accounting for cartographical generalization rules. In addition, we apply the Tabu Search algorithm to search for the optimal sequences when constructing small-scale objects. A case study was conducted by applying the developed method to update residential areas at varied scales. We found the proposed method could effectively update small-scale maps while maintaining the shapes and positions of large-scale objects. Our developed method allows for parallel processing of update propagation because it operates grouped objects together, thus possesses computational advantages over the sequential updating method in areas with high building densities. Although the method proposed in this study requires further tests, it shows promise with respect to automatic updates of polygon data in the multi-representation databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective is to examine the association between physical activity level (PAL) and incident type 2 diabetes among middle-age and older Chinese men and women in urban China. Methods: This prospective study included 6348 participants (age 35 to 74 yr) who were free of diabetes and cardiovascular disease at baseline. PAL was estimated on the basis of self-reported overall physical activity on a typical day. According to PAL, participants were classified into four groups: sedentary (PAL, 1.00-1.39), low active (PAL, 1.40-1.59), active (PAL, 1.60-1.89), and very active (PAL, 91.89). The association of PAL with incident diabetes was examined by Cox proportional hazards model. Results: During 7.9 yr of follow-up (50,293 person-years), 478 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were identified. After adjustment for age, sex, geographic region, educational level, smoking, alcohol use, and family history of diabetes, the HR (95% CI) values for type 2 diabetes across increasing categories of PAL were 1.00 (reference), 0.82 (0.62-1.09), 0.63 (0.47-0.83), and 0.47 (0.36-0.61), respectively (P for trend <0.0001). Additional adjustment for baseline body mass index or waist circumference attenuated the magnitude of risk reduction, but it remained significant. The inverse association between PAL and risk of incident diabetes was persistent in subgroup analyses according to age, sex, hypertension, smoking, body mass index, waist circumference, and fasting plasma glucose level. Conclusions: Higher PAL is associated with substantial reduction in risk of type 2 diabetes. Our findings suggest the importance of a physically active lifestyle in the prevention of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) B1 is expressed in numerous human tumors, but little is known regarding its role in the pathophysiology of glioma. In this paper, we report that SERPINB1 expression was down-regulated in high-grade human glioma tissue samples and glioblastoma cell lines. To investigate the role of SERPINB1 in glioma migration and invasion, we generated human glioma cell lines in which SERPINB1 was either overexpressed or depleted. Overexpression of SERPINB1 suppressed, while elimination of SERPINB1 promoted, the migration and invasion of glioma cells. SERPINB1 inhibited glioma migration and invasion probably by dampening the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). Molecular data showed that the effect of SERPINB1 in glioma cells might be mediated via sustained inactivation of the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) involved in the downregulation of the expressions of MMP-2. In a multivariate analysis, high SERPINB1 expression was showed to be associated with good prognosis in glioma. In conclusion, our data suggest that SERPINB1 negatively regulates glioma cell migration and invasion probably by abrogating the expression of MMP-2 and the activation of FAK. We suggest that SERPINB1 may offer the application in clinical medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: SiC/SiO2 nanochains were prepared by a simple chemical vapor reaction method and characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analyses. The visible-light photocatalytic activity of SiC/SiO2 nanochains was investigated by the photocatalytic decomposition of Rhodamine B in the aqueous solution. The results show that the SiC/SiO2 nanochain has equirotal beads of 650nm and a uniform string with a diameter of 240nm. The photo-response behavior of the SiC/SiO2 nanochain can be expanded to visible-light region with a high absorbance. The photocatalytic activity of SiC/SiO2 nanochains was found to be better compared to that of the SiO2-free SiC nanowires owing to the nanosized SiO2 coating that can form activated hydroxyl groups and effectively separate the photogenerated electrons and holes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites were modified with an aluminum phosphates solution by a novel microwave hydrothermal (MH) process in order to improve their low temperature oxidation resistance. Results show that a H3PO4 or HPO3 continuous molten layer with some regular, white cubic Al(PO3)3 crystallites are obtained on the surface of the modified composites. The anti-oxidation property of the composites after modification improves with the increase of the MH temperature from 393 to 473K. The oxidation rate is almost constant after oxidation at 873K for 6h. The formation of annular structure of Al(PO3)3 is helpful to improve the oxidation resistance of the composites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a dietary intervention study that examined the association between metabolic syndrome and the salt sensitivity of blood pressure. The study involved 1906 Chinese participants without diabetes, aged 16 years or more, who were selected to receive a low-sodium diet followed by a high-sodium diet. The presence of three or more of the following conditions constituted metabolic syndrome: abdominal obesity, raised blood pressure, high triglyceride concentration, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or high glucose. Metabolic syndrome was found to enhance blood pressure response to sodium intake. The authors explain that reducing sodium intake could be important in reducing blood pressure in patients with multiple risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

The human plasma kallikrein gene (KLKB1) encodes plasma kallikrein, a serine protease that catalyzes the release of kinins and other vasoactive peptides and may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. In this study, we performed a haplotype-based study to assess the effect of common genetic variation in the KLKB1 gene on the risk of essential hypertension. Eight common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected from the HapMap database and used to determine the pattern of linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype structure within the KLKB1 gene. Four tag SNPs were then identified with over 85% power to predict both common haplotypes and remaining common SNPs, and genotyped in 1,317 cases with essential hypertension and 1,269 healthy controls. Single SNP analyses indicated that SNPs rs2304595 and rs4253325 were significantly associated with hypertension, adjusted for covariates. Compared with the most common Hap2 CAGC, Hap1 AGAC and Hap3 CGAC, which carry the susceptible rs2304595 G allele and rs4253325 A allele, were found to significantly increase the risk of essential hypertension with adjusted odds ratios equal to 1.37 and 1.17, respectively ( P < 0.0001 and 0.028). A strongly significant interaction with gene-drinking was also observed. Among drinkers, the adjusted OR for Hap1 relative to Hap2 was increased to 2.50 (95% CI, 2.40 to 2.61; P < 0.0001). This was the first study to perform association analysis of the KLKB1 gene with essential hypertension. Our findings suggested that common genetic variation in the KLKB1 gene might contribute to the risk of hypertension in the northern Han Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

https://doi.org/10.1530/ERC-21-0153 https://erc.bioscientifica.com © 2022 Society for EndocrinologyPrinted in Great Britain Published by Bioscientifica Ltd. 29:2Endocrine-Related Cancer X Ruan, J Yi, L Hu et al. MHC-II expression and survival in MTC 87–98 -21-0153 RESEARCH Reduced MHC class II expression in medullary thyroid cancer identifies patients with poor prognosis Xianhui Ruan1,*, Jiaoyu Yi1,*, Linfei Hu1,*, Jingtai Zhi2, Yu Zeng1, Xiukun Hou1, Jianfeng Huang 3, Pengfei Gu1, Weijing Hao1, Ming Gao 1,4, Yi Pan5, Songfeng Wei1 and Xiangqian Zheng 1 1Department of Thyroid and Neck Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 2Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Nankai District of Tianjin, Institute of Otolaryngology of Tianjin, Key Laboratory of Auditory Speech and Balance Medicine, Key Clinical Discipline of Tianjin (Otolaryngology), Otolaryngology Clinical Quality Control Centre, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 3Cancer Metabolism and Signaling Networks Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, USA 4Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tianjin Union Medical Center, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 5Department of Pathology, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China Correspondence should be addressed to Y Pan or S Wei or X Zheng: tjphyLP@126.com or successor317@aliyun.com or xzheng05@tmu.edu.cn *(X Ruan, J Yi and L Hu contributed equally to this work) Abstract Increasing body of recent studies determining the expression of tumor-specific major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II protein supports its potential role in several malignancies, but little is known in human medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Here, we report the expression of MHC-II and its clinicopathologic and prognostic relevance in MTC patients. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed a significant reduction in tumor cell- specific MHC-II expression in a higher AJCC stage and its poor prognostic correlation with human MTC development. Further statistical analysis identified the low MHC-II expression as a significant and independent risk factor for MTC recurrence and patient survival. Moreover, in vitro studies showed that the MHC-II expression was remarkably increased by RET inhibitors, which were prescribed to treat advanced MTC. Similarly, inhibitors blocking the MAPK/ERK and AKT/mTOR pathways also augmented MHC-II expression, suggesting their implications in RET-MHC-II signaling axis. Importantly, in vitro assays manifested enhanced peripheral blood leukocytes-mediated cytotoxicity in MTC cells treated with RET inhibitors, which were partially alleviated by HLA knock-down. Together, our study demonstrates that low MHC-II expression levels may serve as a prognostic biomarker for aggressive diseases in MTC patients and indicates that RET activation may promote MTC immune escape through downregulating MHC-II expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]