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Cost-effective non-noble metal-based catalysts for selective hydrogenation with excellent activity, selectivity, and durability are still the holy grail. Herein, an oxygen-doped carbon (OC) chainmail encapsulated dilute Cu-Ni alloy is developed by simple pyrolysis of Cu/Ni-metal-organic framework. The CuNi 0.05 @OC catalyst displays superior performance for atmospheric pressure transfer hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene and p-nitrophenol, and for hydrogenation of furfural, all in water and with exceptional durability. Comprehensive characterizations confirm the close interactions between the diluted Ni sites, the base Cu, and optimized three-layered graphene chainmail. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the properly tuned lattice strain and Schottky junction can adjust electron density to facilitate specific adsorption on the active centers, thus enhancing the catalytic activity and selectivity, while the OC shell also offers robust protection. This work provides a simple and environmentally friendly strategy for developing practical heterogeneous catalysts that bring the synergistic effect into play between dilute alloy and functional carbon wrapping., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

With the rapid development of performance and long-term stability, bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) has emerged as the preferred photoanode in photoelectrochemical tandem devices. Although state-of-the-art BiVO 4 photoanodes realize a saturated photocurrent density approaching the theoretical maximum, the fill factor (FF) is still inferior, pulling down the half-cell applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (HC-ABPE). Among the major fundamental limitations are the Fermi level pinning and sluggish surface kinetics at the low applied potentials. This work demonstrates that the plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition technique is capable of addressing these issues by seamlessly installing an angstrom-scale FeNi-layer between BiVO 4 and electrolyte. Not only this ultrathin FeNi layer serves as an efficient OER cocatalyst, more importantly, it also effectively passivates the surface states of BiVO 4 , de-pins the surface Fermi level, and enlarges the built-in voltage, allowing the photoanode to make optimal use of the photogenerated holes for achieving high FF up to 44% and HC-ABPE to 2.2%. This study offers a new approach for enhancing the FF of photoanodes and provides guidelines for designing efficient unassisted solar fuel devices., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Nanostructured bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) is at the forefront of emerging photoanodes in photoelectrochemical tandem devices for solar water splitting owing to the suitable band edge position and efficient charge separation capability. However, the (photo)chemical corrosion involving V 5+ dissolution limits the long-term stability of BiVO 4 . Herein, guided by DFT calculations, we introduce an ALD-derived NiO x catalyst layer on BiVO 4 to stabilize the surface Bi-O bonds, facilitate hole extraction, and thus suppress the V 5+ dissolution. At the same time, the ALD NiO x catalyst layer could efficiently suppress the surface recombination and accelerate the surface OER kinetics, boosting the half-cell applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of BiVO 4 to 2.05%, as well as a fill factor of 47.1%. By adding trace NaVO 3 to the electrolyte, the NiO x /BiVO 4 photoanode with an illumination area of 10.5 cm 2 shows a record operational stability of more than 2100 h.

An apoptosis-resistant state determined by apoptotic protein expression is commonly seen in the initiation, progression, and treatment failure stages of human cancer, and anti-tumor drugs targeting apoptotic proteins have been increasingly developed over the past three decades. However, the frequently alternative splicing of apoptotic proteins diminished the ability of targeting drugs to bind to apoptotic proteins and, consequently, limit the drug efficacy. Currently, accumulating evidence has demonstrated that many alternative splicing events have been associated to apoptosis resistance in different cancers. Therefore, the intervention targeting alternative splicing for regulating tumor cell apoptosis is expected to become a new strategy and new direction of antitumor therapy. Here, we present well established alternative splicing events that occur in different apoptosis-related genes and their modification by several approaches with cancer therapeutic purposes., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 He et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

The emergence of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites with a high μτ product and a high absorption coefficient has made it possible to adopt an aerosol-liquid-solid technology for direct X-ray detectors. The film quality from the ALS process is often compromised, especially on the film surface, when deposited in ambient conditions with uncontrolled humidity. Herein we develop a solvent engineering strategy in the ALS process to obtain high-quality MAPbI 3 thick films. The key is the introduction of a molecular additive to intervene and regulate the perovskite crystallization process so that the negative effect of the ALS ambience is minimized. This strategy allows us to prepare direct X-ray detectors with much reduced dark current, enhanced response speed and improved overall performance.

Understanding the structural nature of the active sites in electrocatalysis is central to discovering general design rules for better catalysts in fuel cells and electrolyzers. Nanostructures are widely used as electrocatalysts, but the location and structure of the active sites within the nanostructure are often unknown. This information is hidden in conventional bulk measurements due to ensemble averaging, hindering direct structure-activity correlation. Herein, we use a single-entity electrochemical approach to reveal the heterogeneity in electrocatalysts via scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM). Using hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanorods as the model catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the electrocatalytic activity is measured at individual nanorods. Finer mapping within a single nanorod shows that the OER activity is consistently higher at the body portion vs the tip of the nanorod. Our results directly suggest the benefit of synthesizing longer hematite nanorods for better OER performance. The origin of the enhanced local activity is explained by the larger fraction of {001} facet exposed on the body compared to the tip. The finding goes beyond OER on hematite nanorods, highlighting the critical role of single-entity activity mapping and colocalized structural characterization in revealing active sites in electrocatalysis.

Introduction: Network meta-analyses have confirmed that paclitaxel plus carboplatin could improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with platinum alone. However, detailed implementation schedule (weekly or 3-weekly therapy) was not specified in clinical practice guidelines. Evidence from studies is also inconsistent. We will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the benefits and harms of weekly therapy and 3-weekly therapy of paclitaxel combined with carboplatin in women with ovarian cancer., Methods: We will search PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases to include relevant randomised controlled trials comparing weekly therapy versus 3-weekly therapy of paclitaxel combined with carboplatin for women with ovarian cancer. Random-effects model will be used to pool data for patient-reported outcomes including survival rate, OS, PFS and adverse events. Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach will be used to rate the quality of evidence., Ethics and Dissemination: This systematic review and meta-analysis will be based on published data and does not therefore require specific ethical approval or consent for participation. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal., Osf Registration Number: 10.17605/OSF.IO/GJUMA., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The BiVO 4 photoelectrochemical (PEC) electrode in tandem with a photovoltaic (PV) cell has shown great potential to become a compact and cost-efficient device for solar hydrogen generation. However, the PEC part is still facing problems such as the poor charge transport efficiency owing to the drag of oxygen vacancy bound polarons. In the present work, to effectively suppress oxygen vacancy formation, a new route has been developed to synthesize BiVO 4 photoanodes by using a highly oxidative two-dimensional (2D) precursor, bismuth oxyiodate (BiOIO 3 ), as an internal oxidant. With the reduced defects, namely the oxygen vacancies, the bound polarons were released, enabling a fast charge transport inside BiVO 4 and doubling the performance in tandem devices based on the oxygen vacancy eliminated BiVO 4 . This work is a new avenue for elaborately designing the precursor and breaking the limitation of charge transport for highly efficient PEC-PV solar fuel devices., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We herein demonstrate the unusual effectiveness of two strategies in combination to enhance photoelectrochemical water splitting. First, the work function adjustment via molybdenum (Mo) doping significantly reduces the interfacial energy loss and increases the open-circuit photovoltage of bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) photoelectrochemical cells. Second, the creation and optimization of the heterojunction of boron (B) doping carbon nitride (C 3 N 4 ) and Mo doping BiVO 4 to enforce directional charge transfer, accomplished by work function adjustment via B doping for C 3 N 4 , substantially boost the charge separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs at the B-C 3 N 4 and Mo-BiVO 4 interface. The synergy between the above efforts have significantly reduced the onset potential, and enhanced charge separation and optical properties of the BiVO 4 -based photoanode, culminating in achieving a record applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of 2.67% at 0.54 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode. This work sheds light on designing and fabricating the semiconductor structures for the next-generation photoelectrodes.

Constructing 3D nanophotonic structures is regarded as an effective means to realize both efficient light absorption and efficient charge separation. However, most of the 3D structures reported so far enhance light trapping beyond the absorption onset wavelength, and thus greatly attentuate or even completely block the long-wavelength light, which could otherwise be efficiently absorbed by narrow-bandgap materials in a Z-scheme or tandem device. In addition, constructing a 3D conductive substrate often involves complex processes causing increased cost and upscaling problems. To overcome these shortcomings, a novel 3D hematite nanorod@nanobowl array nanophotonic structure is designed and fabricated by a low-cost method. This unique structure can enhance light absorption with tunable cutoffs and rationally concentrate photons right above the bowl bottom, enabling efficient charge separation. By loading NiFeO x as a cocatalyst, a high photocurrent density of 3.41 ± 0.2 mA cm -2 at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) can be obtained, which is 2.35 times that with a planar structure in otherwise the same system., (© 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Background: Studies on environmental exposures during pregnancy commonly use maternal residence at time of delivery, which may result in exposure misclassification and biased estimates of exposure and disease association. Studies on residential mobility during pregnancy are needed in various populations to aid studies of the environmental exposure and birth outcomes. However, there is still a lack of studies investigating residential mobility patterns in Asian populations., Methods: We analyzed data from 10,542 pregnant women enrolled in a birth cohort study in Lanzhou, China (2010-2012), a major industrial city. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate residential mobility patterns in relation to maternal complications and birth outcomes., Results: Of the participants, 546 (5.2%) moved during pregnancy; among those who moved, 40.5%, 34.8%, and 24.7% moved during the first, second, and third trimester, respectively. Most movers (97.3%) moved once with a mean distance of 3.75 km (range: 1-109 km). More than half (66.1%) of the movers moved within 3 km, 13.9% moved 3-10 km, and 20.0% moved > 10 km. Pregnant women who were > 30 years or multiparous, or who had maternal complications were less likely to have moved during pregnancy. In addition, movers were less likely to deliver infants with birth defects, preterm births, and low birth weight., Conclusions: Residential mobility was significantly associated with several maternal characteristics and complications during pregnancy. The study also showed a lower likelihood of adverse birth outcomes among movers than non-movers, suggesting that moving might be related to reduce exposure to environmental hazards. These results confirm the hypothesis that residential mobility may be important with respect to exposure misclassification and that this misclassification may vary by subpopulations., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: To evaluate the independent and joint effects of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain (GWG) on the risk of preeclampsia and its subtypes., Methods: A birth cohort study was conducted from 2010 to 2012 in Lanzhou, China. Three hundred fourty seven pregnant women with preeclampsia and 9516 normotensive women at Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child Care Hospital were included in the present study. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between pre-pregnancy BMI, GWG, and risk of preeclampsia and its subtypes., Results: Compared to women with normal pre-pregnancy BMI, those who were overweight/obese had an increased risk of preeclampsia (OR = 1.81; 95%CI: 1.37-2.39). Women with excessive GWG had an increased risk of preeclampsia (OR = 2.28; 95%CI: 1.70-3.05) compared to women with adequate GWG. The observed increased risk was similar for mild-, severe- and late-onset preeclampsia. No association was found for early-onset preeclampsia. Overweight/obese women with excessive GWG had the highest risk of developing preeclampsia compared to normal weight women with no excessive weight gain (OR = 3.78; 95%CI: 2.65-5.41)., Conclusions: Our results suggested that pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG are independent risk factors for preeclampsia and that the risk might vary by preeclampsia subtypes. Our study also proposed a potential synergistic effect of pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG that warrants further investigation.

Background: It has been reported that folic acid supplementation before and/or during pregnancy could reduce the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, the results from limited epidemiologic studies have been inconclusive. We investigated the associations between maternal folic acid supplementation, dietary folate intake, and the risk of CHDs., Methods: A birth cohort study was conducted in 2010-2012 at the Gansu Provincial Maternity & Child Care Hospital in Lanzhou, China. After exclusion of stillbirths and multiple births, a total of 94 births were identified with congenital heart defects, and 9,993 births without any birth defects. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate the associations., Results: Compared to non-users, folic acid supplement users before pregnancy had a reduced risk of overall CHDs (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.21-0.86, Ptrend = 0.025) after adjusted for potential confounders. A protective effect was observed for certain subtypes of CHDs (OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16-0.85 for malformation of great arteries; 0.26, 0.10-0.68 for malformation of cardiac septa; 0.34, 0.13-0.93 for Atrial septal defect). A similar protective effect was also seen for multiple CHDs (OR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.26-0.93, Ptrend = 0.004). Compared with the middle quartiles of dietary folate intake, lower dietary folate intake (<149.88 μg/day) during pregnancy were associated with increased risk of overall CHDs (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.01-2.62) and patent ductus arteriosus (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.03-3.32). Women who were non-user folic acid supplement and lower dietary folate intake have almost 2-fold increased CHDs risk in their offspring., Conclusions: Our study suggested that folic acid supplementation before pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of CHDs, lower dietary folate intake during pregnancy was associated with increased risk. The observed associations varied by CHD subtypes. A synergistic effect of dietary folate intake and folic acid supplementation was also observed.

Recently, researchers have made significant advancement in employing transition metal compound hybrids as anode material for lithium-ion batteries and developing simple preparation of these hybrids. To this end, this study reports a facile and scalable method for fabricating a vanadium oxide-nitride composite encapsulated in amorphous carbon matrix by simply mixing ammonium metavanadate and melamine as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. By tuning the annealing temperature of the mixture, different hybrids of vanadium oxide-nitride compounds are synthesized. The electrode material prepared at 700 °C, i.e., VM-700, exhibits excellent cyclic stability retaining 92% of its reversible capacity after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g -1 and attractive rate performance (220 mAh g -1 ) under the current density of up to 2 A g -1 . The outstanding electrochemical properties can be attributed to the synergistic effect from heterojunction form by the vanadium compound hybrids, the improved ability of the excellent conductive carbon for electron transfer, and restraining the expansion and aggregation of vanadium oxide-nitride in cycling. These interesting findings will provide a reference for the preparation of transition metal oxide and nitride composites as well., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen in order to store light or electric energy requires efficient electrocatalysts for practical application. Cost-effectiveness, abundance, and efficiency are the major challenges of the electrocatalysts. Herein, this paper reports the use of low-cost 304-type stainless steel mesh as suitable electrocatalysts for splitting of water. The commercial and self-support stainless steel mesh is subjected to exfoliation and heteroatom doping processes. The modified stainless steel electrocatalyst displays higher oxygen evolution reaction property than the commercial IrO 2 , and comparable hydrogen evolution reaction property with that of Pt. More importantly, an all-stainless-steel-based alkaline electrolyzer (denoted as NESSP//NESS) is designed for the first time, which possesses outstanding stability along with lower overall voltage than the conventional Pt//IrO 2 electrolyzer at increasing current densities. The remarkable electrocatalytic properties of the stainless steel electrode can be attributed to the unique exfoliated-surface morphology, heteroatom doping, and synergistic effect from the uniform distribution of the interconnected elemental compositions. This work creates prospects to the utilization of low-cost, highly active, and ultradurable electrocatalysts for electrochemical energy conversion., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Two compounds, 3'-deoxyinosine and cordycepin, were isolated from Bombyx mori inoculated with Cordyceps militaris. In the bioassay examining cytotoxicity against cancer cells, both compounds showed toxicity against A549, PANC-1, and MCF-7 cancer cells.

High-temperature activation has been commonly used to boost the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of hematite nanowires for water oxidation, by inducing Sn diffusion from fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate into hematite. Yet, hematite nanowires thermally annealed at high temperature suffer from two major drawbacks that negatively affect their performance. First, the structural deformation reduces light absorption capability of nanowire. Second, this "passive" doping method leads to nonuniform distribution of Sn dopant in nanowire and limits the Sn doping concentration. Both factors impair the electrochemical properties of hematite nanowire. Here we demonstrate a silica encapsulation method that is able to simultaneously retain the hematite nanowire morphology even after high-temperature calcination at 800 °C and improve the concentration and uniformity of dopant distribution along the nanowire growth axis. The capability of retaining nanowire morphology allows tuning the nanowire length for optimal light absorption. Uniform distribution of Sn doping enhances the donor density and charge transport of hematite nanowire. The morphology and doping engineered hematite nanowire photoanode decorated with a cobalt oxide-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst achieves an outstanding photocurrent density of 2.2 mA cm -2 at 0.23 V vs Ag/AgCl. This work provides important insights on how the morphology and doping uniformity of hematite photoanodes affect their PEC performance.

A novel indole derivative (1) and three known compounds (2-4) were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Tricholoma flavovirens. Their structures were determined or identified by the interpretation of spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 promoted root growth of lettuce and inhibited hypocotyl growth at 1 μmol/paper. Compound 3 inhibited hypocotyl and root growth at 100 nmol/paper.

Defect engineering is regarded as one of the most active projects to monitor the chemical and physical properties of materials, which is expected to increase the photocatalytic activities of the materials. Herein, oxygen vacancies and IO 3 - doping are introduced into BiOI nanosheets via adding NaH 2 PO 2 , which can impact the charge carrier dynamics of BiOI photocatalysts, such as its excitation, separation, trap, and transfer. These oxygen-deficient BiOI nanosheets display attractive photocatalytic activities of gaseous formaldehyde degradation and methyl orange under visible light irradiation, which are 5 and 3.5 times higher than the BiOI samples, respectively. Moreover, the comodified BiOI also displayed superior cycling stability and can be used for practical application. This work not only develops an effective strategy for fabricating oxygen vacancies but also offers deep insight into the impact of surface defects in enhancing photocatalysis.

Purpose: Folic acid supplementation has been suggested to reduce the risk of preterm birth. However, results from previous epidemiologic studies have been inconclusive. We investigated the hypothesis that folic acid supplementation and dietary folate intake during pre- and post-conception reduces the risk of preterm birth., Methods: We analyzed data from a birth cohort study conducted between 2010 and 2012 in Lanzhou, China, including 10,179 pregnant women with live singleton births., Results: Compared to non-users, folic acid supplement users with >12-week duration had a reduced risk of preterm birth (OR 0.67, 95 % CI 0.55-0.83) with a significant dose-response relationship (P for trend = 0.01). A similar pattern was observed for spontaneous preterm birth. Stronger associations were seen for ever use of folic acid supplement and very preterm birth (OR 0.50, 95 % CI 0.36-0.69) and spontaneous very preterm birth (OR 0.42, 95 % CI 0.29-0.63). Dietary folate intake during preconception and pregnancy were also associated with reduced risk of preterm birth (OR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.56-0.83, OR 0.57, 95 % CI 0.47-0.70 for the highest quartiles, respectively), particularly for spontaneous very preterm (OR 0.41, 95 % CI 0.24-0.72, OR 0.26, 95 % CI 0.15-0.47 for the highest quartiles, respectively). There were also decreased risks of preterm birth observed per 10-µg increase in dietary folate intake, and similar associations were found after stratification by folic acid supplementation status., Conclusions: Our results suggest that folic acid supplementation and higher dietary folate intake during preconception and pregnancy reduces the risk of preterm birth, and the protective effect varies by preterm subtypes.

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between maternal tea drinking and risk of preterm birth have reached inconsistent results., Methods: The present study analyzed data from a birth cohort study including 10,179 women who delivered a singleton live birth were conducted in Lanzhou, China between 2010 and 2012., Results: Drinking tea (OR = 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.09-1.69), and specifically green (OR = 1.42, 95 % CI: 1.08-1.85) or scented tea (OR = 1.61, 95 % CI: 1.04-2.50), was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. Drinking tea was associated with both moderate preterm (OR = 1.41, 95 % CI: 1.12-1.79) and spontaneous preterm birth (OR = 1.41, 95 % CI: 1.09-1.83). Risk of preterm birth increased with decreasing age of starting tea drinking (<20 years, OR = 1.60, 95 % CI: 1.17-2.20) and increasing duration (p for trend < 0.01). The relationship between tea drinking and preterm birth is modified by both maternal age (p < 0.05) and gestational weight gain (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Despite conflicting findings in the previous literature, we saw a significant association with maternal tea drinking and risk of preterm birth in our cohort. More studies are needed both to confirm this finding and to elucidate the mechanism behind this association.

A facile fabrication route towards a titanium-modified hematite photoanode has been developed, and the photoelectrochemical properties of this anode have been evaluated. Compared to pristine hematite, the activity of the modified photoanode in this work delivered almost twofold higher photocurrent under Air Mass 1.5G illumination. Further research revealed that the enhanced performance of the hematite photoanode with a titanium-modified surface resulted from the dominant impact of heterojunction formation and suppressed surface recombination, supplemented by a slightly improved light-harnessing ability., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A new form of dual-phase heterostructured nanosheet comprised of oxygen-deficient TiO2/Li4Ti5O12 has been successfully synthesized and used as anode material for lithium ion batteries. With the three-dimensional (3D) Ti mesh as both the conducting substrate and the Ti(3+)/Ti(4+) source, blue anatase Ti(3+)/TiO2nanosheets were grown by a hydrothermal reaction. By controlling the chemical lithiation period of TiO2 nanosheets, a phase boundary was created between the TiO2 and the newly formed Li4Ti5O12, which contribute additional capacity benefiting from favorable charge separation between the two phase interfaces. Through further hydrogenation of the 3D TiO2/Li4Ti5O12 heterostructured nanosheets (denoted as H-TiO2/LTO HNS), an extraordinary rate performance with capacity of 174 mAh g(-1) at 200 C and outstanding long-term cycling stability with only an ∼6% decrease of its initial specific capacity after 6000 cycles were delivered. The heterostructured nanosheet morphology provides a short length of lithium diffusion and high electrode/electrolyte contact area, which could also explain the remarkable lithium storage performance. In addition, the full battery assembled based on the H-TiO2/LTO anode achieves high energy and power densities.

The vulnerable restacking problem of tin disulfide (SnS2) usually leads to poor initial reversible capacity and poor cyclic stability, which hinders its practical application as lithium ion battery anode (LIB). In this work, we demonstrated an effective strategy to improve the first reversible capacity and lithium storage properties of SnS2 by growing SnS2 nanosheets on porous flexible vanadium nitride (VN) substrates. When evaluating lithium-storage properties, the three-dimensional (3D) porous VN coated SnS2 nanosheets (denoted as CC-VN@SnS2) yield a high reversible capacity of 75% with high specific capacity of about 819 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 0.65 A g(-1). Remarkable cyclic stability capacity of 791 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles with excellent capacity retention of 97% was also achieved. Furthermore, discharge capacity as high as 349 mAh g(-1) is still retained after 70 cycles even at a elevated current density of 13 A g(-1). The excellent performance was due to the conductive flexible VN substrate support, which provides short Li-ion and electron pathways, accommodates large volume variation, contributes to the capacity, and provides mechanical stability, which allows the electrode to maintain its structural stability.

Fe2O3/Fe3O4-S core-shell nanorods were fabricated on a carbon cloth by sulfurization of FeOOH and post annealing. The prepared electrode exhibited remarkable cyclic stability and attractive rate capability for lithium storage.

Background: Early studies have suggested that biomass cooking fuels were associated with increased risk of low birth weight (LBW). However it is unclear if this reduced birth weight was due to prematurity or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)., Methods: In order to understand the relationship between various cooking fuels and risk of LBW and small for gestational age (SGA), we analyzed data from a birth cohort study conducted in Lanzhou, China which included 9,895 singleton live births., Results: Compared to mothers using gas as cooking fuel, significant reductions in birth weight were observed for mothers using coal (weight difference = 73.31 g, 95 % CI: 26.86, 119.77) and biomass (weight difference = 87.84 g, 95 % CI: 10.76, 164.46). Using biomass as cooking fuel was associated with more than two-fold increased risk of LBW (OR = 2.51, 95 % CI: 1.26, 5.01), and the risk was mainly seen among preterm births (OR = 3.43, 95 % CI: 1.21, 9.74). No significant associations with LBW were observed among mothers using coal or electromagnetic stoves for cooking., Conclusions: These findings suggest that exposure to biomass during pregnancy is associated with risk of LBW, and the effect of biomass on LBW may be primarily due to prematurity rather than IUGR.

Congenital heart defects are the most prevalent type of birth defects. The association of air pollution with congenital heart defects is not well understood. We investigated a cohort of 8,969 singleton live births in Lanzhou, China during 2010-2012. Using inverse distance weighting, maternal exposures to particulate matter with diameter ≤10 μm (PM 10 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) were estimated as a combination of monitoring station levels for the time spent at home and the work location. We used logistic regression to estimate the associations, adjusting for maternal age, education, income, BMI, disease, folic acid intake and therapeutic drug use, and smoking; season of conception; fuels for cooking; and temperature. We found significant positive associations of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) with PM 10 during the 1 st trimester, 2 nd trimester and the entire pregnancy (OR 1st trimester =3.96, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.36, 11.53; OR 2nd trimester =3.59, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.57, 8.22; OR entire pregnancy =2.09, 95% CI: 1.21, 3.62, per interquartile range (IQR) increment for PM 10 (IQR=71.2, 61.6, and 27.4 μg/m 3 respectively)), and associations with NO 2 during 2 nd trimester and entire pregnancy (OR 2nd trimester = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.11, 3.34; OR entire pregnancy =2.32, 95% Cl: 1.14, 4.71, per IQR increment for NO 2 (IQR=13.4 and 10.9 μg/m 3 respectively)). The associations for congenital malformations of the great arteries and pooled cases showed consistent patterns. We also found positive associations for congenital malformations of cardiac septa with PM 10 exposures in the 2 nd trimester and the entire pregnancy, and SO 2 exposures in the entire pregnancy. Results indicate a health burden from maternal exposures to air pollution, with increased risk of congenital heart defects.

Importance: Exposure to ambient particulate matter during pregnancy has been suggested as a risk factor for preterm birth. However results from limited epidemiologic studies have been inconclusive. Very few studies have been conducted in areas with high air pollution levels., Objective: We investigated the hypothesis that high level exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter no larger than 10μm (PM10) during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth., Methods: A birth cohort study was carried out between 2010 and 2012 in Lanzhou, China, including 8969 singleton live births with available information on daily PM10 levels from four monitoring stations, individual exposures during pregnancy were calculated using inverse-distance weighting based on both home and work addresses. Unconditional logistic regression modeling was used to examine the associations between PM10 exposure and risk of preterm birth and its clinical subtypes., Results: Increased risk of very preterm birth was associated with exposure to PM10 during the last two months of pregnancy (OR, 1.07; 95%CI, 1.02-1.13 per 10μg/m(3) increase for last four weeks before delivery; 1.09; 1.02-1.15 for last six weeks before delivery; 1.10; 1.03-1.17 for last eight weeks before delivery). Compared to the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standard (150μg/m(3)), higher exposure level (≥150μg/m(3)) of PM10 during entire pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (1.48; 1.22-1.81) and the association was higher for medically indicated preterm birth (1.80, 1.24-2.62) during entire pregnancy and for very preterm during last 6weeks before delivery (2.03, 1.11-3.72)., Conclusions and Relevance: Our study supports the hypothesis that exposure to high levels of ambient PM10 increases the risk of preterm birth. Our study also suggests that the risk may vary by clinical subtypes of preterm birth and exposure time windows. Our findings are relevant for health policy makers from China and other regions with high levels of air pollution to facilitate the efforts of reducing air pollution level in order to protect public health., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Air pollution contributes substantially to global health burdens; however, less is known about pollution patterns in China and whether they differ from those elsewhere. We evaluated temporal and spatial heterogeneity of air pollution in Lanzhou, an urban Chinese city (April 2009-December 2012), and conducted a systematic review of literature on air pollution and health in Lanzhou. Average levels were 141.5, 42.3, and 47.2 µg/m 3 for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ), NO 2 , and SO 2 , respectively. Findings suggest some seasonality, particularly for SO 2 , with higher concentrations during colder months relative to warmer months, although a longer time frame of data is needed to evaluate seasonality fully. Correlation coefficients generally declined with distance between monitors, while coefficients of divergence increased with distance. However, these trends were not statistically significant. PM 10 levels exceeded Chinese and other health-based standards and guidelines. The review identified 13 studies on outdoor air pollution and health. Although limited, the studies indicate that air pollution is associated with increased risk of health outcomes in Lanzhou. These studies and the high air pollution levels suggest potentially serious health consequences. Findings can provide guidance to future epidemiological studies, monitor placement programs, and air quality policies.

A novel compound (1) and a known one (2) were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Tricholoma flavovirens. Their structures were determined by the interpretation of spectroscopic data. Both compounds showed inhibition effects on the growth of hypocotyl of lettuce with significant differences. In addition, compound 1 showed a promotion effect on the growth of root with significant differences and 2 had the similar tendency to promote the growth.