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B-doped core–shell Fe@BC nanozyme was synthesized. The peroxidase (POD) like activity of Fe@BC nanozyme was studied and utilized for detecting the activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT). In the presence of ALT as well as ALT co-substrates l-alanine and α-ketoglutarate, l-glutamate is generated. The following catalytic oxidation of l-glutamate by glutamate oxidase leads to the generation of H2O2. The POD-like activity of Fe@BC can oxidize 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to oxTMB in the presence of H2O2, generating a blue-colored compound. Through the detection of the amount of H2O2 generated, ALT activity can be determined through measuring the absorbance intensity variation at 450 nm. The limit of detection of the assay is 4 U/L, with a linear range from 10 to 1000 U/L. For human serum samples, the ALT levels determined by our assay are comparable to those determined by the hospital with a correlation coefficient of 0.991, demonstrating the reliability of our assay results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photochemical assay was reported based on CdS nanocrystal (NC)\hexagonal carbon–nitrogen tube (HCNT) nanocomposite for the detection of Ag+. When CdS NCs were combined with HCNT, the photocurrent intensity was increased extensively. After incubation of Ag+ with CdS NC\HCNT nanocomposite–modified electrode, Ag2S was formed on the electrode by the ion-change reaction. As the band gap of Ag2S cannot match well with HCNT, the photogenerated electron–hole pairs cannot separate efficiently, so the photocurrent intensity decreases. A good linear relationship between the concentration of Ag+ in the range from 0.01 to 3 μM and the corresponding photocurrent intensity was obtained with a detection limit of 3.3 nM (S/N = 3). The assay was employed to detect Ag+ in lake water and human serum with satisfactory results, which indicated that it might have a broad application in different areas. Photoelectrochemical assay was reported based on CdS nanocrystal\hexagonal carbon–nitrogen tube nanocomposite for detection of Ag+ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Enhance recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a new and promising paradigm for spine surgery. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness and safety of a multimodal and evidence-based ERAS pathway to the patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).Methods: The patients treated with the ACDF-ERAS pathway were compared with a historical cohort of patients who underwent ACDF before ERAS pathway implementation. Primary outcome was length of stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes included cost, MacNab grading, complication rates and 90-day readmission and reoperation. And perioperative factors and postoperative complications were reviewed.Results: The ERAS protocol was composed of 21 components. More patients undergoing multi-level surgery (n ≥ 3) were included in the ERAS group. The ERAS group showed a shorter LOS and a lower cost than the conventional group. The postoperative satisfaction of patients in ERAS group was better than that in conventional group. In addition, the rate of overall complications was significantly higher in the conventional group than that in the ERAS group. There were no significant differences in operative time, postoperative drainage, or 90-day readmission and reoperation.Conclusions: The ACDF-tailored ERAS pathway can reduce LOS, cost and postoperative complications, and improve patient satisfaction without increasing 90-day readmission and reoperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Although it is widely recognized that hip BMD is reduced in patients with hip fracture, the differences in geometrical parameters such as cortical volume and thickness between subjects with and without hip fracture are less well known. Materials and Methods: Five hundred and sixty two community-dwelling elderly women with hip CT scans were included in this cross-sectional study, of whom 236 had an acute hip fracture. 326 age matched women without hip fracture served as controls. MIAF-Femur software was used for the measurement of the intact contralateral femur in patients with hip fracture and the left femur of the controls. Integral and cortical volumes (Vols) of the total hip (TH), femoral head (FH), femoral neck (FN), trochanter (TR) and intertrochanter (IT) were analyzed. In the FH and FN the volumes were further subdivided into superior anterior (SA) and posterior (SP) as well as inferior anterior (IA) and posterior (IP) quadrants. Cortical thickness (CortThick) was determined for all sub volumes of interest (VOIs) listed above. Results: The average age of the control and fracture groups was 71.7 and 72.0 years, respectively. The fracture patients had significantly lower CortThick and Vol of all VOIs except for TRVol. In the fracture patients, cortical thickness and volume at the FN were significantly lower in all quadrants except for cortical volume of quadrant SA (p= 0.635). Hip fracture patients had smaller integral FN volume and cross-sectional area (CSA) before and after adjustment of age, height and weight. With respect to hip fracture discrimination, cortical volume performed poorer than cortical thickness across the whole proximal femur. The ratio of Cort/TrabMass (RCTM), a measure of the internal distribution of bone, performed better than cortical thickness in discriminating hip fracture risk. The highest area under curve (AUC) value of 0.805 was obtained for the model that included THCortThick, FHVol, THRCTM and FNCSA. Conclusion: There were substantial differences in total and cortical volume as well as cortical thickness between fractured and unfractured women across the proximal femur. A combination of geometric variables resulted in similar discrimination power for hip fracture risk as aBMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen abstraction reaction from H2S by OH is of key importance in understanding of the causes of acid rain, air pollution, and climate change. In this work, the reaction OH+H2S → H2O+SH is investigated on a recently developed ab initio-based globally accurate potential energy surface by the time-dependent wave packet approach under a reduced-dimensional model. This reaction behaves like a barrier-less reaction at low collision energies and like an activated reaction with a well-defined barrier at high collision energies. Exciting either the symmetric or antisymmetric stretching mode of the molecule H2S enhances the reactivity more than exciting the bending mode, which is rationalized by the coupling strength of each normal mode with the reaction coordinate. In addition, the modespecific rate constant shows a remarkable non-Arrhenius temperature dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mode selectivity of the H+CH3D→H2+CH2D reaction was studied using a recently developed ten-dimensional time-dependent wave packet method. The reaction dynamics are studied for the reactant CH3D initially from the ground state, the CH3 symmetry and asymmetry stretching excitation, the CD stretching excitation and the fundamental and the first overtone of the CH3 bending mode. The calculated reaction probabilities show that exciting either of the CH3 stretching modes enhances the reactivity in the collision energy range below 1.0 eV, while the CD stretching excitation does not obviously prompt the reaction. Fundamental CH3 bending excitation has nearly no effect on promoting reactivity. However, a significant enhancement is observed for the first overtone excitation of the CH3 bending mode, resulting from the Fermi resonance between the fundamental state of the CH3 symmetry stretching mode and the first overtone state of the CH3 bending mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant efforts have been directed towards the use of transition metal nitrides as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Molybdenum nitride, despite its potential for scalable production, suffers from the bottleneck of poor catalytic activity. Furthermore the kinetics of the water dissociation process ought to be improved for enhancing its potential. Here, we report a facile method for the incorporation of a trace amount of Pd nanoparticles into Mo3N2 nanobelts (0.75 Pd/Mo3N2) for an enhanced HER in both acidic and alkaline solutions. When employed for the HER, the 0.75 wt% Pd/Mo3N2 nanobelt delivers excellent catalytic activity with overpotentials of 45 and 65 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. As-prepared 0.75 wt% Pd/Mo3N2 displays a smaller Tafel slope and offers substantial stability in both acidic and alkaline media under the same operating conditions. The improved performance of the as-prepared 0.75 wt% Pd/Mo3N2 points to fast charge transfer, higher electrical conductivity and synergistic effects between Pd and Mo. This work displays a direct method for reducing the use and cost associated with the use of platinum-group metals while also delivering superior HER catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional approach for evaluation of the stability of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures (GRSSs) is performed under either completely dry or saturated conditions, whereas soils are usually unsaturated in practice. Owing to the suction-induced effect, the behavior of soil is quite different, consequently leading to various stability conditions of GRSSs. This study presents a useful analytical solution for assessing the reinforcement effect of geosynthetics on the internal stability of unsaturated GRSSs under steady infiltration conditions using the kinematical approach of limit analysis, aiming at determining the reinforcement strength required for preventing slope failure. This analytical solution can take the effect of suction stress, unit weight of soil and tensile strength cut-off simultaneously into account. By comparing with the results of other solutions, the validity of the analytical solution is verified. An extensive parametric study is conducted in this paper. The obtained results show that the suction stress has a more significant effect than the tensile strength cut-off on the required normalized reinforcement; additionally, the required normalized reinforcement obtained by the extended M-C yield criterion is more conservative than that of the tension cut-off model in the presence of suction stress, and the hysteresis effect should be considered in the routine design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To establish the dynamic model of machine tool structure is an important means to assess the performance of the machine tool structure during the cutting process. It is necessary to study the dynamics of the machine tools in different configurations for the sake of analyzing the dynamic behavior of the machine tools in the entire workspace. In this paper, a robust approach is presented to build an efficient and reliable dynamic model to evaluate the position-dependent dynamics of the twin ball screw (TBS) feed system. First, the TBS feed system is divided into several components, and a finite element (FE) model is built for each component. Second, the Craig-Bampton method is proposed to reduce the order of the substructures. Third, a multipoint constraints (MPCs) method was introduced to model the mechanical joint substructures of the TBS system, and the spring-damper element (SDE) is employed to connect the condensation nodes. Finally, a series experimental tests and full-order FE analysis are conducted on the self-designed TBS worktable in the four positions to validate the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic model. The results show that the proposed approach evaluates accurately the position-dependent behavior of the TBS system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calculation of two-electron repulsion integrals (ERIs) is a crucial aspect of Hartree–Fock calculations. In computing the ERIs of varying angular momentum, both the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU) have their respective advantages. To accelerate the ERI evaluation and Fock matrix generation, a hybrid CPU/GPU method has been proposed to maximize the computational power of both CPU and GPU while overlapping the CPU and GPU computations. This method employs a task queue where each task corresponds to ERIs with the same angular momentum. The queue begins with ERIs of low angular momentum, which are computationally efficient on GPUs, and ends with ERIs of high angular momentum, which are better suited for CPU computation. CPUs and GPUs dynamically grab and complete tasks from the start and end of the queue using OpenMP dynamic scheduling until all tasks are finished. The hybrid CPU/GPU computation offers the advantage of enabling calculations with arbitrary angular momentum. Test calculations showed that the hybrid CPU/GPU algorithm is more efficient than "GPU-only" when using a single GPU. However, as more GPUs are involved, the advantage diminishes or disappears. The scaling exponents of the hybrid method were slightly higher than "GPU-only," but the pre-exponent factor was significantly lower, making the hybrid method more effective overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition state is a central concept of chemistry. Photoelectron–photofragment coincidence (PPC) spectroscopy has been proven as an attractive method to study the transition state dynamics. Within a state-of-the-art full-dimensional quantum mechanical model, the dissociative photodetachment dynamics of H3O2− is investigated on accurate anion and neutral potential energy surfaces. The calculated PPC spectrum of H3O2− agrees well with the experimental measurement. The dissociative product OH is exclusively populated on the ground vibrational state, implying the character of the spectator bond. In contrast, the product H2O is predominantly populated in the ground and fundamental states of the symmetric and antisymmetric stretching modes, which is caused by the strong coupling between the antisymmetric motion of the transferred H atom in the transient intermediate [H3O2]* and both stretching modes of the product H2O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has increased in recent years, making it a very common childhood illness worldwide. The relationship between different enterovirus genotypes and disease severity is not clearly understood. Given that enteroviruses are transmitted through the gastrointestinal tract, we hypothesized that variation in intestinal microorganisms of the host might play a role in the prognosis of HFMD.Methods: We carried out a meta-transcriptomic-wide association study of fecal samples obtained from a cohort of children (254 patients, 227 tested positive for enterovirus, including 16 patients co-infectied with 2 kinds of enterovirus) with mild and severe HFMD and healthy controls.Results: We found there was no significant difference in the amount of each virus type between the mild and severe cases. Genes of enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackievirus A (CV-A) from the severe and mild cases did not show significant clustering. Clostridium sp. L2-50 and Bacteroides stercoris ATCC 43183 were enriched in the guts of children with severe HFMD and KEGG enrichment was found between mild and severe cases.Conclusions: Intestinal microorganisms appear to interact with enterovirus to determine the progression of HFMD. Genes of Bacteroides and Clostridium may be used as predictive markers for a more efficient prognosis and intervention. The enrichment of intestinal bacteria genes with functions may facilitate the development of severe symptoms for HFMD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an effective means to producing hydrogen from electrolytic water splitting. However the best-performing catalysts use expensive Pt-group metals. Cheaper non-precious metal alternatives have shown low activity as their mechanism of H2 formation (Volmer–Heyrovsky) leads to high overpotentials. Here, we report an outstanding HER catalyst (Ni/VN) highly dispersed nickel supported on vanadium nitride that matches the turnover frequency of the platinum on carbon (Pt/C) benchmark material. It is more durable than Pt/C in alkaline solution. Ni/VN follows the low-overpotential (Volmer–Tafel) mechanism of H2 formation, with a 43 mV overpotential at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. This value is even below that of Pt/C (57 mV). The support of VN enhances the dispersion of nickel, weakens the surface oxidation, decreases the hydrogen binding energy, and therefore significantly improves the HER catalysis. This result removes one of the major barriers for scalability of electrolytic water-splitting by demonstrating that nitride-based materials can match and even surpass the efficiency and durability of precious metal catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) gas sensor is a promising and novel gas sensing device. However, the poor sensitivity and strong cross sensitivity of commercial carbon-supported-platinum (Pt/C) remain obstacles to its utilization. Here, we demonstrate that the issue can be addressed using mesoporous titanium niobium nitrides (Ti0.75Nb0.25N) synthesized using a solid–solid phase separation process. Pt nanoparticles supported on ternary transition metal nitrides enable the strong metal support interaction (SMSI), which changes the surface electronic structure and catalytic activity of the electrode material. Compared with the Pt/C-sensor, the selectivity of the Pt/Ti0.75Nb0.25N-based sensor to formaldehyde (HCHO) is significantly higher, while the response to other gases is effectively inhibited. In mixed gas tests, HCHO sensing of the Pt/Ti0.75Nb0.25N-sensor is still not affected (within 3.5% of the standard deviation limit). Furthermore, the Pt/Ti0.75Nb0.25N-sensor exhibits a much higher sensitivity (0.208 μA per ppm) toward HCHO when compared to the Pt/C-sensor (0.058 μA per ppm). The Pt/Ti0.75Nb0.25N-sensor also exhibits extraordinary long-term stability due to its electrochemical stability and SMSI of the electrode material. This work hence points to the design and development of a new sensing electrode system, which offers a combination of high selectivity and sensitivity when used in fuel-cell gas sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millimeter wave (MMW) images can be used to identify metallic or non-metallic embargoed items hidden under clothing in both active and passive modes. Detection of concealed objects aims to locate these forbidden items from given MMW images. However, how to effectively realize the detection of concealed objects from MMW images is still a very challenging task, since the prohibited items are relatively smaller in size than human bodies, and the quality of MMW images is also relatively lower than natural images such as in signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution, and further, domain shifts of MMW images are common in the real applications. In this paper, a domain adaptive detection system, mainly composed of two parts: a detection module and a domain adaptation module, is proposed. Our system takes reconstructed single-channel MMW images as the input. For the detection module, a top-down region-free network with attention units is proposed to effectively fuse low-level and high-level features. For the domain adaptation module, an unsupervised hierarchical alignment is proposed and incorporated into the training process to constrain the inter-domain difference of the extracted features by embedding the extracted features into kernel Hilbert spaces and optimally matching different domain distributions. Ablative experiments are conducted to evaluate the function of each module and the performance of the proposed system. Experimental results on both active and passive MMW datasets demonstrate that the proposed method is evidently superior over existing methods in accuracy and speed of detection and should be very useful in practice for concealed object detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal sulfide (TMS) promises an excellent prospect in electrocatalysis with high intrinsic activity but poor conductivity. In this work, a series of TMS wrapped by a thin carbon layer with enhanced conductivity have been developed by a facile and rapid strategy. Among them, the prepared CoSx compound exhibits the optimal ORR and OER performances because of the synergistic effect between the high intrinsic activity of CoSx and the desirable conductivity of carbon layer. More importantly, the CoSx‐based zinc‐air batteries (ZABs) exhibit a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with voltage gap of 0.8 V and remarkable cycling durability, which is comparable to those of the state‐of‐art noble Pt/C+IrO2 batteries. Therefore, this work introduces a facile route that opens up a new horizon and inspiration for the development of sulfide for energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of penetration rate of wind power in the power system, its volatility and intermittence bring new problems to the power grid. The accurate forecasting of wind power is an effective way to alleviate the impact on the power grid. In this paper, a novel wind power forecasting method is proposed. Firstly, a wind power forecasting model based on the bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) neural network is established to forecast the wind power according to the wind speed of numerical weather forecasting (NWF). Secondly, a wind power forecasting error time series model based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is established to decrease the forecasting error. Finally, this paper uses the real data to simulate and verify the proposed method. Evaluating by the root mean square error (RMSE), symmetric mean absolute percentage error (SMAPE), and Theil inequality coefficient (TIC), the simulation results show that the forecasting accuracy of the BiLSTM neural network model are 10.25%, 6.71% and 12.18% higher than LSTM model respectively. After correcting wind power forecasting error using the proposed time series model based on EMD, the accuracy of wind power forecasting is further improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we developed a photoelectrochemical assay for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection based on hexagonal carbon-nitrogen tubes (HCNT) as visible light-sensitive materials. The MCF-7 cell was selected as the model CTC and was captured through specific recognition between epithelial cell adhesion molecules (EpCAM) on the cell surface and anti-EpCAM antibodies. Anti-EpCAM antibody-modified magnetic nanoparticles were used to enrich and separate MCF-7 cells from samples. The detection signal was amplified by Ag2S nanocrystals, which can compete with HCNTs for absorbing visible light, leading to a decrease of photocurrent intensity. The linear range of the assay for MCF-7 cells is from 10 to 5000 cells mL−1, with a detection limit of 3 cells mL−1 (S/D = 3). The assay has good selectivity for MCF-7 detection over HeLa cells. The assay was successfully applied for the detection of MCF-7 in human whole blood, which indicates the potential for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of novel mesoporous materials with well-defined structure and accessible pore networks is helpful in both fundamental and energy-related research. Nanocasting mesoporous earth-abundant materials and their composite materials offer opportunities to make electrochemically active materials that allow scalable production and cost-effectiveness. Recently, due to their intrinsic open pore structure as well as high surface areas, various mesoporous cobalt-based ordered materials have been applied to electrocatalysis, rechargeable batteries, and supercapacitors. In this review, we have critically evaluated the advancements made specifically in three- and two-dimensionally (3D/2D) electrode Co-based materials (oxides, nitrides, phosphides, and sulfides). We outline foreseeable challenges and issues for the utilization of mesostructured cobalt-based electrode materials. This review also provides guidelines for further work to those who work on energy-related applications of mesoporous cobalt-based materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the risk of bleeding in elderly patients undergoing early hip fracture surgery with/without clopidogrel administration. Methods: This was a retrospective study, and patients over 65 years with fresh hip fracture were enrolled. For the patients taking clopidogrel, early surgical treatment was performed without 5–7 days waiting time. The patients were divided into groups according to their fracture type and the surgical method. Within each fracture/surgery group, the patients were further divided into subgroups according to whether they had clopidogrel administration. The patients' age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, hemoglobin level at admission, and the time from admission to surgery were compared in the different groups. The bleeding outcomes, such as intraoperative blood loss and blood transfusion status, as well as secondary outcomes, such as operation duration and length of hospital stay, were also compared in these groups. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in patients' baseline characteristics and outcomes, including intraoperative blood loss, blood transfusion rate, operation duration and length of hospital stay, between the clopidogrel‐administrated patients and the control patients. However, the percentage of patients taking general anesthesia was significantly higher in clopidogrel group than that in control group (P = 0.01). Similar intraoperative blood loss was found in the subgroups of hemi‐hip replacement, internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture of the femur (fracture type A1‐2, short pin), and internal fixation of femoral neck fracture with cannulated nails. For the internal fixation of femoral neck fracture with cannulated nails, the blood loss is significantly less in both subgroups than that with other two surgical methods. Moreover, the total hip arthroplasty, with the highest bleeding risk among all the surgical methods involved, was rarely chosen to treat geriatric hip fracture in this study. Conclusion: This study indicated that compared with patients without clopidogrel administration, elderly patients with hip fractures who receive clopidogrel as long‐term anti‐platelet therapy are relatively safe for surgery in less than 5–7 days after discontinuation of clopidogrel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioactive NAD+ mediated multiple biocatalytic pathways in metabolic networks. Refining the structure of NADH oxidase-like (NOX) mimics to efficiently replenish NAD+ has been promising but challenging in NAD+-dependent dehydrogenase electrochemical cascade biosensing. Herein, we discovered that PtOx structures, formed via lattice oxygen translocation from WO3 to Pt NPs at the interface, potentially activate and modulate the NOX-like functionality in Pt@WO3 nanosheets. Incorporating PtOx leads to a more positive valence of Pt species within Pt/PtOx@WO3−x, where the PtO2 species serve as preeminent reaction sites for NADH coordination, activation, and dehydrogenation. Consequently, such nanozymes display enhanced NOX-like activity towards NADH oxidation in comparison to Pt@WO3. Ultimately, the 650-Pt/PtOx@WO3−x nanozyme is employed in an electrochemical cascade biosensor for β-hydroxybutyrate (HB) detection, achieving a calculated detection limit of 25 μM. This study offers insights into PtOx activation in Pt-based NOX mimics and supports the future development of NAD+/NADH-dependent electrochemical biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to determine the rate and risk factors of allogeneic red blood cell transfusions (ABT) after hemiarthroplasty (HA) in elderly patients with femoral neck fracture (FNF). Methods: The subjects of the study were elderly patients (≥65 years old) who were admitted to the geriatric trauma orthopedics ward of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital between March 2018 and June 2019 for HA treatment due to an FNF. The perioperative data were collected retrospectively, and univariate and multivariate stepwise logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the post-operative ABT rate and its risk factors. Results: There were 445 patients in the study, of whom 177 (39.8%) received ABT after surgery. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative low hemoglobin (Hb), high intraoperative blood loss (IBL), advanced age, and a low body mass index (BMI) are independent risk factors of ABT after HA in elderly FNF patients. Conclusion: ABT after HA is a common phenomenon in elderly patients with FNF. Their post-operative ABT needs are related to preoperative low Hb, high IBL, advanced age, and low BMI. Therefore, ABT can be reduced by taking these factors into account. When the same patient had three risk factors (preoperative low hemoglobin, advanced age, and low BMI), the risk of ABT was very high (78.3%). Also, when patients have two risk factors of preoperative low hemoglobin and low BMI, the risk of ABT was also high (80.0%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thousands of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have been discharged from hospitals Persistent follow-up studies are required to evaluate the prevalence of post-COVID-19 fibrosis.Methods: This study involves 462 laboratory-confirmed patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to Shenzhen Third People's Hospital from January 11, 2020 to April 26, 2020. A total of 457 patients underwent thin-section chest CT scans during the hospitalization or after discharge to identify the pulmonary lesion. A total of 287 patients were followed up from 90 to 150 days after the onset of the disease, and lung function tests were conducted about three months after the onset. The risk factors affecting the persistence of pulmonary fibrosis were identified through regression analysis and the prediction model of the persistence of pulmonary fibrosis was established.Results: Parenchymal bands, irregular interfaces, reticulation and traction bronchiectasis were the most common CT features in all COVID-19 patients. During the 0-30, 31-60, 61-90, 91-120 and > 120 days after onset, 86.87%, 74.40%, 79.56%, 68.12% and 62.03% patients developed with pulmonary fibrosis and 4.53%, 19.61%, 18.02%, 38.30% and 48.98% patients reversed pulmonary fibrosis, respectively. It was observed that Age, BMI, Fever, and Highest PCT were predictive factors for sustaining fibrosis even after 90 days from onset. A predictive model of the persistence with pulmonary fibrosis was developed based-on the Logistic Regression method with an accuracy, PPV, NPV, Sensitivity and Specificity of the model of 76%, 71%, 79%, 67%, and 82%, respectively. More than half of the COVID-19 patients revealed abnormal conditions in lung function after 90 days from onset, and the ratio of abnormal lung function did not differ on a statistically significant level between the fibrotic and non-fibrotic groups.Conclusions: Persistent pulmonary fibrosis was more likely to develop in patients with older age, higher BMI, severe/critical condition, fever, a longer viral clearance time, pre-existing disease and delayed hospitalization. Fibrosis developed in COVID-19 patients could be reversed in about a third of the patients after 120 days from onset. The pulmonary function of less than half of COVID-19 patients could turn to normal condition after three months from onset. An effective prediction model with an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84 was established to predict the persistence of pulmonary fibrosis in COVID-19 patients for early diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysis is a promising and convenient strategy to convert solar energy into chemical energy for various fields. However, photocatalysis still suffers from low solar energy conversion efficiency. Developing state of the art photocatalysts with high efficiency and low cost is a huge challenge. Transition metal nitrides (TMNs) as a class of metallic interstitial compounds have attracted significant attention in photocatalytic applications. In fact, TMNs exhibit multifunctional properties in various photocatalytic systems. This review is the first attempt that summarizes recent research on TMNs‐based materials in various photocatalytic applications. Different roles of TMNs materials in photocatalytic systems including semiconductor active components, co‐catalysts, inter‐band excitation, and surface plasmon resonance components are systematically discussed and summarized. The fundamentals, latest progress, and emerging opportunities for further improving the performances of TMNs‐based materials for photocatalysis are also discussed. Finally, some challenges facing TMNs, and perspectives on their future that are relevant for furthering research in the area of photocatalysis are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]