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Background To investigate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of gallic acid (GA) on human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) and RAW264.7 macrophages as well as its therapeutic effects in an experimental dry eye (EDE) mouse model. Methods A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to test the cytotoxicity of GA. The effect of GA on cell migration was evaluated using a scratch wound healing assay. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of GA in vitro were tested using a hypertonic model (HCECs) and an inflammatory model (RAW264.7 cells). The in vivo biocompatibility of GA was detected by irritation tests in rabbits, whereas the preventive and therapeutic effect of GA in vivo was evaluated using a mouse model of EDE. Results In the range of 0–100 μM, GA showed no cytotoxicity in RAW264.7 cells or HCECs and did not delay the HCECs monolayer wound healing within 24 h. Ocular tolerance to GA in the in vivo irritation test was good after seven days. In terms of antioxidative activity, GA significantly reduced the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activated RAW264.7 macrophages and HCECs exposed to hyperosmotic stress. Furthermore, after pre-treatment with GA, the expression levels of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and NADPH quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO-1) were significantly upregulated in RAW264.7 macrophages. GA also exhibits excellent anti-inflammatory properties. This is mainly demonstrated by the ability of GA to effectively downregulate the nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway in LPS-activated RAW264.7 macrophages and to reduce inflammatory factors, such as nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). In vivo efficacy testing results in a mouse model of EDE showed that GA can effectively prevent and inhibit the apoptosis of corneal epithelial cells (CECs), reduce inflammatory factors in the cornea and conjunctiva as well as protect goblet cells. Conclusion In vitro and in vivo results indicate that GA possesses potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties with no apparent cytotoxicity within the range of 0–100 μM. It is a promising eye drop formulation for the effective prevention and treatment of dry eye disease (DED).

Introduction: The management of senile breast cancer is still controversial, especially chemotherapy. Therefore, we conduct an analysis of the impact of chemotherapy and establish prediction models of prognosis in elderly early TNBC by using machine learning. Methods: We enrolled 4,696 patients from SEER database according to the following criteria: female; year of diagnosis from 2010 to 2016; age of diagnosis ≥ 70 years; invasive ductal carcinoma as the only primary malignant cancer; stage I-III; TNBC subtype. The PSM method was utilized to reduce covariable imbalance. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to compare BCSS and OS. KNN, CatBoost, decision tree, random forest, Gradient Boost, LightGBM, neural network models, SVM, XGBoost and logistic regression models were developed to predict the 5-year OS and BCSS for patients in the chemotherapy group. Results: Compared to matched patients with no-chemotherapy, multivariate analysis showed a better survival in matched patients with chemotherapy(BCSS:HR = 0.594,95%CI = 0.479-0.737,p < 0.001; OS:HR = 0.532,95%CI = 0.446-0.635,p < 0.001). Stratified analyses by age and stage was also conducted to discriminate the patients benefited from chemotherapy. Chemotherapy didn’t lowered the risk of cancer-specific mortality and all-cause mortality in stage I cohort (70-79 years, BCSS, HR=1.058, 95% CI=0.609-1.838, p=0.841; OS HR=0.721, 95% CI=0.478-1.086, p=0.117; 80+ years, BCSS, HR=0.210, 95% CI=0.005-8.920, p=0.414; OS HR=0.458, 95% CI=0.048-3.918, p=0.458). But patients diagnosed with stage II can benefit from chemotherapy (70-79 years, BCSS, HR=0.628, 95% CI=0.424-0.932, p=0.021; OS HR=0.538, 95% CI=0.386-0.749, p Citation Format: KaiYan Huang, Jie Zhang, YuShuai Yu, YuXiang Lin, ChuanGui Song. The impact of chemotherapy in elderly early triple negative breast cancer: A population based study from the SEER database [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-12-04.

Purpose We aimed to analysis the impact of chemotherapy and establish prediction models of prognosis in early elderly triple negative breast cancer (eTNBC) by using machine learning. Methods We enrolled 4,696 patients in SEER Database who were 70 years or older, diagnosed with primary early TNBC(larger than 5 mm), from 2010 to 2016. The propensity-score matched method was utilized to reduce covariable imbalance. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to compare breast cancer-specific survival(BCSS) and overall survival(OS). Nine models were developed by machine learning to predict the 5-year OS and BCSS for patients received chemotherapy. Results Compared to matched patients in no-chemotherapy group, multivariate analysis showed a better survival in chemotherapy group. Stratified analyses by stage demonstrated that patients with stage II and stage III other than stage I could benefit from chemotherapy. Further investigation in stage II found that chemotherapy was a better prognostic indicator for patients with T2N0M0 and stage IIb, but not in T1N1M0. Patients with grade III could achieve a better survival by receiving chemotherapy, but those with grade I and II couldn’t. With 0.75 in 5-year BCSS and 0.81 in 5-year OS for AUC, the LightGBM outperformed other algorithms. Conclusion For early eTNBC patients with stage I, T1N1M0 and grade I-II, chemotherapy couldn’t improve survival. Therefore, de-escalation therapy might be appropriate for selected patients. The LightGBM is a trustful model to predict the survival and provide precious systemic treatment for patients received chemotherapy.

Nacre like graphene based composite films (GCFs) have been developed over the last decade. Although the progress in ultrastrong GCFs is remarkable, fabricating GCFs with excellent integrated properties of strength, flexibility, and toughness still remains a challenge. Here, a ternary GCF of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), polydopamine (PDA) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was developed. The MWCNTs were modified by PDA to form PDA@MWCNTs which were then compounded with GO to fabricate the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films by evaporation-induced assembly and chemical reduction. The preparation was simple, cheap and environmentally-friendly. The PDA increased the dispersion of MWCNTs in the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films, crosslinked the rGO sheets, and enhanced the entanglement of MWCNTs and the interactions between MWCNTs and rGO sheets. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of PDA and MWCNTs, the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films exhibited excellent integrated properties by increasing strength, tensile fracture strain and toughness to 579 ± 35 MPa, 12.03 ± 0.56%, and 34.03 ± 1.60 MJ/m3, which were 2.26, 2.02 and 4.94 times that of pure rGO films, respectively. The rGO-PDA@MWCNT films also exhibited a high conductivity of 612 ± 68 S/cm and excellent structural stability under extreme environments. These excellent integrated properties of the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films will promote their applications in aerospace engineering, flexible electrical devices and artificial muscle.

We conducted molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of tension and compression along the direction and MD simulations of compression along the and directions on nanolaminated graphene/Cu (NGCu) composites to investigate the effects of the incorporated graphene and the deformation mechanisms related to the loading direction. The deformation behavior and the defect structures were found to be strongly dependent on the loading conditions. An asymmetric tension-compression deformation behavior was thus found in graphene/Cu nanolaminates under the loading, which was dominated by stacking faults and deformation twins formed by dislocation slide under tension and compression, respectively. High density and ordered nanotwins were formed at the graphene/Cu interfaces. Two different formation mechanisms of the twins were found under the compression, and the nucleated twins were easy to be thickened with the assistance of the graphene wrinkles. Multiple twins were formed under the compression by the dislocation cross-slip. This study provides a way to introduce graphene reinforcement and twin boundary to Cu matrix composites and design nanotwinned graphene/Cu composites with excellent mechanical performance. Keywords: Deformation Mechanisms, Molecular Dynamics, Graphene/Cu Composites, Interface, Twin

It is an urgent task to develop a green and highly efficient adsorbent for wastewater treatment. Herein, we prepared a graphene oxide (GO) based aerogel modified by silk fibroin (SF) and firstly investigated its adsorption properties to realize this aim. SEM, XPS, XRD, Raman and TG characterization demonstrate its well pore structure, larger d-spacing and more oxidation groups after modified. The adsorption experiments of different dyes and heavy metal ions revealed that GO-SF aerogels have favorable adsorption capacity for Ag+ and MB dye (cationic dyes). The MB adsorption capacity is up to 1322.71 mg/g, higher than other GO-biopolymer materials. Furthermore, Langmuir isotherm, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the intrapartile diffusion model are used to explain the adsorption mechanism of the GO-SF aerogels and shows the hybrid aerogels are inclined to monolayer adsorption. The obtained results found a potential candidate to better deal with the dyeing wastewater.

In this study, carbon black (CB)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) composite films were fabricated as strain sensors. The sensing characteristics of the composite films both in the direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) circuits were systematically tested. It was found that the hybrid nanofiller could effectively improve both the electrical conductivity and the sensitivity of the nanocomposites at a given loading far below the percolation threshold of a single filler. At 3.0% tensile strain, the highest DC and AC gauge factors for the nanocomposites with 1.0 wt.% CB and 0.1 wt.% MWCNT were 10.67 and 10.38, respectively, which were 1992.2% and 75.9% higher than those of the composites filled with 2.0 wt.% CB only. In addition, both the relationship of the strain-resistance change rate in the DC condition and the strain-DLT (the dielectric loss tangent) change rate in the AC condition of the nanocomposites with the hybrid nanofiller showed an approximatively linear characteristic, which demonstrated that the linearity of the nanocomposite sensor could be controlled by properly adjusting the content of CB and MWCNT. Finally, the mechanism of the synergistic effect was investigated by inspecting the microstructure of the nanocomposites and an equivalent RLC circuit model.

Graphene films (GFs) are promising ultrathin thermally conductive materials for portable electronic devices because of their excellent thermally conductive property, light weight, high flexibility, and low cost. However, the application of GFs is limited due to their poor mechanical properties and through-plane thermal conductivity. Here, a graphene-(graphitized polydopamine)-(carbon nanotube) (G-gPDA-CNT) all-carbon ternary composite film was fabricated by chemical reduction, carbonization, graphitization, and mechanical compaction of the evaporation-assembled (graphene oxide)-PDA@CNT film. The G-gPDA-CNT film exhibited a uniform all-carbon composite structure in which the components of the graphene, gPDA layers, and CNTs were cross-linked by strong covalent bonds. This unique structure promoted the load transfer and energy dissipation between the components by which the mechanical properties of the G-gPDA-CNT film were substantially improved. Furthermore, electron and phonon transfers were also promoted, greatly improving the electrical and thermal conductivities, especially the through-plane thermal conductivity of the G-gPDA-CNT film. The G-gPDA-CNT film showed a tensile strength of 67.5 MPa, 15.1% ultimate tensile strain, toughness of 6.07 MJ/m3, electrical conductivity of 6.7 × 105 S·m-1, in-plane thermal conductivity of 1597 W·m-1·K-1, and through-plane thermal conductivity of 2.65 W·m-1·K-1, which were 2.24, 1.44, 3.16, 1.46, 1.15, and 3.90 times that of the pure GFs, respectively.

The synergistic effects of surface treatment and interleaf on the interlaminar mechanical properties of glass fiber-aluminum laminates were studied. Aluminum sheets were treated with alkaline etching. Meanwhile, a graphene oxide (GO) interleaf was introduced between the aluminum sheet and the glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composite. Double cantilever beam and end-notched flexure tests were employed to evaluate the interlaminar fracture toughness of the glass fiber-aluminum laminates. The obtained results show that the toughening efficiency of the interleaf is dependent on the aluminum surface characteristics as well as the GO loading. Further comparison reveals that the highest mode-I and mode-II fracture toughnesses are obtained in the specimens with alkali etching treatment and addition of GO interleaf with 0.5 wt% of GO loading, which are 510% and 381% higher in comparison to the plain specimen. Fracture surfaces were observed to further uncover the reinforcement mechanisms.

Background Breast surgery for stage IV breast cancer remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of breast surgery on survival of stage IV breast cancer patients based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2010 to 2015. Methods In total, 13,034 patients were selected and divided into surgery and non-surgery groups. Univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to determine factors related to survival. Propensity score matching method was utilized to achieve balanced covariates across different groups. One-to-one (1:1) PSM was conducted to construct a matched sample consisting of pairs of surgery and non-surgery subjects. Breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and overall survival (OS) of the two groups were assessed by Kaplan–Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard regression models. Stratified analysis according to different variables was also performed. Results Patients treated with breast surgery were more likely to be younger, smaller tumor size, more advanced nodal status, higher histology grade and higher proportion of bone-only metastasis. Those who received chemotherapy and radiotherapy also tended to be treated with surgery. After adjustment for potential confounders, breast surgery group exhibited a better survival both in BCSS (HR = 0.557, 95% CI [0.523–0.594], p p p p Conclusion Our study provided additional evidence that patients with stage IV breast cancer could benefit from breast surgery and it might play a more important role in multimodality therapy.

Flexible ultrasensitive piezoresistive strain sensors were fabricated by CO2 Laser ablating of the surface of the multiwall carbon nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane (MWCNT/PDMS) composite film prepared by a coating process. The effects of the MWCNT content and the applied laser power on the electrical and sensing performances of the MWCNT/PDMS composite strain sensor were systematically investigated. It is found that, after laser ablating, the electrical conductivity and the sensing gauge factor of the MWCNT/PDMS film were greatly improved only by the addition of 1.0 wt% of MWCNT, which is below the percolation threshold of the MWCNT in the PDMS matrix. A novel boscage-like structure at the surface of the film formed by the ablation of the PDMS and the rearrangement of the MWCNT during the laser ablating process was found responsible for the ultrahigh gauge factor of the composite strain sensor, which is about 513 at the strain of 5.0%. The facile and cost-effective fabrication process of the flexible ultrasensitive strain sensor could be simply extended to other polymer composites for the development of new multifunctional and wearable electronic devices.

In this paper, we pay attention to the Chinese separable verb-object words in sentences. We collect sentences with morphemes of separable words employing search engine for thousands of separable words collected by linguist. Then sentences are tagged artificially with agreement of whether being used separable words on the result of word segmentation and part-of-speech tagging, According to typical grammar patterns discovered by linguists and patterns shared among collected sentences, lexical patterns are generated and optimized for further process of separable word tagging in Chinese document after word segmentation and part-of-speech tagging.

In this paper, we work on semantic correlation between Chinese words based on Wikipedia documents. A corpus with about 50,000 structured documents is generated from Wikipedia pages. Then considering of hyper-links, text overlaps and word frequency, about 300,000 word pairs with semantic correlations are explored from these documents. We roughly measure the degree of semantic correlations and find groups with tight semantic correlations by self clustering.

This paper introduces experiment on searching for semantically correlated vocabularies in Chinese Wikipedia pages and computing semantic correlations. Based on the 54,745 structured documents generated from Wikipedia pages, we explore about 400,000 pairs of Wikipedia vocabularies considering of hyperlinks, overlapped text and document positions. Semantic relatedness is calculated based on the relatedness of Wikipedia documents. From comparing experiment we analyze the reliability of our measures and some other properties.