Search

Monopole time reversal is an advanced noise source localization technique, but its sidelobe level in localizing sound sources is greatly affected by noise, leading to a decrease in the accuracy of sound source localization under a low signal-to-noise ratio. To address this issue, this paper proposes a time-domain monopole time reversal technique that excludes autocorrelation to reduce the impact of noise on sound source localization results. Numerical simulation and experimental results show that, compared to conventional monopole time reversal techniques, the proposed method can effectively reduce the sidelobes in sound source localization results and achieve accurate sound source localization under −20 dB low signal-to-noise ratio conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy resins (EPs) are highly coveted as insulating materials for engineering applications. However, their limited mechanical properties and inadequate thermal conductivity at cryogenic temperatures significantly restrict their range of applications. Herein, a novel approach was introduced for crafting EP composites infused with boron nitride (BN) using hyperbranched polymer (HBP) grafting. The resulting HBP‐BN was uniformly dispersed within the EP and securely bonded to the matrix through robust chemical interactions, significantly improving the property enhancement efficiency of HBP‐BN on EP. Thus, the mechanical strength of EP/HBP‐BN composites was significantly enhanced, with maximum tensile and impact strengths achieved at 6 and 4 wt% HBP‐BN content. These values exceeded those of pure EP by 47% and 22% at room temperature (RT) and increased even more substantially to 72% and 135% at 77 K. Moreover, the composite demonstrated a remarkable 430% improvement in thermal conductivity, reaching 1.1627 W·m−1·K−1, when the HBP‐BN content reached 40 wt%. Simultaneously, EP/HBP‐BN composites exhibit low dielectric permittivity and high volume resistivity, signifying exceptional electrical insulation properties. HBP‐BN substantially enhances the cryogenic properties of EP composites, offering an efficient pathway for the utilization of EPs in engineering applications. Highlights: A novel method to enhance the cryogenic properties of EP was introduced.HBP‐BN significantly improves the cryogenic properties in EP composites.The composites are of significant interest for various engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of electronic circuits, materials with high thermal conductivity are sought after as ideal packaging components. It is crucial that such materials not only possess excellent thermal conductivity, but also maintain desirable dielectric properties. To this end, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) and BNNS/nanodiamond (ND) aerogels with a three‐dimensional (3D) structure using the ice‐template method were prepared. Subsequently, these aerogels were utilized as a framework to produce 3D‐BNNS/epoxy and 3D‐BNNS/ND/epoxy composites via the vacuum‐assisted impregnation method, which exhibit enhanced anisotropic thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity exhibited by the 3D‐BNNS/epoxy composites outperforms those containing randomly distributed BNNS. The experiment also reveals sintering the aerogel at elevated temperatures to remove the PVA can significantly improve the thermal conductivity exhibited by the 3D‐BNNS/epoxy and 3D‐BNNS/ND/epoxy composites. Importantly, the 3D‐BNNS/ND/epoxy composites illustrate exceptional thermal conductivity values of 1.326 W/(m·K), indicating a remarkable synergistic effect of BNNS and ND in improving thermal conductivity. It is noteworthy to state that the relative thermal conductivity ratio of the 3D‐BNNS/epoxy and 3D‐BNNS/ND/epoxy composites to pure epoxy resin was markedly higher at lower temperatures than the values measured at room temperature, signifying their superior heat transfer performance at lower temperatures. In addition, the composites depict excellent dielectric properties and lower coefficients of thermal expansion values. Finally, the 3D‐BNNS/ND/epoxy composites also have significantly improved Tg (132.5 and 152.6°C). The high‐performance polymer composites described in this study are envisaged for implementation within the realm of electronic packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboxymethyl pachymaran (CMP) was treated via high-temperature and cellulase hydrolysis to obtain HTCMP, HTEC-24, and HTEC-48. The chemical structure and in vivo antitumor activities of the four types of CMPs were investigated. Compared with CMP (787.9 kDa), the molecular weights of HTCMP, HTEC-24, and HTEC-48 were decreased to 429.8, 129.9, and 68.6 kDa, respectively. The viscosities and particle sizes of the CMPs could also decrease with the decline in the molecular weights. All the CMPs showed antitumor abilities, but HTEC-24 exhibited the best activity. In the animal study, when curing the spleen and thymus, CMPs displayed immunomodulatory effects by increasing the secretion of IFN-γ and IL2 in mice. The CMPs also exerted an antitumor ability by regulating the gut microbiota in tumor-bearing mice. Our results established a foundation to develop an antitumor drug with CMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacy dispensing data are useful for estimating adherence to therapy. Here, we implement multiple adherence measures to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and provide an online tool for visualising results. We conducted a cohort study for 2,042 people dispensed ART in Australia. We assessed adherence using the Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) within 360 days of follow-up as a continuous measure and dichotomised (PDC ≥80%). We defined a covered day as the 1) exposure to ≥3 antiretrovirals at the same time 2) exposure to any antiretroviral 3) lowest number of days covered per antiretroviral 4) average of days covered over all antiretrovirals 5) highest number of days covered per antiretroviral. For each method, we conducted sensitivity analyses. The median PDC ranged between 93.3%−98.3%. Between 67.0%−87.7% of individuals were classified as adherent, with higher values for measure 2 (85.5%−89.7%) and lower values for measure 3 (67.0%−70.9%). Censoring loss to follow-up had a higher impact on adherence estimates than considering a grace period. The variation in adherence estimates can be substantial, especially when dichotomising adherence. Researchers should consider operationalising multiple measures to estimate adherence bounds and identify a range of people at risk of non-adherence for targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, fresh lotus leaves at two maturity stages were processed to tea products by different methods (white-tea process, green-tea process and black-tea process). The volatile compounds, phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities of lotus-leaf tea were investigated. A total of 81 volatile components were identified with HS-GC-IMS. The mature lotus-leaf tea showed more volatile compounds than the tender lotus-leaf tea. The lotus leaf treated with the white-tea process had more aroma components than other processing methods. In addition, six types of phenolic compounds, including luteolin, catechin, quercetin, orientin, hyperoside and rutin were identified in the lotus-leaf tea. The mature leaves treated with the green-tea process had the highest levels of TPC (49.97 mg gallic acid/g tea) and TFC (73.43 mg rutin/g tea). The aqueous extract of lotus-leaf tea showed positive scavenging capacities of DPPH and ABTS radicals, and ferric ion reducing power, whereas tender lotus leaf treated with the green-tea process exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity. What is more, the antioxidant activities had a significant positive correlation with the levels of TPC and TFC in lotus-leaf tea. Our results provide a theoretical basis for the manufacture of lotus-leaf-tea products with desirable flavor and health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional fabrication methods (for example, melting and powder metallurgy) of bulk thermoelectric materials are time- and energy-consuming, which restrict their large-scale application. In this work, ultra-fast self-propagating synthesis under a high-gravity field was used to prepare SnTe bulks, which shortened the synthesis time from several days to a few seconds. The grain growth was suppressed and some small pores were reserved in the matrix during the ultra-fast solidification process. The increased grain boundaries and pores (nanoscale to micron scale) enhanced phonon scattering, which greatly decreased the lattice thermal conductivity. The obtained minimum lattice thermal conductivity is 0.81 W m−1 K−1, and the maximum zT value is 0.5 (873 K), which is comparable to the best reported results of the undoped SnTe alloy. The ultra-fast non-equilibrium synthesis technique opens up new possibilities to prepare high-efficiency bulk thermoelectric materials with reduced time and energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High thermal conductivity polymer materials are highly desirable for thermal management applications in electrical encapsulation and energy fields. The construction of three‐dimensional thermal conductivity structure has become an attractive method to improve the thermal conductivity of polymers. However, traditional methods for constructing 3D structures use prefabricated thermal conductivity models. Herein, we take epoxy resin as matrix, through the cooperation of sheet BN and spherical Al2O3 to in situ construct a "pea‐pod‐like" 3D thermal network, to prepare high thermal conductivity Al2O3‐BN‐Epoxy (ABE) composites. Compared with pure epoxy resin, the thermal conductivity of the ABE composites and the random Al2O3‐BN‐Epoxy (R‐ABE) composite is increased by 257% and 63%, respectively. And it still has a high thermal conductivity at low temperatures (696% enhancement at 60 K) for ABE60% composite. This method of in situ construction of 3D thermal conductivity networks is of great significance in the development and application of thermal management materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of low loading fraction nanoscale reinforcements that can be used to improve the dielectric and thermal properties of a polymer remains a challenge by the reason of the insurmountable difficulties with exfoliation and dispersion of polymer nanocomposites. Here, we combined noodle‐like boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) with epoxy resin (EP) by a facile in situ synthesis. The hydroxyl and amino on the BNNRs surface can not only improve dispersibility but also conduct the formation of EP with BNNRs by the in situ ring‐opening reaction. The thermal behavior, dielectric properties, and thermal conductivity of BNNRs/EP nanocomposites with different BNNRs contents were investigated. At an extremely low BNNRs loading fraction of 1 wt%, the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite increased 48%, which is attributed to the long continuous heat conduction path formed by the strong integration of BNNRs and EP. In addition, the electrical breakdown strength increased from 95.58 to 159.17 kV·mm−1 as the BNNRs content increased, while the nanocomposites maintained acceptable dielectric properties. The results indicate the potential for BNNRs as a new class of nanofiller for dielectric polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional fillers prepared by facile natural materials have attracted much attention for their superior engineering performances and promise to replace the traditional, expensive, and environmentally unfriendly fillers. Herein, carbon fiber aerogel (CFA) was prepared by an annealing process of natural cotton. Silicon carbide (SiC)@CFA with antihygroscopic and thermal stability was further obtained by in‐situ growth via template‐assisted chemical vapor deposition method. After that, CFA/Epoxy composites and SiC@CFA/Epoxy composites with enhanced thermal conductivity at low‐loading fraction were prepared by vacuum‐assisted impregnation of epoxy resin. The SiC@CFA/Epoxy composites have higher thermal conductivity (0.404 W/[m·K] at 1.85 wt% filler at room temperature), higher resistivity, smaller coefficient of thermal expansion, and higher glass transition temperature than CFA/Epoxy composites. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of the pure epoxy resin and the composites were tested from 150 to 370 K, and the ratio of the thermal conductivity of the composites to that of the pure epoxy resin is greater at low temperatures than at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by lung inflammation and remodeling. Macrophage polarization is associated with inflammation and tissue remodeling, as well as immunity. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the diagnostic value and regulatory mechanism of macrophage polarization-related genes for COPD by bioinformatics analysis and to provide a new theoretical basis for experimental research. Methods. The raw gene expression profile dataset (GSE124180) was collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Next, a weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to screen macrophage polarization-related genes. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the COPD and normal samples were generated using DESeq2 v3.11 and overlapped with the macrophage polarization-related genes. Moreover, functional annotations of overlapped genes were conducted by Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) Bioinformatics Resource. The immune-related genes were selected, and their correlation with the differential immune cells was analyzed by Pearson. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to verify the diagnostic value of genes. Results. A total of 4922 coexpressed genes related to macrophage polarization were overlapped with the 203 DEGs between the COPD and normal samples, obtaining 25 genes related to COPD and macrophage polarization. GEM, S100B, and GZMA of them participated in the immune response, which were considered the candidate biomarkers. GEM and S100B were significantly correlated with marker genes of B cells which had a significant difference between the COPD and normal samples. Moreover, GEM was highly associated with the genes in the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, and calcium signaling pathway based on a Pearson correlation analysis of the candidate genes and the genes in the B cell receptor signaling pathway. PPI network analysis also indicated that GEM might participate in the regulation of the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway. The ROC curve showed that GEM possessed an excellent accuracy in distinguishing COPD from normal samples. Conclusions. The data provide a transcriptome-based evidence that GEM is related to COPD and macrophage polarization likely contributes to COPD diagnosis. At the same time, it is hoped that in-depth functional mining can provide new ideas for exploring the COPD pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromosome 8p12 was first identified as a schizophrenia (SCZ) risk locus in Chinese populations and replicated in European populations. However, the underlying functional variants still need to be further explored. In this study, we sought to identify plausible causal variants within this locus. A total of 386 potentially functional variants from 29 genes within the 8p12 locus were analysed in 2403 SCZ cases and 2594 control subjects in the Han Chinese population using Affymetrix customised genotyping assays. SHEsisplus was used for association analysis. A multiple testing corrected p value (false discovery rate (FDR)) <.05 was considered significant, and an unadjusted p value <.05 was considered nominal evidence of an association. We did not find significant associations between the tested variants and SCZ. However, nominal associations were found for rs201292574 (unadjusted p =.033, FDR p =.571; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.265–0.945; TACC1, NP_006274.2:p.Ala211Thr) and rs45563241 (unadjusted p =.039, FDR p =.571; 95% CI: 1.023–1.866; a synonymous mutation in ADRB3). Our results provide limited evidence for the associations between variants from protein coding regions in 8p12 and SCZ in the Chinese population. Analyses of both coding and regulatory variants in larger sample sizes are required to further clarify the causal variants for SCZ with this risk locus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of minimally invasive treatment over the last two decades has had a great impact on hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated primary liver cancer. The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score is the optimal evaluated parameter for mortality in patients with end-stage liver disease. However, the association between MELD score and minimally invasive treatment with regard to the mortality of patients with HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) remains unclear. In the present study, a total of 173 patients who had been diagnosed with HBV-associated HCC and PVTT in the Beijing Ditan Hospital (Beijing, China), between January 2012 and January 2015, were screened. Follow-up was performed to observe the survival time and collect information on the demographic characteristics and associated clinical indicators present in the cohort. The patient's age, sex, laboratory parameters and the use of minimally invasive treatment were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 software. Independent risk factors for mortality were screened by Cox regression analysis. Logistic regression indicated that there was an interaction between the MELD score and minimally invasive treatment. In addition, a MELD score ≤17.85 was associated with a lower mortality rate subsequent to minimally invasive treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weld extraction is an important step in the recognition and classification of defects in radiographic testing (RT). To eliminate the effects of considerable noise, defect edges and the discrete grey-level distribution of each column in the RT images for extracting welds, a weld edge extraction method based on Bézier curve fitting (BCF) and medial axis transformation (MAT) is proposed in this paper. First, BCF is applied to fit the grey values of each column in the original image and obtain a continuous grey-level curve, by which considerable noise can be removed and the grey value of defects can be increased. Secondly, to extract a continuous weld edge from the fitted image, the threshold method with a new threshold selection strategy and edge connection are proposed. Finally, to get a precise weld edge from one that is several pixels wide, MAT is used to extract the skeleton of the wide edge; a weld edge connected by a single pixel can then be obtained. The experimental results show that the weld edge extracted using the proposed method is continuous and smooth and can correctly reflect the boundary of the weld region. Furthermore, this method can greatly remove noise interference and effectively extract the weld edge of an image with defects, compared with other similar methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the traditional process used to classify weld defects in radiographic images, the precision of the weld defect region (WDR) segmentation and the validity of the defect feature extraction significantly influence the classification accuracy. To address the abovementioned issues, a feature extraction and weld defect classification method based on texture features and principal component analysis (PCA) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the weld seam region (WSR) in the radiographic image, which contains several WDRs, is segmented, rather than the individual WDRs. Then, the texture features of the WSR are extracted for use in the weld defect classification process. Since the extracted texture features have high dimensions and are partially redundant with each other, PCA is then used to reduce the dimensions of these features. Finally, a multiclass support vector machine (SVM) is used to classify the defects based on the obtained principal components. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively extract the general features of weld defect types and can achieve a classification accuracy of up to 90.4%. Moreover, the proposed method can classify slag (SL) and porosity (PO) defects more accurately than traditional classification methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the accuracy and reliability of detecting weld defects in radiographic images, we propose a novel defect detection method (ANDM) using the peak-valley index (PVI) and defect index (DI) that are first defined in this paper. In the proposed method, first a region of interest (ROI) is extracted from the entire weld radiographic image. Second, a profile curve of grey level intensity is yielded by a line across the weld ROI and its Bézier approximated curve is acquired. Then the Bézier approximated error between the above two curves is calculated by curve subtraction. Finally, the PVI and DI are obtained according to the characteristic analysis of the Bézier approximated curve and error. Using the PVI and DI, the existence of weld defects is successfully detected from the weld radiographic image. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we have performed some comparative experiments of detecting the various types of defect in manufacture. Moreover, the experimental results reveal that the proposed method achieves a successful detection rate of 98.5% and a false alarm rate of 2%, which shows a significant improvement on the accuracy and reliability of detecting weld defects in radiographic images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gold nanomaterials possess unique physical and chemical properties, which attracted much attention in recent years. As a new type of gold nanomaterials, gold nanostars (GNSTs) have been prepared and characterized in this study. GNSTs under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation can exert not only cancer photothermal therapy via heat production but also photodynamic therapy via generation of reactive oxygen species. GNSTs were able to enter the cytoplasm as well as nuclei of human breast michigan cancer foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells. Under NIR light irradiation, GNSTs caused more severe DNA damage, arrest the cell cycle in G0/G1 phase, and reduce more cellular glutathione level, causing more severe apoptosis and cell death in vitro. Intratumoral injection of GNSTs with NIR light irradiation significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo. In addition, GNSTs were demonstrated to be a contrast agent for X-ray imaging. All the in vitro and in vivo results showed that GNSTs can be used for the potential diagnosis and medical treatment of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very challenging to treat brain cancer because of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) restricting therapeutic drug or gene to access the brain. In this research project, angiopep-2 (ANG) was used as a brain-targeted peptide for preparing multifunctional ANG-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs), which encapsulated both doxorubicin (DOX) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) siRNA, designated as ANG/PLGA/DOX/siRNA. This system could efficiently deliver DOX and siRNA into U87MG cells leading to significant cell inhibition, apoptosis and EGFR silencingin vitro. It demonstrated that this drug system was capable of penetrating the BBBin vivo, resulting in more drugs accumulation in the brain. The animal study using the brain orthotopic U87MG glioma xenograft model indicated that the ANG-targeted co-delivery of DOX and EGFR siRNA resulted in not only the prolongation of the life span of the glioma-bearing mice but also an obvious cell apoptosis in glioma tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing a highly effective and lung-targeted local drug delivery carrier with low irritancy may be critical for improving treatment of lung cancer. Using soluble excipients as microspheres (MS) matrix, respirable MS embedding chitosan-coated poly( d, l-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles (CNP-MS) for 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME) were designed, which could avoid macrophage phagocytosis to achieve the targeted delivery of these drugs. 2-ME CNP-MS were prepared by spray-drying and characterized by morphology, redispersability, fine particle fraction (FPF) and drug release. Cytotoxicity, and lung deposition and histological examination were investigated. Results showed that 2-ME CNP-MS were spherical with a rough surfaces, exhibiting good redispersability, a high respirable fraction and sustained release characteristics. CNP-MS markedly enhanced the cytotoxicity of 2-ME by approximately 8.8-fold and 3.65-fold on SPC-A1 cells compared to solution and NP, respectively. After pulmonary administration, 2-ME CNP were distributed in rat lungs and for 10 mg of 2-ME CNP-MS, haematoxylin and eosin staining showed no obvious difference compared to the untreated control group. Therefore, CNP-MS revealed suitable features for local lung delivery and significantly enhanced cytotoxicity of 2-ME without obvious inflammation in lungs of rats, suggesting that 2-ME CNP-MS have great potential as an inhalation agent for targeted, highly effective and safe treatment of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a unified control strategy that enables both islanded and grid-tied operations of three-phase inverter in distributed generation, with no need for switching between two corresponding controllers or critical islanding detection. The proposed control strategy composes of an inner inductor current loop, and a novel voltage loop in the synchronous reference frame. The inverter is regulated as a current source just by the inner inductor current loop in grid-tied operation, and the voltage controller is automatically activated to regulate the load voltage upon the occurrence of islanding. Furthermore, the waveforms of the grid current in the grid-tied mode and the load voltage in the islanding mode are distorted under nonlinear local load with the conventional strategy. And this issue is addressed by proposing a unified load current feedforward in this paper. Additionally, this paper presents the detailed analysis and the parameter design of the control strategy. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is validated by the simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To determine whether nucleot(s)ide analogs therapy has survival benefit for patients with HBV-related HCC after unresectable treatment. Method. A systematic search was conducted through seven electronic databases including PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, Cochrane Databases, Elsevier, Wiley Online Library, and BMJ Best Practice. All studies comparing NA combined with unresectable treatment versus unresectable treatment alone were considered for inclusion. The primary outcome was the overall survival (OS) after unresectable treatment for patients with HBV-related HCC. The secondary outcome was the progression-free survival (PFS). Results were expressed as hazard ratio (HR) for survival with 95% confidence intervals. Results. We included six studies with 994 patients: 409 patients in nucleot(s)ide analogs therapy group and 585 patients without antiviral therapy in control group. There were significant improvements for the overall survival (HR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.47–0.70; p < 0.001) and progression-free survival (HR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.71–0.99; p = 0.034) in the NA-treated group compared with the control group. Funnel plot showed that there was no significant publication bias in these studies. When it comes to antiviral drugs and operation method, it also showed benefit in NA-treated group. At the same time, overall mortality as well as mortality secondary to liver failure in NA-treated group was obviously lesser. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. Conclusions. Nucleot(s)ide analogs therapy after unresectable treatment has potential beneficial effects in terms of overall survival and progression-free survival. NA therapy should be considered in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the association between CYP3A4 ∗ 1G and OPRM1A118G gene polymorphisms and postoperative analgesia with sufentanil in women of Zhuang ethnicity from western Guangxi, China. Methods. Forty-eight Chinese Zhuang women who underwent elective myomectomy under general anesthesia in our hospital from January 2019 to December 2020 were selected, and another 47 Chinese Han patients in the same period were selected as the control subjects. CYP3A4 ∗ 1G and OPRM1 A118G gene polymorphisms as well as sedation and pain scores at different time points after surgery were compared between the two groups of patients to analyze the relationship between the degree of pain and dosage of sufentanil and to analyze the effect of gene polymorphisms on the occurrence of adverse reactions. Results. The frequencies of ∗ 1/ ∗ 1G and ∗ 1G/ ∗ 1G genotypes, allele 1 ∗ G of CYP3A4 ∗ 1G and genotypes AA, and allele A of OPRM1 A118G in Zhuang patients were lower than those in Han patients, while the frequencies of ∗ 1/ ∗ 1, allele ∗ 1 of CYP3A4 ∗ 1G and genotypes AG, genotypes GG, and allele G of OPRM1 A118G were higher in Zhuang women. There was no significant difference in the Ramsay and VAS scores between the two groups at different time points after surgery, but the sufentanil use in Zhuang patients was higher than in Han patients at different time points after surgery. In addition, sufentanil use was highest in Zhuang patients with the ∗ 1/ ∗ 1 genotype of the CYP3A4 ∗ 1G gene. No significant difference was found in the incidence of adverse reactions during analgesia between the two groups. Conclusion. CYP3A4 ∗ 1G could be associated with postoperative sufentanil analgesia in Zhuang patients in western Guangxi and should be considered when developing personalized analgesia regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TBHQ is a significant synthetic antioxidant, but excessive use of TBHQ is harmful to human health. Therefore, the preparation of a high-efficiency TBHQ electrochemical sensor is of great significance. In this work, a core-shell structured Co 3 O 4 @PPy composite is synthesized for TBHQ determination and exhibits remarkable electrochemical properties. The core-shell structure of Co 3 O 4 @PPy composite shows the synergistic effects of fast charge transfer, rich active surface area and more active sites. Under optimal conditions, the linear range of the developed sensor is 0.2-600 μM, and the detection limit is 0.05 μM (S/N = 3). In addition, it also has good stability and reproducibility due to the stable protective role of the PPy shell. The proposed sensor can also be applied to practical sample detection., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)