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Analysis of the human hematopoietic progenitor compartment is being transformed by single-cell multimodal approaches. Cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq) enables coupled surface protein and transcriptome profiling, thereby revealing genomic programs underlying progenitor states. To perform CITE-seq systematically on primary human bone marrow cells, we used titrations with 266 CITE-seq antibodies (antibody-derived tags) and machine learning to optimize a panel of 132 antibodies. Multimodal analysis resolved >80 stem, progenitor, immune, stromal and transitional cells defined by distinctive surface markers and transcriptomes. This dataset enables flow cytometry solutions for in silico-predicted cell states and identifies dozens of cell surface markers consistently detected across donors spanning race and sex. Finally, aligning annotations from this atlas, we nominate normal marrow equivalents for acute myeloid leukemia stem cell populations that differ in clinical response. This atlas serves as an advanced digital resource for hematopoietic progenitor analyses in human health and disease.

LoRaWAN is widely used in Internet of Things (IoT) applications such as traffic management by providing a long-range wireless network at low energy consumption. However, the Aloha MAC protocol and the duty-cycle limitation bring LoRaWAN the challenge of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. This study focuses on this security issue. Two DoS attacks that aim at the confirmed transmission are proposed by investigating the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer of LoRaWAN. Simulation results show that the proposed methods significantly reduce the packet success rate and network energy efficiency with fewer attackers than the baseline attack, demonstrating the harmfulness of the proposed approaches.

Ultrasound assisted casting method was applied to preparing B4Cp/Al composites with the addition of B element by adding KBF4into Al−B4C−K2TiF6system. The effects of B element addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties as well as the reaction mechanism at the interface of composites were investigated. Experimental results showed that B element addition altered the B4Cp/Al interface, induced more small-sized TiB2particles to distribute within the matrix. Therefore, cavitation and acoustic flow effects of the melt were intensified, which led to the breaking of B4C clusters and finally led to the homogeneous microstructure and better mechanical properties of the composites.

We introduce galmoss, a python-based, torch-powered tool for two-dimensional fitting of galaxy profiles. By seamlessly enabling GPU parallelization, galmossmeets the high computational demands of large-scale galaxy surveys, placing galaxy profile fitting in the CSST/LSST-era. It incorporates widely used profiles such as the Sérsic, Exponential disk, Ferrer, King, Gaussian, and Moffat profiles, and allows for the easy integration of more complex models. Tested on 8289 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) g-band with a single NVIDIA A100 GPU, galmosscompleted classical Sérsic profile fitting in about 10 min. Benchmark tests show that galmossachieves computational speeds that are 6 ×faster than those of default implementations.

Carbonatites and related alkaline rocks host most REE resources. Phosphate minerals, e.g., apatite and monazite, commonly occur as the main REE-host in carbonatites and have been used for tracing magmatic and mineralization processes. Many carbonatite intrusions undergo metamorphic and/or metasomatic modification after emplacement; however, the effects of such secondary events are controversial. In this study, the Miaoya and Shaxiongdong carbonatite-alkaline complexes, in the South Qinling Belt of Central China, are selected to unravel their magmatic and hydrothermal remobilization histories. Both the complexes are accompanied by Nb-REE mineralization and contain apatite and monazite-(Ce) as the major REE carriers.

The production of reactive oxygen species, persistent inflammation, bacterial infection, and recurrence after a tumor resection has become the main challenge in cancer therapy and post-surgical skin regeneration. Herein, we report a multifunctional branched bioactive Si–Ca–P–Mo glass-ceramic nanoparticle (BBGN) with inlaid molybdate nanocrystals for an effective post-surgical melanoma therapy or infection therapy and defected skin reconstruction. Mixed-valence molybdenum (Mo4+and Mo6+) doped BBGN (BBGN-Mo) was first synthesized via a hydrothermally assisted classical synthesis of BGN, which enables the structure with a lot of free electrons and oxygen vacancies. The BBGN-Mo exhibits excellent photothermal, antibacterial, enzyme-like radical scavenging, and anti-inflammatory as well as promoted vascularized efficiencies. BBGN-Mo could kill drug-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) bacteria in vitro(99.5%) and in vivo(97.0%) at a low photothermal temperature (42 °C) and efficiently enhance the MRSA-infected wound repair. Additionally, BBGN-Mo could effectively inhibit tumor recurrence (96.4%), continuously improve the wound anti-inflammation and vascularization microenvironment, and significantly promote the post-surgical skin regeneration. This work suggests that conventional bioceramics could be turned to the highly efficient nanodrug for treating the challenge of post-surgical cancer therapy or infection therapy and tissue regeneration, through the mixed-valence strategy.

The completed skeletal muscle regeneration resulted from severe injury and muscle-related disease is still a challenge. Here, we developed an injectable muscle-adhesive antioxidant conductive bioactive photothermo-responsive nanomatrix for regulating the myogenic differentiation and promoting the skeletal muscle regeneration in vivo. The multifunctional nanomatrix was composed of polypyrrole@polydopamine (PPy@PDA, 342 ± 5.6 nm) nanoparticles-crosslinked Pluronic F-127 (F127)-polycitrate matrix (FPCP). The FPCP nanomatrix demonstrated inherent multifunctional properties including excellent photothermo-responsive and shear-thinning behavior, muscle-adhesive feature, injectable ability, electronic conductivity (0.48 ± 0.03 S/m) and antioxidant activity and photothermal function. The FPCP nanomatrix displayed better photothermal performance with near-infrared irradiation, which could provide the photo-controlled release of protein (91% ± 2.6% of BSA was released after irradiated 3 times). Additionally, FPCP nanomatrix could significantly enhance the cell proliferation and myogenic differentiation of mouse myoblast cells (C2C12) by promoting the expressions of myogenic genes (MyoD and MyoG) and myosin heavy chain (MHC) protein with negligible cytotoxicity. Based on the multifunctional properties, FPCP nanomatrix efficiently promoted the full-thickness skeletal muscle repair and regeneration in vivo, through stimulating the angiogenesis and myotube formation. This study firstly indicated the vital role of multifunctional PPy@PDA nanoparticles in regulating myogenic differentiation and skeletal muscle regeneration. This work also suggests that rational design of bioactive matrix with multifunctional feature would greatly enhance the development of regenerative medicine.

Developing bioactive materials with multifunctional properties is crucial for enhancing their biomedical applications in regenerative medicine. Bioactive glass nanoparticle (BGN) is a new generation of biomaterials that demonstrate high biocompatibility and tissue-inducing capacity. However, the hard nanoparticle surface and single surface property limited their wide biomedical applications. In recent years, the surface functional strategy has been employed to decorate the BGN and improve its biomedical applications in bone tissue repair, bioimaging, tumor therapy and wound repair. This review summarizes the progress of surface–interface design strategy, customized multifunctional properties and biomedical applications in detail. We also discussed the current challenges and further development of multifunctional BGN to meet the requirements of various biomedical applications.

Pediatric patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) often require long-term parenteral nutrition and intravenous fluid support (PN) until enteral autonomy (EA). However, long-term PN accounts for many complications. We aimed to investigate the outcome and predictors of EA in these patients.

With the widespread use of abdominal ultrasonography (US), incidental detection of common bile duct (CBD) dilatation is common in pediatric populations. This study investigated the causes and clinical significance of CBD dilatation in children without biliary symptoms, jaundice, or causative lesions in US.

Vascular complications remain high in transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Careful evaluation of the femoral arteries is important to select the optimal access site.

The efficient cutaneous wound healing accompanied with the enhanced skin appendage regeneration is still a challenge. The bacterial infection and excessive/prolonged inflammation inhibit wound healing process and result in the scar formation. Herein, we reported an anti-inflammatory polycitrate-polyethyleneimine-Ibuprofen (PCEI) and multifunctional PCEI-based F127-ε-polypeptide-alginic (FEA) dressing (FEA-PCEI) for accelerating wound healing and hair follicle neogenesis. PCEI showed the excellent anti-inflammation function through stimulating macrophage towards anti-inflammatory M2 subtype polarization. The FEA-PCEI dressing showed the temperature-response gelation, injectability, robust antibacterial activity, light-damage-resistant, homeostasis ability, and good cytocompatibility. The optimized dosage of FEA-PCEI dressing could significantly accelerate wound healing with anti-infection ability, reduce the scar formation, and promote the hair follicle neogenesis. This study provided a wound-repairing strategy through regulating the phenotype of immune cells by the designing bioactive multifunctional biomaterials.

The optimal extent of lymphadenectomy for adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) has been continuously debatable. The study aimed to determine the incidence of lymph node metastasis at each station in Siewert types Ⅱ/Ⅲ AEG. PubMed was searched and publications reporting metastasis at each nodal station were eligible. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3. Twenty-one studies involving 4662 patients were included. The incidence of lymph node metastasis was high (≥20%) in stations No. 3, 1, 2 and 7 in decreasing order, and moderate (10–20%) in stations No. 9, 19 and 110. The incidence did not exceed 10% in stations No. 10, 11p, 20, 8a, 4sa, 4 s b and 4d, was less than 5% in stations No. 5, 6, 11d, 12a, and even close to 0 in stations No. 107, 111 and 112. Compared with type Ⅲ tumors, type Ⅱ tumors had significantly lower incidence in some abdominal stations including No. 3, 4sa, 4 s b, 6, 8a and 10, while significantly higher in the lower mediastinal stations. The present analysis established a map of lymph node metastasis in Siewert types Ⅱ/Ⅲ AEG, which may serve as a valuable reference for the extent of lymphadenectomy.

Complete skeletal muscle repair and regeneration due to severe large injury or disease is still a challenge. Biochemical cues are critical to control myoblast cell function and can be utilized to develop smart biomaterials for skeletal muscle engineering. Citric acid-based biodegradable polymers have received much attention on tissue engineering, however, their regulation on myoblast cell differentiation and mechanism was few investigated. Here, we find that citrate-based polycitrate-polyethylene glycol-polyethylenimine (POCG-PEI600) nanoclusters can significantly enhance the in vitromyoblast proliferation by probably reinforcing the mitochondrial number, promote the myotube formation and full-thickness skeletal muscle regeneration in vivoby activating the myogenic biomarker genes expression of Myodand Mhc. POCG-PEI600 nanoclusters could also promote the phosphorylation of p38 in MAP kinases (MAPK) signaling pathway, which led to the promotion of the myoblast differentiation. The in vivoskeletal muscle loss rat model also confirmed that POCG-PEI600 nanoclusters could significantly improve the angiogenesis, myofibers formation and complete skeletal muscle regeneration. POCG-PEI600 nanocluster could be also biodegraded into small molecules and eliminated in vivo, suggesting their high biocompatibility and biosafety. This study could provide a bioactive biomaterial-based strategy to repair and regenerate skeletal muscle tissue.

Combination therapy via stimulus-responsive drug release is known to improve treatment efficacy and minimize side effects. However, the use of low-abundance cancer biomarkers as molecular triggers to induce efficient drug release for combination therapy still remains a challenge. Herein, we developed a dual microRNA-responsive drug nanocarrier for catalytic release of doxorubicin (Dox) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) in cancerous cells for combined chemotherapy and gene therapy with logic operation. The nanocarrier is constructed by assembling two duplexes of DNA/RNA and Dox molecules onto DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles. Two microRNA molecules (miRNA-21 and miRNA-10b overexpressed in MDA-MB-231) could alternatively catalyze the disassembly of the nanocarrier through a thermodynamically driven entropy gain process, during which Dox molecules are released, and the two pairs of released DNA/RNA duplex hybridize to generate siRNA (siBcl-2) in situ by strand displacement reactions. Quantum dots are used to track the process in living cells. The AND logic gate-based drug release system allows effective treatment of specific cancer cell types according to miRNA expression patterns. This strategy represents an effective means to overcome multidrug resistance and improve therapeutic effects.

Traditional skin tumor surgery and chronic bacterial-infection-induced wound healing/skin regeneration is still a challenge. The ideal strategy should eliminate the tumor, enhance wound healing/skin formation, and be anti-infection. Herein, we designed a multifunctional elastomeric poly(l-lactic acid)–poly(citrate siloxane)–curcumin@polydopamine hybrid nanofibrous scaffold (denoted as PPCP matrix) for tumor-infection therapy and infection-induced wound healing. The PPCP matrix showed intrinsically multifunctional properties including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, photothermal, antibacterial, anticancer, and angiogenesis bioactivities. The polydopamine/curcumin presented an excellent near-infrared photothermal/cancer cell toxicity capacity, respectively, which supported PPCP for synergetic skin tumor therapy and antibacterial properties in vitro/in vivo. Additionally, the PPCP nanofibrous matrix significantly promotes the adhesion and proliferation of normal skin cells and accelerates the cutaneous wound healing in normal mice and bacterial-infected mice by enhancing the early angiogenesis. The PPCP nanofibrous matrix with multifunctional bioactivities provides a competitive strategy for skin tumor and bacterial-infection-induced wound healing.

The simultaneous therapy of tumors and bone defects resulting from tumor surgery is still a challenge in clinical orthopedics. Few nanomaterial systems simultaneously possess multifunctional capacities, including biodegradability, tumor treatment, and enhanced bone regeneration. Herein, we designed a biodegradable monodispersed bioactive glass nanoparticle (BGN) platform with multifunctional properties for enhanced colon cancer photothermo-chemotherapy and bone repair. The mussel-inspired surface assembly with BGN was established as a stable NIR-excited photothermal nanoplatform (BGN@PDA) for ablating tumors. BGN@PDA shows an ultrahigh anticancer drug (DOX) loading with on-demand (pH/NIR-responsive) drug release behavior and antibacterial activity for enhanced tumor chemotherapy (BGN@PDA-DOX). The growth of colon cancer cells (Hct116 cells) and cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) was significantly inhibited in vitro, and superior local anticancer efficacy could be achieved by synergic chemo-photothermal therapy in vivo. BGN@PDA underwent a gradual degradation in vivoduring 60 days and showed negligible toxic side effects. Meanwhile, BGN@PDA could positively induce the osteogenesis of osteoblasts in vitroand possess excellent in vivobone repair ability in rat cranial defects. This work presents a distinctive strategy to design a bioactive multifunctional nanoplatform for treating tumor disease-resulted bone tissue regeneration.

Diabetic wound healing and angiogenesis remain a worldwide challenge for both clinic and research. The use of adipose stromal cell derived exosomes delivered by bioactive dressing provides a potential strategy for repairing diabetic wounds with less scar formation and fast healing. In this study, we fabricated an injectable adhesive thermosensitive multifunctional polysaccharide-based dressing (FEP) with sustained pH-responsive exosome release for promoting angiogenesis and diabetic wound healing. The FEP dressing possessed multifunctional properties including efficient antibacterial activity/multidrug-resistant bacteria, fast hemostatic ability, self-healing behavior, and tissue-adhesive and good UV-shielding performance. FEP@exosomes (FEP@exo) can significantly enhance the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of endothelial cells in vitro. In vivoresults from a diabetic full-thickness cutaneous wound model showed that FEP@exo dressing accelerated the wound healing by stimulating the angiogenesis process of the wound tissue. The enhanced cell proliferation, granulation tissue formation, collagen deposition, remodeling, and re-epithelialization probably lead to the fast healing with less scar tissue formation and skin appendage regeneration. This study showed that combining bioactive molecules into multifunctional dressing should have great potential in achieving satisfactory healing in diabetic and other vascular-impaired related wounds.

The near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) dye, IR780, is recognized as a promising theranostic agent and has been widely investigated for imaging, chemotherapeutic, and phototherapeutic applications. However, its poor photostability and nonselective toxicities toward both cancer and normal cells limit its biological applications. Herein, we introduce the use of GUMBOS (a group of uniform materials based on organic salts) developed through counter-anion exchange with IR780 and subsequent nanomaterials (nanoGUMBOS) formed by complexation with cyclodextrin (CD) for enhanced chemo/photothermal therapy. Such CD-based nanoGUMBOS display improved aqueous stability, photostability, and photothermal effects relative to traditional IR780. The examination of in vitro cytotoxicity reveals that CD-based nanoGUMBOS are selectively toxic toward cancer cells and exhibit synergistically enhanced cytotoxicity toward cancer cells upon NIR laser irradiation. Additionally, in vivo NIRF imaging demonstrated selective accumulation of these nanoGUMBOS within the tumor site, indicating tumor-targeting properties. Further in vivo therapeutic study of these CD-based nanoGUMBOS suggests excellent chemo/photothermal antitumor effects. Using these studies, we herein demonstrate a promising strategy, via conversion of IR780 into nanoGUMBOS, that can be used for improved theranostic cancer treatment.

Abrus pulchellus subsp. mollis (Hance) Verdc. (Leguminosae) is a well-known edible plant usually added to soups and beverages. In this study, vicenin-2 (1), isoschaftoside (2), schaftoside (3), and their enrichment fraction, total flavonoid C -glycosides, derived from the extracts of A. mollis , were firstly found to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease both in vitro and in vivo. In the in vitro study, total flavonoid C -glycosides decreased the lipid accumulation in oleic acid-treated HepG2 cells. The mechanisms of total flavonoid C -glycosides are involved in the regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and its downstream, and the reduction of proinflammatory cytokines. In high-fat diet-induced fatty liver rats, total flavonoid C -glycosides decreased the levels of glutamic-oxalacetic transaminease and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, and decreased the lipid accumulation both in the liver and blood without affecting food intake. In addition, total flavonoid C -glycosides also increased the activities of the antioxidant enzyme system in vivo. In conclusion, total flavonoid C -glycosides are active components of A. mollis on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and can be used in functional food and supplements for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 3D structured composite was designed to improve the conductivity and to ease the volume problems of Si anode during cycling for lithium-ions batteries. An in situmethod viaa controllable gelation process was explored to fabricate the 3D composite of a multilayer carbon matrix toughened by cross-linked carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and decorated with conductive Cu agents. Structurally, a bifunctional carbon shell was formed on the surface of Si to improve the conductivity but alleviate side reactions. Cu particles as conducting agents decorated in the carbon matrix are also used to further improve the conductivity. The volume issue of Si particles can be effectively released viatoughening the carbon matrix through the multilayered structure and cross-linked CNTs. Moreover, the carbon matrix might prevent silicon particles from agglomeration. Consequently, the Si@C@Cu composite is expected to exhibit benign electrochemical performances with a commendable capacity of 1500 mAh g–1(900 cycles, 1 A g–1) and a high rate performance (1035 mAh g–1, 4 A g–1). The DLi+ranging from 10–11to 10–9cm–2s–1of the Si@C@Cu anode is obtained viathe GITT test, which is higher than most reported data.

Cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is the most common histological type of cervical cancer (CC). And mCSCC is the end stage of CSCC. The aim of this study was to develop prognostic nomograms that provide better predictions for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in mCSCC patients. Data from patients with initially diagnosed mCSCC were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2015. The nomograms for OS and CSS were constructed based on Cox regression analysis. The validation of the newly established nomograms was evaluated by concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and decision curve analyses (DCAs). A total of 2198 patients with mCSCC were included and randomly split into training (n = 1539) and validation (n = 659) cohorts in a 7:3 ratio. Multivariate analyses revealed that the prognostic variables significantly related to the OS and CSS were marital status, T stage, brain metastasis, lung metastasis, tumor size, number of positive lymph nodes, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The nomograms were constructed based on these factors. The C-index value of the nomograms for predicting OS and CSS was 0.714 and 0.683, respectively. The calibration curves of the nomograms showed good consistency between nomogram prediction and actual survival for both OS and CSS, and the DCAs showed great clinical usefulness of the nomograms. The mCSCC patients were classified into low- and high-risk groups based on the scores from the nomograms. In the validation cohort, mCSCC patients with low-risk had much higher OS and CSS than those with high-risk. We constructed nomograms for predicting the OS and CSS of patients with initially diagnosed mCSCC. Our models had satisfactory predictive performance and could be useful in survival prediction for mCSCC.

Herein, we report on the role of endocytosis in the selective chemotherpeutic toxicity of rhodamine 6G (R6G) based nanomaterials, i.e., nanoGUMBOS, that are derived from a group of uniform materials based on organic salts (GUMBOS). Evaluation of cellular uptake in the presence and absence of endocytosis inhibitors suggests nanoGUMBOS internalization via clathrin-mediated endocytosis in cancer cells and reveals lack of endocytic internalization in normal cells. Results from characterization of these nanomaterials suggest that endocytic internalization in cancer cells leads to nanoGUMBOS dissociation within the endosomal environment. This ultimately results in selective cytotoxicity of the nanoGUMBOS for cancer cells with no toxicity toward normal cells under examined conditions. Following examination of the selectivity mechanism, in vivoinvestigations were performed to examine potential therapeutic properties of these nanoparticles. Remarkably, nanoGUMBOS treatment using a mouse xenograft model reduced the tumor volume by 50% suggesting retention of in vitrotherapeutic properties in vivo. These results corroborate the selective behavior of nanoGUMBOS and demonstrate their in vivotherapeutic effects, providing further insight into the possible use of these nanomaterials as potential chemotherapeutic agents.

Controlled biomineralization activity of biomaterials is rather important in bone regeneration and osseointegration avoiding the formation of fibrous capsule. However, most of conventional biodegradable elastomeric biomaterials for bone regeneration do not possess biomineralization ability and inherent multifunctional properties. Herein, we report a multifunctional bioactive glass (BG)-based hybrid poly(citrate-siloxane) (PCS) elastomer with intrinsical biomineralization activity and photoluminescent properties for potential bone tissue regeneration. Monodispersed BG nanoparticles (BGNs) were used to control the elastomeric behavior, biomineralization activity, photoluminescent ability, and osteogenic cellular response of PCS elastomers. BGNs significantly enhanced the elastomeric modulus of PCS from 20 to 200 MPa (10 times improvement) and the hydrophilicity (from 82° to 28° in water contact angle). The photoluminescent properties of PCS elastomers were also tailored through the incorporation of BGNs. The in vivo degradation of PCS–BGN nanocomposites could be efficiently tracked through noninvasively monitoring their fluorescent change. PCS–BGN nanocomposites enhanced the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) and decreased the in vivo inflammatory response. This study provided a novel tactics for designing the bioactive elastomeric biomaterials with multifunctional properties for bone regeneration medicine.

To further improve the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of low-cost Mn based catalyst, graphene oxide (GO) was added in the preparation of one dimensional (1D) α-MnO2nanorod using KMnO4-MnSO4system via hydrothermal method. Experimental results showed that the GO addition (20 wt%) could induce the formation of MnO(OH) nanorod. The Mn based@GO catalyst had more surface defects and oxygen vacancies compared with pure α-MnO2. The onset potential, half-wave potential (E1/2) and limiting current density were significantly enhanced from 0.86 V/0.66 V/3.56 mA cm-2 to 0.91 V/0.77 V/5.41 mA cm-2, indicating that GO addition could greatly improve the catalytic activity of Mn based catalyst. Furthermore, the discharge voltage, power density, mass energy density of Al-air battery using Mn based@GO catalyst were greatly improved comparing with the usage of pure MnO2catalyst, and it was also found that the application effect of Mn based @GO catalyst in the Al-air battery was almost comparable to the commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. Our research revealed for the first time the commercial potential of the novel and low-cost MnO2/MnO(OH)@GO nanocomposite in the Al-air battery.

Objectives: We examined the survival rates after diagnosis of HIV infection stage 3 (AIDS) in the United States by population density area of residence at diagnosis.Methods: We used data from the National HIV Surveillance System to calculate survival rates among people aged ≥13 with HIV infection stage 3 (AIDS) diagnosed from 2005 through 2010. We determined survival rates for more than 12, 24, and 36 months after diagnosis; overall and by demographic characteristics; and across 3 population density area categories (large metropolitan statistical areas [MSAs, ≥500 000 people], small-to-medium MSAs [50 000 to 499 999 people], and nonmetropolitan areas [<50 000 people]).Results: The survival rates for more than 12, 24, and 36 months after diagnosis were highest among people residing in large MSAs (90.2%, 87.2%, and 84.9%, respectively) and lowest among people residing in nonmetropolitan areas (87.3%, 84.1%, and 81.4%, respectively). With a few exceptions, survival rates were lower in those residing in nonmetropolitan areas than those residing in large MSAs and small-to-medium MSAs across most subgroups by age at diagnosis, race/ethnicity, sex, transmission category, region of residence, and year of diagnosis. Between 2005 and 2010, significant year-to-year increases occurred in the proportion of people surviving more than 36 months after diagnosis across all 3 population density area categories (estimated annual percentage change: large MSAs [0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.56-1.20]; small-to-medium MSAs [0.94; 95% CI, 0.06-1.83]; and nonmetropolitan areas [1.26; 95% CI, 0.07-2.46]).Conclusions: Although survival rates for those with HIV infection stage 3 (AIDS) improved in all 3 population density area categories, efforts to remove barriers to care and promote treatment adherence in nonmetropolitan areas will be necessary to eliminate survival disparities.

The rapid progress of science and technology miniaturizes and integrates pulse power capacitors. High electric fields constrain miniaturized size applications and electric device integration; hence, ceramics with substantial recovered energy density (Wrec) at comparatively low electric fields are sought for high energy storage capacitors. Herein, (1-x)Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-x(Sr0.7Bi0.2)(Ti0.8Zr0.2)O3((1-x)NBT-xSBTZ) lead–free ceramics with good energy storage properties were fabricated by solid-state reaction. The phase structures, dielectric properties, relaxation behavior, breakdown behavior, and energy storage properties were systematically investigated by the experiments and simulation method. Phase structure of NBT-based shifts from rhombohedral to pseudo-cubic phase and the relaxor behavior increases with SBTZ content. In addition, the 0.70NBT-0.30SBTZ ceramic demonstrates commendable temperature (25–150 °C) and frequency (1–200 Hz) stability at 120 kV·cm–1. A substantial power density of 40.48 MW·cm–3and a fast discharge speed of 90.4 ns were attained. This research broadens the potential uses for ceramic capacitors operating in low electric field.

Accurate target delineation is a critical step in radiotherapy. In this study, a robust contour propagation method is proposed to help physicians delineate lung tumors in four-dimensional computer tomography (4D-CT) images efficiently and accurately. The proposed method starts with manually delineated contours on the reference phase. Each contour is fitted by a non-uniform cubic B-spline curve, and its deformation on the target phase is achieved by moving its control vertexes such that the intensity similarity between the two contours is maximized. Since contour is usually the boundary of lesion or tissue which may deform quite differently from the tissues outside the boundary, the proposed method treats each contour as a deformable entity, a non-uniform cubic B-spline curve, and focuses on the registration of contour entity instead of the entire image to avoid the deformation of contour to be smoothed by its surrounding tissues, meanwhile to greatly reduce the time consumption while keeping the accuracy of the contour propagation. Eighteen 4D-CT cases with 444 gross tumor volume (GTV) contours manually delineated slice by slice on the maximal inhale and exhale phases are used to verify the proposed method. The Jaccard similarity coefficient (JSC) between the propagated GTV and the manually delineated GTV is 0.885 ± 0.026, and the Hausdorff distance (HD) is $$2.93\,\pm \,0.93$$ 2.93±0.93 mm. In addition, the time for propagating GTV to all the phases is 3.67 ± 3.41 minutes. The results are better than fast adaptive stochastic gradient descent (FASGD) B-spline method, 3D+t B-spline method and diffeomorphic Demons method. The proposed method is useful to help physicians delineate target volumes efficiently and accurately.

CircCEP85 is up-regulated in breast cancerCircCEP85 functions as a sponge for miR-1193 to regulate its target IGF1 in breast cancer cellsCircCEP85 contributes to breast cancer progression via the miR-1193/IGF1 axis

A clean and safe process of utilizing waste penicillin mycelium (WPM) was proposed in this paper. We treated WPM by soaking it in aqueous alkaline solution, to produce retarders for hemihydrate gypsum (the protein hydrolysate) by filtration. The filter cake was used to produce activated carbon, while the waste water can be reused for soaking process. This retarder can effectively prolong the setting time of gypsum with less drop in mechanical strength of gypsum plaster. The activated carbon produced with 674 mg/g of Iodine value, which meets the requirements of general industrial applications.

AbstractIn this paper the optimal dividend (subject to transaction costs) and reinsurance (with two reinsurers) problem is studied in the limit diffusion setting. It is assumed that transaction costs and taxes are required when dividends occur, and that the premiums charged by two reinsurers are calculated according to the exponential premium principle with different parameters, which makes the stochastic control problem nonlinear. The objective of the insurer is to determine the optimal reinsurance and dividend policy so as to maximize the expected discounted dividends until ruin. The problem is formulated as a mixed classical-impulse stochastic control problem. Explicit expressions for the value function and the corresponding optimal strategy are obtained. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the impact of the parameters associated with the two reinsurers' premium principle on the optimal reinsurance strategy.

AbstractThis paper proposes a discrete-time risk model that has a certain type of correlation between premiums and claim amounts. It is motivated by the well-known bonus-malus system (also known as the no claims discount) in the car insurance industry. Such a system penalises policyholders at fault in accidents by surcharges, and rewards claim-free years by discounts. For simplicity, only up to three levels of premium are considered in this paper and recursive formulae are derived to calculate the ultimate ruin probabilities. Explicit expressions of ruin probabilities are obtained in a simplified case. The impact of the proposed correlation between premiums and claims on ruin probabilities is examined through numerical examples. In the end, the joint probability of ruin and deficit at ruin is also considered.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the progress of phase change (PCM) technology in construction and building materials. The function, classification and application of phase change energy storage materials were reviewed. PCMs can be used in construction and building materials for energy-saving purposes, such as coatings, gypsum board, mortar, concrete etc. The existing problems of phase change energy storage materials, current research topics were put forward. It probable that phase change energy storage materials will find wide application in construction and building materials in the near future.

The inhibition of inflammation and the promotion of early angiogenesis are paid much attention in skin tissue engineering. Citric acid‐based biomaterials are widely used in tissue engineering due to their bioactive structure and biocompatibility, but there are few studies on investigating their role and mechanism in wound repair and skin regeneration. Herein, the potential anti‐inflammation mechanism of poly(octanediol‐citrate‐polyglycol) (POCG) copolymer is reported in regulating skin wound repair. It is found that POCG can modulate macrophages phenotype through downregulating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis facor‐α (Tnf‐α), Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), and Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and polarizing macrophages to anti‐inflammatory (M2) phenotype. POCG can promote endothelial cell vascularization by increasing the expression of angiogenesis factors (vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf) and cluster of differentiation 31CD31) mediated by the macrophage polarization. The in vivo study shows that POCG can accelerate skin wound repair through suppressing the acute inflammation and inducing early angiogenesis through the polarization modulation. Furthermore, the POCG polymer has good biocompatibility for both immune cells and tissue cells. This study may provide the important theoretical support on the bioactivity of citrate‐based biomaterials and expanding their applications in tissue engineering. The potential anti‐inflammation mechanism of poly(octanediol‐citrate‐polyglycol) (POCG) copolymer is reported here in regulating skin wound repair. POCG can enhance the skin wound repair through the anti‐inflammatory immunomodulation and promote early endothelial cell vascularization. This study may provide the important theoretical support on the bioactivity of citrate‐based biomaterials and expanding their applications in tissue engineering.

Currently, there are some problems of university informatization, such as low information management functions, serious information island phenomenon, the lack of information security operation, as well as information is not sufficient to carry out the evaluation and assessment, and so on. For these situation and problems, as the main mechanism for the construction of the content and objectives of university information technology, we have to use and efficient management mechanism, smooth and safe operation mechanism and long-term scientific evaluation and assessment mechanism, then take appropriate countermeasures.

A simple, rapid and sensitive strategy has been presented for the simultaneous determination of three fungicides (azoxystrobin, diethofencarb and pyrimethanil) in water samples by coupling polymer monolith microextraction (PMME) to high performance liquid chromatography. A novel poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate) (HPMA-EDMA) monolithic capillary column was synthesized and selected as the extraction medium for the PMME. To achieve optimum extraction performance, the conditions of the PMME including sample flow rate, sample pH, eluent volume, eluent flow rate, sample volume and salt effect have been investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection of azoxystrobin, diethofencarb and pyrimethanil are 0.19, 0.22 and 0.65 μg L−1, respectively. The reproducibility of the method was obtained with intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations less than 3.1% and 6.3%, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of the three fungicides in environmental water samples with a recovery range of 80.2–115.6% for all the samples.

The LiMg0.06Mn1.94O4 calcined at 500 °C for 3 hours then sintered at 600 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C for 3 hours by flameless liquid-phase combustion synthesis are prepared. Particle properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Besides, galvanostatic tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were performed to investigate the cycling performance. Particle properties analyses showed that LiMg0.06Mn1.94O4 sintered at 600 °C has a single phase and the average grain size is about 80-200 nm with a little agglomeration, it also displays the highest initial capacity of 114.2 mAh/g and still remains 82.7% after 40 cycles. Results showed that sintered temperature by nitric acid assisted liquid-phase combustion method should be 600 °C.

Band gap opening and engineering is one of the high priority goals in the development of graphene electronics. Here, we report on the opening and scaling of band gap in BN doped graphene (BNG) films grown by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method. High resolution transmission electron microscopy is employed to resolve the graphene and h-BN domain formation in great detail. X-ray photoelectron, micro-Raman, and UV–vis spectroscopy studies revealed a distinct structural and phase evolution in BNG films at low BN concentration. Synchrotron radiation based XAS-XES measurements concluded a gap opening in BNG films, which is also confirmed by field effect transistor measurements. For the first time, a significant band gap as high as 600 meV is observed for low BN concentrations and is attributed to the opening of the π–π* band gap of graphene due to isoelectronic BN doping. As-grown films exhibit structural evolution from homogeneously dispersed small BN clusters to large sized BN domains with embedded diminutive graphene domains. The evolution is described in terms of competitive growth among h-BN and graphene domains with increasing BN concentration. The present results pave way for the development of band gap engineered BN doped graphene-based devices.

Li1+xMn2O4 prepared by solution combustion synthesis method has a strong exothermic peak at 282.1 ℃, which is believed that the reaction of LiNO3, LiAc2•2H2O with Mn(NO3)2 and MnAc2•4H2O occurs in this region. So products were calcined at 500 ℃ would got fine crystalline. Pure phase LiMn2O4 can be prepared with x(Li)=0.16 and 0.24 without impurity. Li-rich samples for x(Li)=0.16 and 0.24 has nanoparticles of which the surface area will be more and can lead to better electrode performance. The initial discharge capacity of Li1.16Mn2O4 was the highest of 116.4mAh•g-1, with a 15 % loss of the initial capacity after 40 cycles, which is much better than bare LiMn2O4. Excess Li+ is beneficial to formation of pure phase of spinel LiMn2O4 and Li1.16Mn2O4 has best electrochemical performance in the method of solution combustion synthesis.

The LiCrxMn2-xO4 material used for lithium ion battery cathode material was successfully prepared by a molten-salt flameless combustion synthesis method which used the LiNO3, LiAc•2H2O, Mn(NO3)2, MnAc2•4H2O as raw materials and Cr(NO3)3•9H2O as dopant. The results indicated that, the high-purity spinel LiCrxMn2-xO4 was successfully prepared although including a little Mn3O4. The impurity peak intensity of Mn3O4 gradually weakened until it disappeared with the increase of the amount of Cr-doped. The product was monophasic LiCrxMn2-xO4 when x (Cr) ≥ 0.1. It can be found that with Cr doped, the aggregation of the sample decreased. The structural stability, electrochemical activity and reversibility of LiCrxMn2-xO4 was better than that of pristine LiMn2O4. The discharge capacity and capacity retention had been improved. The LiCr0.02Mn1.98O4 had the highest initial capacity of 120.7 mAh•g-1 and the capacity retention was 78.5% after 40 cycles.

LiMn2O4-yFy were synthesized by a novel method named liquid phase flameless combustion reaction with LiNO3, MnAc2.4H2O and LiF as raw materials calcined at 600 ℃ for 3 h with HNO3 as aided oxidant. All samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electrochemical performance. The results show that: all samples have main phase of LiMn2O4 with impurity of Mn3O4 and the vibrational bands of Mn-O are a little red shift by doping F, which indicated that the F- enter the host structure of LiMn2O4 successfully. The electrochemical performance show that the initial discharge capacities of F-doped samples are lower than pristine LiMn2O4, which is 117.7 mAh•g-1. However, the capacity retention of LiMn2O3.96F0.04 and LiMn2O3.90F0.10 are 73.6% and 74.5%, respectively, which are higher than pristine LiMn2O4, which is only 69.0% after 40 cycles.

Recently developed technique of vortex-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction (VALLME) has thus far proven to be efficient for the rapid extraction of trace amounts of organic pollutants with both high enrichment factors and low detection limits. In this paper, a new and easy one-step in-syringe device for VALLME has been proposed and applied for the analysis of three fungicides in real aqueous samples. This novel technique performed extraction, separation, preconcentration, and injection in one step using a 5 mL syringe, thus expanding the level of automation of VALLME. The practicality of the technique was evaluated through the analysis of three fungicides (azoxystrobin, diethofencarb, and pyrimethanil) in aqueous samples by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection. 1-octanol was used as the extractant. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection and enrichment factors were 0.96 μg L−1, 144 for azoxystrobin, 1.33 μg L−1, 183 for diethofencarb, and 0.73 μg L−1, 176 for pyrimethanil. Good reproducibility expressed as the intra-day and inter-day precisions (RSD) at 40 μg L−1concentration level were below 4.0% and 6.1% (n= 6). The recoveries of the spiked real water samples at three different concentration levels of 4, 10, 40 μg L−1ranged from 91.6–116.8%, 81.3–107.3% and 81.4–104.4%, respectively.

To study the effects of translumenal Nd:YAG embolectomy (TYE) on the visual functions of patients presenting with decreased vision (<612) and visual field defect (VFD) from embolus-induced branch retinal artery occlusions.

A very simple and effective method for the extraction and determination of oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) in Radix Actinidiae chinensiswas developed using ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (UA-DLLME) and high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS). Ethanol was used as the solvent to extract OA and UA from Radix Actinidiae chinensis, assisted by ultrasonic waves. When the extraction process was finished, the two target analytes in the extraction solvent were rapidly transferred from the ethanol extract to another extraction solvent (chloroform) with the help of a dispersive solvent (tetrahydrofuran) by using DLLME. A series of extraction parameters were investigated and optimized. Under the most favorable conditions, the limits of detection (LOD, S/N= 3) and enrichment factors were 2.0 ng g−1, 89.4 and 6.0 ng g−1, 84.5 for OA and UA, respectively. The recoveries of the spiked sample solutions at three different concentration levels of 200, 500 and 1000 ng g−1ranged between 88.2 and 96.6%. The proposed method was the first successfully applied for the extraction and determination of OA and UA in Radix Actinidiae chinensis.

The spinel Mg-doped LiMn2-xMgxO4（0≤x≤0.10）lithium ion cathode material was prepared by LiNO3, Mn(Ac)2.4H2O and Mg(Ac)2.4H2O by a low-temperature flameless solution combustion at 400℃, and HNO3 was used as oxidant. The results showed that the crystallinity of prepared material was superior to the pure LiMn2O4, and this method was better than traditional solid-state method. The particle sizes of the Mg-doped spinel LiMn2-xMgxO4 decreased with the increase of Mg doping, and the particle sizes were 50 to 90 nm; the crystal lattice interface was clear. The original capacities of Mg-doped were lower than that of undoped LiMn2O4 (109.2 mAh/g) excepts for x(Mg)=0.04, original capacity of which was 128mAh/g. However, the rentions of all the doped spinels were higher than that of undoped spinel.