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Currently, there is a scarcity of reliable biomarkers that can accurately forecast the outcome and prognosis of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). In this study, we assessed the diagnostic efficacy of serum glutathione reductase (GR) as a biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its practicality in predicting TACE treatment response. The baseline positive rate and level of serum GR were analyzed and compared between HCC group and control group. Serum GR levels were assessed at three specific time points in 181 patients with unresectable HCC who underwent TACE (HCC-TACE). The correlation between serum GR levels and clinical pathological factors, tumor reactivity, and prognosis was investigated. The modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) was utilized for assessing the treatment response to TACE. A nomogram for predicting the response to TACE treatment efficacy was developed. Serum GR demonstrated superior diagnostic performance in HCC patients. The baseline levels of serum GR were associated with the patient's age, tumor size, BCLC staging, and tumor thrombi of the portal vein (TTPV) (p < 0.05). Elevated baseline levels of serum GR were also identified as independent prognostic factors for predicting lower overall survival (OS) and shorter time to radiological progression (TTP) (p < 0.001). Moreover, it is worth noting that non-responders group exhibited a substantial increase in median GR level in the fourth week following TACE treatment (p < 0.0001), whereas the median GR level of responders group did not display a significant augmentation (p > 0.05). Lastly, the changes in serum GR t1-t3 were negatively correlated with TTP (p < 0.001). The nomogram developed to predict the risk of mRECIST responsiveness in patients with HCC-TACE demonstrated excellent discriminatory ability. Serum GR can serve as a valuable biomarker for the diagnosis of HCC and for predicting the therapeutic efficacy and prognosis of TACE treatment. [Display omitted] • Evaluate the value of serum glutathione reductase (GR) as a diagnostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). • The usefulness of GR in predicting the effectiveness and prognosis of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment. • Develop a nomogram for predicting response to TACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developed multi-criteria decision analysis model was used to identify the inter-influence relationships and key factors affecting the EBP competencies of UNSs, to assess the EBP competencies of UNSs and based on these results, to formulate an improvement strategy to enhance the EBP competencies of UNSs. EBP is considered a core competency in international nursing practice. However, few studies have developed EBP evaluation models and applied them to assessing and improving the EBP competencies of UNSs. This is a quantitative study with multi-criteria decision-analysis model. Firstly, the questionnaire was designed based on the characteristics of the DEMATEL and VIKOR-AS methods, which was completed by 17 nursing experts from a case hospital in Zhejiang Province, China. Subsequently, the DEMATEL method was used to analyze the inter-influence relationships among various criteria to determine their respective weights. Finally, the VIKOR method is utilized to integrate multiple criteria and their relative weights to assign comprehensive scores to each UNSs. The use of the DEMATEL method reveals that "Knowledge (C 1)", "Mastering the basic scientific research methods during the study of the undergraduate courses (C 11)", "Being able to consult clinical experts appropriately when encountering problems in clinical practice (C 23)" and "Understanding the importance of reading journals related to the nursing profession regularly (C 34)" were critical influencing factors. "Skill (C 2)," "Being able to explain the essential roles of the best research evidence in determining clinical practice (C 15)," "Being able to apply the collected research evidence to the individual case in nursing care (C 25)" and "Paying attention to using the evidence-based nursing practice concept to determine the best clinical practice (C 35)" were the most influential factors. According to the VIKOR method, the performance of the UNSs in the case hospitals in terms of EBP competencies from highest to lowest was Student C, Student B and Student A. However, all of these students suffered from deficiencies at the knowledge level. The application of the DEMATEL and VIKOR methods provides a systematic and comprehensive approach to the assessment of EBP competencies of UNSs. The lack of EBP competencies of UNSs in case hospitals is mainly reflected in knowledge level. To improve UNSs' EBP competencies, medical schools and hospital educators should propose short- and long-term strategies to improve knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Explores the rural sustainable development paradigm under China's road to common prosperity. • Constructs 29 indicators and corresponding weights by using objective weighting method and subjective weighting method. • Finds the status and dilemma of rural resilience development. • The indicator system can promote the assessment of resilience development of industrial ecology and social governance in coastal rural areas. China's coastal village is a typical synthesis of material and intangible culture, such as natural landscape, marine pasture, and belief in the sea god. Simultaneously, it is also a valuable resource that can be universally utilized for the development of innovative industries such as the marine industry and leisure fisheries. However, with the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, the coastal village has not received much attention and the eco-environment has been damaged to some extent. Rural resilience development becomes the future trend of humanistic ecological wellbeing communities, while being able to circumvent rural vulnerability to varying degrees in a wave of global rural revitalization. Thus, establishing an evaluation system for resilience development of coastal rural eco-environment can provide a baseline for rural revitalization for sustainability. This article constructs an evaluation system for the rural resilience development based on the DPSER (driver, pressure, state, effect, and response) model. 29 indicators and corresponding weights of drivers, pressures, states, effects, and responses are evaluated using the objective and subjective weighting methods. Thereby, the study ascertained the conditions and dilemmas of resilience development of coastal rural eco-environment, and revealed that the response indicators have the greatest influence. This evaluation system can not only contribute to quantify the qualitative assessment or take the qualitative social assessment of resilience to a quantitative level, but it can also provide guidance and apply to the issues of well-being sharing and social equity in resilience development of rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance comparison, optimization and mechanism of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma were conducted in three different structures through the abatement of 4-fluorophenol (4-FP) in water. Specifically, based on parallel plate structure (device 1), solution circulation (device 2) and coaxial cylindrical structure (device 3) increased the 4-FP removal rate at 30 min from 14.85% to 17.00% and 94.85%, respectively. The adjunction of O 3 produced by DBD plasma through aeration on the basis of device 3 can further enhance 4-FP degradation to ~100% at the end of 18 min. Through the comparative analysis of the performance of the three devices under different experimental conditions, the 4-FP removal improvement was attributed to the combined enhancement of absolute contact area, mass transfer effect and discharge intensity. This study provides specific data references for the efficiency difference and related mechanism of different devices under DBD plasma process. ga1 • The performance of DBD plasma in three different structures were compared and optimized through 4-FP removal. • The enhancement was due to the joint action of absolute contact area, mass transfer and discharge intensity. • The possible mechanism of 4-FP abatement was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Development of a test card based on up-conversion phosphor technology-based immune lateral flow (UPT-LF) assay as a near-patient detection tool for serum Prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II). Methods Up-converted phosphor nanoparticles (UCPs) were used to bind to PIVKA-II monoclonal antibodies as labeled probes to develop the test card for detecting serum PIVKA-II. The UPT-LF test card was evaluated by the limit of detection, linearity, stability, recovery rate, precision and interference. Preliminary clinical validation was conducted by detection of 498 serum samples from 228 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 170 patients with liver benign lesion (LBL) and 100 healthy controls (HC). Additionally, the correlation of serum PIVKA-II detection between UPT-LF assay and Chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) assay were performed. Results Modified and activated UCPs bound to monoclonal antibodies powerfully to form the luminescent labeled probes. Limit of detection and linear range of UPT-LF test card for serum PIVKA-II were 2.66 and 4.8–20,000 ng/ml, respectively. Test card had good 25 °C thermal and 4 °C validity period stability, 93.1%–99.2% of recovery rate, 2.6–5.8% and 5.4–8.9% of intra-assay and inter-assay CVs, and strong anti-interference ability for 8 common serum analytes. The sensitivity and specificity (vs LBL + HC group) of test card for HCC were 71.5% and 88.9%, respectively. The R2 between UPT-LF assay and CLEIA assay was 0.901. Conclusions UPT-LF assay provides a reliable, rapid and convenient test for quantitative detection of serum PIVKA-II as well as diagnosis of HCC by a point of care testing way. Highlights • Development an upconversion phosphor technology-based immune lateral flow assay for PIVKA-II • Evaluation the detection performance of new assay for PIVKA-II • Evaluation the diagnostic performance of new assay for HCC • The assay provides excellent POCT tool for PIVKA-II detection as well as HCC diagnosis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ growth of dispersed active sites on substrates is a strategy for designing highly efficient catalysts for sulfate radical (SO 4 •−)-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs). Here, magnetic biochar composite (Fe 3 O 4 /BC) was fabricated as an activator to trigger PDS (peroxydisulfate) for norfloxacin (NOR) removal, achieving reliable NOR removal efficiency (>90%) within 10 min. Based on the synergistic effect between Fe 3 O 4 and BC, the removal rate increases to 0.0265 L mg−1 min−1. Fe 3 O 4 /BC exhibited decent adaptability, stability, and recyclability toward affecting factors variation during PDS activation, attributed to the synergistic effect between Fe 3 O 4 and BC. The electron transfer of magnetic Fe 3 O 4 coupled with the adsorption and conduction function of carbon skeleton, which overcomes typical problems as crystal agglomeration, metal leaching, and catalysts recovery etc. The electron-rich Fe(II) sites promote the radical pathway by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS, •OH, SO 4 •− and O 2 •−), and radicals evolution contributing to the form of 1O 2 in non-radical pathway. Under the effect of multipath in NOR degradation, HPLC-QTOF-MS spectroscopy and DFT calculation revealed the possible degradation pathway of NOR. In addition, according to toxicity prediction, the overall NOR contamination toxicity of NOR was effectively alleviated by Fe 3 O 4 /BC + PDS system. Overall, this study presents a promising composite in PDS activation and views the active species evolution in the NOR removal system, which is crucial for mechanism study in relevant research in the future. [Display omitted] • Fe 3 O 4 in collaboration with biochar promotinged the NOR removal to over 90% within 10 min. • The Fe 3 O 4 /BC + PDS system exhibited higher 80% NOR removal efficiency in lake water matrices. • High mineralization (>50%) with minimal leached Fe (<50 μg/L) was maintained after 6 cycles. • Multiple pathways (radical and non-radical pathways) participated in the NOR degradation in the Fe 3 O 4 /BC + PDS system. • Active species (SO 4.•−, •OH, •O 2 −, and 1O 2) evolution process have been systematic investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ru/polypyrrole/foam Ni composite electrodes were electrochemically deposited for application to electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in aqueous solution. We characterized the Ru/polypyrrole/foam Ni composite electrode by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The polypyrroles were uniformly distributed on the nickel foam and Ru particles in the size range of 5–8 nm formed an amorphous layer on the polypyrrole/foam Ni composite surface. Compared with the crystalline electrodes of the Ru/foam Ni electrode, the Ru/polypyrrole/foam Ni composite electrodes showed better electrocatalytic dechlorination efficiency and greater stability. At a Ru loading of 0.06 mg/cm2, cathode potential of −1.2 V, and H 2 SO 4 concentration of 0.2 mol/L, the degradation efficiency of PCP reached 94.3% with a dechlorination efficiency of 88%. This performance was well maintained after 8 cycles of reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CM particle electrode with rich in N, P was prepared using duckweed. • Ru catalyst was dispersed uniformly on CM-650 with amorphous. • The Ru/CM-650 exhibited high activity for electrocatalytic dechlorination of DCF. In order to improve degradation efficiency and reduce electrode cost, carbon microspheres (CM) particle electrode was prepared from readily available duckweed as a raw material for electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination. The surface structures and chemical characteristics of the CM were regulated by adjusting the pyrolysis temperature. When pyrolysis was performed at 650 °C, carbon microspheres (CM-650) with large surface areas that are rich in heteroatoms (N, P) and show high electrical conductivity are obtained. After the Ru catalyst was supported, the Ru/CM-650 as particle electrode forming a three-dimensional (3D) electrochemical reaction system exhibits high electrocatalytic performance for diclofenac (DCF) hydrodechlorination with dechlorination efficiency of more than 90% in 150 min. Furthermore, the Ru/CM-650 has good stability for repeated use, which is attributed to the synergistic interaction between N and P elements improving the stability of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diatomic metals catalysts (DAMCs) have attracted researchers' attention in Fenton-like reactions for persistent organic pollutants elimination. A novel composite of Cu–MnO 2 loaded on the nickel foam (Cu–MnO 2 /NF) was synthesized and creatively combined with a microwave (MW) enhanced Fenton-like system—promoting the p -nitrophenol (PNP) removal efficiency to 92.4% within 10 min. The synergistic effect (ξ) between Cu–MnO 2 /NF and power-control MW-Fenton-like process was up to 11.69 ≫ 0, and the non-thermal result significantly contributed. The participation of Cu–MnO 2 /NF significantly increased the system's energy efficiency from 3.58 mg·kWh−1 to 44.35 mg·kWh−1. Different from specific degradation, the system maintained high removal efficiency with various pollutants (methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (RhB), bisphenol A (BPA), and diclofenac sodium (DCF)). The stability of CuMnO 2 /NF was verified via the recovery experiment, and the applicability of the MW-Fenton-like system has been confirmed. The PNP degradation mechanism was systematically discovered by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detection and radical scavenging experiments. Multiple active species (HO•, e−, O 2 •-, h+, and 1O 2) were generated on the Cu–MnO 2 /NF surface via electronic transfer and the selective absorption of microwaves. Overall, this study proposes a new possibility in the MW-Fenton-like technology investigation. [Display omitted] • MW enhanced Cu–MnO 2 /NF Fenton-like system has high efficiency in PNP removal. • The synergy between catalysts and microwaves was systematically investigated. • The non-thermal effect is the major activation factor in the MW-Fenton-like system. • The application of Cu–MnO 2 /NF could increase energy efficiency effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Polysulfone (PSF)/TiO2 organic–inorganic composite UF membranes were successfully prepared by phase-inversion method with Nano-sized TiO2 particles dispersed uniformly in 18wt.% PSF casting solution. The influence of addition nano-sized TiO2 particles on the morphologies and the properties of such PSF/TiO2 membranes were investigated through the methods of SEM, XRD, DSC, contact angle goniometer, viscosity measurements, UF experiments and mechanical strength tests. The results showed that the rheological properties of casting solution were changed from Newtonian viscous behavior to non-Newtonian viscous behavior with an increasing viscosity of casting solution and the PSF/TiO2 composite membranes exhibited differences in morphologies, porosities and properties due to nano-sized TiO2 addition. At 2wt.% TiO2 content, the composite membranes held excellent water permeability, hydrophilicity, mechanical strength and good anti-fouling ability with almost unchanged retentions. The DSC and XRD analysis indicated that there were interactions between TiO2 nanoparticles and polymers. However higher TiO2 content (than 2wt.%) caused a serious nanoparticle aggregation to result in the performances of PSF/TiO2 membranes decline. The prepared membranes were also exhibited excellent ability to treat emulsified oil wastewater. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The generation of sulfate radicals is a key factor to limit the catalytic activities of sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs). Microwave irradiation is a specific method to heat solutions via thermal and nonthermal effects, and has attracted an increasing amount of attention in recent years. Herein, we focus on the application of microwaves in SR-AOPs that called SR-MAOPs in environmental remediation, including wastewater, landfill leachate, biological waste sludge and soil, etc. treatment. Various systems including homogeneous and heterogeneous SR-MAOPs were reviewed. In wastewater treatment, not only the dyes and pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) were considered, the application in actual water matrices was also summarized. In addition, the function of remediation for organic-contaminated soil, landfill leachate and biological waste sludge were assessed using SR-MAOPs. In addition to evaluating the degradation efficiency of various organic pollutants from environment, the dewaterability is another key to treat biological waste sludge. The SR-MAOPs could break up hydrogen bonds and inactivate and denature complex biological molecules via microwave effects to achieve the dewatering of microorganisms in sludge. Furthermore, the COD of the sludge increased to a high level after microwave irradiation of sludge, which means that biopolymers released from microbial cells into the solution. Then, the released COD could be well treated by the SR-MAOPs. Based on the summary, we reveal that SR-MAOPs are potential technologies for environmental remediation, especially for systems with complicated organic compounds. The approaches of the generated sulfate radicals under microwave-induced SR-AOPs and their applications in environmental remediation. Unlabelled Image • Sulfate radicals generated efficiently under microwave induced AOPs (SR-MAOPs). • SR-MAOPs performed well in environmental remediation. • The specific microwave effect is distinct under microwave power controlling. • Hot spots and electron transfer are contributed to the heterogeneous SR-MAOPs. • SO 4 •- is the dominant active radical in SR-MAOPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Fe 3 O 4 and microwave (MW) were combined to activate persulfate (PS) for the removal of organic matter, resulting in the enhanced degradation of p -nitrophenol (PNP) in solution. During the preparation of Fe 3 O 4 , the effect of sodium acetate was examined, and the results showed that the concentration of sodium acetate had little effect on the catalytic activity of the Fe 3 O 4 /PS/MW system but did have an effect on the Fe 3 O 4 yield. In addition, with regards to the representative environmental factors, the degradation experiment showed that humic acid and the co-existing anions of chloride, sulfate, nitrate, and phosphate had little effects on p -nitrophenol removal; however, carbonate had a negative effect. In addition, the Fe 3 O 4 /PS/MW system performed well in the initial pH range of 3.0–9.0. According to the quenching experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detection, sulfate radicals and a minority of hydroxyl radicals play dominant roles in the degradation process. In addition, the role of Fe 3 O 4 was confirmed to take part in the degradation process by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Because of the good performance observed in the water matrices of tap water and the Songhua River, these results demonstrate the potential application of the Fe 3 O 4 /PS/MW system for wastewater treatment. P -nitrophenol can be degraded in Fe 3 O 4 /microwave/persulfate system with the generating of Image 2. Image 1 • Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) was successfully prepared with the solvothermal method. • Fe 3 O 4 combined with microwave could efficiently activate persulfate. • SO 4 − was considered the major active radical. • The Fe 3 O 4 /PS/MW system performed well in actual water (Songhua River). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]