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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic fatal lung disease with a median survival time of 3‒5 years. Inaccurate diagnosis, limited clinical therapy and high mortality together indicate that the development of effective therapeutics for IPF is an urgent need. In recent years, it was reported that DDRs are potential targets in anti-fibrosis treatment. Based on previous work we carried out further structure modifications and led to a more selective inhibitor 47 by averting some fibrosis-unrelated kinases, such as RET, AXL and ALK. Extensive profiling of compound 47 has demonstrated that it has potent DDR1/2 inhibitory activities, low toxicity, good pharmacokinetic properties and reliable in vivo anti-fibrosis efficacy. Therefore, we confirmed that discoidin domain receptors are promising drug targets for IPF, and compound 47 would be a promising candidate for further drug development.

Continuous capacity increase in electrochemical cycling, termed as electrochemical activation, is a frequently observed but rarely systematically studied phenomenon. Such phenomenon is noted in a preliminary study of carbon cathode for dual ion battery, showing gradual discharge capacity growth from 186 mAh g−1 (the 1st) to 320 mAh g−1 (the 300th). Systematical characterizations are carried out to investigate this phenomenon occurred on the carbon cathode, hydrothermally reduced graphene oxide (HrGO). The electrochemical activation comes from surface area increment, originated from multilayer reduced graphene oxide rolls formation and accumulation and structural order increase in cycling. The formation of rolls is plausibly a result of strain release of reduced graphene layers after electrochemical interaction with PF6−. Additionally, charge storage mechanism of HrGO is revealed. At active surface sites of HrGO, PF6− is consistently stored in a pseudocapacitive manner. In contrast, at well-crystallized domains, pseudocapacitive PF6− uptake occurs at low voltage region while PF6− intercalation dominates at higher potentials. Supportive lithium storage also contributes to total capacity. Comprehensively, this work offers valuable insights of electrochemical activation and carbon cathodes’ electrochemical behaviors and will facilitate the construction of high-capacity carbon cathodes.

Beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) thin films were prepared on a MgO (100) substrate under different oxygen flow ratios via magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV–visible near-infrared (UV–vis–NIR) analyses were conducted to study how the oxygen flow ratio affected the crystalline quality and the surface topography of the films. Microstructure analysis revealed a clear out-of-plane orientation of β-Ga2O3 (100) || MgO (100). The film deposited under an oxygen flow ratio of 1% presented the optimal single-crystalline structure, while excess oxygen was confirmed to negatively impact the crystallization characteristics of the films. SEM measurements indicated that the increase in the oxygen flow ratio reduced the grain size and RMS roughness. The average transmittance of the β-Ga2O3 films in the visible range exceeded 83%, with a broad luminescence band exhibited at approximately 485 nm in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra.

Background/purpose: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant neoplasm of the head and neck. This study aims to use integrated bioinformatics technologies to develop a predictive miRNA-signature correlated with the prognosis of NPC. Materials and methods: Initially, the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) in NPC were identified, and then DEMs related to the prognosis of NPC were further screened. Subsequently, the relatively important DEMs identified by random forest algorithm were used to construct a predictive signature by multivariate COX regression analysis. Moreover, PCA, Kaplan–Meier analysis, time-dependent ROC analysis, and univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis were performed to evaluate the ability of the signature in risk identification and prognosis prediction in NPC. Results: Hsa-miR-29c, hsa-miR-30e and hsa-miR-93 were selected from DEMs to construct a signature, and their abnormal expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis of NPC. The average AUC values of 1- to 5-year OS, DFS and DMFS predicted by the signature were all above 0.7, and showed better clinical independence than other indexes. In addition, 295 differentially expressed mRNAs could be used as potential target genes of the 3 DEMs. Among them, 56 differentially expressed mRNAs were related to PFS. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the poor prognosis of NPC was related to the abnormality of chromosomes, cytokines, and chemokines. Conclusion: We constructed a three-miRNA signature with good independent performance in predicting the prognosis for NPC. This study may lay the foundation for exploring new therapeutic targets and improving survival outcomes in NPC patients.

This study investigated sewage sludge stabilized/solidified with soda residue (SR) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) after being dewatered with quicklime. The soaking durability test was conducted on the solidified sludge in tap water or landfill leachate. The toxicity and mineralogical characteristics of the solidified sludge were evaluated. The results showed that the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the solidified sludge met the strength requirement for use as a temporary cover material (≥ 50 kPa) for a short time (< 7 d). The solidified sludge had considerable soaking durability because UCS increased with the soaking time. The increase in the GGBS dosage improved the soaking durability of the solidified sludge. The UCS values of sludge solidified with 50% SR and 30% GGBS (sample S5G3) and with 80% SR (sample S8G0) after soaking in leachate for 60 d were 712.9 and 82.6 kPa, respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that hydration products, such as ettringite, Friedel's salt, gismondine, brushite, and hydrocalumite, contributed to the strength, soaking durability, and leachability performance of the solidified sludge. The inhibition of some hydration reactions and precipitation of ettringite and calcite on the surface of the specimens soaked in leachate led to a lower strength than that soaked in tap water. Sample S5G3 has the potential to be used as a filling or construction material, and sample S8G0 is suitable to be used as a temporary cover material in landfill.

Transcription factors (TFs) play an important role in tumors. We integrated and analyzed 13 GPL570 platform gastric cancer (GC) microarrays, identified 10 independent prognostic TFs, and constructed a GC prognostic model. Using GSE26942 as the verification set, the Kaplan-Meier curve showed that the signature distinguish the survival rate of GC patients (P

Targeting for flexible, broadband ultrasound sensors, a new breed of nanographene platelet (NGP)/polyimide (PI) film is inkjet printed with morphologically optimized NGP/poly (amic acid) hybrid-based nanocomposite ink. The ink is produced with high-shear liquid phase exfoliation from inexpensive bulk graphite, manifesting good printability and high graphene concentration as high as 13.1 mg mL−1. Featuring an ultra-thin thickness (∼1 μm only), the inkjet-printed NGP/PI film sensor is demonstrated to possess excellent thermal stability and high adhesive strength reaching the American Society for Testing and Materials 5B level. The highly uniform and consolidated NGP/PI nanostructure in the sensor enables the formation of π-π interaction between NGPs and PI polymer matrix, and the quantum tunneling effect is triggered among NGPs when ultrasound traverses the sensor. This sensing mechanism endows the NGP/PI sensor with good sensitivity, fidelity and accuracy, showing comparable performance as prevailing commercial ultrasound sensors such as piezoelectric sensors. The film sensor has a proven gauge factor as high as 739, when sensing ultrasound at 175 kHz, and an ultrabroad responsive spectrum up to 1.6 MHz.