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Developing flexible thermal management materials is quite urgent for emerging flexible electronics and wearable devices. Here, a novel strategy is used to prepare hydroxyl-functionalized boron nitride@polyurethane (BNOH@PU) composites with desired BN orientation in the in-plane direction through the foaming process of PU and hot-pressing. BNOH flakes can react with isocyanates to form amido linkages, which is beneficial for reducing interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) between BNOH and PU. In addition, BNOH flakes will be rearranged along the direction of PU backbones through the volume compression of the foaming process and trend to be oriented in the in-plane direction after hot-pressing. The out-of-plane or in-plane thermal conductivities of the composites are 1.69 and 3.19 W m−1 K−1 at 30 wt% BNOH content, and the corresponding thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE) is 1986% and 3838%, respectively. Meanwhile, BNOH@PU exhibited low ITR between BNOH flakes (1.252 × 10−7 K m2/W), good flexibility and stretchability, which was a promising thermal management material for wearable devices. The interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) and the phonon scattering between fillers and polymer matrix could be reduced significantly via the hydroxyl functionalization of BN. In-plane thermal conductivity enhanced BNOH@PU composites with desired BN orientation in the in-plane direction through the foaming process of PU and hot-pressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive uptake of dinitrogen pentaoxide (N2O5) into aqueous aerosols is a major loss channel for NOx in the troposphere; however, a quantitative understanding of the uptake mechanism is lacking. Herein, a computational chemistry strategy is developed employing high-level quantum chemical methods; the method offers detailed molecular insight into the hydrolysis and ammonolysis mechanisms of N2O5 in microdroplets. Specifically, our calculations estimate the bulk and interfacial hydrolysis rates to be (2.3 ± 1.6) × 10−3 and (6.3 ± 4.2) × 10−7 ns−1, respectively, and ammonolysis competes with hydrolysis at NH3 concentrations above 1.9 × 10−4 mol L−1. The slow interfacial hydrolysis rate suggests that interfacial processes have negligible effect on the hydrolysis of N2O5 in liquid water. In contrast, N2O5 ammonolysis in liquid water is dominated by interfacial processes due to the high interfacial ammonolysis rate. Our findings and strategy are applicable to high-chemical complexity microdroplets.The authors report a computational strategy to simulate the hydrolysis and ammonolysis of N2O5 in aerosols using high-level quantum chemical methods. The computational results reveal a complete picture of the reactive uptake of N2O5 by atmospheric aerosols with or without NH3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Artificial intelligence ultrasound of prostate (AIUSP)-targeted biopsy has been used for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. The objective of this prospective multi-center head-to-head clinical randomized comparative trail (RCT) is to compare PCa detection rate in the TRUS-guided 12-core standard systematic biopsy (TRUS-SB) group and cognitive fused mpMRI-guided 12-core biopsy (mpMRI) group against AIUSP group. Methods: Four hundred patients were randomized to three arms and underwent biopsies by TRUS-SB (n = 133), mpMRI (n = 134), and AIUSP (n = 133) between January 2015 and December 2017. In TRUS-SB group, a standard 12-core systematic biopsy was performed. In mpMRI group, mpMRI-suspicious lesions (PI-RADS 3–5) were targeted by 2-core biopsy followed by a 10-core systematic biopsy. Otherwise, 12-core systematic biopsy was performed. In AIUSP group, a 6-core targeted biopsy was performed. The primary endpoint was PCa detection rate. Results: AIUSP detected the highest rate of PCa (66/133, 49.6%) compared to TRUS-SB (46/133, 34.6%, p = 0.036) and mpMRI (48/134, 35.8%, p = 0.052). Compared to TRUS-SB (35/133, 26.3%) and mpMRI (31/134, 23.1%) groups, clinically significant PCa (csPCa) detection rate was 32.3% (43/133) in AIUSP group. Overall biopsy core positive rate in the TRUS-SB group (11.0%, 176/1598) and in the mpMRI group (12.7%, 204/1608) was significantly lower than that in the AIUSP group (22.7%, 181/798, p < 0.001). Conclusions: AIUSP detected the highest rate of overall and significant PCa compared to TRUS-SB and mpMRI, and could be used as an alternative to systematic biopsy in the future. Registration: This trial was registered in ISRCTN (ISRCTN18033113). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Retraction Note: Solvent-Free Cyanosilylation of Aldehydes and Anti-cervical Cancer Activity of a Highly Porous Zinc-MOF" has been retracted by the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher of the Journal of Cluster Science. The retraction was prompted by evidence of systematic manipulation of the publication process, including citations that do not support claims made in the text, non-standard phrasing, anomalies in the figures, and discrepancies in ethics approval statements. The authors have not responded to correspondence regarding this retraction. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral in regards to jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: To evaluate a radiomic approach for the stratification of diffuse gliomas with distinct prognosis and provide additional resolution of their clinicopathological and molecular characteristics. Methods: For this retrospective study, a total of 704 radiomic features were extracted from the multi-channel MRI data of 166 diffuse gliomas. Survival-associated radiomic features were identified and submitted to distinguish glioma subtypes using consensus clustering. Multi-layered molecular data were used to observe the different clinical and molecular characteristics between radiomic subtypes. The relative profiles of an array of immune cell infiltrations were measured gene set variation analysis approach to explore differences in tumor immune microenvironment. Results: A total of 6 categories, including 318 radiomic features were significantly correlated with the overall survival of glioma patients. Two subgroups with distinct prognosis were separated by consensus clustering of radiomic features that significantly associated with survival. Histological stage and molecular factors, including IDH status and MGMT promoter methylation status were significant differences between the two subtypes. Furthermore, gene functional enrichment analysis and immune infiltration pattern analysis also hinted that the inferior prognosis subtype may more response to immunotherapy. Conclusion: A radiomic model derived from multi-parameter MRI of the gliomas was successful in the risk stratification of diffuse glioma patients. These data suggested that radiomics provided an alternative approach for survival estimation and may improve clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new three-dimensional (3D) zinc(II) metal–organic framework (MOF) {[Zn2(abtc)(H2O)3](DMA)}n bearing the rigid organic ligand 3,3′,5,5′-azobenzene-tetracarboxylic acid (H4abtc) were prepared by reaction of zinc(II) nitrate and H4abtc in a mixed solvent of DMA and water at 80 °C for 3 days. Compared with pristine hydrated 1, the dehydrated 1a exhibits highly efficient catalytic activity for cyanosilylation of carbonyl compounds with a low catalyst loading of 0.1 mol% at room temperature under solvent-free conditions, which due to the open Zn2+ sites as catalytically activated sites played a significant role in the heterogeneous catalytic process. Based on the experimental results, a possible reaction mechanism has also been proposed. Next, the inhibitory effect of compound 1a on Hela cervical cancer cell viability was evaluated by CCK-8 assay, and the percentage of cell cycles was determined in flow cytometry. Besides, the transwell assay also performed to detect the effect of compound 1a on cell migration and invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combined study of magnetic fabrics, zircon U-Pb geochronology and structural deformation was carried out for Late Paleozoic sedimentary and Mesozoic magmatic rocks in the southwestern Fujian rift basin, South China, aiming at deciphering the tectonic evolution during Late Mesozoic. Field observations showed that the Late Mesozoic structure deformations in southwestern Fujian were categorized into four phases: NW-SE compression, ENE-WSW extension, NNE-SSW compression and NNW-SSE extension, sequentially. Zircons picked out from Juzhou granite and WNW-trending diabase dykes showed complete crystal shapes and clear oscillatory zonings on their edges, and the U-Pb dating yielded ages of 132 and 141 Ma, respectively. The susceptibility ellipsoid magnitude parameters of the Juzhou granite are characterized by flaser type strain ellipsoid, with pole density center of K3 falling into the first and the third quadrants, these features revealed that the Juzhou granite formed in ENE-WSW compressional stress field, indicating the early stage of Early Cretaceous extrusion in southwestern Fujian. The late stage of Early Cretaceous NNE-SSW extension was limited by the widespread WNW-trending diabase dykes, which were usually regarded as important indications for a regional extensional setting. On the basic of the previous researches, structural deformation studies, and the deductions above, it can be concluded that southwestern Fujian experienced five main tectonic stages during Late Mesozoic: Early Jurassic extension, Middle-Late Jurassic thrusting, early stage of Early Cretaceous extension, late stage of Early Cretaceous compression and Late Cretaceous extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A novel and sensitive magnetic ionic liquid-based up-and-down-shaker-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (MIL-UDSA-DLLME) was developed for the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric measurement of inorganic selenium speciation from various rice matrixes. In the first microextraction step, the magnetic ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate, [Cmim][FeCl]) was selected to extract the complex of Se(IV) and 2,3-diaminonaphthalene from aqueous solution by the assistance of up-and-down-shaker vortex agitator. After the microextraction step, the magnetic ionic liquid containing target analytes was collected at the bottom of the tube by applying an external magnetic field around the test tube. Under the optimized conditions, the method present has low detection limit (0.018 μg L), wide linear dynamic range (0.03-10 μg L), and good repeatability (<3.0%, n = 10) for Se(IV). The proposed methodology was applied for separation and preconcentration of inorganic selenium in standard reference materials including GBW10010 rice, GBW10043 Liaoning rice, and GBW10045 Hunan rice with satisfactory results. The developed methodology was also successfully used for the speciation of Se(IV) and Se(VI) in different rice samples with the relative recoveries within the acceptable range of 94.9-104.8% for the addition recovery tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of α-zearalanol (α-ZAL) on the proliferation of mouse bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and their differentiation into osteoblasts. Six- to eight-week-old BALB/C mice were used either as recipients or as bone marrow donors. BMSCs were isolated and collected using a differential adhesion method, with use of 10 % fetal bovine serum and Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium. After the third generation, the BMSCs were randomly placed into the following subgroups: a control group, an osteogenic medium (OM) group, a 17β-estradiol group, an α-ZAL 10(-7) mol/L group, an α-ZAL 10(-6) mol/L group, and an α-ZAL 10(-5) mol/L group. Flow cytometry was used to identify the BMSCs collected from the bone marrow. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test was performed, and markers of the osteoblasts were measured in the different subgroups. In addition, expression of osteoprotegerin and expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand were examined using Western blot. In contrast to the control and OM groups, BMSCs in the α-ZAL groups exhibited long fusiform shapes, and contact inhibition was observed when the cells were closely packed. After induction, the BMSCs grew well and exhibited triangular, star, polygonal, or irregular shapes. Clumps and multiple cells were evident. The trends of the proliferation and differentiation for the control, OM, 17β-estradiol, and α-ZAL groups were similar. Compared with the control and OM groups, in the α-ZAL groups the expression levels of alkaline phosphatase, procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide, bone morphogenetic protein 2, and osteocalcin were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, α-ZAL inhibited osteoclastogenesis by increasing the expression of osteoprotegerin and decreasing the expression of nuclear factor κB ligand. In conclusion, α-ZAL can increase the proliferation of BMSCs and their differentiation into osteoblasts and can effectively suppress osteoclastogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspirin is widely used as an anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, anti-pyretic, and cancer-preventive agent; however, the molecular mode of action is unlikely due entirely to the inhibition of cyclooxygenases. Here, we report the agonist activity of several aspirin metabolites at GPR35, a poorly characterized orphan G protein-coupled receptor. 2,3,5-Trihydroxybenzoic acid, an aspirin catabolite, was found to be the most potent GPR35 agonist among aspirin metabolites. Salicyluric acid, the main metabolite of aspirin, was also active. These results suggest that the GPR35 agonist activity of certain aspirin metabolites may contribute to the clinical features of aspirin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to survey the characteristics and treatments of cancer pain in Beijing hospitals, China. Methods: At 20:00 on December 22, 2009, there conducted a questionnaire survey in 2238 patients with malignant tumors of 26 hospitals in Beijing, and the survey results were statistically analyzed. Results: The 531 cases in 2238 patients had pained and 121 cases (22.79%) had outbreak pain with one week. At 20:00 on December 22, 2009, 199 cases (38%) in the above-mentioned 531 pain patients suffered the moderate to severe pain (pain scores ≥ 4). The number of pain (pain scores ≥ 4) patients in the consecutive three days from December 20 to December 22 were 150. Conclusion: In the 531 cancer pain patients of the surveyed hospitals, 38% of the patients were not satisfied with the pain control. Doctors believed that the main reason for pain not controlled was the non-standard treatment, but patients considered to be afraid of addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) transmit exogenous signals to the nucleus, promoting a myriad of biological responses via multiple signaling pathways in both healthy and cancerous cells. However, little is known about the response of cytosolic metabolic pathways to GPCR-mediated signaling. Here we applied fluorescent live-cell imaging and label-free dynamic mass redistribution assays to study whether purine metabolism is associated with GPCR signaling. Through a library screen of GPCR ligands in conjunction with live-cell imaging of a metabolic multienzyme complex for de novo purine biosynthesis, the purinosome, we demonstrated that the activation of endogenous G?i-coupled receptors correlates with purinosome assembly and disassembly in native HeLa cells. Given the implications of GPCRs in mitogenic signaling and of the purinosome in controlling metabolic flux via de novo purine biosynthesis, we hypothesize that regulation of purinosome assembly and disassembly may be one of the downstream events of mitogenic GPCR signaling in human cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate whether paraquat (PQ) is involved in regulation of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation under short-term salt stress, and to elucidate the physiological mechanism of salt stress mitigated by PQ, a cucumber cultivar (cv. Chunguang no. 2) was exposed to 100 mM NaCl for 48 h after pre-treatment with 10 μM PQ for 1 h. When compared to the control, salt stress increased the levels of malonaldehyde (MDA), superoxide radical (O) and hydrogen peroxide (HO) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11) and glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2) in the cucumber leaves. Under salt conditions, PQ pre-treatment prevented oxidative stress as observed by the decreases in MDA, HO and O that correlated with the increase in antioxidant defenses. We propose that, at low concentrations, the PQ pre-treatment can reduce the salt-induced oxidative damage by increasing the antioxidative mechanisms in cucumber plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two sets of lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBR), i.e., control SBR and SBR using zeolite as carrier (zeo-SBR), were applied to assess nitrogen removal efficiency. The test results revealed that zeolite powder added in SBR could improve its performance. Due to the combination of zeolite adsorption for NH4 +–N and enhanced simultaneous nitrification and de-nitrification (SND), a higher removal ratio of ammonia nitrogen in wastewater was observed in the test reactor, and the introduction of zeolite powder was helpful to inhabit sludge bulging comparing with the control SBR, in other words, activated sludge immobilized by zeolite powder could remove NH4 +–N, COD, and PO4 significantly in a shorter cycle time. Applied two hydraulic retention times (HRTs) showed that the nitrogen and phosphorus removal could be improved while adapting to load variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near infrared (NIR) sensitive Au–Au2S nanoparticles are intensively being developed for biomedical applications including drug and gene delivery. Although all possible clinical applications will require compatibility of Au–Au2S nanoparticles with the biological milieu, their in vivo capabilities and limitations have not yet been explored. Au–Au2S nanoparticles and cisplatin-loaded Au–Au2S nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by the reduction of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl4) using sodium sulfide (Na2S), and cisplatin was loaded onto NIR sensitive Au–Au2S nanoparticles via an MUA (11-mercaptoundecanoic acid) layer. In this work, acute systemic toxicity in vivo, blood biochemistry assay, and tissue distribution in mice were carried out to further investigate the biocompatibility and biodistribution of these nanoparticles. The results from these studies demonstrated that both of nanoparticles (<200 μg/mL) might have a great advantage in biocompatibility and good biological safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenanthrene-degrading bacterium strain ZX4 was isolated from an oil-contaminated soil, and identified as Sphingomonas paucimobilis based on 16S rDNA sequence, cellular fatty acid composition, mol% G + C and Biolog-GN tests. Besides phenanthrene, strain ZX4 could also utilize naphthalene, fluorene and other aromatic compounds. The growth on salicylic acid and catechol showed that the strain degraded phenanthrene via salicylate pathway, while the assay of catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase revealed catechol could be metabolized through meta-cleavage pathway. Three genes, including two of meta-cleavage operon genes and one of GST encoding gene were obtained. The order of genes arrangement was similar to S-type meta- pathway operons. The phylogenetic trees based on 16S rDNA sequence and meta-pathway gene both revealed that strain ZX4 is clustered with strains from genus Sphingomonas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of explosion venting to air in a cylindrical vent vessel connected to a duct, filling with a stoichiometric methane-oxygen gas mixture, was simulated numerically by using a colocated grid SIMPLE scheme based on k-epsilon turbulent model and Eddydissipation combustion model. The characteristics of the combustible cloud, flame and pressure distribution in the external flow field during venting were analyzed in terms of the predicted results. The results show that the external explosion is generated due to violent turbulent combustion in the high pressure region within the external combustible cloud ignited by a jet flame. And the turbulence and vortex in the external flow field were also discussed in detail. After the jet flame penetrating into the external combustible cloud, the turbulent intensity is greater in the regions with greater average kinetic energy gradient, rather than in the flame front; and the vortex in the external flow field is generated primarily due to the baroclinic effect, which is greater in the regions where the pressure and density gradients are nearly perpendicular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes the fabrication of lipid arrays on gold-coated substrates presenting self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) derivatized with Brij®-76 (C18H37(OCH2CH2)n ∼ 10X) (X=OH (1), NH2 (2)). The oligo(ethylene glycol)-stearyl moiety was chosen to act as an anchor lipid, and to provide a hydrophilic spacer between the surface and the adsorbed lipid. Infrared spectroscopy and ellipsometry indicated that 2 was coupled to the MHA surface through the formation of peptide bonds with ∼25%of the —COOH groups being converted to —CONH-Brij-76 groups; the reaction with 1 was much less efficient (∼60% less than 2). The fabrication of arrays of supported lipids was investigated using two approaches. In the first method, arrays were made by incubating patterned surfaces in solutions of lipid; these patterns consisted of lipid binding regions made of gold that were derivatized with Brij, and lipid non-binding regions made of titanium oxide. In the second approach, arrays were made by robotic pin-printing of lipids on unpatterned Brij-derivatized gold surfaces. Biospecific binding of streptavidin to lipid arrays presenting biotin groups was observed using fluorescence microscopy and surface plasmon resonance imaging. The convenient fabrication of lipid arrays described here should enable the development of these tools for high-throughput screening of ligands against membrane bound proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]