Search

Mineralization temperature determination is fundamental to economic geology research, yet quantifying it across mineralization remains a challenge. Sphalerite is ubiquitous in various types of mineral deposits and particularly abundant in Pb–Zn deposits, and its trace element composition is temperature-dependent, making it an ideal candidate for geothermometry. Here, we first compiled a global sphalerite trace element composition dataset (n = 1416, T = 75–430 °C), encompassing different Pb–Zn deposit types (Mississippi Valley-type, epithermal, sedimentary-exhalative, skarn-type, and volcanic massive sulfide deposits). After data processing following statistical norms, the different machine learning algorithms (random forest (RF), gradient boosted decision trees, artificial neural networks, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbors, and linear regression) were employed to train different models to explore the potential link between the sphalerite-forming temperature and trace element geochemistry. Each of the model's performance was evaluated using the leave-one-out cross-validation approach, which revealed the RF (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 26 °C) as the best-performing algorithm. Meanwhile, five-fold cross-validation results indicated that the RF model (R2 = 0.87, RMSE = 25 °C) outperformed the GGIMFis thermometer (R2 = 0.53, RMSE = 50 °C). Meanwhile, the feature importance analysis revealed that Ge and Mn displayed significant impacts on temperature prediction as the high temperature generally favors Mn, but not Ge, incorporation into the sphalerite structure. Finally, a model was trained with the entire dataset, generating a reliable sphalerite thermometer (SPRFT software, freely provided here) suitable for low to moderate temperature (75–430 °C) hydrothermal environments. This SPRFT thermometer was applied to evaluate the temperature of Pb–Zn mineralization in the Sichuan–Yunnan–Guizhou Pb–Zn metallogenic belt (SW China) and it provides an innovative perspective into the ore-fluid evolution. This study demonstrated a robust approach for calculating mineralization temperatures using machine learning. This novel methodology opens new avenues for investigating and recalculating more mineral geothermometers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar (BC) applications in soil has positive effects on plant performance, particularly for loose soil in agricultural context. However, how biochar types affect plant performance of non-crop species and soil–plant carbon relationships is not clear. We selected five different BC types and three plant species to investigate the responses of plant performance and the soil–plant carbon relationship to BC effects. The result demonstrated that peanut shell BC led to the death of both R. tomentosa and C. edithiae, due to a reduction in nutrient uptake caused by higher soil electricity conductivity (2001.7 and 976.3 µS cm−1). However, the carbon content of S. arboricola increased by 57% in peanut shell BC-amended soil, suggesting that S. arboricola has a higher tolerance for soil salinity. Wood BC-amended soil led to better stomatal conductance (gs) and leaf area index (LAI) of both R. tomentosa and C. edithiae due to the higher water retention in the soil (22.68% and 20.79%). This illustrated that a higher amount of water retention brought by wood BC with a great amount of pore volume might be the limited factor for plant growth. The relationship between gs and LAI suggested that gs would not increase when LAI reached beyond 3. Moreover, wood and peanut shell BC caused a negative relationship between soil organic carbon and plant carbon content, suggesting that plants consume more carbon from the soil to store it in the plant. Overall, wood BC is recommended for plant growth of R. tomentosa and C. edithiae, and peanut shell BC is suggested for S. arboricola carbon storage. Highlights: Peanut shell biochar enhanced soil salinity which causes the death of R. tomentosa and C. edithiae, while wood biochar is suitable for these plant species. Wood and peanut shell biochar caused a negative relationship between soil organic carbon and plant carbon content. The stomatal conductance will not increase when the leaf area reaches the limiting value 3. An empirical function is developed to correlate plant carbon content and leaf area index under different biochar applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we consider the existence of ground state sign-changing solutions to a class of Schrödinger–Poisson systems - Δ u + V λ (x) u + ϕ u = | u | 4 u + μ f (u) , in R 3 , - Δ ϕ = u 2 , in R 3 , where μ > 0 and V λ (x) = λ V (x) + 1 with λ > 0 . Under suitable conditions on f and V, by using the constraint variational method and quantitative deformation lemma, we prove that the above problem has one ground state sign-changing solution and the energy of ground state sign-changing solution is strictly more than twice the energy of the ground state solution. Furthermore, we also study the asymptotic behavior of ground state sign-changing solutions as λ → ∞ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes taking place within the magma plumbing system can exert an important control on the composition of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Plagioclase ultraphyric basalts (PUBs) found at magma-poor mid-ocean ridges exhibit diverse disequilibrium characteristics, which can provide vital insights for distinguishing the complex effects of melt transport from those of source heterogeneity on the compositions of MORBs. Here, we present new insights into magmatic processes using integrated petrologic and geochemical studies of the PUBs from two zones (~ 50° and ~ 64°E longitude) along the ultraslow-spreading southwest Indian ridge (SWIR). The studied PUBs have complex mineral morphologies, including skeletal and acicular crystals, glomerocrysts with open and closed structure, reverse and normally zoned crystals and external and internal resorption even in single samples. Both low- and high-Fo olivine and An plagioclase crystals are in disequilibrium with their matrix glasses. Some plagioclase phenocrysts have repeated oscillatory zoning (An77–86) going from their core to rim and an abrupt decrease in An content toward the rim. Disequilibrium Sr isotopic compositions are present at several scales: between cores and rims of plagioclase crystals, between different plagioclase crystals and between plagioclase and their host lavas. Inferred pressures of magma storage range from 0.3 to 11.3 kbar. The textural and compositional diversity of crystals together with the variability in melt compositions reflect the combined influences of source heterogeneity and magmatic processes (e.g. crystallization, assimilation and magma mixing processes) taking place within crystal mushes. Our data combined with previous studies suggest that the magmatic processes within the SWIR magma plumbing system involve formation, disaggregation and juxtaposition of crystal-rich mush zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Nuclear protein 1 (Nupr1) is a multifunctional stress-induced protein involved in the regulation of tumorigenesis, apoptosis, and autophagy. However, its role in pulmonary hypertension (PH) after METH exposure remains unexplored. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether METH can induce PH and describe the role and mechanism of Nupr1 in the development of PH. Methods and results: Mice were made to induce pulmonary hypertension (PH) upon chronic intermittent treatment with METH. Their right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) was measured to assess pulmonary artery pressure. Pulmonary artery morphometry was determined by H&E staining and Masson staining. Nupr1 expression and function were detected in human lungs, mice lungs exposed to METH, and cultured pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) with METH treatment. Our results showed that chronic intermittent METH treatment successfully induced PH in mice. Nupr1 expression was increased in the cultured PASMCs, pulmonary arterial media from METH-exposed mice, and METH-ingested human specimens compared with control. Elevated Nupr1 expression promoted PASMC phenotype change from contractile to synthetic, which triggered pulmonary artery remodeling and resulted in PH formation. Mechanistically, Nupr1 mediated the opening of store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) by activating the expression of STIM1, thereby promoting Ca2+ influx and inducing phenotypic conversion of PASMCs. Conclusions: Nupr1 activation could promote Ca2+ influx through STIM1-mediated SOCE opening, which promoted METH-induced pulmonary artery remodeling and led to PH formation. These results suggested that Nupr1 played an important role in METH-induced PH and might be a potential target for METH-related PH therapy. 1. Chronic intermittent methamphetamine exposure can induce the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. 2. Nupr1 plays a key role in the development of methamphetamine-related pulmonary arterial hypertension. 3. Nupr1 mediates PASMCs phenotypic transformation via STIM1signal axis, which results in the development of methamphetamine-related pulmonary arterial hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the following semilinear elliptic system involving strongly coupled critical terms and concave nonlinearities is considered - Δ u = η 1 α 1 2 ∗ | u | α 1 - 2 | v | β 1 u + η 2 α 2 2 ∗ | u | α 2 - 2 | v | β 2 u + a 1 | u | q - 2 u | x | γ , x ∈ Ω , - Δ v = η 1 β 1 2 ∗ | u | α 1 | v | β 1 - 2 v + η 2 β 2 2 ∗ | u | α 2 | v | β 2 - 2 v + a 2 | v | q - 2 v | x | γ , x ∈ Ω , u , v > 0 , x ∈ Ω , u = v = 0 , x ∈ ∂ Ω , where Ω ⊂ R N (N ≥ 3) is a bounded domain with smooth boundary and 0 ∈ Ω , 1 < q < 2 , η 1 + η 2 > 0 , 0 ≤ η i < + ∞ , a i > 0 , 0 ≤ γ < N + q - qN 2 , α i , β i > 1 , α i + β i = 2 ∗ = 2 N N - 2 (i = 1 , 2) is the critical Sobolev exponent. By the Nehari method and variational method, two positive solutions are obtained which generalizes and improves some corresponding results in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor burden score (TBS) has been recently introduced to indicate the extent of tumor burden in different cancers, but its role in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. We aimed to determine the prognostic role of TBS in patients with HCC beyond the Milan criteria receiving surgical resection (SR) or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). A total of 1303 newly diagnosed HCC patients beyond Milan criteria receiving SR or TACE as the primary therapy were retrospectively analyzed. Independent prognostic predictors were examined by the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. SR was associated with better overall survival compared with TACE in these patients. Multivariate Cox analysis of the entire cohort revealed that age > 66 years (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.145, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.004–1.305, p = 0.043), serum α-fetoprotein > 200 ng/mL (HR: 1.602, 95% CI: 1.402–1.831, p < 0.001), performance status 2–4 (HR: 1.316, 95% CI: 1.115–1.553, p < 0.001), medium TBS (HR: 1.225, 95% CI:1.045–1.436, p = 0.012), high TBS (HR: 1.976, 95% CI: 1.637–2.384, p < 0.001), albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade 2–3 (HR: 1.529, 95% CI: 1.342–1.743, p < 0.001), presence of vascular invasion (HR: 1.568, 95% CI: 1.354–1.816, p < 0.001), and TACE (HR: 2.396, 95% CI: 2.082–2.759, p < 0.001) were linked with decreased survival. SR consistently predicted a significantly better survival in different TBS subgroups. TBS is a feasible and independent prognostic predictor in HCC beyond the Milan criteria. SR provides better long-term outcome compared with TACE in these patients independent of TBS grade, and should be considered as the primary treatment modality in this special patient group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) have been applied for treating axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). However, there is a glaring absence of a bibliometric analysis on bDMARDs against axSpA. Articles related to use of bDMARDs in treating axSpA published from 2004 to 2022 were searched from the Web of Science Core Collection. VOS viewer 1.6.18 and CiteSpace 6.1.R2 were used to analyze and visualize the quantity and citations of publications, as well as to identify "research hotspots" and trends in this field. BibExcel version 1.0.0 and gCLUTO version 1.0 were used to build matrices for bi-clustering analysis. A total of 2546 articles referring to bDMARDs for treatment of axSpA were included in this bibliometric analysis. Overall, the number of publications has been increasing steadily annually. The USA (23.21%, 591 publications) ranked first with the largest output of papers, followed by Germany, and the Netherlands. Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet ranked first as the most frequent publisher (119 articles). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases published the most documents (6.76%, 172 publications) in this field. The predominant hotspots have been "tuberculosis," "IL-17," and "quality of life" in the field until 2020. Since 2015, "biosimilar pharmaceuticals" has retained the popularity. Current research hotspots are "spinal radiographic progression," Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, and adverse events (AEs). Machine learning has become popular gradually. Globally, there has been a steady increase in the number of studies on bDMARDs use against axSpA. JAK inhibitors, spinal radiographic progression, biosimilar pharmaceuticals, and AEs are current research hotspots. Machine learning is emerging research hotspots and trends in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rare Metals is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Stimuli-responsive polymers are promising to achieve targeted delivery, improved stability during circulation, and controlled release of therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Among them, pH-responsive polymeric nanocarriers have attracted significant attention as pH varies in different body fluids (e.g., stomach, intestine, and colon) and intracellular organelles (e.g., endosome, lysosome, and mitochondria) to maintain homeostasis, while distinctive pH changes are also found in certain pathological states. For example, the extracellular environment of the tumor is acidic, which can be employed to drive selective delivery. During the internalization process, since most nanocarriers enter cells upon endocytosis where a drop of pH from 6.5 to 5.0 can occur from endosome to lysosome, pH-sensitive groups have been developed for enhanced cargo release. In this review, both non-covalent and covalent interactions responsive to pH changes are introduced, with a focus on the structure-property relationship and their applications in cancer targeting and endosomal escape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study the following fractional Schrödinger–Poisson system (- Δ) s u + V (x) u - ϕ | u | 2 s ∗ - 3 u = | u | 2 s ∗ - 2 u + λ f (x) , x ∈ R 3 , (- Δ) s ϕ = | u | 2 s ∗ - 1 , x ∈ R 3 , where s ∈ (0 , 1) , 2 s ∗ = 6 3 - 2 s , λ > 0 is a real parameter, f and V satisfy some suitable hypothesis. Via applying the variational methods and mountain pass theorem, we prove that there exists λ ∗ > 0 such that the system has at least two positive solutions for any λ ∈ (0 , λ ∗) which supplements and generalizes the previous results in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The growth and carbon assimilation of plants can be promoted through increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, which facilitates plant carbon sequestration. However, plant growth is normally limited by soil–water content and the lack of soil nutrients under elevated CO2 condition. This study explores the effects of elevated CO2 concentration on plant behaviour, with an emphasis on hydrological performance and carbon assimilation in biochar-amended soil. Methods: A tree species, Schefflera arboricola, was grown in soil with and without biochar amendment at two CO2 concentrations, 400 ppm (aCO2) and 1000 ppm (eCO2). Plant characteristics including root architecture, sap flow, and stomatal conductance were measured to reflect plant transpiration and carbon assimilation. Soil–water content and suction were measured to explore soil–plant hydraulic interactions. Results: Plant transpiration induced higher soil suction at eCO2. However, the benefits towards plant transpiration provided by eCO2 were diminished when soil suction was higher than 550 kPa. When compared with that in the same soil conditions at aCO2, plant transpiration rate and carbon assimilation at eCO2 conditions were increased by about 660% and 200%, respectively. Linear relationships between stomatal conductance and sap flow rate under different CO2 concentrations were proposed to estimate plant carbon assimilation. Conclusion: The benefits of eCO2 on plant transpiration were limited by soil–water content, which can be solved by biochar application. This study revealed the importance of examining the soil–plant hydraulic interactions when estimating plant carbon assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we are dedicated to study the Schrödinger–Poisson system involving a negative nonlocal term and critical exponent. Using the variational method and analytic techniques, we establish the existence of positive ground state solution which improves the recent results in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a Kirchhoff-type equation with critical and supercritical nonlinear terms in a ball. By providing a method of decomposition of energy functional and subtle analysis, we show that every Palais–Smale sequence at a level below a certain energy threshold admits a subsequence that converges strongly to a nontrivial critical point of the variational functional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have investigated the effects of air pollutants on children with acute bronchitis. This study aimed to explore the acute effects of four air pollutants [fine particulate matter (PM2.5), inhalable particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)] on the daily number of children admitted to the hospital for acute bronchitis in Sichuan Province, China. Methods: The 49,975 records of hospitalized children with acute bronchitis from medical institutions in nine cities/prefectures, Sichuan Province, China, as well as the simultaneous meteorological data and air pollution data from 183 monitoring sites, were collected from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018. A generalized additive model was adopted to analyze the exposure–response and lag effects of hospitalizations of children with acute bronchitis to air pollutants. Stratified analyses were conducted based on sex, age, and season. Results: The single-pollutant model showed that a 10 µg/m3 increase at lag07 of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2 corresponded to an increase of 1.23% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21–2.26%], 1.33% (95% CI 0.62–2.05%), 23.52% (95% CI 11.52–36.81%), and 12.47% (95% CI 8.46–16.64%) in daily hospitalizations for children with acute bronchitis, respectively. Children aged 0–2 were more prone to PM2.5 (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the effects were stronger in the warm season than in transition seasons and the cool season for PM2.5 and PM10 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The higher daily average concentrations of four pollutants in Sichuan Province can result in an increased number of children hospitalized for acute bronchitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Patients who undergo surgery for lung cancer experience a variety of symptoms, such as pain and coughing, which interfere with their postoperative daily functions. However, there may be differences between the perception of symptoms among healthcare providers and patients. This study aimed to investigate patients' experiences after lung cancer surgery and analyze whether the perception of postoperative symptoms among the healthcare providers differed from that reported by patients. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews involving 39 patients who underwent lung cancer surgery at the Sichuan Cancer Hospital were conducted between November 2018 and October 2019. In addition, 22 healthcare providers from the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the hospital answered open-ended questions about their perception of symptoms related to lung cancer surgery. The types and frequencies of symptoms reported by the patients and healthcare providers were compared. Results: The most frequent patient-reported symptoms were pain (967 times, 39 patients, 100%), coughing (904 times, 37 patients, 94.87%), shortness of breath (491 times, 35 patients, 89.74%), Disturbed sleep (412 times, 34 patients, 87.18%), and interference while walking (347 times, 36 patients, 92.31%). Of the patient-reported symptoms, the first four were perceived by the healthcare providers, while they interpreted interference while walking as fatigue. Conclusion: Although the healthcare providers and patients had a certain consensus on the main symptoms, there were differences in perception. Healthcare providers need to pay more attention to postoperative interference while walking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tight junction proteins 1–3 (TJP1–3) are components of tight junctions that can link transmembrane proteins to the actin cytoskeleton, and their incidence directly correlates to metastasis. However, the role of the TJP family in bladder cancer has not been adequately evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the genetic changes, mRNA and protein expressions of the target genes of the TJP family in bladder cancer patients using online database and immunohistochemistry, respectively. We found that TJP1 was amplified in bladder cancer tissue and that the protein expression levels were significantly associated with age (p = 0.03), grade (p = 0.007), and stage (p = 0.011). We also examined the correlation between TJP1 and other high-frequency mutation genes using TIMER. TJP1 mRNA levels were positively correlated with TTN and RYR3 mRNA levels in bladder cancer tissue. Taken together, TJP1 expression is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with bladder cancer and can be a useful predictive biomarker for bladder cancer staging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effects of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and traditional thoracotomy with respect to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have only been assessed for early-stage lung cancer. This study was a longitudinal PRO assessment to compare the effects of these surgeries for locally advanced (stage II and III) lung cancer from the patients' perspective. Methods: We investigated lung cancer patients from a previous prospective, multicentre study. Longitudinal data of clinical characteristics and PROs were collected. PROs were obtained preoperatively, daily in the hospital postoperatively, and weekly up to 4 weeks after discharge or the beginning of postoperative adjuvant therapy. Symptoms and impact on daily functioning and quality of life (QOL) were assessed by using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for lung cancer and a single-item QOL scale. Trajectories of PROs over the investigation period were compared. Results: Overall, 117 primary lung cancer patients (stage II or III), including 63 and 54 patients who underwent VATS and traditional thoracotomy, respectively, were included. During postoperative hospitalization, VATS patients reported milder disturbed sleep (p = 0.048), drowsiness (p = 0.008), and interference with activity (p = 0.001), as well as better work ability (p < 0.0001), walking ability (p < 0.0001), and life enjoyment (p = 0.004). Post-discharge, VATS patients had less distress (p = 0.039), milder pain (p = 0.006), better work ability (p = 0.001), and better QOL (p = 0.047). Conclusions: Locally advanced lung cancer patients who underwent VATS had lower postoperative symptom burden, less daily function interference, and better QOL than those who underwent thoracotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase of digital music on online music platforms, it has become difficult for users to find unknown but interesting songs. Although many collaborative filtering or content based recommendation methods have been proposed, they have various relatively serious some problems, including cold start, diversity of recommendations. etc. Therefore, we propose a reinforcement personal music recommendation system (RPMRS) to address these problems. RPMRS comprises two main components. First, deep representation of audio and lyrics extracted by WaveNet and Word2Vec models, respectively, and apply a proposed content based recommendation method from these. Second, we employ reinforcement learning is to learn user preferences from their song playing log. Experimental results confirm, that hybrid features are superior to audio or lyrics based features for content recommendation, largely because independent audio features significantly outperform lyrics features; and reinforcement learning improves personalized recommendations. Overall, the proposed RPMRS provides dynamic and personalized music recommendations for the user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the "powerhouse" of a cell, mitochondria maintain energy homeostasis, synthesize ATP via oxidative phosphorylation, generate ROS signaling molecules, and modulate cell apoptosis. Herein, three Re(I) complexes bearing guanidinium derivatives have been synthesized and characterized. All of these complexes exhibit moderate anticancer activity in HepG2, HeLa, MCF-7, and A549 cancer cells. Mechanism studies indicate that complex 3, [Re(CO)3(L)(Im)](PF6)2, can selectively localize in the mitochondria and induce cancer cell death through mitochondria-associated pathways. In addition, complex 3 can effectively depress the ability of cell migration, cell invasion, and colony formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The sessile serrated adenoma/polyp detection rate (SSA/PDR) among different colonoscopy indications from daily practice has not been fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the detection and clinical characteristics of serrated polyps and conventional adenomas between outpatient department (OPD) and physical checkup unit (PCU) patients receiving colonoscopy. Methods: The data for this retrospective study were collected between 2016 and 2017 at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan. A total of 7047 individuals were included, and information on polyp and adenoma detection was extracted from the colonoscopy reports. Results: The adenoma detection rate, the SSA/PDR, and the detection rate of traditional serrated adenoma (TSA) were 32.2%, 0.60%, and 0.50%, respectively. Risk analysis revealed no significant difference (p = 0.095) in SSA/PDR between individuals < 50 years and ≥ 50 years, and no trend of increased SSA/PDR as age increased was observed (p = 0.320). SSA/P and TSA had higher risks for synchronous advanced neoplasia than conventional adenoma, but with proximal hyperplastic polyps lower (p < 0.001, respectively). No significant difference of SSA/PDR between OPD and PCU patients was observed (p = 1.000); however, the age of SSA/P was significantly older in OPD than in PCU patients (p = 0.048). Conclusion: The detection rates of CA and TSA were associated with age groups; however, SSA/PDR was insignificantly higher among individuals aged < 50 years than those with other age groups. In addition, SSA/PDR between OPD and PCU patients was not significantly found in daily practice of colonoscopies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of high-performance near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes is hindered by strong non-radiative processes as governed by the energy gap law. Here, we show that exciton delocalization, which serves to decouple the exciton band from highly vibrational ladders in the S0 ground state, can bring substantial enhancements in the photoluminescence quantum yield of emitters, bypassing the energy gap law. Experimental proof is provided by the design and synthesis of a series of new Pt(ii) complexes with a delocalization length of 5–9 molecules that emit at 866–960 nm with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 5–12% in solid films. The corresponding near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes emit light with a 930 nm peak wavelength and a high external quantum efficiency up to 2.14% and a radiance of 41.6 W sr−1 m−2. Both theoretical and experimental results confirm the exciton–vibration decoupling strategy, which should be broadly applicable to other well-aligned molecular solids. Pt(ii) complexes allow the fabrication of efficient near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes that operate beyond the 900 nm region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Missing values are common in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment for various reasons, including regular maintenance or malfunction. In time-series prediction in the IoT, missing values may have a relationship with the target labels, and their missing patterns result in informative missingness. Thus, missing values can be a barrier to achieving high accuracy of prediction and analysis in data mining in the IoT. Although several methods have been proposed to estimate values that are missing, few studies have investigated the comparison of interpolation methods using conventional and deep learning models. There has thus far been relatively little research into interpolation methods in the IoT environment. To address these problems, this paper presents the use of linear regression, support vector regression, artificial neural networks, and long short-term memory to make time-series predictions for missing values. Finally, a full comparison and analysis of interpolation methods are presented. We believe that these findings can be of value to future work in IoT applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are interested in considering the following singular elliptic problem with concaveconvex nonlinearities { - Δ u - µ | x | 2 u = f (x) | u | p − 2 u + g (x) | u | q - 2 u , i n Ω \ { 0 } , u = 0 , o n 2 Ω , where Ω ⊂ ℝN(N ≥ 3) is a smooth bounded domain with 0 ∈ Ω, 0 < µ < µ ¯ = (N - 2) 2 4 , 1 < q < 2 < p < 2* and 2 * = 2 N N - 2 is the Sobolev critical exponent, the coefficient functions f, g may change sign on Ω. By the Nehari method, we obtain two solutions, and one of them is a ground state solution. Under some stronger conditions, we point that the two solutions are positive solutions by the strong maximum principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of partial substitution of manganese by nickel or magnesium in Na0.44MnO2on cathode performance in sodium ion batteries has been investigated. Partial substitution changes the structure of parent Na0.44MnO2 from tunnel into layered P2-type, or a mixture of P2- and P3-type materials. Substitution smoothes the charge/discharge curves and may significantly improve capacity, albeit with a lower capacity retention relative to pristine Na0.44MnO2. In particular, high discharge capacities are found in the voltage range 2.0–4.2 V at 0.1 C rate for Na0.44Mn0.89Ni0.11O2 (193 mAh g−1) and Na0.44Mn0.89Mg0.11O2 (188 mAh g−1), with a capacity retention of 74% and 81%, respectively, after 70 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bauxite residue deposit area (BRDA) is a typical abandoned mining wasteland representing extreme hostile environment with increased alkalinity. Microbially-driven neutralization of bauxite residue, based on the microbial acid producing metabolisms, is a novel strategy for achieving rapid pH neutralization and thus improving its environmental outcomes. The hypothesis was that these extreme conditions promote microbial communities which are capable of novel ecologically relevant functions. Several alkaliphilic acid producing bacteria were isolated in this study. One strain was selected for its superior growth pattern and acid metabolism (termed EEEL02). Based on the phylogenetic analysis, this strain was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis. The optimized fermentation conditions were as follows: pH 10; NaCl concentration 5%; temperature 25 °C; EEEL02 preferred glucose and peptone as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Based on optimal fermentation conditions, EEEL02 induced a significant pH reduction from 10.26 to 5.62 in 5-day incubation test. Acetic acid, propionic acid and CO2 (g) were the major acid metabolites of fermentation, suggesting that the pH reduction in bauxite residue may be caused by acid neutralization derived from microbial metabolism. This finding provided the basis of a novel strategy for achieving rapid pH neutralization of bauxite residue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bauxite residue is a highly alkaline waste product from refining bauxite ore. Bioremediation driven by microbial activities has been evidently effective in lowering the alkalinity of bauxite residues, which is critical to the initiation of pedogenesis under engineered conditions. The present study investigated the changes of alkalinity and aggregation of bauxite residue at different depth in response to the colonization of Penicillium oxalicum in columns. The results demonstrated that the inoculation of P. oxalicum decreased the residue's pH to about 7 after 30 d only at the surface layer, which was exposed to aerobic conditions. The formation of aggregates was improved overall in the organic matter treated bauxite residue. However, the EC of bauxite residue increased with time under the incubation condition, probably due to accelerated hydrolysis of sodium-rich minerals. The inoculation of P. oxalicum had no effects on urease activity, but increased cellulose enzyme activity at surface layer only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) is explored to be applied in a hybrid Li+/Na+ battery for the first time. The cell is constructed with NCA as the positive electrode, sodium metal as the negative electrode, and 1 M NaClO4 solution as the electrolyte. It is found that during electrochemical cycling both Na+ and Li+ ions are reversibly intercalated into/de-intercalated from NCA crystal lattice. The detailed electrochemical process is systematically investigated by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, ex situ X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The NCA cathode can deliver initially a high capacity up to 174 mAh g−1 and 95% coulombic efficiency under 0.1 C (1 C = 120 mA g−1) current rate between 1.5-4.1 V. It also shows excellent rate capability that reaches 92 mAh g−1 at 10 C. Furthermore, this hybrid battery displays superior long-term cycle life with a capacity retention of 81% after 300 cycles in the voltage range from 2.0 to 4.0 V, offering a promising application in energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solid-state reaction process with poly(vinyl alcohol) as the carbon source is developed to synthesize LiFePO4-based active powders with or without modification assistance of a small amount of Li3V2(PO4)3. The samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning/transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. It is found that, in addition to the minor effect of a lattice doping in LiFePO4 by substituting a tiny fraction of Fe2+ ions with V3+ ions, the change in the form of carbon coating on the surface of LiFePO4 plays a more important role to improve the electrochemical properties. The carbon changes partially from sp3 to sp2 hybridization and thus causes the significant rise in electronic conductivity in the Li3V2(PO4)3-modified LiFePO4 samples. Compared with the carbon-coated baseline LiFePO4, the composite material 0.9LiFePO4·0.1Li3V2(PO4)3 shows totally different carbon morphology and much better electrochemical properties. It delivers specific capacities of 143.6 mAh g−1 at 10 C rate and 119.2 mAh g−1 at 20 C rate, respectively. Even at the low temperature of −20 °C, it delivers a specific capacity of 118.4 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patient safety education is conducive to medical students' cognition on patient safety and to improvement of medical quality and safety. Developing patient safety education for medical students is more and more widely recognized by World Health Organization and countries all over the world. However, in China, patient safety courses aiming at medical students are relatively few, and there are few reports about the effect of patient safety courses. This paper explored the influence of patient safety curriculum on medical students' attitude to and knowledge of patient safety. The patient safety curriculum was carried out for 2011-grade undergraduates of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The students participated in the class according to free choice. After the curriculum, the information of gender, major, attended course, attitude toward patient safety, and knowledge of laws and regulations of the 2011-grade undergraduates were collected. After rejecting invalid questionnaires, the number of undergraduates that participated in the survey was 112 (61 students did not take part in the curriculum; 51 took part in). Chi-square test was applied to analyze patient safety education's influence on medical students' attitude to patient safety and their knowledge mastery situation. The influence of patient safety education on the attitude of medical students to patient safety was not significant, but that on their knowledge of patient safety was remarkable. No matter male or female, as compared with medical students who had not accepted patient safety education, they both had a better acquisition of knowledge after having this education (for male students: 95% CI, 4.556-106.238, P<0.001; for female students: 95% CI, 3.183-33.238, P<0.001). Students majoring in Western Medicine had a relatively better mastery of knowledge of patient safety after receiving patient safety education (95% CI, 6.267-76.271, P<0.001). Short-term patient safety education cannot change medical students' stereotyped cognition on matters related to patient safety, but it can effectively enhance their knowledge of laws and regulations of patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimal therapy for pulmonary embolism (PE) was explored by comparing three different methods in order to alleviate the sufferings of PE patients and reduce the mortality. Eighty patients with PE diagnosed by computed tomography angiography (CTA) were treated with thrombolysis, anticoagulation only, or surgery/intervention. The clinical efficacy of different treatments were compared and analyzed. Twenty-four out of the 26 patients (92%) in anticoagulation only group showed improvement in CTA and clinical presentations, which was significantly higher than that in the thrombolysis group (87%, n=39, P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the rate of mortality between thrombolysis group and anticoagulation only group. In the surgery/interventional group ( n=15), the success rate was 47%, and the mortality rate was 14%. Both of them were significantly different from those in thrombolysis and anticoagulation only groups (both P<0.05). Log-rank analysis of the data of 5-year follow-up revealed that the survival time in surgery/intervention group was significantly shorter than in the other two groups ( P<0.05). It was suggested that it is of importance to choose the appropriate therapeutic regimen for PE patients. Mortality may be reduced and prognosis may be improved with anticoagulation only and thrombolysis therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In patients with ruptured HCC receiving transarterial chemoembolization, a higher haemoglobin level indicates a longer 30-day survival [[4]], which is consistent with the statement that the TAE patients who die within a short period are mostly due to haemorrhage-related complications [[5]]. MELD-Na and short-term outcome of patients with ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma receiving transarterial embolization In a recent issue of I Abdominal Radiology i , Jundt MC et al. retrospectively analysed the demographic and clinical data of 24 patients with ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving emergent transarterial embolization (TAE), attempting to locate factors that are favourable or unfavourable for the short-term (30-day and 90-day) mortality after hospitalization [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

Sciadonic acid (SCA), pinolenic acid (PNA), and Δ7-eicosatrienoic acid (Δ7-ETrA) are three non-methylene-interrupted fatty acids (NMIFA). Using murine microglial BV-2 cells, this study determined how NMIFA incorporation modulated phospholipid fatty acid composition and the production of pro-inflammatory mediators. Each NMIFA was rapidly taken up and incorporated in BV-2 cells, resulting in the differential redistribution of total lipids. The cellular phospholipid fatty acid compositions were altered, and a significant decrease in the proportions of total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was observed while the proportions of NMIFA and its metabolites accounted for 38 % of the fatty acid total. Incubation of microglial cells with NMIFA suppressed production of LPS-stimulated pro-inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E (PGE), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), as well as the over-expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and type 2 cyclooxygenase (COX-2). These inhibitory effects could be accounted for, in part, by the inactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling. In conclusion, Δ7-ETrA, PNA, and SCA are anti-inflammatory NMIFA that may be useful in suppressing in vitro immune responses involved in neural inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis (OP) often increases the risk of bone fracture and other complications and is a major clinical problem. Previous studies have found that high blood pressure is associated with bone formation abnormalities, resulting in increased calcium loss. We have investigated the effect of the antihypertensive drug benidipine on bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) differentiation into osteoblasts and bone formation under osteoporotic conditions. We used a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to test the hypothesis that benidipine promotes murine BMSC differentiation into osteoblasts. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), β-catenin, and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) protein expression was evaluated in primary femoral BMSCs from C57/BL6 mice cultured under osteogenic conditions for 2 weeks to examine the effects of benidipine. An ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model was used to investigate the effect of benidipine treatment for 3 months in vivo. We found that ALP, OCN, and RUNX2 expression was up-regulated and WNT/β-catenin signaling was enhanced in vitro and in vivo. In OVX mice that were intragastrically administered benidipine, bone parameters (trabecular thickness, bone mineral density, and trabecular number) in the distal femoral metaphysis were significantly increased compared with control OVX mice. Consistently, benidipine promoted BMSC differentiation into osteoblasts and protected against bone loss in OVX mice. Therefore, benidipine might be a suitable candidate for the treatment of patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis and hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually present at advanced stages and do not benefit from surgical resection, so drug therapy should deserve a prominent place in unresectable HCC treatment. But chemotherapy agents, such as doxorubicin, cisplatin, and paclitaxel, frequently encounter important problems such as low specificity and non-selective biodistribution. Recently, the development of nanotechnology led to significant breakthroughs to overcome these problems. Decorating the surfaces of nanoparticulate-based drug carriers with homing devices has demonstrated its potential in concentrating chemotherapy agents specifically to HCC cells. In this paper, we reviewed the current status of active targeting strategies for nanoparticulate systems based on various receptors such as asialoglycoprotein receptor, transferrin receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor, folate receptor, integrin, and CD44, which are abundantly expressed on the surfaces of hepatocytes or liver cancer cells. Furthermore, we pointed out their merits and defects and provided theoretical references for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction kinetics of uranium(VI) and thorium(IV) with Tri-iso-amyl phosphate (TiAP) from nitric acid medium has been investigated using a Lewis Cell. Especially, dependences of the extraction rate on stirring speed, temperature, interfacial area were firstly measured to elucidate the extraction kinetics regimes. The experimental results demonstrated that extraction kinetic of U(VI) is governed by chemical reactions at interface with an activation energy, E, of 43.41 kJ/mol, while the rate of Th(IV) extraction is proved to be intermediate controlled, of which the E is 23.20 kJ/mol. Reaction orders with respect to the influencing parameters of the extraction rate are determined, and the rate equations of U(VI) and Th(IV) at 293 K have been proposed as respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paraneoplastic dermatosis is defined as both benign skin lesions and internal malignancy existing at the same time with parallel clinical courses. Herein, we report a 91-year-old male who presented as pityriasis lichenoids chronica (PLC) concomitantly with a primary splenic diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Surgical removal of the spleen cleared his skin lesions dramatically. However, seven months later, the splenic lymphoma relapsed in concordance with the recurrence of the skin lesions of PLC. To our knowledge, he is the first case that PLC is the leading presentation and paraneoplastic manifestation of primary splenic large B-cell lymphoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T-helper-17 (TH17) cells have critical roles in mucosal defence and in autoimmune disease pathogenesis. They are most abundant in the small intestine lamina propria, where their presence requires colonization of mice with microbiota. Segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) are sufficient to induce TH17 cells and to promote TH17-dependent autoimmune disease in animal models. However, the specificity of TH17 cells, the mechanism of their induction by distinct bacteria, and the means by which they foster tissue-specific inflammation remain unknown. Here we show that the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) repertoire of intestinal TH17 cells in SFB-colonized mice has minimal overlap with that of other intestinal CD4+ T cells and that most TH17 cells, but not other T cells, recognize antigens encoded by SFB. T cells with antigen receptors specific for SFB-encoded peptides differentiated into RORγt-expressing TH17 cells, even if SFB-colonized mice also harboured a strong TH1 cell inducer, Listeria monocytogenes, in their intestine. The match of T-cell effector function with antigen specificity is thus determined by the type of bacteria that produce the antigen. These findings have significant implications for understanding how commensal microbiota contribute to organ-specific autoimmunity and for developing novel mucosal vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel polarizer with a silver nanoribbon added into a traditional waveguide directional coupler is designed to realize the polarized output of TE mode. A high extinction ratio can be obtained because of the selectivity of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on polarization. The effects of the polarizer parameters on coupling efficiency and extinction ratio are discussed. Simulation results indicate that the coupling efficiency for TE mode can reach about 95%, but only 3% for TM mode, with the extinction ratio of TE mode about 15 dB when the light wavelength is 1550 nm. The polarizer may have potential applications in photonic integrated circuits and quantum information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction behavior of U(VI) and Th(IV) with tri-isoamyl phosphate-kerosene (TiAP-KO) from nitric acid medium was investigated in detail using the batch extraction method as a function of aqueous-phase acidity, TiAP concentration and temperature, then the thermodynamic parameters associated with the extraction were derived by the second-law method. It could be noted that the distribution ratios of U(VI) or Th(IV) increased with increasing HNO concentration until 6 or 5 M from 0.1 M. However, a good separation factor ( D/ D) of 88.25 was achieved at 6 M HNO, and the stripping of U(VI) from TiAP-KO with deionized water or diluted nitric acid was easier than that of Th(IV). The probable extracted species were deduced by log D-log c plot at different temperatures as UO(NO)·(TiAP) and Th(NO)·(TiAP), respectively. Additionally, △ H, △ G and △ S for the extraction of U(VI) and Th(IV) revealed that the extraction of U(VI) by TiAP was an exothermic process and was counteracted by entropy change, while the extraction of Th(IV) was an endothermic process and was driven by entropy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]