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Objective To explore whether inhibiting autophagy can enhance the sensitivity of photothermal treatment under mild photothermal conditions. Methods CQ@PLGA@PDA NPs were prepared by an improved double emulsification method and a PDA-based surface modification method. After basic characterization, CCK-8 method was used to detect the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles; the near-infrared laser irradiation nanoparticle solution was used to detect the heating effect; CCK-8 method and live-dead cell staining were used to detect the killing effect of tumor cells; Western blot was used to detect the expression of autophagy-related proteins. Results The CQ@PLGA@PDA NPs were successfully prepared, with a particle size of 253.10±2.39 nm, a zeta potential of -22.57±0.80 mV, uniform particle size and good dispersion. The temperature of nanoparticle solution increased to 45℃ after the near-infrared laser irradiation for 10 min. CQ@PLGA@PDA NPs had no obvious toxicity to cells. The survival rates of breast cancer cell MDA-MB-231 and mouse embryonic fibroblast NIH-3T3 cell were above 95%. The inhibition of autophagy under mild photothermal conditions could improve the sensitivity of photothermal therapy. Conclusion The prepared CQ@PLGA@PDA NPs have good photothermal performance and high biological safety; by inhibiting autophagy, they can effectively kill tumor cells under mild photothermal conditions(< 50℃).

Chrysotile asbestos has excellent physical and chemical properties, but its high biotoxicity is very damaging to human health, due to its durability, high aspect ratio, and the exist of iron. By simple chemical treatment of chrysotile asbestos, silicon oxide nanofibers rich in hydroxyl groups on the surface can be prepared.

Perineural invasion (PNI) is a biological characteristic commonly observed in pancreatic cancer. Although PNI plays a key role in pancreatic cancer metastasis, recurrence, and poor postoperative survival, its mechanism is largely unclarified. Clinical sample analysis and endoscopic ultrasonographic elasticity scoring indicated that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were closely related to the occurrence of PNI. Furthermore, CAF-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) were involved in PNI in dorsal root ganglion coculture and mouse sciatic nerve models. Next, we demonstrated that CAFs promoted PNI through extracellular vesicle transmission of PNI-associated transcript (PIAT). Mechanistically, PIAT specifically bound to YBX1 and blocked the YBX1-Nedd4l interaction to inhibit YBX1 ubiquitination and degradation. Furthermore, PIAT enhanced the binding of YBX1 and PNI-associated mRNAs in a 5-methylcytosine (m5C)–dependent manner. Mutation of m5C recognition motifs in YBX1 or m5C sites in downstream target genes reversed PIAT-mediated PNI. Consistent with these findings, analyses using a KPC mouse model demonstrated that the PIAT/YBX1 axis enhanced PNI through m5C modification. Clinical data suggested that the PIAT expression in the serum EVs of patients with pancreatic cancer was associated with the degree of neural invasion and prognosis. Our study revealed the important role of the PIAT/YBX1 signaling axis in the tumor microenvironment (TME) in promoting tumor cell PNI and provided a new target for precise interference with CAFs and RNA methylation in the TME to suppress PNI in pancreatic cancer. Editor's summary: Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis and is often characterized by perineural invasion (PNI); however, the role that PNI plays in postoperative survival has been unexplored. Here, Zheng et al. evaluate the role PNI plays in pancreatic cancer prognosis and show that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) induce PNI in tumors through CAF-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). They show that these EVs are packaged with PNI-associated transcript (PIAT) that enhances PNI in mouse models and induces worse survival. PIAT represents a potential target for reducing PNI in pancreatic cancer and perhaps improving survival for patients that requires further study. —Dorothy Hallberg [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) could significantly improve olfactory function among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of ESS on the olfactory bulb volume (OBV) among patients with CRS. Methods: A systemic search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and other databases was conducted to identify studies assessing OBV changes in patients with CRS after ESS utilizing magnetic resonance imaging. Results: A total of four studies with 168 participants were included. Comparing the changes in OBV of patients with CRS before and after surgery within 3-6 months, the ESS significantly improved the overall OBV (P = 0.005, I2 = 66%), with the left OBV increased by 5.57mm3 (P = 0.84, I2 = 0%), and the right OBV increased by 8.63mm3 (P = 0.09, I2 = 53%). A difference in OBV persists between healthy controls and patients with CRS 3-6 months after ESS. The overall OBV of patients with CRS after ESS was significantly smaller than controls (mean difference = -3.84, P = 0.04), with a mean difference of 4.13mm3 on the left side (P = 0.72, I2 = 0%), and a mean difference of 3.22mm3 on the right side (P = 0.0001, I2 = 89%). Conclusions: ESS significantly increases the OBV among patients with CRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic disease with a high recurrence rate, and the aim of treating CRS is to maintain disease control. Recently, a series of CRS control instruments have been developed to assess the control levels. We pooled existing studies to evaluate the percentage of controlled CRS after treatment in patients with CRS. Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis using PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cochrane databases was conducted to identify studies assessing CRS control. Both comprehensive assessments and self-report of CRS control were included. Results: 9 studies with 1931 patients after treatment and 295 patients before treatment were included. CRS control assessments of the 2012 European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps (EPOS 2012), EPOS 2020, and Sinus Control Test (SCT) were comprehensive assessments utilized in the clinic practice. The self-report assessment included patient-reported global level of CRS control. These existing disease control instruments categorized patients into three (uncontrolled, partly controlled, and controlled) or five (not at all, a little, somewhat, very, and completely) control categories. Only 8% (95% CI 0.05–0.11) of patients with CRS stayed well controlled before treatment assessed by comprehensive assessments. About 35% (95% CI 0.22–0.49) of patients achieved well controlled after treatment when assessed by the comprehensive measures. Meanwhile, 40% (95% CI 0.28–0.52) of patients reported well controlled after treatment when using self-report. Conclusion: About 35–40% of patients with CRS showed well controlled after treatment, which stressed the importance of identifying these undertreated patients with CRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of inkjet-printed 2D crystal inks offers the ability to print different 2D materials on various substrates to form vertical heterostructures. However, the detailed characterization of the atomic structures of the inkjet-printed MoTe2 nanosheets has been rarely reported. In this work, water-based 2D crystal inks of MoTe2, WS2, and graphene have been prepared and printed to obtain the flexible photodetectors. The absorption coefficient of MoTe2 has been estimated as α (500 nm) = 925 ± 47 lg−1 m−1 using the gravimetric method. Intriguingly, the inkjet-printed MoTe2 nanosheets down to 4 nm show both the semiconducting 2H and metallic 1T′ phases. The responsivities of the photodetectors based on MoTe2/graphene and WS2/graphene heterostructures can reach 120 mA/W and 2.5 A/W at 532 nm, respectively. Moreover, the inkjet-printed MoTe2/graphene shows a responsivity of 7.7 mA/W at 940 nm. The fabrication technique of inkjet printing will help design flexible optoelectronic devices based transition metal dichalcogenide–graphene heterostructures for the near-infrared photo detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem of decoupling arising from weak binding of extrinsic agents to biomass during its conversion to electrocatalysts, we put forward the hot-pressing method by which heterogeneous solids become firmly integrated and merged in confined spaces at elevated temperatures and pressures. Hot pressing gives rise to an order of magnitude increase in the nanopore surface area and nearly double the nitrogen content when compared to that in the absence of this method, which improves the efficiencies of both nanopore formation and extrinsic doping and therefore results in a significant enhancement in the performance of alkaline and acidic electrocatalysis of dioxygen reduction. In a wider context, this work provides an alternative route to the effective integration of different components that are distinctly disengaged from one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) lateral heterostructures have shown promising device applications. Although the diodelike responses across the 2D lateral heterostructure have been widely reported, the essential electrical properties, such as the Fermi levels and the lateral built-in potential, have been barely studied, especially with the applied gate voltage. In this work, we report the highly gate-tunable junction within monolayer MoS2–WS2 lateral heterostructures synthesized by our developed shortcut growth strategy. The quantitative determination between the gate voltage and the built-in potential has been revealed by the combined use of Kelvin probe force microscopy and I–V characteristics, in good agreement with the theoretical calculation results. A built-in potential up to 262 meV is observed at Vg = 40 V, which is three times larger than that at Vg = 0 V. A trap density mediated mechanism is proposed to explain the highly gate-tunable built-in potential. Based on the band-discontinuity mode, the energy-band diagram of the monolayer MoS2–WS2 lateral heterostructures is presented, which belongs to the 2D type II n–n heterojunction. Our findings demonstrate the strongly gate voltage-dependent and highly tunable built-in potential within the 2D type II heterojunction, which will become the novel building blocks for 2D optoelectronic, photodetection, and photovoltaic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nasal sprays with corticosteroids deliver medication to the restricted areas including anterior and inferior parts of the nasal cavity. The fluticasone exhalation delivery system (EDS-FLU) has recently been proved to improve care by increasing superior/posterior intranasal corticosteroid deposition. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of EDS-FLU in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Methodology: A systematic literature review using Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science was conducted to identify studies assessing the effect of EDS-FLU on outcomes in patients with CRSwNP. Results: Of the initial 108 abstracts reviewed, 4 full-text articles were included. The 22-item sinonasal outcome test scores were significantly decreased in patients with CRSwNP after receiving EDS-FLU twice a day (93, 186, or 372 μg) for 16 weeks when compared with exhalation delivery system (EDS)-placebo (all P <.001). Patients with CRSwNP reported significant improvement of smell after receiving twice daily EDS-FLU twice a day (93, or 372 μg) for 4 weeks when compared with EDS-placebo (all P <.05). The proportions of patients achieving ≥1-point improvement in total polyp grade were significantly higher in EDS-FLU group and dose dependent, with the highest rates in the 372 μg group. The proportions of patients achieving polyp elimination were significantly higher in EDS-FLU group with the highest rates in the 372 μg group. Conclusion: This is the first systematic review of the clinical outcomes in patients with CRSwNP treated with EDS-FLU. EDS-FLU produced significant improvements regarding the quality of life, smell, and endoscopic assessment of polyp grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postviral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD) is a clinical challenge due to limited therapeutic options and poor prognosis. Both steroids and olfactory training have been proved to be effective for olfactory dysfunction with varied etiologies. We sought to perform a systematic review to summarize the evidence of steroids or olfactory training for patients with PVOD. Methods: A systematic literature review using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science was conducted to identify studies assessing olfactory change in patients with PVOD receiving steroid or olfactory training. Results: Of the initial 273 abstracts reviewed, 20 articles with data from 2,415 patients with PVOD were included. Treatments including topical steroids, systemic steroids, classical olfactory training (COT), modified olfactory training (MOT), and olfactory training with steroid were analyzed. Both psychophysical olfactory testing and subjective symptom scores were utilized to assess the olfactory function. The routine use of nasal steroid spray alone during the management of PVOD seems to have no positive effect on olfactory dysfunction. Direct injection of steroid or nasal steroid spray into the olfactory cleft significantly improved the olfactory function in patients with PVOD. Olfactory improvement is greater than that of the natural course of the disease with short-term COT. Patients with PVOD would benefit more from long-term COT (>12 weeks). Treatment duration, various odorants, olfactory training devices, changing the types of odors periodically, different molecular odorants, and different concentrations of odorants tended to increase the efficiency of MOT. Clinically significant improvement after olfactory training was defined as an increase of threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI) score ≥6. From week 24 to week 36, both COT and MOT groups reached the maximum therapeutic effect regarding the number of participants achieving clinically significant improvement. A combination of local or oral steroids with olfactory training is more efficient than COT only. Conclusion: Olfactory function in patients with PVOD was effectively improved through direct steroid administration in the olfactory cleft, COT, or modification of COT. The addition of topical steroids to COT therapy showed a tendency for greater olfactory improvement in patients with PVOD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction is a clinical challenge due to refractory characteristics and limited therapeutic options. Olfactory training has been proved to be effective for olfactory dysfunction with varied etiologies. We pooled existing studies to evaluate the effects of olfactory training in patients with posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction. Methods: A systematic literature review using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science was conducted to identify studies assessing olfactory change in patients with posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction after olfactory training. Results: Of the initial 812 abstracts reviewed, 13 full‐text articles were included. Clinically significant results after olfactory training were defined as an improvement of threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI) score ≥6 or University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) score ≥4. Six studies were included in the meta‐analysis, 36.31% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28 to 0.45) of posttraumatic patients would achieve clinically significant results after olfactory training with a mean increase of TDI score of 4.61. Conclusion: Olfactory training might be a promising modality for the treatment of posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction. More high‐quality studies with controls are needed to clarify the effect of olfactory training on total olfactory performance and subcomponents of olfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of COVID-19, the economic benefits of shale gas development are greatly affected. With the large-scale development and utilization of shale gas in China, it is increasingly important to assess the economic impact of shale gas development. Therefore, this paper proposes a method for predicting the production of shale gas reservoirs, and uses back propagation (BP) neural network to nonlinearly fit reservoir reconstruction data to obtain shale gas well production forecasting models. Experiments show that compared with the traditional BP neural network, the proposed method can effectively improve the accuracy and stability of the prediction. There is a nonlinear correlation between reservoir reconstruction data and gas well production, which does not apply to traditional linear prediction methods [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High energy consumption of conventional memory modules (e.g., DRAMs) hinders the further improvement of large-scale graph processing's energy efficiency. The emerging resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) has shown great potential in providing an energy-efficient memory module. However, the performance of ReRAMs suffers from data access patterns with poor locality and large amounts of written data, which are common in graph processing. In this paper, we propose HyVE, a Hybrid Vertex-Edge memory hierarchy for energy-efficient graph processing. In HyVE, we avoid random access and data written to ReRAM modules. HyVE can reduce memory energy consumption by 86.17 percent compared with conventional memory systems. We have also proposed data sharing and bank-level power-gating schemes, which improve the energy efficiency by 1.60x and 1.53x. By analyzing the graph processing model on ReRAMs, we show that ReRAMs are good for read-intensive operations in graph processing (e.g., reading edges), while ReRAM crossbars are not suitable for processing edges because of heavy writing overheads. Our evaluations show that the optimized design achieves two orders of magnitude and 5.90x energy efficiency improvement compared with the CPU-based and conventional memory hierarchy based designs, respectively. Moreover, HyVE achieves 2.83x energy reduction compared with the previous ReRAM-based graph processing architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the mediation effect of approach/avoidance motivation between hardiness and depressive symptoms. Methods. Cross-sectional design was utilized. Two independent samples of military servicemen (G1: military personnel in the Armed Forces; G2: Chinese army military cadets) (n1 = 98, n2 =140) were sampled and investigated. The assessment tools of hardiness scale (DRS), behavioral activation and inhibition scales (BAS/BIS), and Center for Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale (CES-D)/Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used. General linear model was conducted to examine the predictive role of hardiness (DRS) and motivation (BAS/BIS) on depressive symptoms (CES-D or BDI). The mediating role of BAS/BIS between hardiness and depressive symptoms was examined. Results. (1) Across army soldiers and military medical university cadets, hardiness (β=-0.394, P<0.001) and behavioral inhibition (β=0.297, P<0.001) significantly predicted depressive symptoms. (2) For soldiers only, behavioral inhibition mediated the significant association between hardiness and depressive symptoms (β=-0.043, SE=0.027, 95%CI=-0.130~-0.008). (3) For cadets only, behavioral activation-Drive significantly predicted depressive symptoms (β=-0.237, P=0.012), and hardiness operates through behavioral activation-Drive to influence depressive symptoms (β=-0.057, SE=0.036, 95%CI=-0.151~-0.078). Conclusion. Individuals who are low in hardiness and behavioral activation-Drive and who are high in behavioral inhibition showed more severe depressive symptoms. The relationship between hardiness and depressive symptoms was mediated by behavioral activation-Drive in cadets and behavioral inhibition in soldiers. The proposed model offers a useful approach for the development of hardiness training programs to alter approach/avoidance motivation in the military context. Future training program of hardiness could lay more emphasis on promotion of perseverance in pursuing goals in hardy individuals, which may in turn improve active coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main clinical manifestations of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis are acute or subacute seizures, cognition impairment, and psychiatric symptoms. Nowadays, the scheme of antipsychotic therapy for this disease has not been established. This study reports three cases of anti-NMDAR encephalitis with psychiatric symptoms. The anti-NMDAR antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum were positive. The psychiatric symptoms still existed after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment; thus, clozapine was used for antipsychotic therapy. Case 1 was a 37-year-old man who suffered from bad mood and suicide behaviors for 1 month. Hallucination and delusion still existed after IVIG treatment and hormone therapy, and the symptoms were relieved when given clozapine for 12 months. Case 2 was a 28-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital due to injuring other people and destructive behaviors for 2 days. He showed irritability, bad temper, declined cognition, and severe delusion of persecution after IVIG treatment and hormone therapy, but the psychiatric symptoms disappeared when given clozapine for 3 months. Case 3 was a 23-year-old man who suffered from headache and babbing for 7 days. Symptoms such as irritability, bad temper, babbing, and injuring other people still existed after IVIG treatment and hormone therapy, but they disappeared when given clozapine for 2 months. Therefore, we suggest that during the treatment of anti-NMDAR encephalitis with psychiatric symptoms, if the anti-NMDAR antibodies in CSF and serum were positive, and psychiatric symptoms could not be controlled after IVIG and hormone therapy, clozapine may work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale graph processing requires the high bandwidth of data access. However, as graph computing continues to scale, it becomes increasingly challenging to achieve a high bandwidth on generic computing architectures. The primary reasons include: the random access pattern causing local bandwidth degradation, the poor locality leading to unpredictable global data access, heavy conflicts on updating the same vertex, and unbalanced workloads across processing units. Processing-in-memory (PIM) has been explored as a promising solution to providing high bandwidth, yet open questions of graph processing on PIM devices remain in: 1) how to design hardware specializations and the interconnection scheme to fully utilize bandwidth of PIM devices and ensure locality and 2) how to allocate data and schedule processing flow to avoid conflicts and balance workloads. In this paper, we propose GraphH, a PIM architecture for graph processing on the hybrid memory cube array, to tackle all four problems mentioned above. From the architecture perspective, we integrate SRAM-based on-chip vertex buffers to eliminate local bandwidth degradation. We also introduce reconfigurable double-mesh connection to provide high global bandwidth. From the algorithm perspective, partitioning and scheduling methods like index mapping interval-block and round interval pair are introduced to GraphH, thus workloads are balanced and conflicts are avoided. Two optimization methods are further introduced to reduce synchronization overhead and reuse on-chip data. The experimental results on graphs with billions of edges demonstrate that GraphH outperforms DDR-based graph processing systems by up to two orders of magnitude and $5.12 {\times }$ speedup against the previous PIM design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducted the free vibration analysis of a sandwich annular thin plate with whirl motion. The upper and lower faces of the annular plate are made of uniform solid metal, while its core is porous foamed metal reinforced by graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs). Both uniform and non-uniform distributions of GPLs and porosity along the direction of plate thickness which leads to a functionally graded (FG) core are taken into account. The effective material properties including Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio and mass density are calculated by employing the Halpin–Tsai model and the rule of mixture, respectively. Based on the Kirchhoff plate theory, the differential equations of motion are derived by applying the Lagrange's equation. Then, the assumed mode method is utilized to obtain free vibration behaviors of the sandwich annular plate. The finite element method is adopted to verify the present model and vibration analysis. The effects of porosity coefficient, porosity distribution, graphene nanoplatelet (GPL) distribution, graphene nanoplatelet (GPL) weight fraction, graphene nanoplatelet length-to-thickness ratio (GPL-LTR), graphene nanoplatelet length-to-width ratio (GPL-LWR), spinning speed, outer radius-to-thickness ratio and inner radius-to-thickness ratio of the plate, are examined in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of doped material property on quantum dot optical fiber (QD-OF) was studied. • Including lifetime, absorption–emission cross-section (AECS), Stokes-shift, FWHM. • The lifetime and Stokes-shift had greater influence on fiber emission intensity. • Comparing to CuInS 2 /ZnS QD-OFs, the emission intensity of PbSe QD-OFs was lower. • PbSe QD-OF emission changed more rapidly with these parameters. The re-absorption loss in quantum dot optical fibers (QD-OFs) affects the fiber emission and limits the device performance. This is not only related to fiber parameters (fiber length and diameter, QD concentration, etc.), but also depends on the properties of doped materials to a large extent. Therefore, the emission of QD-OFs for two different QD materials (PbSe and CuInS 2 /ZnS) were theoretically simulated using rate equations and power propagation equations, considering the influence of fluorescence lifetime, absorption and emission cross-section (AECS), Stokes-shift, and full width at half-maximum (FWHM). The parameters that had the greatest influence on emission intensity were the fluorescence lifetime for PbSe QD-OFs and the Stokes-shift for CuInS 2 /ZnS QD-OFs, when the fibers were relatively long. AECS showed more important in shorter OFs. FWHM had the least influence on emission intensity for any length of fiber. The fluorescence lifetime was more advantageous for the stability of the emission wavelength. Compared with CuInS 2 /ZnS QD-OFs, the emission intensity of PbSe QD-OFs was lower, which however changed more rapidly with these parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the work, we firstly report the facile and large-scale synthesis of defective black TiO2−x(B) nanosheets via a dual-zone NaBH4 reduction method. The structure, physico-chemical, and optical properties of TiO2−x(B) nanosheets were systematically characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, etc. The concentration of Ti3+ can be well tuned by NaBH4 reduction. With increasing the mass ratio of NaBH4 to TiO2(B), the generation of Ti3+ defects gives rise to the increased intensity of a broad band absorption in the visible wavelength range. It is demonstrated that the TiO2−x(B) photocatalyst synthesized with the mass ratio of NaBH4 to TiO2(B) of 3:1 exhibited an optimum photocatalytic activity and excellent photostability for hydrogen evolution under visible-light irradiation. By combining the advantages of 2D TiO2(B) nanosheets architecture with those of Ti3+ self-doping and simultaneous production of oxygen vacancy sites, the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the defective TiO2−x(B) nanosheets was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]