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• VO 2 and TiO 2 thin films were synthesized on Si substrates by a simple and controllable method. • The almost coincident hysteresis loops of VO 2 thin films including a TiO 2 buffer layer was realized on Si substrates. • The reasons for the narrowing of hysteresis loops width of VO 2 were analyzed and summarized from three aspects. The overlapped degree of hysteresis loops is critically important for the accurate response of vanadium dioxide (VO 2)-based optoelectronics devices. Generally, the hysteresis loops width is not less than 10 ℃ for VO 2 thin films deposited on amorphous SiO 2 /Si or Si substrates. In this work, the almost coincident hysteresis loops of VO 2 thin films including a TiO 2 buffer layer was synthesized successfully on Si substrate by a simple and controllable method. Here, the thickness of VO 2 and TiO 2 were 60 nm and 100 nm, respectively. XRD patterns show that the peak of rutile phase TiO 2 begin to appear while the thickness of buffer layer increases to about 65 nm, which is more compatible with the lattice structure of VO 2. Combined with the XPS spectra, it is found that the VO 2 thin films formed on different substrates include quite a few V5+ and relatively few V3+ impurity phases. In addition, theoretical analysis indicates that an inversely proportional relationship exists between the hysteresis loops width and the average grain size of VO 2 thin film, The SEM images confirm this point well revealing the average grain size of VO 2 thin film does increase with the thickness increase of TiO 2 buffer layer. ga1 The overlapped degree of hysteresis loops is critically important for the accurate response of vanadium dioxide (VO 2)-based optoelectronics devices. Generally, the hysteresis loops width is not less than 10 ℃ for VO 2 thin films deposited on amorphous SiO 2 /Si or Si substrates. In this work, the almost coincident hysteresis loops of VO 2 thin films including a TiO 2 buffer layer was synthesized successfully on Si substrate by a simple and controllable method. Here, the thickness of VO 2 and TiO 2 were 60 nm and 100 nm, respectively. XRD patterns show that the peak of rutile phase TiO 2 begin to appear while the thickness of buffer layer increases to about 65 nm, which is more compatible with the lattice structure of VO 2. Combined with the XPS spectra, it is found that the VO 2 thin films formed on different substrates include quite a few V5+ and relatively few V3+ impurity phases. In addition, theoretical analysis indicates that an inversely proportional relationship exists between the hysteresis loops width and the average grain size of VO 2 thin film, The SEM images confirm this point well revealing the average grain size of VO 2 thin film does increase with the thickness increase of TiO 2 buffer layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A low-temperature (200 °C) nitrogen doping process is carried out on MnO 2 without destroying the structure of MnO 2. • Multi-dimensional N+MnO 2 @TiC/C electrode with a specific capacity of 371.1 f g−1 or 103 mAh g−1. • After N doping, the pseudocapacitance contribution of the electrode increases from 66.4% to 76.3% at 1 mV s−1. • 91% gravimetric capacity retention of N+MnO 2 @TiC/C electrode was achieved after 50,000 cycles. • N+MnO 2 @TiC/C//AC shows excellent power density of 5400 W kg−1 at 23.9 Wh kg−1. Intercalation of alkali cations (Na+, K+, etc.) or protons (H+) on the surface of MnO 2 can improve the theoretical pseudocapacitance in the redox reactions. However, the poor electrical conductivity and vulnerability to agglomeration and dissolution during the redox reactions on MnO 2 have hampered practical application. In this work, a network composed of TiC/C nanowires is prepared on Ti 6 Al 4 V to produce a conductive three-dimensional substrate on which two-dimensional MnO 2 nanosheets are fabricated to form a multi-dimensional MnO 2 @TiC/C composite electrode. The three-dimensional TiC/C nanowire network increases the specific surface area between the active species and electrolyte and electron transport efficiency to yield a specific capacitance of 284.8 F g−1 or 76.0 mAh g−1. To further improve the conductivity and increase the active sites on the pseudocapacitive materials, nitrogen is incorporated into MnO 2 to form the N+MnO 2 @TiC/C electrode with a specific capacity of 371.1 F g−1 or 103 mAh g−1 rendering it very attractive to high-performance supercapacitors. After nitrogen doping, the cyclic stability of the electrode is improved greatly, and 91% retention of the gravimetric capacity is accomplished after 50,000 cycles. The mechanism is investigated by analyzing the pseudocapacitances of the composite electrodes with and without N doping. Nitrogen doping not only changes the elemental composition of the electrode and enhances the conductivity, but also increases the active sites on MnO 2. As a result, the pseudocapacitance contribution increases from 66.4% to 76.3% at 1 mV s−1. The supercapacitor constructed with N+MnO 2 @TiC/C as the positive electrode and nickel foam coated with activated carbon (AC) as the negative electrode shows excellent power density of 5400 W kg−1 at 23.9 Wh kg−1. Owing to the excellent electrochemical characteristics and cycling stability, the materials and associated design concept have large potential in energy storage applications. A network composed of TiC/C nanowires is prepared on Ti 6 Al 4 V to produce a conductive three-dimensional substrate on which two-dimensional MnO 2 nanosheets are fabricated to form a multi-dimensional MnO 2 @TiC/C composite electrode. To further improve the conductivity and increase the active sites on the pseudocapacitive materials, nitrogen is incorporated into MnO 2 to form the N+MnO 2 @TiC/C electrode with a specific capacity of 371.1 F g−1 or 103 mAh g−1 rendering it very attractive to high-performance supercapacitors. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a multifunctional material, TiO 2 shows excellent performance in catalytic degradation and lithium-ion storage. However, high electron-hole pair recombination, poor conductivity, and low theoretical capacity severely limit the practical application of TiO 2 . Herein, TiO 2 nanotube (TiO 2 NT) with a novel double-layer honeycomb structure were prepared by two-step electrochemical anodization. Honeycombed TiO 2 NT arrays possess clean top surfaces and a long-range ordering, which greatly facilitates the preparation of high-performance binary and ternary materials. A binary TiO 2 nanotube@Au nanoparticle (TiO 2 NT@Au NP) composite accompanied by appropriately concentrated and uniformly distributed gold particles was prepared in this work. Interestingly, the TiO 2 nanotube@Au nanoparticle (TiO 2 NT@Au NP) composites not only showed the excellent catalytic degradation effect of methylene blue, but also demonstrated large lithium-ion storage capacity (310.6 μAh cm -2 , 1.6 times of pristine TiO 2 NT). Based on the realization of the controllable fabrication of binary TiO 2 nanotube@MoS 2 nanosheet (TiO 2 NT@MoS 2 NS) composite, ternary TiO 2 nanotube@MoS 2 nanosheet@Au nanoparticle (TiO 2 NT@MoS 2 NS@Au NP) composite with abundant defects and highly ordered structure was also innovatively designed and fabricated. As expected, the TiO 2 NT@MoS 2 NS@Au NP anode exhibits extremely high initial discharge specific capacity (487.4 μAh cm -2 , 2.6 times of pristine TiO 2 NT) and excellent capacity retention (81.0%).

Despite numerous studies on broadband photodetectors, the problematic query that remains unaddressed is the limited photoresponsivity while broadening the spectral regime. Here, for the first time, a rational design of a hybrid 1D CdSe nanobelt/2D PbI 2 flake heterojunction device is constructed, which substantially boosts the photocurrent while significantly attenuating the dark current, resulting in improved photodetector figures-of-merit. Thanks to the excellent quality of the nanobelt/flake and built-in electric field at the CdSe/PbI 2 interface heterojunction, photogenerated carriers are promptly segregated and more photoexcitons are accumulated by the respective electrodes, enabling a high responsivity of ∼10 6 A/W, making this one of the highest values among similar reported hybrid heterojunction photodetectors, together with a large linear dynamic range, superior sensitivity, excellent detectivity and external quantum efficiency, an ultrafast response, and a broadband spectral response range. The similar 1D/2D hybrid heterojunction device architecture assembled on the flexible polyimide tape substrate exhibits excellent folding endurance and mechanical, flexural, and long-term environmental stability. The present device architecture and robust operational stability in an ambient environment reveals that the combination of the present 1D/2D hybrid heterojunction has incredible potential for future flexible photoelectronic devices.

Background: Allergic rhinitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa affecting the quality of life of patients. SRY-box transcription factor 11 (SOX11) was reported to play important roles in inflammatory responses, but its role in AR is poorly understood., Aims: To explore the role of SOX11 in the development of allergic rhinitis., Study Design: Cell culture and animal study., Methods: An in vivo murine allergic rhinitis model was established using ovalbumin treatment in female mice. Interleukin-13-stimulated human nasal mucosa epithelial cells were used for in vitro studies. Expression levels of SOX11, epithelial-derived cytokines, and mucin were determined in both modesls., Results: SOX11 was highly expressed in allergic rhinitis mice. Allergy symptoms, serum ovalbumin-specific IgE, histamine, eosinophils, goblet cells, and type 2 cytokine secretion were increased in ovalbumin-treated mice. Furthermore, allergic rhinitis mice exhibited overproduction of epithelial-derived cytokines (thymic stromal lymphopoietin, interleukin-25, interleukin-33), C-C motif chemokine ligand 26 (CCL26), and mucin 5 AC (MUC5AC). Silencing SOX11 alleviated the behavioral symptoms and upregulation of epithelial-derived cytokines, CCL26, and MUC5AC. In human nasal mucosa epithelial cells, interleukin-13 enhanced SOX11 expression in a time-dependent manner, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) was involved in the interleukin-13-mediated expression of SOX11 by regulating transcription. Knockdown of SOX11 reduced epithelial-derived cytokine expression and MUC5AC levels in interleukin-13-treated human nasal mucosa epithelial cells., Conclusion: SOX11 plays a critical role in allergic rhinitis development by regulating epithelial-derived cytokines and might be a new therapeutic target for allergic rhinitis.

The ground and first singlet excited state absorption in distyrylbenzene (DSB) is simulated based on linear-response time dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT). It is found that distyrylbenzene shows a strong reverse saturable absorption effect around the near-infrared range. Combining the calculations of cubic response functions to simulate the three-photon absorption in distyrylbenzene, we are able to show that distyrylbenzene is a promising ultrafast optical limiter for the light with wavelengths around 775 nm. The primary mechanism for the optical limiting behavior can be well understood by the three-photon induced excited state absorption (3PA-ESA). This result in that DSB has high transmittance for low-intensity ambient light levels and the ultrafast response of optical-limiting. In addition, the limited optical window can be tuned by changing the length of the π-electron conjugated structure. It was also discovered that the molecular aggregation has an inhibitory effect on the optical limiting efficiency of distyrylbenzene. The present results may serve as a theoretical guideline for the design of distyrylbenzene-based optical limiting materials.

Low-cost multicomponent alloyed one-dimensional (1D) semiconductors exhibit broadband absorption from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared regime, which has attracted a great deal of interest in high-performance flexible optoelectronic devices. Here, we report the facile one-step fabrication of high-performance broadband rigid and flexible photodevices based on multicomponent alloyed 1D cadmium-sulfur-selenide (CdS x Se 1- x ) micro-nanostructures obtained via a vapor transport route. Photoresponse measurements have demonstrated their superior spectral photoresponsivity (5.8 × 10 4 A/W), several orders of magnitude higher than the pristine CdSe nanobelt photodevice, high specific detectivity (2 × 10 15 Jones), photogain (1.2 × 10 5 ), external quantum efficiency (EQE, 1.4 × 10 7 %), rapid response speed (13 ms), and excellent long-term environmental stability. The multicomponent alloyed CdS x Se 1- x nanobelt photodevice demonstrated about three times higher photocurrent as well as can operate under multiple color illuminations (200-800 nm) and at a high applied bias of 10 V with the photoresponsivity and EQE being boosted to 4.34 × 10 5 A/W and 8.96 × 10 7 %, respectively. Furthermore, multicomponent alloyed CdS x Se 1- x nanobelt flexible photodevices show excellent mechanical and flexural photostabilities with identical photoresponse as rigid nanodevices. The improvement mechanism found in the present research can be exploited to lead to the design of high-performance flexible photodevices comprising other multicomponent nanomaterials.

The neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) of the head and neck are rare. The purpose of this article is to explore the diagnosis and treatment of NECs in the ear and larynx. We report a case of a patient with NECs found in the ear and throat simultaneously, and the relevant literatures are reviewed. It is difficult to identify which is the original site. There is no specific clinical manifestation of NECs in the ear and throat, and carcinoid syndrome is a rare situation. Surgery is still the preferred treatment for this disease. For patients with metastasis, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy are required.

Recently, the widespread use of antibiotics is becoming a serious worldwide public health challenge, which causes antimicrobial resistance and the occurrence of superbugs. In this context, MnO 2 has been proposed as an alternative approach to achieve target antibacterial properties on Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). This requires a further understanding on how to control and optimize antibacterial properties in these systems. We address this challenge by synthesizing δ-MnO 2 nanoflowers doped by magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and potassium (K) ions, thus displaying different bandgaps, to evaluate the effect of doping on the bacterial viability of S. mutans. All these samples demonstrated antibacterial activity from the spontaneous generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) without external illumination, where doped MnO 2 can provide free electrons to induce the production of ROS, resulting in the antibacterial activity. Furthermore, it was observed that δ-MnO 2 with narrower bandgap displayed a superior ability to inhibit bacteria. The enhancement is mainly attributed to the higher doping levels, which provided more free electrons to generate ROS for antibacterial effects. Moreover, we found that δ-MnO 2 was attractive for in vivo applications, because it could nearly be degraded into Mn ions completely following the gradual addition of vitamin C. We believe that our results may provide meaningful insights for the design of inorganic antibacterial nanomaterials., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yan, Jiang, Liu, Pan, Li, Wang, Camargo and Wang.)

Recent research and development of energy storage devices has focused on new electrode materials because of the critical effects on the electrochemical properties of supercapacitors. In particular, MnO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 have drawn extensive attention because of their low cost, high theoretical specific capacity, environmental friendliness, and natural abundance. In this study, MnO 2 ultrathin nanosheet arrays and Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles are fabricated on TiN nanowires to produce binder-free core-shell positive and negative electrodes for a flexible and ultra-fast hybrid supercapacitor. The MnO 2 /TiN/CC electrode shows larger pseudocapacitance contributions than MnO 2 /CC. For example, at a scanning rate of 2 mV s -1 , the pseudocapacitance contribution of MnO 2 /TiN/CC is 87.81% which is nearly 25% bigger than that of MnO 2 /CC (71.26%). The supercapacitor can withstand a high scanning rate of 5000 mV s -1 in the 2 V window and exhibits a maximum energy density of 71.19 W h kg -1 at a power density of 499.79 W kg -1 . Even at 5999.99 W kg -1 , it still shows an energy density of 31.3 W h kg -1 and after 10 000 cycles, the device retains 81.16% of the initial specific capacitance. The activation mechanism is explored and explained., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A nanoscale core-shell NiO@CoO composite is prepared on flexible carbon cloth for electrodes in supercapacitors and overall water splitting. The needle-like CoO nanowires with NiO nanosheets as the active materials improve the elemental constituents as well as surface area. The NiO@CoO electrode boasts a capacity of 2.87 F cm -2 (1024.05 F g -1 ) at 1 A g -1 current density, and even at a large current density of 20 A g -1 the retention ratio is 80.9% after 5000 cycles. The excellent specific capacity with high rate capability can be ascribed to the unique structure which increases the area of the liquid-solid interface and facilitates electron and ion transport, improving the utilization efficiency of active materials. The asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor prepared with the core-shell electrode shows the energy output of 40.3 W h kg -1 at 750 W kg -1 with a better retention (71.7%) of specific capacitance after 15 000 cycles. In addition, linear sweep voltammetry is performed to assess the performance of the electrode in water splitting and the electrode shows excellent activity in the OER as manifested by a Tafel slope of 88.04 mV dec -1 . Our results show that the bifunctional structure and design strategy have large potential in energy applications., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The mechanism for zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) showing optical-limiting character is related to the first singlet excited-state absorption (ESA). Two distinct band peaks in this ESA spectrum (1.97 eV and 2.56 eV) were observed in experiments. However, the origin of the absorption is not well understood. In the present work, we perform accurate quantum mechanical calculations and analysis of the absorption of ZnPc in the first singlet excited state. It is found that the transitions of S 1 → S 3 and S 1 → S 24 are the origin of the first and second band peaks, respectively. Charge transfer character is observed between the edges and central parts of ZnPc for those two transitions, but occurs in opposite directions. It is gratifying to note that the absorption can be modified smoothly through the substitution of nitrogen atoms in ZnPc with methyne or benzene rings. The aggregation phenomenon is also investigated with ZnPc dimers. The present calculations show that the absorptions of two ZnPc molecules with cofacially stacked and slightly shifted cofacially stacked configurations both result in an obvious blueshift compared with the zinc phthalocyanine monomer. The present observations may be utilized in tuning the optical-limiting character of ZnPc., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been revealed to be involved in dysfunction and inflammatory conditions of vascular endothelial cells (ECs). However, the role of miR-499a in inflammatory responses and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) remains unclear. The expression of miR-499a and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) was analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction or western blot assay, respectively. Cells apoptosis was determined by Flow cytometry. Western blot was used to evaluate the protein expression of STAT1, interleukin-6 (IL-6), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), B cell lymphoma (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated X (Bax) and Cleaved Caspase-3. The interaction between miR-499a and STAT1 was confirmed by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay. The expression of miR-499a was significantly down-regulated, while the STAT1 level was obviously up-regulated in LPS-induced HUVECs. Overexpressed miR-499a inhibited LPS-activated expression of IL-6, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, and protected HUVECs against LPS-induced apoptosis by suppressing the expression of Bax and cleaved caspase 3 expressions. However, STAT1 promoted LPS-induced inflammatory injury and apoptosis in HUVECs. In addition, STAT1 was predicted and confirmed to be a target of miR-499a, and rescue experiment indicated that STAT1 was involved in the miR-499a mediated protection on LPS-induced HUVECs inflammatory injury and apoptosis. MiR-499a protects HUVECs from LPS-induced inflammatory injury and apoptosis by regulating STAT1 expression, which providing a novel insight to assist researchers and clinicians in developing potential therapeutic strategies for sepsis., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2019.)

The structure and electronic properties of the bare and hydrogen-passivated ZnSe/Ge bi-axial nanowires have been calculated by means of the first principle calculation based on density functional theory. Five different types of nanowires with different concentrations all grown along [1 1 1] direction are considered. Band gaps of bare ZnSe/Ge bi-axial nanowires are smaller than those of hydrogen-passivated ZnSe/Ge nanowires at the same doping concentrations. Both the bare and hydrogen-passivated nanowires have lower band gap at a higher Ge components. It is shown detailedly that with increasing of Ge doping concentrations, the main sources of conduction band minimum and valence band maximum of nanowires varied from the p -state of Se and Ge to the p -state of Ge. It is found clearly that there is a transition from the n -type to the p -type characteristics at the doping concentration 0.4211. Whereas, when the Ge composition is increased to 0.8421, the nanowires also have a transition from the p -type to the n -type characteristics. In addition, the structural stability and the cohesive energies of ZnSe/Ge bi-coaxial nanowires are changed obviously with different Ge components. The results offer efficiently guidance to explore their potential applications in photoelectronics.

Sodium (Na)- and potassium (K)-doped δ-MnO 2 , which presented different band gaps, were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Then, uniform Au nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited on MnO 2 to form metal-semiconductor nano-heterojunctions (MnO 2 -Au). By comparing their temperature-dependent thermal catalytic performances, p-aminothiophenol to p, p'-dimercaptoazobenzene conversion was used as proof-of-concept transformations. MnO 2 -Au hybrid materials demonstrated better thermal catalytic performances relative to individual Au NPs. Meanwhile, K-doped MnO 2 -Au, with a MnO 2 support displaying a narrower bandgap, displayed superior catalytic activities relative to Na-doped MnO 2 -Au. To get the same catalytic performance by individual Au NPs, it can be ∼50 K less by Na-doped MnO 2 -Au and ∼100 K less by K-doped MnO 2 -Au. The enhancement is mainly attributed to the thermally excited electrons in MnO 2 , which were transferred to Au NPs. The additional electrons in Au NPs increase the electron density and thus contribute to the improvement of thermal catalysis. Our findings show that the establishment of a nano-heterojunction formed by metal NPs on a semiconductor support has a significant impact on thermal catalysis, where a narrower band gap can facilitate thermally excited carriers and thus bring about better catalytic performances. Thus, the results presented here shed light on the design of a nano-heterojunction catalyst to approach reactions with superior performance under moderate conditions.

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) is the most common pathogen isolated in intensive care units (ICUs) and the most frequently encountered carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Increasing antimicrobial drug resistance, especially in carbapenem-resistant KP (CRKP), can limit the choice of antibiotics used for the treatment of infectious diseases and further poses a negative impact on patient outcome. However, the reason behind this increasing resistance is not well known., Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of laboratory records and clinical cases of KP infection in the ICUs of a hospital from January 2013 to December 2017 was conducted. The disk diffusion method and double-paper synergy test were used to test drug sensitivity for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) detection. WHONET5.6 and SPSS 21.0 software were used for statistical analysis., Results: A total of 64.8% (570/847) of patients with KP infection were older than 60 years. The lower respiratory tract was the main infection site, accounting for 70.84% (600/847); the highest rate of ICU admission was for neurosurgery, accounting for 28.69% (243/847). Some 444 multidrug-resistant KP strains were detected, including 69 CRKP and 299 ESBL-producing strains. In the past 5 years, the resistance rate of detected strains to common antibiotics increased to various degrees, particularly carbapenem-resistant strains which increased from 4.76% (9/189) in 2013 to 16.00% (28/175) in 2017. All carbapenem-resistant isolates were resistant to β-lactam antibiotics, and no isolates were resistant to tigecycline., Conclusion: CRKP and ESBLKP prevalence and resistance rates gradually increased in our ICUs in the past 5 years. The reasons for this are manifold. Regular surveillance of resistance, rational use of antibiotics, and other effective infection control measures need to be strengthened to slow down the production of multidrug-resistant bacteria and prevent their spread in ICU settings., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Preexisting renal impairment and the amount of contrast media are the most important risk factors for contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). We aimed to investigate whether the product of contrast medium volume and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (CMV × UACR) would be a better predictor of CI-AKI in patients undergoing nonemergency coronary interventions. This was a prospective single-center observational study, and 912 consecutive patients who were exposed to contrast media during coronary interventions were investigated prospectively. CI-AKI is defined as a 44.2 μmol/L rise in serum creatinine or a 25% increase, assessed within 48 h after administration of contrast media in the absence of other causes. Fifty patients (5.48%) developed CI-AKI. The urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) (OR = 1.002, 95% CI = 1.000-1.003, p = .012) and contrast medium volume (CMV) (OR = 1.008, 95% CI = 1.001-1.014, p = .017) were independent risk factors for the development of CI-AKI. The area under the ROC curve of CMV, UACR and CMV × UACR were 0.662 (95% CI = 0.584-0.741, p < .001), 0.761 (95% CI = 0.674-0.847, p < .001) and 0.808 (95% CI = 0.747-0.896, p < .001), respectively. The cutoff value of CMV × UACR to predict CI-AKI was 1186.2, with 80.0% sensitivity and 62.2% specificity. The product of CMV and UACR (CMV × UACR) might be a predictor of CI-AKI in patients undergoing nonemergency coronary interventions, which was superior to CMV or UACR alone.

A series of Ti x V 1-x O 2 (0%  ⩽  x  ⩽  4.48%) thin films on c-plane sapphire substrates have been fabricated by co-sputtering oxidation solutions, and the metal-insulator transition temperature (T MIT ) of Ti x V 1-x O 2 films rises monotonically at the rate of 1.64 K/at.% Ti. The x-ray diffraction measurement results show that, after Ti 4+ ion doping, the rutile structure expands along the c r axis while shrinking along the a r and b r axis simultaneously. It makes the V-O bond length shorter, which is believed to upshift the π * orbitals. The rising of π * orbitals in Ti-doped VO 2 has been illustrated by ultraviolet-infrared spectroscopy and first-principles calculation. With the Ti 4+ ion doping concentration increasing, the energy levels of π * orbitals are elevated and the electronic occupation of π * orbitals decreases, which weakens the shielding for the strong electron-electron correlations in the d || orbital and result in the T MIT rising. The research reveals that the T MIT of VO 2 can be effected by the electronic occupancy of π * orbitals in a rutile state, which is helpful for developing VO 2 -based thermal devices.

The stabilities and hydrocarbon/fluorocarbon sorption properties of a zeolite-like metal-organic framework (MOF) Zn(hfipbb) with fluorinated channels has been studied. By the combination of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) measurements, we confirm that Zn(hfipbb) has exceptionally high hydrothermal and thermal stabilities. The adsorption behaviors of water and methanol by Zn(hfipbb) indicate that it is highly hydrophobic but with high adsorption of alcohols. Hexane and perfluorohexane adsorption measurements show that the fluorinated channels in Zn(hfipbb) have high affinity with hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon. The high fluorophilic nature of the channels and the high stability of the compound suggest its potential utility in practical separation applications.

Because of the direct band gap of 4.9 eV, β-Ga2O3 has been considered as an ideal material for solar-blind photodetection without any bandgap tuning. Practical applications of the photodetectors require fast response speed, high signal-to-noise ratio, low energy consumption and low fabrication cost. Unfortunately, most reported β-Ga2O3-based photodetectors usually possess a relatively long response time. In addition, the β-Ga2O3 photodetectors based on bulk, the individual 1D nanostructure, and the film often suffer from the high cost, the low repeatability, and the relatively large dark current, respectively. In this paper, a Au/β-Ga2O3 nanowires array film vertical Schottky photodiode is successfully fabricated by a simple thermal partial oxidation process. The device exhibits a very low dark current of 10 pA at -30 V with a sharp cutoff at 270 nm. More interestingly, the 90-10% decay time of our device is only around 64 μs, which is much quicker than any other previously reported β-Ga2O3-based photodetectors. Besides, the self-powering, the excellent stability and the good reproducibility of Au/β-Ga2O3 nanowires array film photodetector are helpful to its commercialization and practical applications.

Objective: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is proven to be very effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR), but its regulatory mechanism and biomarkers for predicting efficacy are still unknown. Osteopontin (OPN), as a recently described Th2 inflammation related protein, plays key role in the pathogenesis of AR. The aim of this study was to identify the expression and role of OPN during SLIT in children., Methods: Fifty house dust mite (HDM)-sensitized children with AR were enrolled in this study. AR children received HDM allergen extract or placebo for SLIT. Serum of different time points during treatment was collected and used for enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) of OPN and related cytokines, respectively. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from children after SLIT or placebo treatment were collected and stimulated with HDM with or without OPN/anti-OPN after one year's treatment., Results: Our results showed that expression of OPN protein was decreased after one year's therapy. The decreased OPN expression was positively related to decreased Th2 cytokines and negatively related to enhanced IL-10 and TGF-β expression. In vitro experiments confirmed that children received SLIT treatment showed decreased production of Th2 cytokines by PBMCs after HDM stimulation., Conclusion: During SLIT, decreased OPN expression was related to low Th2 cytokine expression and enhanced IL-10 and TGF-β expression. High serum OPN expression predicts poor treatment efficacy. OPN may be used as a biomarker for SLIT treatment., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The structural and electronic properties of the CdS/ZnS core-shell nanowires (NWs) oriented along [001] direction have been investigated by means of the first-principles calculation. It is found that CdS core suffers from the compressive strain in the CdS-core/ZnS-shell NWs, and ZnS core is stretched in the ZnS-core/CdS-shell NWs. A thicker ZnS shell can improve the NWs' stability, and a thicker CdS shell would decrease their stability. For both CdS/ZnS core-shell NWs, the band gap decreases linearly with increasing the shell when the core size is fixed. However, when the diameter of NWs is fixed, CdS-core/ZnS-shell NWs with a thicker shell would have larger band gap. The results agree well with that of red-shift or blue-shift of the spectrum in experimental observations. The partial density of states indicates that the contribution to valence band maximum mainly comes from the S-3p state, and the contribution to conduction band minimum mainly comes from Cd-5s state for CdS-core/ZnS-shell NWs. Thus the electrons would be effectively confined in CdS core, and the holes tend to distribute over both the core and shell. It can be deduced that CdS-core/ZnS-shell NWs with a thicker shell may have larger mobility.

A facile pulse laser ablation approach for preparing black titanium oxide nanospheres, which could be used as photocatalysts under visible light, is proposed. The black titanium oxide nanospheres are prepared by pulsed-laser irradiation of pure titanium oxide in suspended aqueous solution. The crystalline phases, morphology, and optical properties of the obtained nanospheres are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. It is shown that high-energy laser ablation of titanium oxide suspended solution benefited the formation of Ti(3+) species and surface disorder on the surface of the titanium oxide nanospheres. The laser-modified black titanium oxide nanospheres could absorb the full spectrum of visible light, thus exhibiting good photocatalytic performance under visible light.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of reduced glutathione on renal outcomes following the selective coronary angiography and/or intervention., Background: Contrast agents can cause an acute reduction in renal function that may be due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. The role of antioxidants in prevention of this renal impairment is controversial., Methods and Results: We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of reduced glutathione in 825 patients who underwent selective coronary angiography and/or intervention. Patients were assigned to reduced glutathione 1800 mg (n = 416) or placebo (n = 411) intravenously. Contrast-induced acute kidney injury was defined by an absolute increase of serum creatinine ≥0.5 mg/dl (44.2 μmol/L) or a relative increase of ≥25% measured 48 hours after the procedure. The incidence of contrast-induced acute kidney injury was 5.07% in the glutathione group and 4.97% in the control group (relative risk, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-1.83; P = 0.886). Change in serum malondialdehyde was (-) 1.01 ± 1.69 nmol/ml in the glutathione group and (-) 0.67 ± 1.55 nmol/ml in the control group (P = 0.054), and change in serum total antioxidant capacity level was also similar in both groups (0.91 ± 2.06 nmol/ml and 0.79 ± 2.18 nmol/ml, respectively; P = 0.936)., Conclusions: A single dose of reduced glutathione does not reduce the risk of contrast-induced acute kidney injury in patients undergoing coronary angiography and/or intervention., (© 2015, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Employing a fiber-coupled diode-laser with a center wavelength of 852.25 nm and a line width of 0.17 nm, experimental investigation on diode-end-pumped cesium (Cs) vapor laser stably operated at continuous-wave (CW) and pulse regime is carried out. A 5 mm long cesium vapor cell filled with 60 kPa helium and 20 kPa ethane is used as laser medium. Using an output coupler with reflectivity of 48.79%, 1.26 W 894.57 nm CW laser is obtained at an incident pump power of 4.76 W, corresponding an optical-optical efficiency of 26.8% and a slope-efficiency of 28.8%, respectively. The threshold temperature is 67.5 °C. Stable pulsed cesium laser with a maximum average output power of 2.6 W is obtained at a repetition rate of 76 Hz, and the pulse repetition rate can be extend to 1 kHz with a pulse width of 18 μs.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate the expression of their target genes. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of miR-206 on laryngeal suamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cells. The expression level of miR-206 was quantified by qRT-PCR in primary LSCC tissues and corresponding adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. MTT, Matrigel invasion assays and flow cytometry methods were used to test the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of MiR-206 transfection LSCC cells and a mouse model was used to investigate tumorigenesis. MiR-206 was significantly down regulated in the LSCC tissues. Inverse correlation of miR-206 expression was found with the T grade, nodal metastasis and clinical stage of LSCC. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumorigenesis in the LSCC cells were significantly inhibited and apoptotic cells were also increased after miR-206 tansfection. Furthermore, miR-206 transfection down-regulated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the LSCC cells. The loss of miR-206 may play an important role in the progress of LSCC and miR-206 may function as a novel tumor suppressed miRNA.

Seven-dimensional time-dependent wave packet calculations were carried out to study the title reaction on the potential energy surface constructed recently by the group [Y. Zhou, B. Fu, C. Wang, M. A. Collins, and D. H. Zhang, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 064323 (2011)]. Total reaction probabilities and integral cross sections were calculated for a number of initial vibration states. It is found that the fundamental C-H stretching excitation can promote the reaction dramatically. At E = 1.53 eV, it enhances the integral cross section by a factor of 13.2, which is in good agreement with the quasiclassical trajectory result on the ZBB1 potential energy surface, but larger than that on the the EG-2002 potential energy surface. The thermal rate constants were obtained for the title reaction by taking into account the contributions from all relevant initial vibration states. It is found that the ground initial state has a dominant contribution to the thermal rate constant at low temperature region. As the temperature increases, the relative contribution to the thermal rate constant from the ground initial state decreases quickly, and those from the stretching and bending excited states increases substantially. It is estimated that the C-H stretching mode contributes about 40% of the thermal rate constant at T = 1000 K despite the fact that the overall population for stretching excited states is tiny.

Novel hierarchical Cd4SiS6/SiO2 based heterostructure nanowire arrays were fabricated on silicon substrates by a one-step thermal evaporation of CdS powder. The as-grown products were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Studies reveal that a typical hierarchical Cd4SiS6/SiO2 heterostructure nanowire is composed of a single crystalline Cd4SiS6 nanowire core sheathed with amorphous SiO2 sheath. Furthermore, secondary nanostructures of SiO2 nanowires are highly dense grown on the primary Cd4SiS6 core-SiO2 sheath nanowires and formed hierarchical Cd4SiS6/SiO2 based heterostructure nanowire arrays which stand vertically on silicon substrates. The possible growth mechanism of hierarchical Cd4SiS6/SiO2 heterostructure nanowire arrays is proposed. The optical properties of hierarchical Cd4SiS6/SiO2 heterostructure nanowire arrays are investigated using Raman and Photoluminescence spectroscopy.