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Thin vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) layers were grown on porous nitrogen-doped-graphene (NG) nanosheets via atomic layer deposition (ALD). The fabricated NG–V2O5 (NG–V) composite electrodes exhibited a good electrochemical performance when used as anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which can be attributed to strong chemical bonding between V2O5 and NG substrates and the porous structure of NG, which gives the material an excellent electron- and ion-transport ability. In particular, at a current density of 200 and 1000 mAg−1, the NG–V electrodes showed good capacity retention and high discharge capacities of 608 (after 50 cycles) and 365 mAhg−1 (after 500 cycles), respectively, based on the total electrode.

A numerical model was established to simulate the flow field in a Peirce-Smith converter bath, which is extensively adopted in copper making. The mean phase and velocity distribution, circular area, and mean wall shear stress were calculated to determine the optimal operation parameter of the converter. The results showed that the slag phase gathered substantially in the dead zone. The circular flow was promoted by increasing the gas flow rate, Q, and decreasing the nozzle height, h. However, these operations significantly aggravate the wall shear stress. Reducing the nozzle diameter, d, increases the injection velocity, which may accelerate the flow field. However, when the nozzle diameter has an interval design, the bubble behaviors cannot be combined, thus, weakening the injection efficiency. Considering the bal-ance between the circular flow and wall shear stress in this model, the optimal operation parameters were Q = 30000–35000 m3/h, h = 425–525 mm, and d = 40 & 50 mm.

Background Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a specific subtype of breast cancer with a poor prognosis due to its aggressive biological behaviour and lack of therapeutic targets. We aimed to explore some novel genes and pathways related to TNBC prognosis through bioinformatics methods as well as potential initiation and progression mechanisms. Methods Breast cancer mRNA data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). Differential expression analysis of cancer and adjacent cancer, as well as, triple negative breast cancer and non-triple negative breast cancer were performed using R software. The key genes related to the pathogenesis were identified by functional and pathway enrichment analysis and protein–protein interaction network analysis. Based on univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analyses, a gene signature was established to predict overall survival. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the prognostic performance of our model. Results Based on mRNA expression profiling of breast cancer patients from the TCGA database, 755 differentially expressed overlapping mRNAs were detected between TNBC/non-TNBC samples and normal tissue. We found eight hub genes associated with the cell cycle pathway highly expressed in TNBC. Additionally, a novel six-gene (TMEM252, PRB2, SMCO1, IVL, SMR3B and COL9A3) signature from the 755 differentially expressed mRNAs was constructed and significantly associated with prognosis as an independent prognostic signature. TNBC patients with high-risk scores based on the expression of the 6-mRNAs had significantly shorter survival times compared to patients with low-risk scores (P

A recessed barrier layer (RBL) structure is proposed in themicrometer-sized AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) for terahertz applications. It is found by using numerical simulation that the properly designed RBL structure can trigger the formation and propagation of electron domains in the 2-D electron gas (2-DEG) channel. As a result, the fundamental frequency can be extended even up to terahertz regime, and also it can be tuned in a certain range by the bias voltage of Schottky contact gate that acts as a hot-electron injector just like the notch-dopedGunn diode. Our simulations showthat the 0.3- $\mu \text{m}$ -gate HEMT with the RBL structure having the depth of 10–15 nm and the length of 200–400 nm can generate the stable and tunable oscillations in the range of around 0.8–1.6 THz under the normally gate bias of −0.2–0.4 V, as well as the ratio of RF-to-dc current component ranging from 3.04% to 7.2%. These available characteristics come from the redistribution of electric field in the 2-DEG channel. Compared with the ungated and the top-gated planar Gunn diodes ever reported, the proposed RBL structural AlGaN/GaN HEMT can be easily fabricated and operated under normal conditions, demonstrating a great potential application in terahertz radiation sources.

The objective of this paper is to design and fabricate an integrated radial heat sink with thermosyphon for high-power LEDs applications. Effects of different structural parameters on the thermal resistance of the radial heat sink were firstly analyzed in terms of the theory of thermal resistance network. Subsequently, numerical simulation was applied to analyze thermal properties of the fin upon which the optimized structural parameters were obtained with the assistance of orthogonal test. Finally, the integrated radial heat sink with the optimized structural parameters was fabricated and then tested. Numerical and experimental results agree with each other showing that the maximum temperature, temperature uniformity and the thermal resistance of the heat sink are satisfied for high-power LEDs applications.

The Isa/Ausmelt smelting technology with a top submerged lance (TSL) has been extensively used in copper smelting processes. However, the TSL is extremely vulnerable to damage and failure because of bending and tip burning. Frequent lance replacement is time-consuming and limits the copper production capacity. Here, a numerical simulation method is used to study the influence of lance failure on the flow field, splashing of slag, and wall shear of the lance as well as furnace body for exploring the factors that limit the service life of the lance. The simulation results reveal that the fluid flow is weak on the reverse bending side, which is is not conducive to mixing of raw materials when the lance is bent, resulting in a significant amount of slag splashing. After the lance tip is burned out, the utilization of agitation energy decreases because of an increase in the lance outlet area, resulting in poor stirring of the molten bath and a considerable loss of heat. In addition, this study shows that the lance wall shear varies because of slag splashing, implying that the wall shear can be reduced by reducing slag splashing.

The microencapsulation process of lipids by complex coacervation has been investigated in order to reach a better control of the morphology of microcapsules, and the oxidative stability of microcapsules with different morphologies was also explored. Methyl oleate was encapsulated by complex coacervation with the wall materials of gelatin and gum arabic. For improving standardization and miniaturization of microcapsules used for functional food ingredients, processing conditions of microencapsulation were optimized in order to obtain products with single oil droplets as the core materials and sizes less than oral sensory threshold of 10–25 μm. Both the stirring speed and the total wall material concentration had influence on the morphology by changing the Reynolds number (Re), which represents the turbulence level of flow system. Both the pH value and the ratio of gelatin and gum arabic could affect the morphology of final product by changing the absorbance value at 600 nm (A600 nm), which represents the agglomerated state of wall materials. A total wall material concentration of 4.00%, a stirring speed of 700 rpm, a pH of 4.20 and a ratio of gelatin to arabic gum of 1: 1 were selected as the appropriate operating parameters for the preparation of single core microcapsules. The Re value range of 1.26–1.86 × 104 and the A600 nm value greater than 0.25 were recognized as the key points for avoiding coalescence and acquiring microcapsules with single core. The change in the ratio of core to wall material had no influence on the morphology except the thickness of the wall material, which could affect the oxidative stability of core material at higher ratios of core to wall material. Considering the loading capacity and oxidative stability, 1: 1 was an ideal ratio of core to wall material.

To determine the diagnostic performance of the fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) (FFRFrom June 2016 to December 2018, 73 patients suspected of having coronary artery disease who underwent CCTA followed invasive coronary angiography (ICA) within 1 month were retrospectively included. ΔFFRThe diagnostic sensitivities, specificities, and accuracies of 94.4%, 88.7%, and 91.0% with ΔFFRΔFFR• The difference of FFR

Drug-resistant bacterial pathogens are a serious threat to global health, and antibacterial lysins are at the forefront of innovative treatments for these life-threatening infections. While lysins' general mechanism of action is well understood, the design principles that might enable engineering of performance-enhanced variants are still being formulated. Here, we report a detailed analysis of molecular determinants underlying the in vivo efficacy of lysostaphin, a canonical anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) lysin. Systematic analysis of bacterial binding, growth inhibition, lysis kinetics, and in vivo therapeutic efficacy revealed that binding affinity, and not inherent catalytic firepower, is the dominant driver of lysostaphin efficacy. This insight enabled electrostatic affinity tuning of lysostaphin to produce a single point mutant that manifested dramatically enhanced processivity and lysis kinetics and trended toward improved in vivo efficacy. More generally, these studies provide important insights into the complex relationships between lysin electrostatics, bacterial targeting, cell lysis efficiency, and in vivo efficacy. The lessons learned may enable engineering of other high-performance antibacterial biocatalysts.

Integrating independent wavefront controls into one device can meet the increasing demand for high-capacity flat electromagnetic devices. Simultaneously and independently controlling the amplitude and phase is pivotal for completely manipulating the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Here, we propose several all-silicon metasurfaces to achieve multifunctional designs and simultaneous modulation of amplitude and phase profiles in the terahertz (THz) band. These metasurfaces integrate two degrees of freedom of the propagation phase and Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase. To illustrate the feasibility of this design, three schematic functions are shown below: a three-channel vortex beam generator, a controllable intensity ratio of co- and cross-polarizations corresponding to the incident circular polarization (CP), and a bifocal metasurface that is capable of generating two off-axis vortices with controllable power allocation. A sample is fabricated to specifically verify the amplitude and phase modulation of this design. The experimental results agree well with the simulations and validate the good performances of our proposals. This approach for directly generating an editable amplitude and phase may provide a new choice to design ultra-thin photonic devices.

There is an urgent need for novel agents to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, such as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Desirable properties for new antibiotics include high potency, narrow species selectivity, low propensity to elicit new resistance phenotypes, and synergy with standard of care (SOC) chemotherapies. Here, we describe analysis of the anti-MRSA potential exhibited by F12, an innovative anti-MRSA lysin that has been genetically engineered to evade detrimental antidrug immune responses in human patients. F12 possesses high potency and rapid onset of action, it has narrow selectivity against pathogenic Staphylococci, and it manifests synergy with numerous SOC antibiotics. Additionally, resistance to F12 and β-lactam antibiotics appears mutually exclusive, and importantly we provide evidence that F12 re-sensitizes normally resistant MRSA strains to β-lactams both in vitro and in vivo These results suggest that combinations of F12 and SOC antibiotics could be a promising new approach to treating refractory S. aureus infections.

Optoelectronic memories based on organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have been extensively investigated, and great progress has been made in improving memory performance and reducing operating power consumption. Despite these achievements, optoelectronic memories reported so far have only a single storage function, such as light-assisted memory, light writing memory, or light-erasing memory, which may not meet the requirements of multi-functional storage in the future. Here, the dual-functional optoelectronic memories are demonstrated by employing ternary hybrid films as floating gate layers. Integrating the advantages of hole trapping in [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and photoinduced electron trapping in CsPbBr3 quantum dots (QDs), the dual-functional storages including electric programming holes and light programming electrons can be realized in one device. Owing to the complementary charge trapping advantages in CsPbBr3 QDs and PCBM, the devices also show a short light erasing time of 0.05 s and low erasing gate bias within −35 V. In addition, the devices exhibit decent endurance for 500 continuous light programming-reading–electric programming-reading cycling tests and admirable electron and hole retention time of 10 000 s with negligible charge leakage. This study may offer a feasible path for the development of new-generation memory.

supporting information

To test the effectiveness of the detection and positioning technology of the pipe leakage, the propagation law of pipeline leakage signal is studied in this paper, and a pipeline leakage signal simulation and generation system is proposed. It can simulate the leakage pressure wave signals at different positions of the pipeline. Changing pipe’s parameters though the computer, the simulation and output of the leakage signal under various working conditions can be realized. It can test the reliability and accuracy of the detection and location technology of the pipe leakage, and verify the applicability of the pipe leakage detection and location technology to different pipe structures. The results show that the output signal of system can replace the real signal, and located the pre-set leakage point by cross-correlation method. The purpose of studying the effectiveness and accuracy of the existing leak location algorithm base on largescale complex pipe network system in laboratory conditions was realized.

Accurate acquisition of spacecraft pose information is a key step in tasks such as space debris removal, rendezvous and docking, and on-orbit maintenance. The application of neural network has deepened for aerospace measurement and control. Studying the parameters’ influence and degree of imaging and neural network on the accuracy of spacecraft pose estimation is necessary and urgent, but there is still little research in related fields. Approximate Bayesian inference in the depth Gaussian process is utilized in this paper to explore above problems, and systematic verification experiments are carried based on the general neural network and spacecraft pose estimation data set. The verification results depict that the estimation errors of position and attitude can be both effectively reduced by selecting a camera whose radial distortion error is less than 240%. Selecting a camera with focal ratio error less than 2.0% can effectively reduce the position estimation error. Selecting a camera whose principal point error is less than 1.0% can effectively improve the accuracy of attitude estimation. The suppression of tangential distortion error does not significantly improve the estimation accuracy of both position and attitude. Parameters about weighted attenuation factor, the number of network layers and characteristic channels of neural network are all sensitive to the accuracy of pose estimation of spacecraft within a specific range. An excellent balance can be achieved between the estimation accuracy and computational overhead when the weight attenuation factor is set between 0.01 and 0.1, and the number of network layers and characteristic channels are set separately between 20 ∼ 40 and 70 ∼ 90. It can reach the accuracy of the traditional pose estimation algorithm, and has better processing time stability in real ground test system by using the network architecture of ResNet34 with weight attenuation factor of 0.01, characteristic channels of 90.

With extremely high optical absorption coefficient in infrared regime, lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots (QDs)-based photodetectors are promising for diverse applications. In recent years, synthesis of materials has made great progress, but the problem of low sensitivity of quantum dots photodetector still unresolved. In this work, the introduction of a tunneling organic layer effectively address this problem. The dark current is decreased by the appropriate thickness of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) barrier layer by suppressing the spontaneous migration of ions, and the photogenerated carriers are little effected, thereby the responsivity of the device is improved. As a result, the device exhibits a high responsivity of 3.73 × 105 mA W−1 and a giant specific detectivity of 4.01 × 1013 Jones at a low voltage of −1 V under 1064 nm illumination. In the self-powered mode, the responsivity reaches a value of 157.6 mA W−1, and the detectivity up to 5.9 × 1011 Jones. The performance of the photodetectors is obviously better than most of the reported QDs photodetectors. The design of this device structure provides a new solution to the problem of low sensitivity and high leakage current of quantum dots based infrared photodetectors.

Background: Stroke is a common postoperative complication in patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). We aimed to explore the preoperative imaging risk findings for postoperative new stroke in patients with ATAAD.Methods: From January 2015 to December 2018, 174 patients with ATAAD who underwent preoperative aortic computed tomography angiography (CTA) and cerebral diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) as well as postoperative brain CT were included, and divided into DWI (+) and DWI (–) groups. Pre- and intraoperative variables were collected, and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent risk predictors of postoperative new stroke.Results: The incidence of postoperative new stroke was 18.4% (32/174) in patients with ATAAD. Postoperative stroke was detected in 13 (31.0%) patients in the DWI (+) group and in 19 (14.4%) patients in the DWI (–) group with significant difference (P = 0.016). In the DWI (+) group, the lesions of the cerebral infarction located in the unilateral cerebral hemisphere and distributed more than three lobes (P = 0.007) were an independent risk factor for postoperative new stroke. Hypotension (P = 0.002), retrograde ascending aorta dissection with thrombosis of the false lumen (P = 0.010), aortic arch entry (P = 0.035), and coronary artery involvement (P = 0.001) were independent risk factors for postoperative stroke in the DWI (–) cohort.Conclusions: Patients with ATAAD with cerebral infarction are more likely to develop postoperative new stroke; thus, a preoperative DWI examination may be necessary. DWI lesions distributed more than 3 lobes in the unilateral hemisphere suggest a high possibility of postoperative stroke. For patients with ATAAD with normal brain, particular attention should be given to the CTA findings of false lumen thrombosis, aortic arch entry, and coronary artery involvement to avoid postoperative stroke.

Drug-resistant bacterial pathogens are a serious threat to global health, and antibacterial lysins are at the forefront of innovative treatments for these life-threatening infections. While lysins’ general mechanism of action is well understood, the design principles that might enable engineering of performance-enhanced variants are still being formulated. Here, we report a detailed analysis of molecular determinants underlying the in vivo efficacy of lysostaphin, a canonical anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) lysin. Systematic analysis of bacterial binding, growth inhibition, lysis kinetics, and in vivo therapeutic efficacy revealed that binding affinity, and not inherent catalytic firepower, is the dominant driver of lysostaphin efficacy. This insight enabled electrostatic affinity tuning of lysostaphin to produce a single point mutant that manifested dramatically enhanced processivity and lysis kinetics and trended toward improved in vivo efficacy. More generally, these studies provide important insights into the complex relationships between lysin electrostatics, bacterial targeting, cell lysis efficiency, and in vivo efficacy. The lessons learned may enable engineering of other high-performance antibacterial biocatalysts.

Real-time, accurate, and portable detection of wireless signal is a crucial part of mobile communication. A highly sensitive detector with quickly response is the indispensable component for obtaining optical signal. Organic/inorganic hybrid perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) has been fabricated to photodetectors with a rapid response time and high responsivity by optimizing the quality of photosensitive layer with appropriate transport layer. The devices show high responsivity of 436 mA W−1 at 753 nm, fast response time of 1.7 μs, large linear dynamic range of 106 dB, as well as 75 kHz bandwidth, all under zero bias. Attributing to these prominent characteristics, this perovskite photodetector was integrated into an optical communication system, serving as a light sensor in receiver terminal. With it, the string, text and data files are transmitted by coded light successfully, accurately and rapidly. These results show the great potential of applications in visible light detection for organic/inorganic hybrid perovskite junction photodetectors.

Organic field-effect transistor (OFET) photonic memories have attracted significant attention due to their special memory mechanism and potential application, such as image capture and light information storage. Conventional OFET memories based on SiO2 blocking dielectric layer usually need a high programming and erasing voltage, which is not conducive to the needs for future market applications. Here, the low-voltage OFET photonic memory is investigated by using spin-coated organic polymer as the blocking dielectric layer and blending film of CsPbBr3 quantum dots (QDs) and polystyrene (PS) as the charge trapping layer, respectively. The thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film is used as the first blocking dielectric layer, and the ultrathin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film is used as secondary blocking dielectric layer on the top of PMMA. Due to the use of thin polymer blocking dielectric layers, the operating voltages of the photonic memory can be as low as 5 V. And the photo-generated carriers can be effectively trapped and released in photosensitive charge trapping layer during the photo-programming and electrical erasing operations. In addition, the memory characteristics of the photonic memory are comparable to that of traditional memories with SiO2 blocking dielectric layer. Multi-level data storage can be obtained in the memory by applying different photo-programming conditions. The low-voltage OFET memory device also presents well retention and endurance. Hence, the low-voltage OFET photonic memory using solution-processed polymer blocking dielectric and photosensitive charge trapping layer shows great potential for the application in optoelectronic devices in terms of large-area and low cost.

Organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material is an emerging semiconductor material that is widely used in functional devices such as solar cells and photodetectors. It has many advantages, low preparation cost, high light absorption coefficient, long carrier diffusion length, high carrier mobility, etc. However, due to the instability of perovskite, it is easy to decompose in the water and oxygen environment, which has become an obstacle to its development. In this paper, by adding polymethyl methacrylate to the anti-solvent to reduce the perovskite grain boundaries, improve directional growth and the quality of the film. The performance of the photodetector prepared by this method has been effectively improved, there is a significant photocurrent under illumination, and the stability has also been improved. This method provides a good candidate for the next generation of high-performance photodetectors.

Chiral metasurfaces can realize strong chiral optical responses and various spin-dependent electromagnetic manipulations. In this paper, we propose a metal-graphene hybrid metasurface that achieves active control of the amplitude and wavefront of reflected circularly polarized terahertz wave. By introducing a single layer graphene at the bottom of the patterned metasurface, combined with the silicon layer for voltage control, continuous change of the circular dichroism (CD) from 0 to 0.6 is obtained. Then we realized dynamic switching of the terahertz beam from anomalous reflection to vertical reflection using Pancharatnam-Berry (P-B) phase. This tunable chiral metasurface provides new ideas for the design of terahertz devices.

The preparation of high-quality perovskite films with optimal morphologies is important for achieving high-performance perovskite photodetectors (PPDs). An effective strategy to optimize the morphologies is to add antisolvents during the spin-coating steps. In this work, an environment-friendly antisolvent ethyl acetate (EA) was employed to improve the quality of perovskite films, which can effectively regulate the formation of an intermediate phase staged in between a liquid precursor phase and a solid perovskite phase due to its moderate polarity, and further promote the homogeneous nucleation and crystal growth in the subsequent annealing process, thus leading to the formation of high-quality perovskite films and enhanced photodetector (PD) performance. As a result, the responsivity of the PPDs reached 0.85 A W-1 under the illumination of 532 nm laser with the power density of 6.37 μW cm-2 at bias voltage of -2 V. The corresponding detectivity reached 3.27 × 1011 Jones, while the rise time and fall time are 256 ns and 370 ns, respectively. These results demonstrates that our developed solution-processed method with EA as antisolvent has remarkably advantages for the fabrication of high-performance PPDs and can provide a reference for the other similar research work.

Graphene sheets that contain porous iron oxides including Fe2O3 and FeOOH nanorods were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal route. A novel mechanism for controlling the structure of graphene-based composites was developed. Porous FeOOH nanorods with a high capacity for electron- and ion-transport were synthesized by controlling the composition of GO dispersion. The synthesized graphene/FeOOH composite anode exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance in which a reversible capacity of 304 mA h g−1 was reached with nearly 100% coulombic efficiency after 1000 cycles of charge and discharge under a high current rate of 5 A g−1.

There is an urgent need for novel agents to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, such as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Desirable properties for new antibiotics include high potency, narrow species selectivity, low propensity to elicit new resistance phenotypes, and synergy with standard-of-care (SOC) chemotherapies. Here, we describe analysis of the antibacterial potential exhibited by F12, an innovative anti-MRSA lysin that has been genetically engineered to evade detrimental antidrug immune responses in human patients. F12 possesses high potency and rapid onset of action, it has narrow selectivity against pathogenic staphylococci, and it manifests synergy with numerous SOC antibiotics. Additionally, resistance to F12 and β-lactam antibiotics appears mutually exclusive, and, importantly, we provide evidence that F12 resensitizes normally resistant MRSA strains to β-lactams both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that combinations of F12 and SOC antibiotics are a promising new approach to treating refractory S. aureus infections.

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic abilities of both pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) CT attenuation and volume for the predication hemodynamic significance of coronary artery stenosis as evaluated by fractional flow reserve (FFR). Methods Patients with ≥ 30 % in at least 1 major epicardial coronary artery were retrospectively included. Furthermore, all eligible patients underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) as well as FFR within 1 month. PCAT CT attenuation and volume around ischemic and non-ischemic coronary stenosis were measured and compared. The diagnostic accuracy of PCAT CT attenuation and volume for the identification of hemodynamically significant stenosis was determined against the reference standard of FFR ≤ 0.80. Results A total of 61 patients (mean age, 57.8 years ± 11.8) with 77 vessels were included. Average PCAT CT attenuation of all vessels was -70.3 ± 7.4 HU. PCAT CT attenuation in coronary arteries with hemodynamically significant stenosis (FFR ≤ 0.80) (-65.6 ± 5.9 HU) was significantly higher than those with FFR > 0.80 (-75.3 ± 5.4 HU; p = 0.000). There was a strong correlation between FFR and PCAT CT attenuation (r = 0.64, p 0.80 (5.5 ± 3.7 cm3, p = 0.511). The diagnostic accuracy was significantly higher in the combination of CCTA and PCAT CT attenuation compared with CCTA alone (area under the curve: 0.869 vs. 0.569, p Conclusions PCAT CT attenuation but not volume was related to the hemodynamic significance of coronary artery stenosis. For the patients with suspected coronary artery disease, after adding of PCAT CT attenuation to CCTA, the diagnostic ability for the identification of ischemic coronary stenosis was significantly improved.

Owning to the unique optical and electronic properties, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have made impressive progress in photodetection applications. However, achieving ultrabroadband detection over the ultraviolet (UV) to terahertz (THz) range remains a major challenge for perovskite photodetectors. Here, we report an ultrabroadband (UV-THz) dual-mechanism photodetector based on CH

Sepsis is a prevalent severe syndrome in clinic. Vascular leakage and lung injury are important pathophysiological processes during sepsis, but the mechanism remains obscure. Microvesicles (MVs) play an essential role in many diseases, while whether MVs participate in vascular leakage and lung injury during sepsis is unknown. Using cecal ligation and puncture induced sepsis rats and lipopolysaccharide stimulated vascular endothelial cells (VECs), the role and the underlying mechanism of endothelial microvesicles (EMVs) in pulmonary vascular leakage and lung injury were observed. The role of MVs from sepsis patients was verified. The results showed that the concentration of MVs in blood was significantly increased after sepsis. MVs from sepsis rats and patients induced apparent pulmonary vascular leakage and lung injury, among which EMVs played the dominant role, in which miR-23b was the key inducing factor in vascular leakage. Furthermore, downregulation and upregulation of miR-23b in EMVs showed that miR-23b mainly targeted on ZO-1 to induce vascular leakage. MVs from sepsis patients induced pulmonary vascular leakage and lung injury in normal rats. Application of classic antidepressants amitriptyline reduced the secretion of EMVs, and alleviated vascular leakage and lung injury. The study suggests that EMVs play an important role in pulmonary vascular leakage and lung injury during sepsis by transferring functional miR-23b. Antagonizing the secretion of EMVs and the miR-23b might be a potential target for the treatment of severe sepsis.

The single-sideband modulation’s parametric loudspeakers cause linear distortion when modulating the frequency conversion signal, the frequency of the frequency conversion signal is estimated by the Hilbert transform and the distortion of the frequency conversion signal is compensated according to the frequency. Furthermore, iterative Hilbert transform is used to improve the accuracy of frequency estimation for signals which do not satisfy Bedrosian theorem and Nuttall theorem, and the adaptability of the algorithm is improved. The simulation and experiment show that the improved algorithm reduces the distortion of the frequency conversion signal and has strong adaptability.

Background Vascular leakage is a common complication of hemorrhagic shock. Endothelial glycocalyx plays a crucial role in the protection of vascular endothelial barrier function. Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is a commonly used resuscitation fluid for hemorrhagic shock. However, whether the protective effect of HES on vascular permeability after hemorrhagic shock is associated with the endothelial glycocalyx is unclear. Methods Using hemorrhagic shock rat model and hypoxia treated vascular endothelial cells (VECs), effects of HES (130/0.4) on pulmonary vascular permeability and the relationship to endothelial glycocalyx were observed. Results Pulmonary vascular permeability was significantly increased after hemorrhagic shock, as evidenced by the increased permeability of pulmonary vessels to albumin-fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugate (FITC-BSA) and Evans blue, the decreased transendothelial electrical resistance of VECs and the increased transmittance of FITC-BSA. The structure of the endothelial glycocalyx was destroyed, showing a decrease in thickness. The expression of heparan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate, the components of the endothelial glycocalyx, was significantly decreased. HES (130/0.4) significantly improved the vascular barrier function, recovered the thickness and the expression of components of the endothelial glycocalyx by down-regulating the expression of heparinase, hyaluronidase, and neuraminidase, and meanwhile increased the expression of intercellular junction proteins ZO-1, occludin, and VE-cadherin. Degradation of endothelial glycocalyx with degrading enzyme (heparinase, hyaluronidase, and neuraminidase) abolished the beneficial effect of HES on vascular permeability, but had no significant effect on the recovery of the expression of endothelial intercellular junction proteins induced by HES (130/0.4). HES (130/0.4) decreased the expression of cleaved-caspase-3 induced by hemorrhagic shock. Conclusions HES (130/0.4) has protective effect on vascular barrier function after hemorrgic shock.The mechanism is mainly related to the protective effect of HES on endothelial glycocalyx and intercellular junction proteins. The protective effect of HES on endothelial glycocalyx was associated with the down-regulated expression of heparinase, hyaluronidase, and neuraminidase. HES (130/0.4) had an anti-apoptotic effect in hemorrhagic shock.

We perform the phase-field modeling to investigate the growth pattern selections of the complex dendritic structures in constrained growth with different solidification and orientation conditions. The results show that hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystals emerge as dendritic and cellular arrays in different planes, originating from the specific hcp anisotropy that allows different growth preferences between the basal and cylindrical planes. A morphological transition of the titled dendrites to tip-splitting dendrites arises reflecting the competition between the preferred orientation induced primary growth and the misorientation induced sidebranching formation. Furthermore, the dendritic patterns exhibit sharper tips and the more significant sidebranches, while the cellular pattern is changed from the symmetric cells to the tip-splitting cells, and to seaweeds with the increase of anisotropy strength, indicating the competitive mechanism of the in-plane anisotropy induced growth promotion and the out-plane anisotropy induced growth restriction. We expect to understand the growth competition, the morphology selection, as well as the orientation dependence of the complex dendritic structures in the three-dimensional (3D) constrained growth.

Myocardial ischemia is a condition with insufficient oxygen supporting the heart tissues, which may result from myocardial infarction or trauma-induced hemorrhagic shock. In order to develop better preventive and therapeutic strategies for myocardial ischemic damage, it is important that we understand the mechanisms underlying this type of injury. Mitochondrial-derived vesicles (MDVs) have been proposed as a novel player in maintaining mitochondrial quality control. This study aimed to investigate the role and possible mechanisms of MDVs in ischemia/hypoxia-induced myocardial apoptosis. H9C2 cardiomyocytes were used for the cellular experiments. A 40% fixed blood volume hemorrhagic shock rat model was used to construct the acute general ischemic models. MDVs were detected using immunofluorescence staining with PDH and TOM20. Exogenous MDVs were reconstituted in vitro from isolated mitochondria under different hypoxic conditions. The results demonstrate that MDV production was negatively correlated with cardiomyocyte apoptosis under hypoxic conditions; exogenous MDVs inhibited hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis; and MDV-mediated protection against hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis was accomplished via Bcl-2 interactions in the mitochondrial pathway. This study provides evidence that MDVs protect cardiomyocytes against hypoxic damage by inhibiting mitochondrial apoptosis. Our study used a novel approach that expands our understanding of MDVs and highlights that MDVs may be part of the endogenous response to hypoxia designed to mitigate damage. Strategies that stimulate cardiomyocytes to produce cargo-specific MDVs, including Bcl-2 containing MDVs, could theoretically be helpful in treating ischemic/hypoxic myocardial injury.

A deimmunized lysostaphin biotherapy evades detrimental antidrug immune reactions and has improved efficacy for MRSA infections., There is a critical need for novel therapies to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other drug-resistant pathogens, and lysins are among the vanguard of innovative antibiotics under development. Unfortunately, lysins’ own microbial origins can elicit detrimental antidrug antibodies (ADAs) that undermine efficacy and threaten patient safety. To create an enhanced anti-MRSA lysin, a novel variant of lysostaphin was engineered by T cell epitope deletion. This “deimmunized” lysostaphin dampened human T cell activation, mitigated ADA responses in human HLA transgenic mice, and enabled safe and efficacious repeated dosing during a 6-week longitudinal infection study. Furthermore, the deimmunized lysostaphin evaded established anti–wild-type immunity, thereby providing significant anti-MRSA protection for animals that were immune experienced to the wild-type enzyme. Last, the enzyme synergized with daptomycin to clear a stringent model of MRSA endocarditis. By mitigating T cell–driven antidrug immunity, deimmunized lysostaphin may enable safe, repeated dosing to treat refractory MRSA infections.

Background: Alternative splicing (AS) is a pervasive and vital mechanism involved in the progression of various cancer. Studies confirm the importance of prognostic value of AS events in tumor patients, but systematic analysis of AS in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is still lacking. Methods: Information from 115 TNBC patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were extracted. And we performed a comprehensive analysis of whole-genome AS events with corresponding clinical information to evaluate the roles of seven AS patterns. Prognostic analyses were performed with predictive models and splicing network built for TNBC patients. Results: Among 28,744 mRNA AS events in 20,353 genes, we detected 1,428 AS in 138 important survival genes related to the overall survival of TNBC patients event. Through functional and pathway enrichment analysis, we found that these genes are involved in ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic pathways. At 1800 days overall survival, the area under the ROC curve for prognostic signatures was 0.8. It shows that this model is very effective in differentiating patient prognosis. The use of Spearman's test to establish a potential regulatory network between survival-related AS events and abnormal SF indicates a clear trend in the role of SF in TNBC. Conclusions: In summary, we established a reliable and powerful TNBC prognostic signature. A splicing network that could be its underlying mechanism was discovered. Keywords: Alternative splicing; Triple-negative breast cancer; Prognosis; Splicing factor

Terahertz (THz) waves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies between 0.1 THz and 10THz. With the rapid development of wireless communication, the existing spectrum resources have become increasingly scarce. Developing the new frequency band of wireless communication has gradually become a consensus to solve this contradiction. There are a lot of unexploited resources in THz frequency range, making terahertz play a decisive role in the future development of wireless communication. Three-dimensional (3D) graphene with connection carbon nanomaterials is expected to possess better optical and electrical properties than single-layer graphene. In this paper, we studied a room temperature ultra-broadband photodetector based on 3D graphene and investigated the different photoresponse at 0.22, 2.52, 30 THz. Obvious photocurrents and ultra-broadband absorption from infrared spectrum to terahertz (THz) region can be measure in the three 3D graphene. A high photoresponsivity of 15.3 mA W-1 and a fast time response of 20 ms have been achieved at 2.52 THz. The results reveal 3D graphene a good candidate for room-temperature broadband Terahertz detector.

Volume resuscitation is an important early treatment for haemorrhagic shock. Haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) can expand the volume and provide oxygen for tissues. Vascular leakage is common complication in the process of haemorrhagic shock and resuscitation. The aim of this study was to observe the effects of HBOC (a bovine-derived, cross-linked tetramer haemoglobin oxygen-carrying solution, 0.5 g/L) on vascular leakage in rats after haemorrhagic shock. A haemorrhagic shock rat model and hypoxic vascular endothelial cells (VECs) were used. The role of intercellular junctions and endothelial glycocalyx in the protective effects of HBOC and the relationship with mitochondrial function were analysed. After haemorrhagic shock, the pulmonary vascular permeability to FITC-BSA, Evans Blue was increased, endothelial glycocalyx was destroyed and the expression of intercellular junction proteins was decreased. After haemorrhagic shock, a small volume of HBOC solution (6 ml/kg) protected pulmonary vascular permeability, increased structural thickness of endothelial glycocalyx, the levels of its components and increased expression levels of the intercellular junction proteins ZO-1, VE-cadherin and occludin. Moreover, HBOC significantly increased oxygen delivery and consumption in rats, improved VEC mitochondrial function and structure. In conclusion, HBOC mitigates endothelial leakage by protecting endothelial glycocalyx and intercellular junctions through improving mitochondrial function and tissue oxygen delivery.

The direct smelting of scrap copper to produce high-quality brass alloy not only solves the problem of municipal solid waste, but also realizes the reuse of valuable metals and alleviates the problem of copper shortage. However, impurities are not easily controlled, and there are occasional defects in the surface of secondary brass products such as door handles and mechanical parts. In this paper, microstructure of the defective samples was studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The investigation findings suggest that defects can be attributed to the formation of γ phase brass, the wrapped of refining agent or slag, and the unremoved of impurity elements.

The carbon dust, aluminum dross and spent potlining from aluminum reduction cells are considered to be hazardous materials because they contain a large amount of soluble fluoride salts and trace amounts of toxic cyanides. Piling them outside or in landfill sites create environmental pollution and ecological problems. In this paper, the hazardous wastes were comprehensively investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It is found that the chemical compositions of these wastes are very complicated. A variety of fluoride salts and aluminum metal were embedded in pores and openings of lining materials such as carbon, silicon carbide and refractories. As a result, a variety of compounds have been formed. The disposal of hazardous waste is hampered by these complex components. This work provides some insight into dealing with such hazardous waste.

Thermal photodetectors, such as bolometers, are the most promising option for detecting infrared (IR) to terahertz (THz) radiation at room temperature. Previous studies have shown that graphene has great potential for broadband thermal photodetection because of its distinctive optical and electrical properties. However, the responsivity of graphene photodetector is limited by the weak absorption and the finite temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). Here, we synthesize the methylamine lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI3)/graphene oxide (RGO) composite material, exhibiting high TCR of −0.89%K−1 and low heat capacity at room temperature. The composite is designed to construct a sensitive and fast IR to THz bolometer. The MAPbI3/RGO detector shows significant performance breakthroughs, with the responsivity as high as 805 mA/W, the response time of about 700 μs, at 220 GHz, which are about an order of magnitude higher than those of pure RGO detector. These results suggest that compositing engineering gives a new approach to the technological innovation of THz detectors.

The standards applied to reclassify landslide-conditioning factors differ among studies and may change the accuracy of identifying landslide-prone areas. Therefore, we identified two standards per ...

Objective To examine whether no anisodamine injection before CTE was feasible without impairing image quality and diagnostic performance. Materials The change of mural thickness and luminal diameter were compared between using and no using anisodamine. The diagnostic performance of small-bowel disease was analyzed and compared. Results No motion artifact was detected in two groups. There was no significant difference regarding the change of luminal diameter and mural thickness (all P > 0.05). The diagnostic accuracy of small-bowel disease was no significant difference (P = 0.63). Conclusion Lack of anisodamine injection before CTE did not impair image quality and diagnostic performance compared with CTEs performed with anisodamine injection.

A model is developed to investigate the dynamic behavior of a deepwater drilling platform riser system under emergency evacuation conditions. In the model, the riser in the ocean environment is modeled as a beam with coupled transverse and axial motions, and its upper and lower ends are respectively connected to the platform and to the lower marine riser package with hard joints. The fluid forces and the added mass and drag forces are modeled using a semi-empirical Morison equation, so the equations of the model are nonlinear, coupled, and multibody. The model is discretized in a finite element approach and solved using Newmark's method. Its validity is verified using ANSYS. Using the model, the influences of platform motion, riser suspension length, ocean load, and platform evacuation speed on the dynamic behavior of the riser are determined, and the results can provide theoretical support for the design and practical operation of hard suspension pipe strings.

In this paper, the influence of low oxygen content on the recrystallization of rolled copper foil was studied at different annealing temperatures. The results showed that the recrystallization temperature decreases with an increase in the oxygen content in the foil. Significant transition points occur when the oxygen content exceeds 30 ppm. The oxygen simultaneously affects particle aggregation on the grain boundaries and the dislocation mobility during deformation processes, modulating the recrystallization. A higher oxygen content enables a lower value of the recrystallization temperature, which can in turn effectively enhance plasticity to improve the forming property of the copper foil. It is expected that our investigations on the recrystallization of copper foil can provide a mechanism-based interpretation and technical support for the production optimization and application of copper-based materials.

A water model with a geometric similarity ratio of 1:5 was developed to investigate the gas-liquid mass transfer and flow characteristics in a Peirce-Smith converter. A gas mixture of CO2 and Ar was injected into a NaOH solution bath. The flow field, volumetric mass transfer coefficient per unit volume (Ak/V; where A is the contact area between phases, V is the volume, and k is the mass transfer coefficient), and gas utilization ratio (eta) were then measured at different gas flow rates and blow angles. The results showed that the flow field could be divided into five regions, i.e., injection, strong loop, weak loop, splashing, and dead zone. Whereas the Ak/V of the bath increased and then decreased with increasing gas flow rate, and eta steadily increased. When the converter was rotated clockwise, both Ak/V and eta increased. However, the flow condition deteriorated when the gas flow rate and blow angle were drastically increased. Therefore, these parameters must be controlled to optimal conditions. In the proposed model, the optimal gas flow rate and blow angle were 7.5 m(3)center dot h(-1) and 10A degrees, respectively.

The present study aimed to investigate the technical feasibility and initial clinical outcomes of a covered stent for the endovascular treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA) pseudoaneurysm in drug abusers. A total of 29 drug abuse patients with SFA pseudoaneurysm, as confirmed by color Doppler sonography, were enrolled to the present study between January 2012 and May 2014. All patients were treated percutaneously by implantation of a covered stent. Physical examination and lower extremity computed tomography angiography were performed at 1 and 9 months postoperation. Furthermore, the ankle‑brachial index (ABI) of all patients was measured. The results indicated that placement of the covered stent was technically successful in all 29 patients. All of the ruptured pseudoaneurysms were successfully sealed with no cases of intraprocedural mortality. In addition, all patients' conditions improved rapidly; active hemorrhage subsidence and vascular bruit disappearance were immediately detected following implantation of the covered stent. During the follow‑up period, pain was markedly alleviated and pulsatile mass was decreased as time increased. No complaints or complications were documented. A total of 9 months postoperation, pain and pulsatile mass were not detected. The patency rate of the stent was 100%, and no migration, occlusion or infection was detected. In addition, the ABI was significantly improved, from 0.52±0.09 to 0.97±0.37 (P