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The Wave Controlled Aliasing In Parallel Imaging (Wave-CAIPI) technique manifests great potential to highly accelerate three-dimensional (3D) balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) through substantially reducing the geometric factor (g-factor) and aliasing artifacts of image reconstruction. However, severe banding artifacts appear in bSSFP imaging due to unbalanced gradients with nonzero 0th moment applied by the conventional Wave-CAIPI technique. In this study, we propose a 3D Wave-bSSFP scheme that adopts truncated wave gradients with zero 0th moment to avoid introducing additional banding artifacts and to maintain the advantages of wave encoding. The simulation results indicate that the number of wave cycles that are truncated and different options of applying wave gradients affect both the g-factor reduction and image quality, but the influence is limited. In phantom experiments, the proposed technique shows similar acceleration performance as the conventional Wave-CAIPI technique and effectively eliminates its introduced banding artifacts. Additionally, Wave-bSSFP obtains up to $12\times $ retrospective acceleration at 0.8 mm isotropic resolution in in vivo 3D brain experiments and is superior to the state-of-the-art Controlled Aliasing In Parallel Imaging Results IN Higher Acceleration (CAIPIRINHA) technique, according to both visual validation and quantitative analysis. Moreover, in vivo 3D spine and abdomen imaging demonstrate the potential clinical applications of Wave-bSSFP with fast acquisition speed, improved isotropic resolution and fine image quality.

Materials for emulsion separation with low pressure, high flux and high stability are of great interest in the treatment of oily wastewater. Herein, we report a facile strategy for the fabrication of PDMS and graphene coated melamine sponge (PG-MS), which can efficiently separate oil-in-water emulsions. In PG-MS, melamine sponge (MS) provides a three-dimensional porous structure, graphene constructs hydrophobic microcavities, and PDMS enhances the hydrophobic property of the material, forming a superhydrophobic material. The PG-MS shows high flux (experimentally 10 000 L m−2 h−1, and the effective flux increases with the thickness of the filter layer), high separation efficiency (oil content of the filtered water ∼4.7 mg L−1 can be discharged directly, with oil separation efficiency >99%), low pressure (applied to overcome water's gravity), and high stability (no obvious change in 20 cycles). Our study indicates that PG-MS has a wide range of applications in oil-in-water emulsion separation in industry and environmental sciences.

Background: Macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI) is a terminal manifestation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and carries an extremely poor prognosis. In Chinese and Korean HCC guidelines, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), or/and radiotherapy (RT) is adopted for treatment of MVI. In the current study, we aimed to compare the long-term outcome of TACE + RT to that of RT alone in patients with local advanced HCC with MVI.Methods: In this retrospective study, 148 treatment-naive patients of HCC with MVI were enrolled. Of the patients enrolled, 49 received TACE + RT treatment, whereas 99 patients received RT alone as a monotherapy. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and intrahepatic control were evaluated using univariable and propensity score–matched analyses.Results: During follow-up, 126 patients (85.1%) died. The median follow-up time was 55.0 months in the RT group and 57.0 months in the TACE + RT group. The TACE + RT group showed better OS and PFS than the RT group, but intrahepatic control was comparable in these two groups. Of 41 cases well-pairs after propensity score matching, the associations between TACE + RT and better OS and PFS remained (15.0 vs. 8.0 months, and 8.0 vs. 4.0 months, all P < 0.05). The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates in the TACE + RT group were 56.1, 28.6, 20.8, and 15.7 vs. 31.5%, 13.1%, 9.8%, and 6.7% in the RT group, respectively (P = 0.017). The 6-, 12-, and 24-months rates in the TACE + RT group were 51.2, 39.0, and 23.1% vs. 36.6%, 13.9%, and 11.1% in the RT group, respectively (P = 0.04). Two patients (4.1%) experienced radiation-induced liver disease (RILD), and one (2.0%) experienced RT-related gastrointestinal (GI) bleed in the TACE + RT groups. Nine patients (9.1%) experienced RILD, and two (2.0%) experienced RT-related GI bleed in the RT groups.Conclusion: Transarterial chemoembolization + RT had well-complementarity with no more complications than RT alone, providing a better PFS and OS compared with RT-alone treatment for HCC with MVI.

The susceptibility-based positive contrast MR technique was applied to estimate arbitrary magnetic susceptibility distributions of the metallic devices using a kernel deconvolution algorithm with a regularized L-1 minimization.Previously, the first-order primal-dual (PD) algorithm could provide a faster reconstruction time to solve the L-1 minimization, compared with other methods. Here, we propose to accelerate the PD algorithm of the positive contrast image using the multi-core multi-thread feature of graphics processor units (GPUs). The some experimental results showed that the GPU-based PD algorithm could achieve comparable accuracy of the metallic interventional devices in positive contrast imaging with less computational time. And the GPU-based PD approach was 4~15 times faster than the previous CPU-based scheme., 4 pages, 6 figures, Accepted at the 42nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2020)

Despite inherently poor interlayer conductivity, photodetectors made from few-layer devices of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$ can still yield a desirably fast ($\leq$90 ps) and efficient ($\epsilon$$>$40\%) photoresponse. By combining ultrafast photocurrent (U-PC) and transient absorption (TA) microscopy, the competing electronic escape and recombination rates are unambiguously identified in otherwise complex kinetics. Both the U-PC and TA response of WSe$_2$ yield matching interlayer electronic escape times that accelerate from 1.6 ns to 86 ns with applied $E$-field to predict the maximum device PC-efficiency realized of $\sim$44\%. The slope of the escape rates versus $E$-field suggests out-of-plane electron and hole mobilities of 0.129 and 0.031 cm$^2$/V$s$ respectively. Above $\sim$10$^{11}$ photons/cm$^{2}$ incident flux, defect-assisted Auger scattering greatly decreases efficiency by trapping carriers at vacancy defects. Both TA and PC spectra identify a metal-vacancy sub-gap peak with $\sim$5.6 ns lifetime as a primary trap capturing carriers as they hop between layers. Synchronous TA and U-PC microscopy show the\ net PC collected is modelled by a kinetic rate-law of electronic escape competing against the linear and nonlinear Auger recombination rates. This simple rate-model further predicts the PC-based dynamics, nonlinear amplitude and efficiency, $\epsilon$ over a 10$^5$ range of incident photon flux in few-layer WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$ devices., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

Single molecular electrets exhibiting single molecule electric polarization switching have been long desired as a platform for extremely small non-volatile storage devices, although it is controversial because of the poor stability of single molecular electric dipoles. Here we study the single molecular device of GdC82, where the encapsulated Gd atom forms a charge center, and we have observed a gate controlled switching behavior between two sets of single electron transport stability diagrams. The switching is operated in a hysteresis loop with a coercive gate field of around 0.5Vnm. Theoretical calculations have assigned the two conductance diagrams to corresponding energy levels of two states that the Gd atom is trapped at two different sites of the C82 cage, which possess two different permanent electrical dipole orientations. The two dipole states are stabilized by the anisotropic energy and separated by a transition energy barrier of 70 meV. Such switching is then accessed to the electric field driven reorientation of individual dipole while overcoming the barriers by the coercive gate field, and demonstrates the creation of a single molecular electret.

Background and Objective: It is unclear if stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is better for the treatment of inoperable early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to retrospectively compare the efficacy of SBRT to TACE in patients with inoperable Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-A stage HCC. Materials and Methods: In this multi-institutional retrospective study, a total of 326 patients with inoperable BCLC-A stage HCC were enrolled. Totally, 167 patients initially received SBRT and 159 initially received TACE. Overall survival (OS), local control (LC), intrahepatic control (IC), and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated in univariable and propensity-score matched analyses. Results: There was a smaller median tumor size in the SBRT group than in the TACE group (3.4 cm vs. 7.2 cm, P < 0.001). After propensity score matching in the selection of 95 patient pairs, SBRT had better LC, IC, and PFS than TACE but showed comparable OS. The accumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 85.7, 65.1, and 62.8% in the SBRT group and 83.6, 61.0, and 50.4% in the TACE group, respectively (P = 0.29). The accumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS were 63.4, 35.9, and 27.5% in the SBRT group and 53.5, 27.4, and 14.2% in the TACE group, respectively (P = 0.049). The accumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year LC were 86.8, 62.5, and 56.9% in the SBRT group and 69.3, 53.3, and 36.6% in the TACE group, respectively (P = 0.0047). The accumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year IC were 77.3, 45.9, and 42.4% in the SBRT group and 57.3, 34.1, and 17.7% in the TACE group, respectively (P = 0.003). On multivariate analysis, treatment (SBRT vs. TACE) was a significant covariate associated with local and intrahepatic control (HR = 1.59; 95% CI: 1.03–2.47; P = 0.04; HR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.13–2.29; P = 0.009). Conclusions: SBRT was an alternative to TACE for inoperable BCLC-A stage HCC with better local and intrahepatic control. Controlled clinical trials are recommended to evaluate the actual effects of this novel regimen adequately.

Background and purposeThe optimal dose and fractionation scheme of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear due to different tolerated liver volumes and degrees of cirrhosis. We compared the effectiveness of stereotactic body radiation therapy dosing regimens for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods and materialsThis single-center retrospective study included 604 patients treated during 2011-2017. Biologically effective dose (BED10) and equivalent dose in 2 Gym fractions (EQD2) were assumed at an α/β ratio of 10. Overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free rate (LRF), intrahepatic recurrence-free rate (IRF), and progression-free survival (PFS) was evaluated in univariable and propensity-score matched analyses.ResultsMedian tumor size was 5.2 cm (interquartile range [IQR], 1.1-21.0). Median follow-up was 31 months in surviving patients (IQR, 3-82). High radiotherapy dose correlated with better OS, PFS, LRF and IRF. Different post-SBRT OS, PFS, LRF and IRF rates were observed for stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SART) with BED10 ≥100 Gy, SBRT with EQD2 ≥74 Gy to BED10 2 ConclusionsHigh radiotherapy dose correlated with better outcomes. If tolerated by normal tissue, we recommend SART as a first-line ablative dose or SBRT as a second-line radical dose. Otherwise, SCRT is recommended as palliative irradiation.

T1rho imaging is a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool for early detection of articular cartilage degeneration. A mono-exponential model is normally used to describe the T1rho relaxation process. However, mono-exponentials may not adequately to describe NMR relaxation in complex, heterogeneous, and anisotropic materials, such as articular cartilage. Fractional-order models have been used successfully to describe complex relaxation phenomena in the laboratory frame in cartilage matrix components. In this paper, we develop a time-fractional order (T-FACT) model for T1rho fitting in human articular cartilage. Representative results demonstrate that the proposed method is able to fit the experimental data with smaller root mean squared error than the one from conventional mono-exponential relaxation model in human articular cartilage., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication at the 41st International Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (IEEE EMBC 2019)

Conventional MR techniques have difficulty to accurately localize the stent position and access the stent restenosis because of the effects of susceptibility and radiofrequency (RF) shielding artifacts caused by stent mesh. Previous studies have demonstrated that a susceptibility-based positive contrast MR method exhibits excellent efficacy for visualizing MR compatible metal devices by taking advantage of their high magnetic susceptibility. However, the method is not evaluated in the visualization of stents. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to prospectively assess whether the susceptibility-based positive contrast method can be used to visualize the nitinol stents, with the comparison of two typical MR positive contrast techniques, i.e., susceptibility gradient mapping using the original resolution (SUMO) and the gradient echo acquisition for super-paramagnetic particles with positive contrast (GRASP). The experiment results showed that the susceptibility-based method provided better visualization and more precise localization of the stent than SUMO and GRASP.

Compressed sensing (CS) has been introduced to accelerate data acquisition in MR Imaging. However, CS-MRI methods suffer from detail loss with large acceleration and complicated parameter selection. To address the limitations of existing CS-MRI methods, a model-driven MR reconstruction is proposed that trains a deep network, named CP-net, which is derived from the Chambolle-Pock algorithm to reconstruct the in vivo MR images of human brains from highly undersampled complex k-space data acquired on different types of MR scanners. The proposed deep network can learn the proximal operator and parameters among the Chambolle-Pock algorithm. All of the experiments show that the proposed CP-net achieves more accurate MR reconstruction results, outperforming state-of-the-art methods across various quantitative metrics., 4 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, Accepted at 2019 IEEE 41st Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC 2019)

Moir�� superlattices of van der Waals materials, such as twisted graphene and transitional metal dichalcogenides, have recently emerged as a fascinating platform to study strongly correlated states in two dimensions, thanks to the strong electron interaction in the moir�� minibands. In most systems, the correlated states appear when the moir�� lattice is filled by integer number of electrons per moir�� unit cell. Recently, correlated states at fractional fillings of 1/3 and 2/3 holes per moir�� unit cell has been reported in the WS2/WSe2 heterobilayer, hinting the long range nature of the electron interaction. In this work, employing a scanning microwave impedance microscopy technique that is sensitive to local electrical properties, we observe a series of correlated insulating states at fractional fillings of the moir�� minibands on both electron- and hole-doped sides in angle-aligned WS2/WSe2 hetero-bilayers, with certain states persisting at temperatures up to 120 K. Monte Carlo simulations reveal that these insulating states correspond to ordering of electrons in the moir�� lattice with a periodicity much larger than the moir�� unit cell, indicating a surprisingly strong and long-range interaction beyond the nearest neighbors. Our findings usher in unprecedented opportunities in the study of strongly correlated states in two dimensions.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Main clinical and laboratory characteristics at baseline in patients treated with HCQ.

Additional file 2: Figure S1. Changes in urinary protein excretion and eGFR levels of all patients before initiation of HCQ therapy. The dots represent the median values, and the bars represent the 25th and 75th percentiles.

In this chapter, a combined forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO) process for mining wastewater treatment is discussed. Water interactions in mining process, wastewater characteristic treatment methods adopted, and the research technology gaps are briefly discussed. A lab-scale integrated FO-RO was developed to establish the proof of concept in applying this technology for mine water treatment. The integrated system has been tested under extended operation with various mine waters. The FO combined with RO could minimize the number of pretreatment steps required for the RO. Our results indicate that this technology can reduce the brine volume by at least 80% and recover a consistent quality reusable water. A pilot scale FO-RO with a capacity of 1 m3/day was designed and built, incorporating two different types of FO membranes. The study showed that this process can potentially offer a significant reduction in energy use, chemical use, piping infrastructure, and operating costs in desalinating mine water and the success of this technology is in the efficient process configuration and FO membrane module configuration, membrane chemistry and structure.

426 Background: Preclinically, radiation therapy for tumors was well known to reverse the immunosuppressive state by reprograming the tumor microenvironment. The combination of radiotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (radio-immunotherapy) has renewed interest in clinical practice, and different irradiation dose may contribute diversely to immune response and abscopal effect. This pilot study aimed to assess the antitumour activity of the anti-PD-1 inhibitor Camrelizumab combined with different irradiation dose in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Between April 2020 and January 2021, 20 patients with advanced HCC were prospectively enrolled in this pilot study. Five patients were treatment-naive and 15 patients were diagnosis as progressive diseases after previous treatment. For each patient, one to 3 intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic lesions were selected to irradiate. Camrelizumab was concurrently administered with 200mg on the first day of radiation and then every 3 weeks until disease progression, or unacceptable toxicity. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive 3 irradiation doses: low-dose group of 30Gy/10 fractions(3Gy/fx), intermediate-dose group of 40Gy/10 fractions (4Gy/fx), and high-dose group of 50Gy/10 fractions (5Gy/fx). Results: Nine patients had intrahepatic lesions (8 of macrovascular invasion) and 11 had extrahepatic metastases. The median number of treatment lines receiving immunotherapy of Camrelizumab was 2 (range 1-5). Enrolment to the 30Gy group was halted after 2 patients due to the poor clinical response. Finally, 2, 11, and 7 patients received the irradiation dose of 30, 40, and 50Gy, respectively. Twenty-eight selected lesions were irradiated (partial lesions in 12 patients and all lesions in 8 patients). Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events were observed in 4 patients, including 2 thrombocytopenia and 1 anaemia in the 40Gy group, and 1 anaemia in the 50Gy group. The median follow-up time was 12 months (range 7.0–18.0 months). There was a significant difference in PFS, but no difference in OS between the three groups. The median, 6- and 12-months PFS for the 30, 40, and 50 Gy groups were 1.7 months, 0% and 0% vs. 4.0 months (95%CI 1.7-6.3 months), 27.3% and 18.2% vs. 7.8 months (95%CI 4.1-11.5 months), 57.1% and 38.1%, respectively (P = 0.027). The median, 12-months OS were 11.4 months and 50% vs. 11.8 months and 34.6% vs. not reached and 66.7%, respectively (P = 0.229). The disease control rates were statistically different between the 30, 40, and 50Gy groups (50% vs. 54.5% vs. 100%, P = 0.039), whereas objective response rates were not significant different (0% vs. 45.5% vs. 71.4%, P = 0.123). Conclusions: Higher irradiation dose with 50 Gy in 10 fractions plus Camrelizumab may augment the radio-immunotherapy activity in advanced HCC with favorable PFS. The present study offers guidance for the dose selection of subsequent clinical trials. Clinical trial information: ChiCTR2000032375.

442 Background: Downstaging radiotherapy provide patients with initially unresectable or borderline resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) a chance to receive conversion curative resection. This study intended to prospectively evaluate the efficacy and toxicities of downstaging radiotherapy for HCC with macroscopic vascular invasion. Methods: From March 2018 to May 2020, 30 HCC patients with macroscopic vascular invasion were prospectively treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with radiotherapy (n = 24) or radiotherapy alone (n = 6). The primary study endpoint was overall survival (OS). The secondary study endpoints were progression free survival (PFS), downstaging success rate, and surgical conversion rate. Adverse events were assessed. Results: The follow-up time of the entire cohort was 24 months. The median OS of the entire cohort was 22.0 months, 12-, and 24- months OS was 60.0% and 47.8%, respectively. The median PFS was 13.0 months, 12-, and 24-months PFS was 53.3% and 27.0%, respectively. During downstaging window phase within 3-6 months, 22 patients were evaluated as downstaging success by clinical imaging. Among them, 9 patients underwent R0 radical hepatectomy and 13 patients refused surgical treatment, yielding a downstaging success rate of 73.3% (22/30 patients) and a surgical conversion rate of 30.0% (9/30 patients). Of the patients who underwent surgery, 4 patients (44.4%) experienced ≥ grade 4 postoperative complications, including 2 (22.2%) with gastrointestinal bleeding and 2 (22.2%) with bile leakage. Conclusions: For unresectable or borderline resectable HCCs complicated with macroscopic vascular invasion, high-dose radiotherapy-based treatment provided favorable downstaging efficacy, surgical conversion rate, and survival outcomes. Clinical trial information: ChiCTR1800015350.

Purpose To build and validate multivariate normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models for radiation-induced hepatic toxicity (RIHT) after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Methods Eighty-five patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a phase II clinical trial were enroled. A progression of at least 1 or 2 points in the Child–Pugh (CP) score post-SBRT was classified as RIHT (≥1 or ≥2). NTCP models for RIHT (≥1 or ≥2) were developed using logistic regression. Nomograms for each model were formulated. The cut-off point of each independent dosimetric risk factor was obtained using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. We used an independent cohort (101 patients) for model validation. Results Twenty (23.5%) and 12 (14.2%) patients experienced RIHT (≥1) and RIHT (≥2), respectively. V15, VS10, and pretreatment CP (pre-CP) were the optimal predictors for RIHT (≥1 and ≥2) modelling. V15 ≤33.1% and VS10 ≥416.2 mL for RIHT (≥1), and V15 ≤21.5% and VS10 ≥621.8 mL for RIHT (≥2), were the cut-off points. Four NTCP models and their nomograms were generated. These models and nomograms showed good prediction performance (area under the curve (AUC), 0.83–0.89). Our NTCP model (RIHT ≥2) based on V15 plus pre-CP performed well (AUC = 0.78) in a validation cohort. Conclusion V15, VS10, and pre-CP are crucial predictors for RIHT (≥1 and ≥2). Our NTCP models and nomograms were conducive to obtain individual constraints for patients with HCC. Registration Number ChiCTR-IIC-16008233.

In this study, an optimal configuration method based on optimal expected power characteristics for micro power supply and energy storage device is proposed, which takes the minimum average fluctuation rate of the total output power characteristics of renewable micro power supply and microgrid as the optimisation objective, respectively. The proposed method can improve the smoothness of the total output power characteristics of the renewable micro power supplies, and effectively reduce the maximum adjustable power and available capacity of the energy storage devices. At last, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by the case study results.

Through computational calculations, CuO(001) has been identified as an active surface for methane oxidation. Experimental validation with CuO nanobelts comprised of predominantly (001) surfaces has been performed and it is confirmed that the performance of such nanobelts is much higher than normal nanoparticles and nanowires. First principle calculations further clarified that two-coordinated oxygen plays a key role for methane adsorption and oxidation.

In this work, a TiO2 nanorods/nanoparticles hybrid arrays structure is used as the electron transporting layer in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Compared with the devices based on bare TiO2 nanorods (NRs), the novel structure with rutile/anatase mixed phase can ensure a better growth of perovskite film and efficient separation of electron–hole. The device based on the nanorods/nanoparticles mixed phase structure shows the open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.96 V, short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 17.96 mA cm−2, fill factor of 0.61, yielding a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.55% in ambient air under controlled humidity. The overall PCE enhancement of the device is 1.4 times higher than that of the bare NRs based PSCs. This study indicates that the nanorods/nanoparticles mixed phase structure has a great potential for application in PSCs.

The development of filtration membranes with ultrahigh water flux for separation of oil-in-water emulsions by low energy consumption approach is currently an urgent demand. A novel nanocomposite membrane with superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties has been successfully prepared by one-step vacuum filtration of an aqueous graphene/SiO2 dispersion on a microfiltration substrate. Owing to the addition of SiO2 nanoparticles, the interlayer space of graphene oxide (GO) layers is expanded, enabling this composite membrane to separate a variety of oil-in-water emulsions with ultrahigh water flux (> 4550 L m−2 h−1 bar−1), a 2-order-of-magnitude improvement as compared to pure GO membrane, and also superior compared to most commercialized membranes. The proposed convenient, time-saving (