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BACKGROUND: Pyroptosis could regulate tumor cell trafficking, invasion, and metastasis, as well as the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, prognostic characteristics of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) and their effect on the progression of glioma remain insufficient. METHODS: The genetic, transcriptional, and survival data of patients with glioma used for bioinformatic analysis were obtained from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. RESULTS: Screening of two different molecular subtypes revealed that PRG variations were associated with characteristics of TME cell infiltration, clinicopathological characteristics, and prognosis of patients with glioma. After Cox regression of differentially expressed genes, a risk score for predicting overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated. Its predictive accuracy in patients with glioma was validated. The high-risk group of PRG signature had a poorer OS than the low-risk group (training cohort, P< 0.001; validation cohort, P< 0.001). A high risk score implies more immune cell infiltration and better immunotherapy response to immune checkpoint blockers. In addition, the differential expression of three pyroptosis-pairs in tumor and normal tissues was identified. Furthermore, the risk score was significantly associated with chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity and cancer stem cell (CSC) index. Subsequently, a highly accurate nomogram was established to facilitate applicability in the preliminary clinical application of risk score. CONCLUSION: Our findings may provide the basis for future research targeting pyroptosis in glioma and evaluation of prognosis and development of more effective immunotherapy strategies.

Objectives. To explore the demand for fitness furniture and the feasibility of its fitness function in the context of the current adaptation of home fitness equipment to the home environment. Methods. Taking the growing demand for home fitness as the background, the problems of current home fitness equipment and home environment are analysed, the design path of fitness furniture is explored, and the fitness armchair is used as an example for design practice and Finite element analysis (FEA) simulation verification. Results. The design is based on the human movement during fitness, the user's usage and emotional needs and the characteristics of the home environment and domestic space, as well as a combination of design factors such as shape, functionality, safety, versatility and ergonomics. We have designed fitness furniture that meets the needs of fitness and fits into the home environment. Conclusion. The design of home fitness furniture must take into account the unity between the user, the fitness furniture and the home environment in order to facilitate comfortable and safe fitness activities in the home and to create a harmonious home environment.

Rotation welding of wood dowels has the advantages of high bonding strength, fast processing speed and green environmental protection, and is suitable for jointing nodes in furniture and wood products. However, most wood friction welding specimens have poor water resistance where the welded joints are more likely to be damaged in wet environments, which greatly limits their wider application. Previous studies focused on using natural and green materials or methods to enhance bonding strength and water resistance of friction-welded joints. This paper reveals an innovative chemical pretreatment method to improve the water resistance of rotary friction welded joints by treating the substrate blocks or dowels with reagents that successively oxidize and sulfonate the wood, and spraying the dowels with Zinc acetate alcohol solution that has a lubricant effect, followed by friction welding. The findings show that both the dry bonding strength of friction welded joints and the wet bonding strength after impregnation with cold, hot, and boiling water of dowels pretreated with oxidation and sulfonation reactions were higher than those without pretreatment and significantly superior to the traditional polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesive bonding.

Objective To evaluate the long-term consequences of COVID-19 survivors one year after recovery, and to identify the risk factors associated with abnormal patterns in chest imaging manifestations or impaired lung function. Methods COVID-19 patients were recruited and prospectively followed up with symptoms, health-related quality of life, psychological questionnaires, 6-minute walking test, chest computed tomography (CT), pulmonary function tests, and blood tests. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between the clinical characteristics and chest CT abnormalities or pulmonary function. Results Ninety-four patients with COVID-19 were recruited between January 16 and February 6, 2021. Muscle fatigue and insomnia were the most common symptoms. Chest CT scans were abnormal in 71.28% of participants. The results of multivariable regression showed an increased odds in age. Ten patients had diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) impairment. Urea nitrogen concentration on admission was significantly associated with impaired DLCO. IgG levels and neutralizing activity were significantly lower compared with those in the early phase. Conclusions One year after hospitalization for COVID-19, a cohort of survivors were mainly troubled with muscle fatigue and insomnia. Pulmonary structural abnormalities and pulmonary diffusion capacities were highly prevalent in surviving COVID-19 patients. It is necessary to intervene in the main target population for long-term recovery.

By the esterification of benzoic anhydride (BA) with polyoxyethylene ether (HPEG), the modified macromonomer (BA-HPEG) with benzoate of HPEG was prepared. Then, BA-HPEG and HPEG were copolymerized ...

Although lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are promising towards high energy density and superior safety energy storage systems (ESS), severe depletion of Li reserve cannot meet the ever-growing demand for LIBs due to the uneven distribution and limited amount of Li resource. Li-free polyanionic cathodes, such as Na

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Prof. Dr. Zhipeng Sun at the Guangdong University of Technology. The image shows how electrolyte composition and their interfacial chemistries play a crucial role in manipulating the cathode/electrolyte interphases (CEI) and their corresponding high-rate electrochemical performance for sodium-ion batteries. The Research Article itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.202102522.

Background Pyroptosis could regulate tumor cell trafficking, invasion, and metastasis, as well as tumor microenvironment (TME). However, prognostic characteristics of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) and their impact on the progression of glioma remain insufficient. Methods The genetic, transcriptional, and survival data of glioma patients used for bioinformatics analysis were obtained from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Results We first screened two different molecular subtypes and found that PRG variations were associated with the characteristics of TME cell infiltration, clinicopathological characteristics, and prognosis of patients with glioma. After Cox regression of differentially expressed genes, a risk-score for predicting overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated and its predictive accuracy in glioma patients was then validated. The high-risk group of PRGs signature showed a significantly poor OS compared to the low-risk group (training cohort, p

Journal of materials chemistry / A 0, 1-10 (2020). doi:10.1039/D0TA07371G, The interplay between cationic and anionic redox activity during electrochemical cycling makes layered Li-rich oxides appealing cathodes for state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. However, it remains challenging as the origin of lattice oxygen activity is not yet fully understood. Here we report on the effects of a lithium-deficient layer in the near-surface region of Co-free Li-rich Li[Li$_{0.2}$Ni$_{0.2}$Mn$_{0.6}$]O$_2$ (LLNMO) achieved via a phosphoric acid surface treatment. Our results show that oxidized O$^{n−}$ (0 < n < 2) species are formed on the surface of H$_3$PO$_4$-treated LLNMO resulting from Li ion deficiency and lattice distortion. The metastable O$^{n−}$ could be easily released from the oxygen surface lattice forming O$_2$ via thermal treatment, accompanied by a surface reconstruction and a layered-to-rock-salt/spinel transition. The presented results demonstrate that the surface lattice structure plays a critical role in the electrochemical performance of LLNMO. This information provides new insights into the oxygen redox in LLNMO and opens up an opportunity for Li-rich cathodes to achieve long cycle life toward a broad range of applications in electrical energy storage devices., Published by RSC, London [u.a.]

Polyvinyl alcohol grafted poly (acrylic acid) (PVA-g-PAA) is synthesized through graft polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) onto PVA backbone via a free radical reaction. PVA-g-PAA is used as a water-soluble binder for silicon (Si) anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The enhanced adhesion strength, excellent flexibility and high electrolyte uptake after grafting reaction render PVA-g-PAA a robust binder for Si anodes. Compared to linear PVA, PAA and CMC, optimal Si-PVA-g-10PAA electrode exhibits better cycle stability, higher Coulombic efficiency and more excellent rate capability, possessing a high electrical conductivity, low SEI/charge transfer resistance and fast lithium-ion diffusion coefficient. PVA-g-PAA binder not only maintains the electrode's mechanical and electrical integrity, facilitates a favorable electrochemical kinetics, but also assists in forming a stable SEI layer on Si surface upon long-term cycling. Such a strategy sheds light on the design of novel polymer binders for practical applications of high-capacity active materials with great volume change.

Poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): tosylate (PEDOT: Tos) is synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as stabilizer in organic solvent. The effects of different molecular weight and additive amount of PVP stabilizer, various volume ratios of propylene carbonate (PC) to ethanol in organic system, different oxidative agents and various polymerization temperature/time on as-prepared PEDOT dispersion are taken into consideration and investigated systematically. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), film-forming property and electrical conductivity are studied and compared among different reaction conditions. The optimal polymerization scenario is to prepare PEDOT particles with 2 wt.% PVP (M.w. = 58,000) stabilizer and Fe2(SO4)3 oxidant at 80 °C for 24 h in organic system of PC and ethanol (volume ratio = 1: 3). Optimal PEDOT with PVP possesses more homogeneous particle size, better particle-particle connectivity in film and higher electrical conductivity (1.67*10−2 s cm−1) than that of PEDOT without PVP (5.2*10−4 s cm−1) and commercial organic PEDOT (4.7*10−4 s cm−1). The morphology and elemental composition of PEDOT particles with PVP are also investigated and compared with that of commercial organic PEDOT and aqueous PEDOT/PSS dispersion.

Xanthan Gum (XG) is systematically investigated and employed as water soluble binder for LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode in Li-ion batteries. XG binder exhibits good thermal stability and processes abundant functional groups such as carboxyl and hydroxyl, displaying a better adhesion strength of 0.085 N cm−1 than sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC, 0.050 N cm−1), but inferior to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF, 0.170 N cm−1). The Rheology test reveals that the viscosity of LFP slurry prepared with XG binder is higher than that of PVDF, resulting in a better dispersion of LFP and carbon black particles. The electrochemical performances of LFP-XG electrode are investigated and compared with those of aqueous CMC and conventional PVDF binder. LFP-XG displays better cycle stability and rate performance than PVDF, comparable to CMC, which retains 55.3% capacity of C/5 at 5 C as compared to PVDF (34.8%) and CMC (57.8%). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) shows that LFP-XG has smaller redox polarization and faster lithium diffusion rate than PVDF while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement at specified intervals reveals its more favorable electrochemical kinetics than that with PVDF, similar to CMC, thus better rate capability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) displays that LFP-XG has a more homogenous distribution of LFP and conductive carbon black particles with XG before cycling and better maintains its structure integrity after 100 cycles than that of PVDF. Furthermore, LFP-XG is observed to process a high ionic conductivity supported by dQ/dV profiles.

A water-soluble conductive composite binder consisting of carboxymethyl chitosan (CCTS) as a binder and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a conduction-promoting agent is reported for the LiFePO 4 (LFP) cathode in Li-ion batteries. The introduction of conductive PEDOT:PSS as a conductive composite binder facilitates the formation of homogeneous and continuous conducting bridges throughout the electrode and raises the compaction density of the electrode sheet by decreasing the amounts of the commonly used conducting agent of acetylene black. The optimized replacement ratios of acetylene black with PEDOT:PSS (acetylene black/PEDOT:PSS = 1:1, by weight) are obtained by measuring electrical conductivity, peel strength and compaction density of the electrode sheets. The LFP half-cell with the optimized conductive binder exhibits better cycling and rate performance and more favorable electrochemical kinetics than that using only acetylene black conducting agent. The pilot application of PEDOT:PSS/CCTS binder in 10 Ah CCTS-LFP prismatic cell exhibits a comparable cycling performance, retaining 89.7% of capacity at 1 C/2 C (charge/discharge) rate as compared with 90% for commercial PVDF-LFP over 1000 cycles, and better rate capability than that of commercial PVDF-LFP, retaining 98% capacity of 1 C at 7 C rate as compared with 95.4% for PVDF-LFP.

Background To investigate the area and morphological changes around the soft tissue chin after orthodontic incisor retraction. Methods Fifty-nine female adults with bimaxillary protrusion requiring extraction of four premolars were included in the study. Cephalograms were taken before (T0) and after (T1) orthodontic treatment. The soft tissue changes, including the area, thickness and morphology were measured. Paired-t tests were performed for statistical comparisons. Pearson correlation analyses and backward multivariate regression analyses were used to identify the relationship between the soft tissue changes and incisor retraction. Results Following the incisor retractions (5.35 ± 1.79 mm and 4.42 ± 1.62 mm for the upper and lower, respectively), there was a significant increase in the soft tissue thickness of L1c-LL (0.64 ± 1.67 mm, P = 0.025) and Pog-Pog’ (0.44 ± 1.10 mm, P = 0.022), and a significant decrease in the soft tissue thickness of B-B′ (1.21 ± 1.34 mm, P P > 0.05). Pearson coefficient between the thickness changes of B-B′ and the retraction of lower incisors was − 0.376. The multiple correlations between the soft tissue thickness changes and incisor retractions were Y = 1.02–0.42a + 0.42b for L1c-LL, and Y = 0.17–0.31b for B-B′. Conclusions The orthodontic incisor retraction could cause soft tissue thickness changes (i.e. an increase in L1c-LL and Pog-Pog’ and a decrease in B-B′) without area changes.

Background To investigate the effect of canine edge width and height on dental esthetics in maxillary canine substitution treatment. Methods A total of 127 canine substitution treatment cases were screened and evaluated by a panel of orthodontic experts and laypersons in the pilot study. The top five subjects with the esthetically most pleasant canine substitution were included in the study, resulting in 140 computerized images displaying only the upper dentition, with different canine edge widths (0%, 12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, 50%, 62.5%, and 75% of the central clinical width) and heights (− 0.5 mm, 0 mm, 0.5 mm, and 1.0 mm vertically relative to the central incisor edge) finally used for the esthetic evaluation by 101 observers (41 orthodontists and 60 laypersons). The ordered logistic regression analysis, the univariate analysis of variance, the chi-square, and Fisher’s exact tests were used for statistical analyses. Results The most esthetic canine shape for canine substitution was found to be a shape with the edge width of 62.5% of the central incisor width and the edge height of 0.5 mm gingival to the central incisor edge (P 0.05). Conclusions The most esthetic canine shape for canine substitution is a shape with the canine edge width of 62.5% of the central incisor width and the edge height of 0.5 mm gingival to the central incisor edge. The different collocations of the canine edge width and height affect dental esthetics of the canine during canine substitution treatment.

s Arabic gum grafted poly (acrylic acid) (GA-g-PAA) is prepared through a free radical graft polymerization of acrylic acid onto Arabic gum. Crosslinkable aqueous binder is developed by combining GA-g-PAA and branched polyols (pentaerythrotol, PER; triethanolamine, TEOA) as crosslinking agent for Si anodes of lithium-ion batteries. The aqueous composite binder undergoes crosslinking at about 110 °C to form robust crosslinked networks, matching well with the processing temperature of the electrode sheet in industry. GA-g-PAA/PER binder displays higher adhesion strength than GA-g-PAA and GA-g-PAA/TEOA. The Si electrode with GA-g-PAA/PER exhibits a slightly better cycling stability at 0.2C for 100 cycles, better rate capability than GA-g-PAA and GA-g-PAA/TEOA. At a high rate of 1C, Si electrode with GA-g-PAA/P delivers a higher specific capacity of 1968.1 mAhg−1 with a better capacity retention of 57.5% when compared with those with GA-g-PAA and GA-g-PAA/T binder.

Cyanoethylated carboxymethyl chitosan (CN-CCTS) has been synthesized through a straightforward cyanoethylation reaction by reacting CCTS with acrylonitrile in NaOH aqueous solution. CN-CCTS shows improved adhesion strength of 0.047 N/cm as compared with 0.013 N/cm for CCTS after introducing cyanoethyl group in the chemical structure of CCTS. The electrochemical performances of LiFePO 4 electrode with CN-CCTS binder have been investigated and compared with those using water soluble sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and non-aqueous polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) binder. LiFePO 4 electrode with CN-CCTS exhibits better cycling stability and rate capability, retaining 56.3% capacity of C/5 at 5C rate as compared with 48.4% and 32.8% for CMC and PVDF, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement reveal that LiFePO 4 electrode with CN-CCTS has a more favorable electrochemical kinetics than that with CMC and PVDF, thus better rate capability.

The polyacrylic latex (LA132) was firstly reported as a water-soluble binder for LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) cathode in Li-ion battery. The electrochemical performances of NCM cathode with LA132 binder were investigated and compared with the conventional water-soluble sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and commercial non-aqueous polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF). NCM cathode with LA132 binder exhibited a much higher specific capacity of 146 mAh g−1 and capacity retention of 96.4 % after 100 cycles as compared with 122 mAh g−1/88 % and 121 mAh g−1/75% for the NCM electrode with CMC and PVDF, respectively. In addition, NCM cathode with LA132 binder exhibited better rate capability than that of CMC and PVDF, e.g., retaining 34.3 % capacity of C/5 at 5 C rate as compared with 28.5 and 10.9 % for CMC and PVDF, respectively.

To control the morphology of inorganic electrode materials for high performance lithium ion batteries, bamboo carbon with highly ordered three-dimensional microscopic porosity was employed to act as a template to confine the growth of spinel Li4Ti5O12 anode nanoparticle in its sol–gel synthesis. The bamboo carbon was removed by high temperature calcination thereafter to produce pure spinel Li4Ti5O12 (BC-LTO). The electrochemical properties of BC-LTO were thoroughly evaluated in lithium ion batteries and compared with the electrochemical properties of the spinel Li4Ti5O12 synthesized without bamboo carbon template (P-LTO). The crystal structures of BC-LTO and P-LTO were identified as the same spinel structure by X-ray diffraction. The positive effects of adding bamboo carbon during the electrode synthesis were observed to be reducing both the particle size and size distribution of BC-LTO as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis demonstrated that BC-LTO had a higher lithium insertion/extraction reversibility than P-LTO. The BC-LTO anode delivered a capacity of 160 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at a rate of 0.2 C, much higher than the P-LTO anode which only delivered 139 mAh g−1 under the same conditions. Detailed galvanostatic charge/discharge tests using various current rates were carried out, and the results demonstrated that BC-LTO is a promising candidate anode material for high performance lithium ion batteries. The bamboo carbon assisted sol–gel method was therefore proven to be effective in our study, and should be able to be applied to other electrochemical systems.

Mesoporous spinel lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 ) nanoparticles with the diameter of 40 ± 5 nm and the pore-size distribution of 6 - 8 nm were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. As an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, these spinel Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 mesoporous nanoparticles exhibited desirable lithium storage properties with an initial discharge capacity of 176 mAh g −1 at 1 C rate and a capacity of approximately 145 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles at a high rate of 20 C. These excellent electrochemical properties at high charge/discharge rates are due to the mesoporous nano-scale structures with small size particles, uniform mesopores and larger electrode/electrolyte contact area, which shortens the diffusion path for both electrons and Li + ions, and offers more active sites for Li + insertion-extraction process.

Nanoporous Li4Ti5O12 (N-LTO) was prepared by sol–gel method using monodisperse polystyrene spheres as a template and followed by calcination process. The as-prepared N-LTO has a spinel structure, large special surface area, and nanoporous structure with the pore average diameter of about 100 nm and wall thickness of 50 nm. Electrochemical experiments show that N-LTO exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 189 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C rate cycled between 0.5 and 3.0 V and excellent capacity retention of 170 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. EIS and CV analysis show that N-LTO has a higher mobility for Li+ diffusion and a higher exchange current density, indicating an improved electrochemical performance. It is believed that the nanoporous structure has a larger electrode/electrolyte contact area, resulting in better electrochemical properties at high charge/discharge rates.