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A novel process has been developed to synthesize MgH 2 nanoparticles by combining ball milling and thermal hydrogenolysis of di- n -butylmagnesium (C 4 H 9 ) 2 Mg, denoted as MgBu 2 . With the aid of mechanical impact, the hydrogenolysis temperature of MgBu 2 in heptane and cyclohexane solution was considerably lowered down to 100 °C, and the MgH 2 nanoparticles with an average particle size of ca. 8.9 nm were obtained without scaffolds. The nano-size effect of the MgH 2 nanoparticles causes a notable decrease in the onset dehydrogenation temperature of 225 °C and enthalpy of 69.78 kJ mol -1  · H 2 . This thermally-assisted milling and hydrogenolysis process may also be extended for synthesizing other nanomaterials., (© 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

The present situation of the clinical application of dog-days moxibustion (moxibustion applied in the three periods of the hot season) is summarized so as to provide the guide for the theoretic study and clinical application of dog-days moxibustion. The intervention time of dog-days moxibustion is on the 1st day of each of the three periods of the hot season. Simultaneously, the geographic factors are considered. The disorders of lung system are mostly dominant among the indications of dog-days moxibustion, complicated with spleen and stomach disorders as well as cold and deficiency syndromes/patterns. The acupoints are mainly selected from the front- mu points on the chest and the back- shu points on the back, in combination with the differentiation of diseases, symptoms/patterns and the disorder stages. The duration of treatment is ranged from 1 to 3 years. The clinical therapeutic effect is improved constantly along with the increase of treatment periods by years.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate role of Numb in the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of breast cancer., Methods: Numb and β-catenin were inhibited in MCF-7 cells using sh-RNA and overexpressed in T47D cells by pcDNA3.0-Numb, pcDNA3.0-β-catenin. Cell proliferation, invasion and migration were evaluated using MTT and Transwell assay, respectively. β-catenin, Lin28, and EMT related markers were determined using qRT-PCR and Western Blotting., Results: Knockdown of Numb significantly promoted the proliferation, invasion and migration of MCF-7 cells, further increased the expression of β-catenin, Lin28, Snail-1, and N-cadherin, as well as decreased E-cadherin. In T47D cells transfected with pcDNA3.0-Numb, the results were quite the reverse., Conclusions: Knockdown of Numb could promote the EMT of breast cancer cells via β-cateni/Lin28 signaling pathway., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: A key challenge in thyroid carcinoma is preoperatively diagnosing malignant thyroid nodules. The purpose of this study was to compare the classification performance of linear and nonlinear machine-learning algorithms for the evaluation of thyroid nodules using pathological reports as reference standard., Methods: Ethical approval was obtained for this retrospective analysis, and the informed consent requirement was waived. A total of 1179 thyroid nodules (training cohort, n = 700; validation cohort, n = 479) were confirmed by pathological reports or fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. The following ultrasonography (US) featu res were measured for each nodule: size (maximum diameter), margins, shape, aspect ratio, capsule, hypoechoic halo, composition, echogenicity, calcification pattern, vascularity, and cervical lymph node status. We analyzed five nonlinear and three linear machine-learning algorithms. The diagnostic performance of each algorithm was compared by using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve. We repeated this process 1000 times to obtain the mean AUC and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: Overall, nonlinear machine-learning algorithms demonstrated similar AUCs compared with linear algorithms. The Random Forest and Kernel Support Vector Machines algorithms achieved slightly greater AUCs in the validation cohort (0.954, 95% CI: 0.939-0.969; 0.954 95%CI: 0.939-0.969, respectively) than other algorithms., Conclusions: Overall, nonlinear machine-learning algorithms share similar performance compared with linear algorithms for the evaluation the malignancy risk of thyroid nodules., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop an ultrasound-based nomogram to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the identification of malignant thyroid nodules., Methods: A total of 1675 histologically proven thyroid nodules (1169 benign, 506 malignant) were included in this study. The nodules were grouped into the training dataset (n = 700), internal validation dataset (n = 479), or external validation dataset (n = 496). The grayscale ultrasound features included the nodule size, shape, aspect ratio, echogenicity, margins, and calcification pattern. We applied least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression to select the strongest features for the nomogram. Nomogram discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC) and calibration were assessed. The nomogram was subjected to bootstrapping validation (1000 bootstrap resamples) to calculate a mean AUC and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: The nomogram showed good discrimination in the training dataset, with an AUC of 0.936 (95% CI: 0.918-0.953) and good calibration. Application of the nomogram to the internal validation dataset also resulted in good discrimination (AUC: 0.935; 95% CI, 0.915-0.954) and good calibration. The model tested in an external validation dataset demonstrated a lower AUC of 0.782 (95% CI: 0.776-0.789)., Conclusions: This ultrasound-based nomogram can be used to quantify the probability of malignant thyroid nodules., Key Points: • Ultrasound examination is helpful in the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign thyroid nodules. • However, ultrasound accuracy relies heavily on examiner experience. • A less subjective diagnostic model is desired, and the developed nomogram for thyroid nodules showed good discrimination and good calibration.

Objectives: To explore the feasibility of preoperative prediction of vascular invasion (VI) in breast cancer patients using nomogram based on multiparametric MRI and pathological reports., Methods: We retrospectively collected 200 patients with confirmed breast cancer between January 2016 and January 2018. All patients underwent MRI examinations before the surgery. VI was identified by postoperative pathology. The 200 patients were randomly divided into training (n = 100) and validation datasets (n = 100) at a ratio of 1:1. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select predictors most associated with VI of breast cancer. A nomogram was constructed to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive prediction value (PPV) and negative prediction value (NPV). We bootstrapped the data for 2000 times without setting the random seed to obtain corrected results., Results: VI was observed in 79 patients (39.5%). LASSO selected 10 predictors associated with VI. In the training dataset, the AUC for nomogram was 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-0.99, the sensitivity was 78.9% (95%CI: 72.4%-89.1%), the specificity was 95.3% (95%CI: 89.1%-100.0%), the accuracy was 86.0% (95%CI: 82.0%-92.0%), the PPV was 95.7% (95%CI: 90.0%-100.0%), and the NPV was 77.4% (95%CI: 67.8%-87.0%). In the validation dataset, the AUC for nomogram was 0.89 (95%CI: 0.83-0.95), the sensitivity was 70.3% (95%CI: 60.7%-79.2%), the specificity was 88.9% (95%CI: 80.0%-97.1%), the accuracy was 77.0% (95%CI: 70.0%-83.0%), the PPV was 91.8% (95%CI: 85.3%-98.0%), and the NPV was 62.7% (95%CI: 51.7%-74.0%). The nomogram calibration curve shows good agreement between the predicted probability and the actual probability., Conclusion: The proposed nomogram could be used to predict VI in breast cancer patients, which was helpful for clinical decision-making., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: PEG-rhG-CSF reduces neutropenia and improves chemotherapy safety. In China's registration trial (CFDA: 2006L01305), we assessed its efficacy and safety against rhG-CSF, and prospectively explored its value over multiple cycles of chemotherapy., Methods: In this open-label, randomized, multicenter phase 3 study, breast cancer patients (n = 569) were randomized to receive PEG-rhG-CSF 100 µg/kg, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg, or rhG-CSF 5 µg/kg/d after chemotherapy. The primary endpoints were the incidence and duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia during cycle 1. Secondary endpoints included the incidence and duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia during cycles 2-4, the incidence of febrile neutropenia, and the safety., Results: A once-per-cycle PEG-rhG-CSF at either 100 µg/kg or 6 mg was not different from daily injections of rhG-CSF for either incidence or duration of grade 3/4 neutropenia. Interestingly, a substantial difference was noted during cycle 2, and the difference became bigger over cycles 3-4, reaching a statistical significance at cycle 4 in either incidence (P = 0.0309) or duration (P = 0.0289) favoring PEG-rhG-CSF. A significant trend toward a lower incidence of all-grade adverse events was noted at 129 (68.98%), 142 (75.53%), and 160 (82.47%) in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 µg/kg and 6 mg and rhG-CSF groups, respectively (P = 0.0085). The corresponding incidence of grade 3/4 drug-related adverse events was 2/187 (1.07%), 1/188 (0.53%), and 8/194 (4.12%), respectively (P = 0.0477). Additionally, PFS in metastatic patients preferred PEG-rhG-CSF to rhG-CSF despite no significance observed by Kaplan-Meier analysis (n = 49, P = 0.153)., Conclusions: PEG-rhG-CSF is a more convenient and safe formulation and a more effective prophylactic measure in breast cancer patients receiving multiple cycles of chemotherapy.

Most of the risk models for predicting contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) are available for postcontrast exposure prediction, thus have limited values in practice. We aimed to develop a novel nomogram based on preprocedural features for early prediction of CI-AKI in patients after coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 245 patients were retrospectively reviewed from January 2015 to January 2017. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression model was applied to select most strong predictors for CI-AKI. The CI-AKI risk score was calculated for each patient as a linear combination of selected predictors that were weighted by their respective coefficients. The discrimination of nomogram was assessed by C-statistic. The occurrence of CI-AKI was 13.9% (34 out of 245). We identified ten predictors including sex, diabetes mellitus, lactate dehydrogenase level, C-reactive protein, years since drinking, chronic kidney disease (CKD), stage of CKD, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and systolic blood pressure. The CI-AKI prediction nomogram obtained good discrimination (C-statistic, 0.718, 95%CI: 0.637-0.800, p = 7.23 × 10 -5 ). The cutoff value of CI-AKI risk score was -1.953. Accordingly, the novel nomogram we developed is a simple and accurate tool for preprocedural prediction of CI-AKI in patients undergoing CAG or PCI., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors have declared that no conflicts of interest exists.

Objective: This study aims to analyse the epidemiology of paediatric burns in south central China, illustrate the differences between rural and urban areas, and discern prevention measures to reduce paediatric burns., Methods: Data were obtained from all paediatric patients admitted to Department of Burns unit of Xiangya Hospital during 2009-2012. A retrospective review was performed, including cause of burn, pre-hospital treatment, place of burn occurrence, anatomical areas involved, extent of burn, date of injury, number of operations, complications, length of hospital stay, hospitalisation cost and cure rate., Results: A total of 278 hospitalised paediatric patients were admitted in this study. The majority (56.47%) were 1-3 years old. Rural patients accounted for 67.99% in total; the ratio of boys to girls was 2.05. Scalding with hot fluids was the most common cause of burns in children (62.59%), followed by flame (17.63), fireworks (9.71%), electricity (5.76%) and other factors such as contact and chemical (4.32%). The living room was the location with the highest frequency of burns in children (53.24%). Burns were more likely to happen in winter and the upper extremities were the most involved anatomic site (53.24%). Total burn surface area (TBSA) ranging from 0% to 9% accounted for 55.4% in total. Rural patients underwent more operations and had longer and costlier hospital stays than urban patients., Conclusion: Compared with treatment in urban areas, rural burn patients received less first-aid treatment, underwent more surgery, had more complications and longer and more costly hospital stays. This finding strongly suggests that it is necessary to make more efforts to prevent burns, especially in rural areas., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.)

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) plays a key role in the proliferation of T cells and natural killer cells. It has been reported that polymorphisms in the IL-2 gene are associated with various cancers. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of polymorphisms in the IL-2 gene on the development of breast cancer in the Chinese population. IL-2-330T/G and +114T/G polymorphisms were assessed in 638 breast cancer cases and 682 age-matched healthy controls. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test. Results showed that individuals with -330TG genotype and -330GG genotype had significantly increased susceptibility to breast cancer (Odds ratio [OR]=1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-1.79, p=0.0021 and OR=2.26, 95%CI: 1.53-3.30, p<0.0001). The +114T/G polymorphism did not show any correlation with breast cancer. In addition, when analyzing the survival time of breast cancer patients with IL-2-330T/G polymorphism, cases with a -330G allele had significantly shorter survival time compared with wild-type patients (p=0.002). These results suggested that polymorphism in the IL-2 gene was associated with increased susceptibility to breast cancer and could be used as a prognostic marker for this malignancy.

We present experimental and theoretical evidence that varying the local environment and physical structure of dried DNA has a direct impact on its electronic structure. By preparing samples of DNA in various solutions, it was possible to alter the type of ions present during the production of the DNA samples. These variations resulted in differences in the local chemical environment of the dried DNA molecules. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) were used to probe the variations in the electronic structure of DNA samples. DFT calculations of a stack of 10 adenine (A)-thymine (T) nucleobase pairs show that slight structural variations in stacking height have a direct influence on the electronic structure and result in changes to the HOMO-LUMO gap. The effects of these differences in the local environment on the electronic structure are discussed and are related to the results of conductivity measurements of DNA.

Multi-layer hydrogen storage thin films with Mg and MmNi3.5(CoAlMn)1.5 (here Mm denotes La-rich mischmetal) as alternative layers were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering. Transmission electron microscopy investigation shows that the microstructure of the MmNi3.5(CoAlMn)1.5 and Mg layers are significantly different although their deposition conditions are the same. The MmNi3.5(CoAlMn)1.5 layer is composed of two regions: one is an amorphous region approximately 4 nm thick at the bottom of the layer and the other is a nanocrystalline region on top of the amorphous region. The Mg layer is also composed of two regions: one is a randomly orientated nanocrystalline region 50 nm thick at the bottom of the layer and the other is a columnar crystallite region on top of the nanocrystalline region. These Mg columnar crystallites have their [001] directions parallel to the growth direction and the average lateral size of these columnar crystallites is about 100 nm. A growth mechanism of the multi-layer thin films is discussed based on the experiment results., (2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)