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Objective To share our experience of percutaneous or transthoracic closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) supported by echocardiography guidance. Methods From December 2010 to September 2019, 54 patients of congenital heart disease (30 cases of isolated atrial septal defect, 24 cases of ventricular septal defect) were treated with surgical operation by occluder under guidance of echocardiography closed without cardiopulmonary bypass. Fourteen cases of ASD were performed device closure through a small right sternal margin thoracotomy incision at the forth intercostal space, 16 cases of ASD underwent percutaneous occlusion surgery, and 24 cases of VSD were closed through small incision under the xiphoid process. Results The operations were successful in the 24 cases of VSD. One of the cases with minimally incision ASD occlusion was displaced 7 hours after operation, the occluder was taken out and ASD was repaired under cardiopulmonary bypass in emergency. There were 13 cases of successful occlusion and 3 cases of failure in percutaneous ASD closure patients. Among three cases, 2 cases underwent ASD closed through transthoracic closure and 1 case underwent open surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass successfully. The 46 cases were followed up for 3-103 months, with an average of (21.3±16.2)months. No occluder displacement, shedding, significant residual shunt were observed. Conclusions Echocardiography-guided percutaneous atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect is safe and effective without radiation and CPB. Percutaneous closure of atrial septal defect is suitable for children over 3 years. Atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect occlusion through small thoracic incision is feasible and easy to operate in other healthcare institutions.

The outstanding photovoltaic characteristics of lead halide perovskites have made them a potential class of materials for upcoming optoelectronic applications. However, a major obstacle to the practical use of lead halide perovskites is the inherent toxicity and low environmental stability of lead. The exploration and development of nontoxic and stable alternatives for lead halide perovskites has therefore become an urgent and critical goal in the field of photovoltaics. In this paper, blue lead-free Cs3Cu2I5 nanocrystals (NCs) with bright emission were prepared by using KI as a metal additive through an improved thermal injection strategy. A breakthrough in the previous photoluminescence quantum (PLQY) yield of 97.2% was achieved when the content of KI was optimized to be 8%. Detailed experimental and theoretical studies have also been combined to conclude that the KI additive acts to passivate surface defects and that the broad-spectrum blue emission originates from self-trapped excitons. When combined with commercial indium tin oxide (ITO), the device may achieve broad-spectrum blue electroluminescence. Its low production cost and simple structure are its main features. Furthermore, we were able to improve the utilization of high-energy ultraviolet energy and overcome the weak absorption of short-wavelength silicon-based solar cells by using nanocrystals as down-conversion luminescent materials in conjunction with silicon-based solar cells. This increased the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) for the solar cells through approximately 0.5%. The result was achieved through the principle of down-conversion. Therefore, fully inorganic metal halide Cs3Cu2I5: K+ nanocrystals have great potential for future electroluminescence and photovoltaic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is involved in hypertension, myocardial infarction and heart failure. It has been reported that circular RNA (circRNA) is a key regulatory factor of MF progression. In this study, we revealed that circ_0002295 and CXCR2 were elevated, and miR‐1287 was reduced in MF patients. Knockdown of circ_0002295 effectively suppressed the proliferation, migration and MF progression. Circ_0002295 was the molecular sponge of miR‐12878, and miR‐1287 inhibitor reversed the biological functions of circ_0002295 on the myocardial fibrosis. CXCR2 was a target gene of miR‐1287, and CXCR2 silencing relieved the impacts of miR‐1287 inhibitor on cardiac myofibroblasts. Circ_0002295 promoted MF progression by regulating the miR‐1287/CXCR2 axis, providing a possible circRNA‐targeted therapy for MF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coulomb effect is a particularly significant topic in quasi-two-dimensional systems. Here, we carried out comprehensive measurements of electrical transport properties of fewer-layer PtSe 2 films with and without antidot arrays. For as-grown PtSe 2 films, the sheet conductance σ □ varies linearly with the logarithm of temperature at low temperature, which can be well described by the Altshuler and Aronov electron-electron interaction (EEI) effect, and then the result was further quantitatively confirmed by the ratios of a relative change of the Hall coefficient Δ R H / R H to that of sheet resistance Δ R □ / R □. While after milling of antidot arrays the PtSe 2 film possesses inhomogeneous structure, it still presents metallic transport behavior. The overall σ □ and R H characteristics can be explained by the current EEI theories in granular metals. Our results not only reveal the fundamental physics of PtSe 2 films, but also provide powerful experimental evidence for the presence of the Coulomb EEI effect in the family of transition metal dichalcogenides. This work presents the subtle change of charge transport properties by introducing antidot arrays, which may be of benefit in improving sensitivity and stability of nanoscale electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors to perioperative chemotherapy in operable gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer has become one of the research hotspots, while reliable biomarkers for efficacy are lacking. We conducted a phase 1 trial to assess the safety and efficacy of LP002, an anti‐PD‐L1 antibody, plus chemotherapy as perioperative treatment in patients with gastric or GEJ cancer. Methods: We enrolled patients with resectable and PD‐L1 positive gastric or GEJ cancers. Eligible patients received three preoperative and six postoperative cycles of intravenous LP002 with cisplatin and 5‐fluorouracil, repeated every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary endpoints included rate of margin‐free (R0) resection and pathological complete response (pCR). We also characterized changes in the tumor immune microenvironment using multiplex immunofluorescence (MIF) staining and next‐generation sequencing (NGS) with pre‐ and post‐treatment tumor samples. Results: Thirty patients were enrolled, of whom 28 had GEJ cancer. With a median follow‐up of 7.9 months, all patients completed preoperative treatment, and 27 patients underwent surgery. Twenty‐four patients underwent R0 resection. Six patients (20.0%) had Mandard tumor regression grade (TRG) 1–3, including one achieving pCR. Twenty‐seven patients had treatment‐related adverse events (TRAEs), while grade 3–4 TRAEs were observed in 11 patients. No treatment‐related deaths occurred. MIF staining revealed that TRG 1–3 group was associated with a higher density of PD‐L1+/CD68+ cells in the pre‐treatment tumor parenchyma than TRG 4–5 group (p = 0.048). NGS studies with paired pre‐ and post‐treatment tumor samples revealed the disappearance of pre‐existing mutations, the emergence of new mutations, and variations in the abundance of mutations after preoperative LP002 and chemotherapy. Meanwhile, tumor mutational burden decreased in patients with TRG 1–3 (p = 0.0313). Conclusions: LP002 plus cisplatin and 5‐fluorouracil are safe in patients with gastric or GEJ cancer, and patient selection via appropriate biomarkers is needed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]