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Adult survivors of childhood brain tumors often present with cognitive deficits that affect their quality of life. Studying brain structure and function in brain tumor survivors can help understand the underlying mechanisms of their cognitive deficits to improve long-term prognosis of these patients. This study analyzed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) derived from T1-weighted MRI and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to examine the structural and functional alterations in 35 brain tumor survivors using 35 matching healthy individuals as controls. Compared with healthy controls, brain tumor survivors had decreased gray matter volumes (GMV) in the thalamus and increased GMV in the superior frontal gyrus. Functionally, brain tumor survivors had lower ALFF values in the inferior temporal gyrus and medial prefrontal area and higher ALFF values in the thalamus. Importantly, we found concurrent but negatively correlated structural and functional alterations in the thalamus based on observed significant differences in GMV and ALFF values. These findings on concurrent brain structural and functional alterations provide new insights towards a better understanding of the cognitive deficits in brain tumor survivors.

Abstract To explore the influence of wind speed on the quality of tobacco in this study, we employed a heat pump-powered intensive curing barn and a three-stage curing process. By evaluating the influence of fan parameters on the quality of tobacco leaves at different curing stages, the optimal wind speed was determined. After adopting the optimized wind speed process, the degradation of macromolecular substances was faster, the accumulation of aroma substances was delayed to 55 °C, and the accumulation was more complete. Among them, the contents of reducing sugar and total sugar in flue-cured tobacco leaves were 22.25% and 29.2%, respectively, which were lower than those in the control group. The sugar was converted into more aroma substances, and the total amount of neutral aroma substances was 48.82% higher than that of the control group. The content of related aroma substances increased significantly. The content of petroleum ether extract related to aroma substances increased by 0.93% compared with the control group. The macromolecular substances were degraded more fully than the control group, such as the starch content decreased to 1.56%. The results of metabolomics showed that the contents of aldehydes, heterocyclic compounds, alcohols, ketones and esters increased significantly in different degrees after this process. These results show that the optimization of wind speed parameters can significantly improve the baking quality of tobacco leaves. This study provides a reference for the optimization of the flue-cured tobacco baking process.

Objective Recent studies have shown that blood urea nitrogen to creatinine (BUN/Cr) ratio might be an effective marker for the prognosis of patients with respiratory diseases. Herein, we aimed to assess the association between BUN/Cr ratio and the risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with trauma-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Design A retrospective cohort study.Setting and participants 1034 patients were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III (MIMIC-III) database.Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome of the study was in-hospital mortality, defined by the vital status at the time of hospital discharge (ie, survivors and non-survivors).Results Of the total patients, 191 (18.5%) died in hospital. The median follow-up duration was 16.0 (8.3–26.6) days. The results showed that high level of BUN/Cr ratio was significantly associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (15.54–21.43: HR=2.00, 95% CI: (1.18 to 3.38); >21.43: HR=1.76, 95% CI: (1.04 to 2.99)) of patients with trauma-related ARDS. In patients with trauma-related ARDS that aged ≥65 years old, male and female, Onychomycosis Severity Index (OSI)>98, Revised Trauma Score (RTS)>11, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS-II)>37 and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores≤7, BUN/Cr ratio was also related to the increased risk of in-hospital mortality (all p

Abstract Developing efficient strategy to regulate heat conduction is a challenging problem, with potential implication in the field of thermal materials. We here focus on a potential thermal material, i.e. complex networks of nanowires and nanotubes, and propose a model where the mass of each node is assigned proportional to its degree with $$m_i\sim k_i^{\alpha }$$ m i ∼ k i α , to investigate how distributed nodes masses can impact the heat flow in a network. We find that the heat conduction of complex network can be either increased or decreased, depending on the controlling parameter $$\alpha$$ α . Especially, there is an optimal heat conduction at $$\alpha =1$$ α = 1 and it is independent of network topologies. Moreover, we find that the temperature distribution within a complex network is also strongly influenced by the controlling parameter $$\alpha$$ α . A brief theoretical analysis is provided to explain these results. These findings may open up appealing applications in the cases of demanding either increasing or decreasing heat conduction, and our approach of regulating heat conduction by distributed nodes masses may be also valuable to the challenge of controlling waste heat dissipation in highly integrated and miniaturized modern devices.

IntroductionPrimary intrathoracic liposarcoma is extremely rare, and most published series lack genetic analyses. The aim of our study is to better understand the clinicopathologic and genetic features of these rare lesions.Materials and methodsForty-three primary intrathoracic liposarcomas were identified and most cases were analyzed by systematic genetic studies, including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), whole-exome sequencing (WES), and Sanger sequencing.ResultsThis series included 27 males and 16 females (ratios, 1.68:1) aged 24-73 years (median, 53 years). Tumors mainly occurred in the mediastinum (n=23, 53.5%), followed by pleural cavity (n=16, 37.2%) and lung (n=4, 9.3%). The study included 21 well-differentiated liposarcomas (WDLs), 19 dedifferentiated liposarcomas (DDLs), 2 myxoid pleomorphic liposarcomas (MPLs) and 1 pleomorphic liposarcoma (PL), without identification of myxoid liposarcoma. FISH analysis identified MDM2 amplification in 17 of 18 WDLs (94.4%) and all DDLs (16/16, 100.0%). The MDM2-nonamplified WDL was CDK4-nonamplified but FRS2-amplified. WES and Sanger sequencing found somatic TP53 mutation in the 2 MPLs. Follow-up information was available for 33 of 38 cases (86.8%). Thirteen patients (39.4%) showed no evidence of disease, 10 patients (30.3%) were alive with disease, and 8 patients (24.2%) died of disease. Fourteen cases developed recurrence and 1 with metastasis.ConclusionsWDL/DDL was the overwhelming subtype in this location, followed by MPL and PL. Analysis of the FRS2 gene, in combination with MDM2 and other genes of 12q13-15, may more precisely characterize WDL/DDLs. MPL is the most fatal subtype of this site. Further studies are needed to explore the role of TP53 in the pathogenesis of MPL.

We presented tri-band negative modulus acoustic metamaterials (AM), whose operation characteristics could be flexibly designed by changing the three hole sizes (i.e., a1, a2, and a3) of the tri-layer nested split hollow spheres (NSHSs). We demonstrate numerically that tri-band negative modulus can be obtained and each resonant frequency corresponds to the hole size of each split hollow sphere. However, for the case when a1> a2> a3, the negative modulus band in the high frequency region vanishes. An effective sound-force analogue model with coupling interaction is further developed for the accurate prediction of the three resonant frequencies based on equating the tri-layer NSHSs to three spring oscillators in series. As a result of the analytical formulas, three resonant frequencies could be precisely controlled, and a nested AM with a tri-band negative modulus can be flexibly constructed. The proposed AM could be easily extended to multiple operation bands and can be further coupled with negative mass density structures for constructing multi-band double-negative AMs.

Lightweight, high-temperature-resistant carbon-bonded carbon fiber (CBCF) composites with excellent thermal insulation properties are desirable materials for thermal protection systems in military and aerospace applications. Here, glucose was introduced into the polyacrylamide hydrogel to form the glucose-polyacrylamide (Glu-PAM) hydrogel. The CBCF composites were prepared using the Glu-PAM hydrogel as a brand-new binder, and the synergistic effect between glucose and acrylamide was investigated. The results showed the Glu-PAM hydrogel could limit the foaming of glucose and enhance the carbon yield of glucose. Meanwhile, the dopamine-modified chopped carbon fiber could be uniformly mixed by high-speed shearing to form a slurry with the Glu-PAM hydrogel. Finally, the slurry was successfully extruded and molded to prepare CBCF composites with a density of 0.158~0.390 g cm−3 and excellent thermal insulation performance and good mechanical properties. The compressive strength of CBCF composites with a density of 0.158 g cm−3 in the Z direction is 0.18 MPa, and the thermal conductivity in the Z direction at 25 °C and 1200 °C is 0.10 W m−1 k−1 and 0.20 W m−1 k−1, respectively. This study provided an efficient, environment-friendly, and cost-effective strategy for the preparation of CBCF composites.

Large (Ti, V) carbonitrides with size even up to tens of microns in autoparts steel 38MnVS6 are studied in this work. A great number of micron-sized (Ti, V) carbonitrides are found in continuous casting billet, and the atomic ratios of V/Ti are mainly distributed in range 0.130–0.200 with an average value of 0.171. The large (Ti, V) carbonitrides have irregular morphologies, and some even have an obviously extending shape along the dendrite boundary. 3D morphologies of the large (Ti, V) carbonitride after being etched by AA solution present obvious long and flake shapes. The large (Ti, V) carbonitride has high thermal stability even at 1200°C, even though the atomic ratio of V/Ti has a decreasing tendency. There are still many large (Ti, V) carbonitrides in the rolled bar and partially broken in some which are clearly visible. According to the Thermo-Calc calculation result, the large (Ti, V) carbonitride precipitates in liquid steel during solidification. The chemical compositional characteristic is the result of subsequent mutual diffusion of elements Ti, V, C, and N. Simply reducing the content of Ti, even 13 ppm cannot eliminate the large (Ti, V) carbonitride for the nitrogen-containing, nonquenched, and tempered steel, but the quantity and size of large carbonitride are significantly reduced.

DFT calculations are performed to investigate the electronic and optical absorption properties of two-dimensional heterostructures constructed by Janus MoSSe and germanene. It is found that a tiny gap can be opened up at the Dirac point in both Ge/SMoSe and Ge/SeMoS heterostructures, with intrinsic high-speed carrier mobility of the germanene layer being well preserved. An n-type Schottky contact is formed in Ge/SMoSe, while a p-type one is formed in Ge/SeMoS. Compared to corresponding individual layers, germanene-MoSSe heterostructures can exhibit extended optical absorption ability, ranging from ultraviolet to infrared light regions. The position of the Dirac cone, the Dirac gap value as well as the position of the optical absorption peak for both Ge/SMoSe and Ge/SeMoS heterostructures can be tuned by in-plane biaxial strains. It is also predicted that a Schottky–Ohmic transition can occur when suitable in-plane strain is imposed (especially tensile strain) on heterostructures. These results can provide a helpful guide for designing future nanoscale optoelectronic devices based on germanene-MoSSe vdW heterostructures.

Exciting Fano resonance can improve the quality factor (Q-factor) and enhance the light energy utilization rate of optical devices. However, due to the large inherent loss of metals and the limitation of phase matching, traditional optical devices based on surface plasmon resonance cannot obtain a larger Q-factor. In this study, a silicon square-hole nano disk (SHND) array device is proposed and studied numerically. The results show that, by breaking the symmetry of the SHND structure and transforming an ideal bound state in the continuum (BIC) with an infinite Q-factor into a quasi-BIC with a finite Q-factor, three Fano resonances can be realized. The calculation results also show that the three Fano resonances with narrow linewidth can produce significant local electric and magnetic field enhancements: the highest Q-factor value reaches 35,837, and the modulation depth of those Fano resonances can reach almost 100%. Considering these properties, the SHND structure realizes multi-Fano resonances with a high Q-factor, narrow line width, large modulation depth and high near-field enhancement, which could provide a new method for applications such as multi-wavelength communications, lasing, and nonlinear optical devices.

Abstract Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has led to the highest cancer-related mortality for decades. To enhance the efficiency of early diagnosis and therapy, more efforts are urgently needed to reveal the origins of NSCLC. In this study, we explored the effect of miR-542-5p in NSCLC with clinical samples and in vivo models and further explored the prospective function of miR-542-5p though bioinformatics methods. Methods A total of 125 NSCLC tissue samples were collected, and the expression of miR-542-5p was detected by qRT-PCR. The relationship between miR-542-5p level and clinicopathological features was analyzed. The effect of miR-542-5p on survival time was also explored with K-M survival curves and Cox’s regression. The effect of miR-542-5p on the tumorigenesis of NSCLC was verified with a chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. The potential target genes were predicted by bioinformatics tools, and relevant pathways were analyzed by GO and KEGG. Several hub genes were validated by Proteinatlas. Results The expression of miR-542-5p was down-regulated in NSCLC tissues, and consistent results were also found in the subgroups of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Down-regulation of miR-542-5p was found to be connected with advanced TNM stage, vascular invasion, lymphatic metastasis and EGFR. Survival analyses showed that patients with lower miR-542-5p levels had markedly poorer prognosis. Both tumor growth and angiogenesis were significantly suppressed by miR-542-5p mimic in the CAM model. The potential 457 target genes of miR-542-5p were enriched in several key cancer-related pathways, such as morphine addiction and the cAMP signaling pathway from KEGG. Interestingly, six genes (GABBR1, PDE4B, PDE4C, ADCY6, ADCY1 and GIPR) from the cAMP signaling pathway were confirmed to be overexpressed in NSCLCs tissues. Conclusions This evidence suggests that miR-542-5p is a potential tumor-suppressed miRNA in NSCLC, which has the potential to act as a diagnostic and therapeutic target of NSCLC.

Simultaneously improving the toughness and strength of B-microalloyed steel by adding microalloying elements (Nb, V, Ti) has been an extensively usedmethod for researchers. However, coarse Ti(C, N) particle will precipitate during solidification with inappropriate Ti content addition, resulting in poor impact toughness. The effect of the size, number density, and location of Ti(C, N) particle on the impact toughness of B-microalloyed steel with various Ti/N ratios was investigated. Coarse Ti(C, N) particles were investigated to act as the cleavage fracture initiation sites, by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. When more coarse Ti(C, N) inclusions were located in ferrite instead of pearlite, the impact toughness of steel with ferrite⁻pearlite microstructure was lower. Meanwhile, when the size or the number density of Ti(C, N) inclusions was larger, the impact toughness was adversely affected. Normalizing treatment helps to improve the impact property of B-microalloyed steel, owing to the location of Ti(C, N) particles being partly changed from ferrite to pearlite. The formation mechanism of coarse Ti(C, N) particles was calculated by the thermodynamic software Factsage 7.1 and Thermo-Calc. The Ti(C, N) particles formed during the solidification of molten steel, and the N-rich Ti(C, N) phase precipitated first and, then, followed by the C-rich Ti(C, N) phase. Decreasing the Ti and N content is an effective way to inhibit the formation of coarse Ti(C, N) inclusions.