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This paper describes the influence of the transannular π–π interaction in controlling the carrier transport in molecular wires by employing the STM break junction technique. Five pentaphenylene-based molecular wires that contained [2.2]paracyclophane-1,9-dienes (PCD) as the building block were prepared as model compounds. Functional substituents with different electronic properties, ranging from strong acceptors to strong donors, were attached to the top parallel aromatic ring and used as a gate. It was found that the carrier transport features of these molecular wires, such as single-molecule conductance and a charge-tunneling barrier, can be systematically controlled through the transannular π–π interaction.

TiO2 thin films were deposited by the energy filtrating magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique and the traditional direct current magnetron sputtering (DMS) technique. The influence of the filtering electrode mesh number on the structure and optical properties of TiO2 thin films was investigated. The structure, surface morphology and optical properties were characterized by XRD, SEM and ellipsometric spectroscopy, respectively. Results show that the TiO2 thin films deposited by the DMS and EFMS techniques at the same deposition parameters are composed of the anatase phase exclusively. TiO2 thin films deposited at lower deposition rate by the EFMS technique have lower crystallinity, smaller particle size and smoother surface. With increasing the mesh number, the refractive index, extinction coefficient and optical band gap are larger.

Background MSI CRCs were associated with better prognosis and limited predictive value for adjuvant chemotherapy. However, whether the same is true in Northeastern China is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of clinicopathologic features and MMR/MSI status determined with immunohistochemistry analysis in Northeast China patients with stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ CRCs. Particularly, we sought to detect the relationship between MMR/MSI status and efficacy of oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine based adjuvant chemotherapy.MethodsIn total, 476 pathological specimens from eligible stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ CRCs were analyzed with IHC between 2016 and 2018, of which 63 CRCs were diagnosed with MMR protein deficiency. Clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) were compared between these above two groups. Result The incidence of dMMR CRCs in our cohort was 13.2 % (63/476). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed two common dMMR IHC patterns in 63 dMMR CRCs. And dMMR type1 showed a higher proportion of women (P=0.001) and earlier pathological N stage (P=0.075). In the multivariate Cox regression model, POC and dMMR were associated with a favor prognosis in CRC patients with stage II/III (HR 0.47, 95%CI 0.30-0.74, P=.001; HR 0.34, 95%CI 0.14-0.79, P=.013). However, adjuvant chemotherapy based on oxaliplatin and fluorouracil cannot prolong the OS of dMMR CRCs (P=0.182). Conclusions MMR protein appeared distinct associations with tumor staging, serum CEA level and tumor size. And MMR protein was an independent prognostic marker in patients with stage Ⅱ CRC, whereas dMMR CRC patients did not seem to benefit from oxaliplatin combined with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

Mountain dynamic response monitoring plays important roles in geological disaster evolution monitoring and warning. A distributed mountain seismic monitoring and steady-state analysis method is demonstrated with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) and a natural earthquake stimulus. In the field test, the seismic detection capability is first verified by comparing the recorded seismic waveforms from DAS and existing seismic stations. The vibration signal difference between steady-state and unsteady-state mountain parts is apparent; the operational modal analysis method is utilized to extract the response difference and to monitor the disaster evolution process. The proposed method has many advantages, including being easy to deploy, all-weather online monitoring, etc. It is believed that the proposed method will broaden the DAS application scope and promote the development of geological disaster early warning such as landslides and collapses.

Journal of power sources 529, 231221 (2022). doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.231221, Published by Elsevier, New York, NY [u.a.]

Experimental investigation of the amplitude characteristics of wind loads on a square cross-sectional tall building under the combined aerodynamic control, which consists of the shape modification and air suction, has been conducted, and the effects of the suction flux coefficients CQ and wind direction angles on the wind pressure coefficients and aerodynamic force coefficients of five test models (includes a square cylinder and its corner modifications such as recession and chamfer, tapered cylinder and Y-shaped cylinder, and they are denoted as the Models 1–5 respectively) with and without air suction control have been analyzed. The Model 1 without suction control is defined as the benchmark model. The results show that the shape modifications have significant control effects on the mean and RMS pressure drag coefficients (CD and CσD) as well as the RMS pressure lift coefficient CσL of the Models 2, 3 and 5 at 0° wind direction, with the maximum reduction rates (CDR, CσDR and CσLR) of 39.2%, 44.0% and 38.4% for the Models 2, 5 and 2 respectively. When compared with the benchmark model, the most significant control effects of the combined aerodynamic control on CDR, CσD and CσL of the Models 2–5 with the suction speed of 9 m/s are also at 0° wind direction, with the maximum reduction rates of 61.8%, 65.8% and 5.7% for the Models 2, 2 and 5 respectively, which indicates that the combined aerodynamic control is more effective on the drag reduction than the passive or active aerodynamic control individually, and the Model 2 with suction control has the best wind-resistant performance. This study contributes to an effective aerodynamic measure to control the amplitude characteristics of wind loads on tall buildings, which can be an important reference for further studies or potential engineering applications of the combined aerodynamic control in mitigating the wind loads and wind-induced responses of tall buildings.

Background This study was aimed to determination the tumor inhibitory effect and explore the potential mechanisms of Lagopsis supine ethanol extract (Ls) on colorectal cancer. Methods The cell growth inhibition experiment of Ls in colorectal cancer cell lines was determined by MTT method in the time course of 24, 48 and 72 h in four gradient drug concentrations. The protein expression levels of pSTAT3, pJAK2, STAT3, JAK2, Bcl-2 and caspase 3 were measured by Western blot method. The mRNA levels of the downstream genes of STAT3 were detected through semi-quantitative RT PCR. Sixty Balb/c-nude mice were xenograft with HCT116 colorectal cancer cells through subcutaneously. The xenografts were divided into five groups: model group, positive group (capecitabine 300 mg/kg) and three dosages of Ls treated groups (75, 150 and 300 mg/kg). Tumor size and tumor weight were calculated for evaluation the anti-tumor effects. H & E staining and immunohistochemical analysis were used to determine the histopathological changes and the levels of pSTAT3 and pJAK2 in the tumor tissues. Results Ls exhibited a significant anti-proliferation effect in HCT116 and SW480 cells in vitro. The protein levels of pSTAT3, pJAK2 and Bcl-2, and the mRNA levels of Bcl-2 and Bak notably reduced with a dose-dependent manner. While the protein levels of caspase 3, and mRNA levels of Bax and caspase-3 remarkably increased in the gradient dosage of Ls in HCT116 cells. HCT116 in vivo xenografts experiment showed that the growth of the tumors significantly inhibited by Ls administration, which with no any significant body weight changes in each experiment group. The histopathology analysis displayed that Ls significantly reduced the inflammatory cells in tumor tissue. Furthermore, Ls also significantly down-regulate the protein levels of pSTAT3 and pJAK2 in the tumor tissues, compared with the model group. Conclusions This work shows that Ls inhibited the cell proliferation of colorectal cancer in vitro and significantly reduced the tumor growth in HCT116 xenografts in vivo, which is probably related with the JAK/STAT signal pathway.

Rationale: Aspergillus and Cryptococcus exposure can cause serious secondary infections in human lungs, especially in immunocompromised patients or in conjunction with a chronic disease caused by low disease resistance. Primary invasive fungal infections are clinically rare; therefore, coexistence of 2 fungi at an infection site is uncommon. This paper reports a case of healthy male who was diagnosed with both Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus infections. Patient concerns: A healthy 33-year-old male office worker was admitted to the Second Hospital of Jilin University for hemoptysis. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed a cavity, which was formed by the thick dorsal wall of the lower left lobe with an irregular inner wall and burr changes around the lesion. Intervention: After 1.0 week of antibiotic and antituberculosis treatment, the hemoptysis symptoms remained. A resection of the left lower lobe was performed. Diagnoses: The postoperative pathological reports indicated the presence of both Aspergillus and Cryptococcus. The 2 fungal lesions were separate but within the same location. Outcomes: After treatment, the patient no longer had hemoptysis. Lessons: The current study indicated that fungi can infect not only immunocompromised patients but also healthy people, and that there can be 2 separate fungal infections at the same infection site.

Titanium oxide (TiO2) film was deposited by an improved direct current magnetron sputtering (DMS) technique. The improved technique was named as energy filtering magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique. The phase, surface morphology, and optical property of the film were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and spectroscopic ellipsometer, respectively. Results show that the TiO2 film prepared by the EFMS technique has good crystallization of the anatase phase without subsequent annealing process. The film is denser and the grain size is smaller. The crystallite sizes of the TiO2 films prepared by the DMS and EFMS techniques are obtained at about 17.3 and 12.5 nm. The TiO2 film deposited by the EFMS technique has higher refractive index and larger band gap owing to the result of the quantum size effect.

At the optimized deposition parameters, Cu film was deposited by the direct current magnetron sputtering (DMS) technique and the energy filtrating magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique. The nano-structure was charactered by x-ray diffraction. The surface morphology of the film was observed by atomic force microscopy. The optical properties of the film were measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The refractive index, extinction coefficient and the thickness of the film were obtained by the fitted spectroscopic ellipsometry data using the Drude–Lorentz oscillator optical model. Results suggested that a Cu film with different properties was fabricated by the EFMS technique. The film containing smaller particles is denser and the surface is smoother. The average transmission coefficient, the refractive index and the extinction coefficients are higher than those of the Cu film deposited by the DMS technique. The average transmission coefficient (400–800 nm) is more than three times higher. The refractive index and extinction coefficient (at 550 nm) are more than 36% and 14% higher, respectively.

A specially designed magnetron sputtering technique - Energy Filtering Magnetron Sputtering (EFMS) technique, was utilized to deposit Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films on Si (100) substrate. The improvements on the crystallization properties, surface morphology and optical properties of the films were studied. The results indicated that the EFMS can be a useful technique to prepare high quality thin films, which will be helpful in enabling the potential applications of AlN thin films based microelectronic, optoelectronic and SAW devices.

Single material TiO2 was used to fabricate the double layers antireflection coating with photocatalytic property. TiO2 layers with low and high refractive indices were prepared by the direct reactive magnetron sputtering technique and energy filtrating magnetron sputtering technique, respectively. The structure, surface morphology and optical property were tested by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope and spectroscopic ellipsometer. The photocatalytic property of the coating was evaluated by UV–vis spectrophotometer. Results suggested that the coating had both antireflective and photocatalytic performances. The refractive indices of the top and bottom TiO2 layers were 2.10 and 2.47 (at 600 nm), respectively. The average and max transmissivities were obtained of 88.4% and 98.9% in the wavelength range of 400–800 nm and the degradation rate on Rhodamine B was obtained of 0.0034 min−1.

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering (DMS) using an orthogonal experimental design approach. The optimized parameters were investigated. At the optimized condition, TiO 2 film was fabricated by the energy filtrating magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique. The crystal structure and surface morphology of the film were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The optical property was examined by a spectroscopic ellipsometer. The photocatalytic activity was tested by a UV–vis spectrophotometer, irradiated by the ultraviolet light. Results suggested that the TiO 2 films were well crystallized of the anatase phase without subsequent annealing. TiO 2 film deposited by the EFMS technique had a dense surface morphology consisting of smaller particles. Because of the smaller particles, larger contact area and higher band gap (3.40 eV) were generated. As a result, an improved degradation rate of rhodamine B at 0.00267 min −1 was obtained for the film prepared by the EFMS technique.