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Background: It is an important clinical means to identify benign and malignant breast diseases caused by nipple discharge through the detection and analysis of components in nipple discharge. This study was aimed to test the expression and clinical significance of carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in nipple discharge of breast cancer patients. Methods: From January 2017 to December 2018, 86 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast with nipple discharge (breast cancer group) and 50 patients with ordinary breast duct hyperplasia with nipple discharge (benign control group) were selected, and the levels of CA125, CA153 and CEA in nipple discharge and serum were detected by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: The levels of CA125, CA153 and CEA in nipple discharge and serum in benign control group were significantly lower than those in the breast cancer group, and the levels of CA125, CA153 and CEA in serum were obviously lower than those in nipple discharge. The expression levels of CA125, CA153 and CEA in nipple discharge in the breast cancer group had no significant difference in different age of onset and different tumor sites. The CA125, CA153 and CEA levels in nipple discharge of patients with tumor diameter 5 cm, low differentiation, high stage, metastasis, and recurrence were obviously elevated versus to those of patients with tumor diameter

The separation of actinides has a vital place in nuclear fuel reprocessing, recovery of radionuclides, and remediation of environmental contamination. Here we propose a new paradigm of nanocluster-based actinide separation, namely, nanoextraction, that can achieve efficient sequestration of uranium in an unprecedented form of giant coordination nanocages using a cone-shaped macrocyclic pyrogallol[4]arene as the extractant. The U24-based hexameric pyrogallol[4]arene nanocages with distinctive [U2(PG)2] binuclear units (PG = pyrogallol) that rapidly assembled in situ in monophasic solvent were identified by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering. Comprehensive biphasic extraction studies showed that this novel separation strategy has enticing advantages such as fast kinetics, high efficiency, and good selectivity over lanthanides, thereby demonstrating its potential for efficient separation of actinide ions.

In this work, second metal centers are introduced to regulate the coordination behavior of uranyl center in mixed-ligand uranyl compounds with halogen-substituted dichloroisonicotinic acid(H2, 6-dcpca) and 2, 2′-bipyridine(2, 2′-bpy). Through a strategy of diversified competitive coordination via a second metal center(Ag+, Zn2+ and Cu2+), the coordination environment of mixed-ligand uranyl complex was tuned, and six heterometallic uranyl compounds with different second ions, Ag+, Zn2+ or Cu2+, were successfully acquired by hydrothermal synthesis. Single-crystal structures show that these heterometallic nodes can coordinate with ［2, 6-dcpca］- and 2, 2′-bpy as the competitive candidate of uranyl center, and finally lead to different hydrothermal products with varying uranyl coordination patterns and molecular structures. Due to the difference in molecular structure, weak interactions and stacking modes in the supramolecular lattice of these compounds also show different changes. The regulation strategy based on diversified competitive coordination as well as the mixed-ligand method proposed here have been proved to be feasible to achieve the preparation of a diversity of heterometallic uranyl compounds and can be expected to be used for the synthesis and preparation of more valuable functional actinide-organic hybrid materials.

The joint transmit and receive beamforming algorithm has been envisioned to optimise the target's signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio by co‐designing the transmit and receive beamforming vectors simultaneously. However, the traditional design concepts for this algorithm only consider the monostatic radar system, which may not work as well for the multistatic radar system. The authors present a novel transmit and receive beamforming algorithm for the multistatic radar system that includes a common transmitter and multiple receivers. The transmit beamforming vector can directly influence the output signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio of each radar subsystem. To ensure the balanced performance of the subsystems, the authors propose a weighted sum of the signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio optimisation problem to co‐design the transmit and receive beamforming. The proposed problem is non‐convex, and the authors construct an iterative algorithm to solve it using semi‐definite relaxation and slack‐variable replacement techniques. By using pre‐determined weights, the output performance of each radar subsystem can be effectively regulated. The simulation results confirm that the proposed algorithm can ensure better output signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio for the entire multistatic radar system than the conventional joint transmit and receive beamforming algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journey of acquiring proficiency in a second and/or foreign language is lifelong for many learners. In the search for the best educational pedagogies, a study was conducted in which learners' motivations were categorised to analyse each driving effect over learning performance. A retrospective case study of 20 Chinese PhD students learning English in China (i.e. English as a Foreign Language--EFL) and in overseas (i.e. English as a Second Language--ESL) contexts was employed. This study identified 12 different motivational categories which were classified as controlled and autonomous motivations for learning English. Moreover, this study shows both continuity and change in students' motivations: there was a continuity of autonomous motivation over time and across the two contexts, whereas change (d = 0.54) was seen in the frequency of controlled motivation between the two contexts. Specifically, the motivation of these 20 students was dominated by passing exams or proficiency tests in the EFL context and by communication in the ESL context, which possibly accounts for 'silent English' phenomenon in China. Analysis of trends of changes in motivation across different study stages indicated that external regulation belonging to controlled motivation experienced the most fluctuation. This fluctuation was attributed to enrolment pressure in China as well as the immediate demand of communication and the high-stakes PhD study while studying abroad. The results suggest that the development of language learners' motivation is a dynamic process and contingent upon levels of schooling or learning contexts.

BackgroundThe use of dexmedetomidine may have benefits on the clinical outcomes of cardiac surgery. We conducted a meta-analysis comparing the postoperative complications in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with dexmedetomidine versus other perioperative medications to determine the influence of perioperative dexmedetomidine on cardiac surgery patients.MethodsRandomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials comparing outcomes in patients who underwent cardiac surgery with dexmedetomidine, another medication, or a placebo were retrieved from EMBASE, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Science Citation Index.ResultsA total of 1702 patients in 14 studies met the selection criteria among 1,535 studies that fit the research strategy. Compared to other medications, dexmedetomidine has combined risk ratios of 0.28 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.15, 0.55, P = 0.0002) for ventricular tachycardia, 0.35 (95% CI 0.20, 0.62, P = 0.0004) for postoperative delirium, 0.76 (95% CI 0.55, 1.06, P = 0.11) for atrial fibrillation, 1.08 (95% CI 0.74, 1.57, P = 0.69) for hypotension, and 2.23 (95% CI 1.36, 3.67, P = 0.001) for bradycardia. In addition, dexmedetomidine may reduce the length of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis revealed that the perioperative use of dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing cardiac surgery can reduce the risk of postoperative ventricular tachycardia and delirium, but may increase the risk of bradycardia. The estimates showed a decreased risk of atrial fibrillation, shorter length of ICU stay and hospitalization, and increased risk of hypotension with dexmedetomidine.

With the development of urban built-up areas, accurately extracting the urban built-up area and spatiotemporal pattern evolution trends could be valuable for understanding urban sprawl and human activities. Considering the coarse spatial resolution of nighttime light (NTL) data and the inaccurate regional boundary reflection on point of interest (POI) data, land surface temperature (LST) data were introduced. A composite index method (LJ–POI–LST) was proposed based on the positive relationship for extracting the boundary and reflecting the spatial-temporal evolution of urban built-up areas involving the NTL, POIs, and LST data from 1993 to 2018 in this paper. This paper yielded the following results: (1) There was a spatial-temporal pattern evolution from north-east to south-west with a primary quadrant orientation of IV, V, and VI in the Hefei urban area from 1993–2018. The medium-speed expansion rate, with an average value of 14.3 km2/a, was much faster than the population growth rate. The elasticity expansion coefficient of urbanization of 1.93 indicated the incongruous growth rate between the urban area and population, leading to an incoordinate and unreasonable development trend in Hefei City. (2) The detailed extraction accuracy for urban and rural junctions, urban forest parks, and other error-prone areas was improved, and the landscape connectivity and fragmentation were optimized according to the LJ–POI–LST composite index based on a high-resolution remote sensing validation image in the internal spatial structure. (3) Compared to the conventional NTL data and the LJ–POI index, the LJ–POI–LST composite index method displayed an extraction accuracy greater than 85%, with a similar statistical and landscape pattern index result. This paper provides a suitable method for the positive relationship among these LST, NTL, and POI data for accurately extracting the boundary and reflecting the spatial-temporal evolution of urban built-up areas by the fusion data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of rampant urbanization, industrialization, and continuous advancements in construction technology, sustainable development in the construction industry becomes increasingly imperative. A promising avenue toward this sustainability is through the adoption of Recycled Construction Materials (RCMs), yet their widespread use remains complex and filled with numerous barriers, signifying an urgent need for the systematic investigation of these obstacles. This study uniquely employs a qualitative PEST (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) analysis to illuminate the intricate impediments to the adoption and promotion of RCMs. Data for this study were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a variety of experts in the field. The research identifies substantial barriers within each PEST category. Political factors include regulatory biases and limited funding for RCM research, while economic factors involve the higher costs and limited availability of RCMs. Social aspects revolve around public awareness, safety concerns, and resistance to change within the industry. Technological issues focus on the development, performance, and compatibility of RCMs, the slow innovation pace, and the absence of standardized guidelines. Additionally, this study stands out by suggesting strategic, context-specific recommendations aimed at surmounting these obstacles and further fostering the adoption of RCMs. The solutions proposed are intimately linked to the challenges identified, highlighting the practical value and relevance of this study for guiding future research and policy development in the face of ongoing advancements in construction technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional joint transmit and receive beamforming algorithms maximise the output signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio (SINR) by designing the weight coefficients simultaneously at the transmitter and receiver. However, their performance degrades significantly when the model mismatch exists. In this paper, the robust version of the joint transmit and receive beamforming method is considered in the context of the bistatic radar system. In particular, both the transmit array and the receive array suffer model mismatch. The designed beamformer aims to maximise its output SINR subjected to a robustness constraint by simultaneously designing the transmit beamforming vector and the receive beamforming vector. Two types of robustness constraints, namely the worst‐case constraint and the probability constraint, are considered in this paper. The proposed formulations are non‐convex, and the sub‐optimal solutions are obtained by a sequential optimization approach. In addition, a novel method to estimate the interference‐plus‐noise covariance matrices at the transmitter and receiver is proposed, which makes the proposed robust joint beamforming algorithms adapt to the variation of the surrounding environment. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]