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Borophene, as a rising-star monoelemental two-dimensional (2D) material, has motivated great interest because of its novel properties, such as anisotropic plasmonics, high carrier mobility, mechanical compliance, optical transparency, ultrahigh thermal conductance, and superconductivity. These properties make it an ideal candidate for use in the field of energy, sensors, and information storage. Stimulated by the realization of pioneering experimental works in 2015 and the follow-up synthesis experiments, a series of high-performance borophene-based devices in the fields, including supercapacitors, batteries, hydroelectric generators, humidity sensors, gas sensors, pressure sensors, and memories, have been experimentally reported in recent years, which are beneficial to the transition of borophene-based materials from experimental synthesis to practical application. Therefore, in addition to paying attention to the experimental preparation of borophene, significant efforts are needed to promote the advancement of related applications of borophene. In this review, after providing a brief overview of borophene evolution and synthesis, we mainly summarize the applications of borophene-based materials in energy storage, energy conversion, energy harvesting, sensors, and information storage. Finally, based on the current research status, some rational suggestions and discussions on the issues and challenges in the future research direction are proposed.

Titanium and titanium alloys are used as artificial bone substitutes due to the good mechanical properties and biocompatibility, and are widely applied in the treatment of bone defects in clinic. However, Pure titanium has stress shielding effect on bone, and the effect of titanium-based materials on promoting bone healing is not significant. To solve this problem, several studies have proposed that the surface of titanium-based implants can be modified to generate micro or nano structures and improve mechanical properties, which will have positive effects on bone healing. This article reviews the application and characteristics of several titanium processing methods, and explores the effects of different technologies on the surface characteristics, mechanical properties, cell behavior and osseointegration. The future research prospects in this field and the characteristics of ideal titanium-based implants are proposed.

A novel method for inertia determination of a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) drive is proposed and analyzed, which employs a sinusoidal perturbation torque with a dc offset to drive the PMSM, and the amplitudes of reference sinusoidal torque and sinusoidal speed response are used to compute the system inertia. Compared with other methods, it is robust and fast to obtain the accurate quantity of the inertia. First, the inverter measures the resistances and inductances of a PMSM through a static voltage vector and stand-still frequency response experiments. The parameters are adopted to design the current proportion and integral controller and make both dq-axes currents to perform the first-order response. Second, the results of constant torque experiment employing the current controller are applied to get the friction coefficient and no-load torque. Third, a sinusoidal torque with a dc offset is applied and the response performs a sinusoidal speed with a constant offset. All the above experimental results and other preinstalled parameters are employed to get the system inertia, and the accuracy is verified by another experiment. As compensation for a position signal from a hall sensor, a corresponding method is also proposed to compute the sinusoidal speed response amplitude, which is the key in the procedure.

Borophene has been identified as a rising star in the development of energy conversion and storage devices, sensors and detectors due to its distinctive physical and chemical properties. However, the reported borophenes based on molecular beam epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition and liquid-phase exfoliation suffer due to the easily oxidized structure, complicated transfer process or uncontrollable quality. It is very important for its potential application to develop a method for growing structurally stable borophene directly on an insulating substrate without a transfer process. Here, we report the growth of borophene on insulating quartz via chemical vapor deposition with hydrogen as a carrier gas and NaBH4 as a boron source. The borophene film grown on quartz is called "borophene glass". The as-synthesized borophene coincides well with the α'-2H-borophene predicted by first-principles calculations. To demonstrate the potential application of borophene glass, a novel borophene hydroelectric generator was fabricated to harvest the energy in water and transform it into useful electricity. The induced voltage and power density of the borophene hydroelectric generator are, respectively, up to 4.3 V and 501.7 μW m-2, which are superior to those of carbon-based hydroelectric generators. The electrokinetic theory can be used to interpret the induced electricity from the borophene hydroelectric generator. This work paves the way for the physicochemical exploration of large-area borophene films on insulating substrates for its disruptive applications in energy conversion and storage devices as well as sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many features are shared between esophageal cancer (EC) and gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to explore whether known EC susceptibility loci are also important in the development of GC. A total of 21 genetic variants associated with EC in genome-wide association studies were evaluated with association of GC risk in 2631 cases and 4373 controls of Chinese ancestry. Single variant and weighted genetic scores (WGS) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), and overall EC were analyzed with GC risk, respectively. Genetic variants of rs2274223 in PLCE1 at 10q23.33 (per G allele: odds ratio (OR) = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16-1.38, P = 6.51 × 10 -8 ), rs10052657 in PDE4D at 5q11.2 (per C allele: OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01-1.25, P = 3.28 × 10 -2 ) and rs671 in ALDH2 at 12q24.12 (per A-allele: OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.75-0.91, P = 1.14 × 10 -4 ) were significantly associated with GC risk. The combined effect of those three variants had stronger influence on GC risk (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.19-1.44, P = 2.34 × 10 -8 ). High WGS of ESCC was also associated with increased risk of GC (P = 5.52 × 10 -4 as a continuous variable) (trend test P = 2.71 × 10 -4 ), whereas no statistically significant associations were observed between the WGS of EAC and GC risk (P = 0.66 as a continuous variable) (trend test P = 0.70). ESCC rather than EAC may share genetic susceptibility with GC. Genetic variants at 10q23.33, 5q11.2, and 12q24.12 may be useful as biomarkers to identify individuals with high risk for both ESCC and GC.

Published data has shown inconsistent findings about the association of survivin -31 G/C polymorphism with the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). This meta-analysis quantitatively assesses the results from published studies to provide a more precise estimate of the association between survivin -31 G/C polymorphism as a possible predictor of the risk of CRC. We conducted a literature search in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. Stata 12 software was used to calculate the pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) based on the available data from each article. Six studies including 1840 cases with CRC and 1804 controls were included in this study. Survivin -31 G/C polymorphism was associated with a significantly increased risk of CRC (OR = 1.78; 95% CI, 1.53-2.07; I(2) = 0%). In the race subgroup analysis, both Asians (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.44-2.05; I(2) = 0%) and Caucasians (OR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.46-2.55; I(2) = 0%) with survivin -31 G/C polymorphism had increased CRC risk. In the subgroup analysis according to site of CRC, survivin -31 G/C polymorphism was not associated with colon cancer risk (OR = 2.02; 95% CI, 0.79-5.22; I(2) = 82%). However, this polymorphism was significantly associated with rectum cancer risk (OR = 1.98; 95% CI, 1.42-2.74; I(2) = 0%). In the subgroup analysis by clinical stage, both early stage (I+II) and advanced stage (III+IV) were associated with survivin -31 G/C polymorphism (OR = 1.61; 95% CI, 1.20-2.16; I(2) = 0% and OR = 2.30; 95% CI, 1.70-3.13; I(2) = 0%, respectively). In the subgroup analysis by smoke status, both smokers and non-smokers with survivin -31 G/C polymorphism showed increased CRC risk (OR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.01-2.13; I(2) = 60% and OR = 1.71; 95% CI, 1.28-2.30; I(2) = 0%, respectively). In the subgroup analysis by drink status, both drinkers and non-drinkers with survivin -31 G/C polymorphism showed increased CRC risk (OR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.06-2.37; I(2) = 8% and OR = 1.61; 95% CI, 1.23-2.11; I(2) = 0%, respectively). In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggested that survivin -31 G/C polymorphism may be associated with the risk of CRC.