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• The defect-rich VS 4 nanosheets are obtained via microwave-induced fabrication method. • The sulfur vacancies promote the desorption of Mg2+. • V3+ self-doping maintains the structural stability of the active material. • Cation-anionic synergistic redox achieve a high specific capacity. Vanadium sulfide (VS 4) demonstrates the most prospect as the cathode materials for rechargeable magnesium battery due to its special one-dimensional linear crystal structure. However, VS 4 cathode still suffers from sluggish kinetics, irreversible structural change, short cycle life, and low capacity. Herein, a microwave-induced synthesis method is presented to fabricate VS 4 nanosheets with rich sulfur vacancies and high V3+/V4+ ratio. When serviced as the cathode material for rechargeable magnesium battery, the VS 4 nanosheets display excellent electrochemical performances with large specific capacity of 701 mAh/g at 200 mA g−1 current density. In addition, the VS 4 nanosheets cathodes also show long-term operating stability over 600 cycles at 1.0 A/g current density with only 0.3 % capacity decay per cycle. Our experimental results show that the improved electrochemical reaction kinetics is ascribed to the defect-rich structure and the reversible anionic redox reactions between S2−/S 2 2− of the VS 4 nanosheets. This work offers a meaningful way to design high-performance Mg2+ ion storage cathode materials with favorable diffusion kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hierarchical carbon-encapsulated yolk-shell nickelic composites were fabricated by a general MOF-derived route via Ostwald ripening and anion exchange strategy. Benefitting from the unique yolk-shell carbon framework, synergistic effect and satisfied phys-chemical characters, the nickel phosphide displays superior sodium storage properties compared with sulfide and selenide counterparts. [Display omitted] Transition-metal compounds have attracted enormous attention as potential energy storage materials for their high theoretical capacity and energy density. However, the most present transition-metal compounds still suffer from severe capacity decay and limited rate capability due to the lack of robust architectures. Herein, a general metal–organic framework-derived route is reported to fabricate hierarchical carbon-encapsulated yolk-shell nickelic spheres as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. The nickelic metal–organic framework (Ni-MOF) precursors can be in situ converted into hierarchical carbon-encapsulated Ni 2 P (Ni 2 P/C), NiS 2 (NiS 2 /C) and NiSe 2 (NiSe 2 /C) by phosphorization, sulfuration, and selenation reaction, respectively, and maintain their yolk-shell sphere-like morphology. The as-synthesized Ni 2 P/C sample can deliver much lower polarization and discharge platform, smaller voltage gap, and faster kinetics in comparison with that of the other two counterparts, and thus achieve higher initial specific capacity (3222.1/1979.3 mAh g−1) and reversible capacity of 765.4 mAh g−1 after 110 cycles. This work should provide new insights into the phase and structure engineering of carbon-encapsulated transition-metal compound electrodes via MOFs template for advanced battery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surrogate models have been widely adopted for reliability analysis. The common approach is to construct a series of surrogates based on a training set and then pick out the best one with the highest accuracy as an approximation of the time-consuming limit state function. However, the traditional method increases the risk of adopting an inappropriate model and does not take full advantage of the data devoted to constructing different surrogates. Furthermore, obtaining more samples is very expensive and sometimes even impossible. Therefore, to save the cost of constructing the surrogate and improve the prediction accuracy, an ensemble strategy is proposed in this paper for efficiently analyzing the structural reliability. The values of the weights are obtained by a recursive process and the leave-one-out technique, in which the values are updated in each iteration until a given prediction accuracy is achieved. Besides, a learning function is used to guide the selection of the next sampling candidate. Because the learning function utilizes the uncertainty estimator of the surrogate to guide the design of experiments (DoE), to accurately calculate the uncertainty estimator of the ensemble of surrogates, the concept of weighted mean square error is proposed. After the high-quality ensemble of surrogates of the limit state function is available, the Monte Carlo method is employed to calculate the failure probabilities. The proposed method is evaluated by three analytic problems and one engineering problem. The results show that the proposed ensemble of surrogates has better prediction accuracy and robustness than the stand-alone surrogates and the existing ensemble techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kriging-based reliability method with a sequential design of experiments (DoE) has been developed in recent years for implicit limit state functions. Such methods include the efficient global reliability analysis, the active learning reliability method combining Kriging and MCS Simulations. In this research, a novel local approximation method based on the most probable failure point (MPFP) is proposed to improve such methods. In this method, the MPFP calculated in the last iteration is the center of the next sampling region. The size of the local region depends on the reliability index obtained by the First Order Reliability Method (FORM) and the deviation distance of the standard deviation. The proposed algorithm, which approximates the limit state function accurately near MPFP rather than in the whole design space, can avoid selecting samples in regions that have negligible effects on the reliability analysis results. In addition, a multi-point enrichment technique is also introduced to select multiple sample points in each iteration. After the high-quality approximation of limit state function is obtained, the failure probability is calculated by the Monte Carlo method. Four numerical examples are used to validate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method is very effective for an accurate evaluation of the failure probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a significant clinical challenge. Chemotherapy remains the mainstay for a large part of TNBC patients, whereas drug resistance and tumor recurrence frequently occur. It is in urgent need to identify novel molecular targets for TNBC and develop effective therapy against the aggressive disease. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the expression of HER3 in TNBC samples. Western blots were used to assess protein expression and activation. Cell proliferation and viability were determined by cell growth (MTS) assays. TCGA databases were analyzed to correlate HER3 mRNA expression with the clinical outcomes of TNBC patients. Specific shRNA was used to knockdown HER3 expression. IncuCyte system was utilized to monitor cell growth and migration. LIVE/DEAD Cell Imaging was to detect live and dead cells. HER3 recognition by our anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 4A7 was verified by ELISA, flow cytometry, and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Orthotopic tumor models were established in nude mice to determine the capability of TNBC cells forming tumors and to test if our mAb 4A7 could potentiate the antitumor activity of paclitaxel in vivo. Results: Elevated expression of HER3 was observed in approximately half of the TNBC specimens and cell lines tested. Analyses of TCGA databases found that the TNBC patients with high HER3 mRNA expression in the tumors showed significantly worse overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) than those with low HER3 expression. Specific knockdown of HER3 markedly inhibited TNBC cell proliferation and mammosphere formation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Our mAb 4A7 abrogated heregulin (a ligand for HER3), but not SDF-1 (a ligand for CXCR4)-induced enhancement of TNBC cell migration. Combinations of 4A7 and the EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib dramatically decreased the levels of phosphorylated HER3, EGFR, Akt, and ERK1/2 in TNBC cells and potently induced growth inhibition and cell death. Moreover, 4A7 in combination with paclitaxel exerted significant antitumor activity against TNBC in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that increased HER3 is an effective therapeutic target for TNBC and our anti-HER3 mAb (4A7) may enhance the efficacy of gefitinib or paclitaxel in TNBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resistance to HER2-targeted therapies, including the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab and tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib, frequently occurs and currently represents a significant clinical challenge in the management of HER2-positive breast cancer. We previously showed that the trastuzumab-resistant SKBR3-pool2 and BT474-HR20 sublines were refractory to lapatinib in vitro as compared to the parental SKBR3 and BT474 cells, respectively. The in vivo efficacy of lapatinib against trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer remained unclear. Results: In tumor xenograft models, both SKBR3-pool2- and BT474-HR20-derived tumors retained their resistance phenotype to trastuzumab; however, those tumors responded differently to the treatment with lapatinib. While lapatinib markedly suppressed growth of SKBR3-pool2-derived tumors, it slightly attenuated BT474-HR20 tumor growth. Immunohistochemistry analyses revealed that lapatinib neither affected the expression of HER3, nor altered the levels of phosphorylated HER3 and FOXO3a in vivo. Interestingly, lapatinib treatment significantly increased the levels of phosphorylated Akt and upregulated the expression of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1) in the tumors-derived from BT474-HR20, but not SKBR3-pool2 cells. Conclusions: Our data indicated that SKBR3-pool2-derived tumors were highly sensitive to lapatinib treatment, whereas BT474-HR20 tumors exhibited resistance to lapatinib. It seemed that the inefficacy of lapatinib against BT474-HR20 tumors in vivo was attributed to lapatinib-induced upregulation of IRS1 and activation of Akt. Thus, the tumor xenograft models-derived from SKBR3-pool2 and BT474-HR20 cells serve as an excellent in vivo system to test the efficacy of other HER2-targeted therapies and novel agents to overcome trastuzumab resistance against HER2-positive breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multifunctional trastuzumab-nanoparticle-fluorocarbon system was developed to maximize the diagnostic effects in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. The mesoporous silica nanoparticle shape (e.g. amorphous, spherical, and tubular) was altered to optimize the ultrasound contrast potential. Fluorocarbon conjugated mesoporous silica nanoparticles produced higher mean pixel intensities. At lower non-toxic concentrations, tubular shaped nanoparticles produced a higher mean pixel intensity compared to amorphous and spherical particles. All systems displayed a clear binding preference towards HER2-positive breast cancer cells. Increased incubation times and conjugation of fluorocarbon to mesoporous nanoparticles increased binding preference to HER2-positive breast cancer cells. The highest binding affinity was seen with tubular shaped nanoparticles as compared to amorphous and spherical particles. The trastuzumab-nanoparticlefluorocarbon system of each morphology displayed functionality of enhancing contrast in ultrasound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infratentorial craniotomy patients have a high incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have been shown in multiple surgical disciplines to improve outcomes, including reduced PONV. However, very few studies have described the application of ERAS to infratentorial craniotomy. The aim of this study was to examine whether our ERAS protocol for infratentorial craniotomy could improve PONV. Methods: We implemented an evidence-based, multimodal ERAS protocol for patients undergoing infratentorial craniotomy. A total of 105 patients who underwent infratentorial craniotomy were randomized into either the ERAS group (n = 50) or the control group (n = 55). Primary outcomes were the incidence of vomiting, nausea score, and use of rescue antiemetic during the first 72 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included postoperative anxiety level, sleep quality, and complications. Results: Over the entire 72 h post-craniotomy observation period, the cumulative incidence of vomiting was significantly lower in the ERAS group than in the control group. Meanwhile, the incidence of vomiting was significantly lower in the ERAS group on postoperative days (PODs) 2 and 3. Notably, the proportion of patients with mild nausea (VAS 0–4) was higher in the ERAS group as compared to the control group on PODs 2 or 3. Additionally, the postoperative anxiety level and quality of sleep were significantly better in the ERAS group. Conclusion: Successful implementation of our ERAS protocol in infratentorial craniotomy patients could attenuate postoperative anxiety, improve sleep quality, and reduce the incidence of PONV, without increasing the rate of postoperative complications. Trial registration: ChiCTR-INR-16009662, 27 Oct 2016, Clinical study on the development and efficacy evaluation of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in Neurosurgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal resection has been accepted as a routine therapy for pituitary adenoma, but the postoperative hospital stay is typically several days long. With the advantages of reduced cost and improved patient satisfaction, the application of ambulatory surgery (AS) has developed rapidly. However, AS was still rarely adopted in neurosurgery. Here we designed an AS treatment protocol for pituitary adenoma with the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA), and reported our initial experiences regarding the safety and efficacy of the AS protocol. 63 patients who presented with pituitary adenoma were screened at the Department of Neurosurgery, Tangdu Hospital from July to September, 2017. A total of 20 pituitary adenoma patients who met the inclusion criteria underwent EEA surgery using this evidence-based AS protocol, which emphasized adequate assessment for eligibility, full preparation to minimize invasiveness, enhanced recovery, and active perioperative patient education. Of the 20 patients enrolled, 18 were discharged on the afternoon of the operation day with a median total length of stay (LOS) of 31 hours (range, 29–32) hours. The median LOS after surgery was 6.5 (range, 5–8) hours. Two patients were transferred from the AS protocol to conventional care due to intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage (one case) and an unsatisfying post-anesthetic discharge score (one case). Complications included transient and reversible mild postoperative nausea and vomiting [visual analog scale (VAS) score <3], headache (VAS score <3) after the operation or early after discharge. No patient was readmitted. Our results supported the safety and efficacy of the AS protocol for pituitary adenoma patients undergoing EEA resection among eligible patients, and further evaluation of this protocol in controlled studies with a larger sample size is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infratentorial craniotomy patients have a high incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have been shown in multiple surgical disciplines to improve outcomes, including reduced PONV. However, very few studies have described the application of ERAS to infratentorial craniotomy. The aim of this study was to examine whether our ERAS protocol for infratentorial craniotomy could improve PONV.Methods: We implemented an evidence-based, multimodal ERAS protocol for patients undergoing infratentorial craniotomy. A total of 105 patients who underwent infratentorial craniotomy were randomized into either the ERAS group (n = 50) or the control group (n = 55). Primary outcomes were the incidence of vomiting, nausea score, and use of rescue antiemetic during the first 72 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included postoperative anxiety level, sleep quality, and complications.Results: Over the entire 72 h post-craniotomy observation period, the cumulative incidence of vomiting was significantly lower in the ERAS group than in the control group. Meanwhile, the incidence of vomiting was significantly lower in the ERAS group on postoperative days (PODs) 2 and 3. Notably, the proportion of patients with mild nausea (VAS 0-4) was higher in the ERAS group as compared to the control group on PODs 2 or 3. Additionally, the postoperative anxiety level and quality of sleep were significantly better in the ERAS group.Conclusion: Successful implementation of our ERAS protocol in infratentorial craniotomy patients could attenuate postoperative anxiety, improve sleep quality, and reduce the incidence of PONV, without increasing the rate of postoperative complications.Trial Registration: ChiCTR-INR-16009662, 27 Oct 2016, Clinical study on the development and efficacy evaluation of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in Neurosurgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Nosocomial EVD-related ventriculitis is a major complication and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill neurological patients. Questions remain about best management of EVDs. The purpose of this study is to compare our incidence of ventriculitis to studies using different catheters and/or antibiotic coverage schemes and determine whether c-EVD with prolonged antibiotics given for the duration of drain placement is inferior to ac-EVD with pp-abx or ac-EVD with prolonged antibiotics for prevention of ventriculitis. Methods. A retrospective chart review of all patients who had EVDs placed from January 2010 through December 2015 at home institution was performed. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher’s exact test to compare incidence of ventriculitis identified in other studies with that of home institution. Results. The study included 107 patients, 66 (61.7%) males and 41 (38.3%) females. Average age was 56 years ranging from 18 to 95 years. Average length of drain placement was 7.8 days ranging from 2 to 23 days. Average length of drain placement in infected drains was 13.3 days ranging from 11 to 15 days. There were 3 cases with positive CSF cultures (Staphylococcus haemolyticus and Staphylococcus epidermidis x 2). There were 2 cases with a CSF having a positive gram stain but failed to yield any bacterial growth on culture and did not meet predefined criteria. Conclusions. The c-EVD with prolonged antibiotics given for the duration of drain placement is not inferior to ac-EVD with pp-abx or ac-EVD with prolonged antibiotics for prevention of ventriculitis. The c-EVD with prolonged antibiotics is superior to c-EVD with pp-abx and conventional EVD without antibiotics for prevention of ventriculitis. Selection should include considerations for antibiotic stewardship and cost effectiveness. Future studies should also utilize clinical and CSF profile criteria in addition to positive CSF cultures for identifying ventriculitis to prevent line colonization from classification as ventriculitis in analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highly structured (64% GC) covalently closed circular (CCC) RNA (220 nt) of the virusoid associated with rice yellow mottle virus codes for a 16-kDa highly basic protein using novel modalities for coding, translation, and gene expression. This CCC RNA is the smallest among all known viroids and virusoids and the only one that codes proteins. Its sequence possesses an internal ribo-some entry site and is directly translated through two (or three) completely overlapping ORFs (shifting to a new reading frame at the end of each round). The initiation and termination codons overlap UGAUGA (underline highlights the initiation codon AUG within the combined initiation-termination sequence). Termination codons can be ignored to obtain larger read-through proteins. This circular RNA with no noncoding sequences is a unique natural supercompact "nanogenome." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defect-rich unconventional phase Cu 7.2 S 4 Nanotubes are fabricated by a facile microwave-induced selective etching method. Benefitting from the unique one-dimensional crystal structure and lattice defect-rich hollow structure, the Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotubes exhibit high reversible capacity and remarkable cycling stability. [Display omitted] • The defect-rich Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotubes are fabricated for the first time. • The unique microwave-induced selective etching method is demonstrated. • The record cycling stability is achieved over the Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotube cathode. • The multistep reaction kinetics of the Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotube cathode are confirmed. Copper sulfide is promising great potential for capable cathode in rechargeable magnesium batteries. However, divalent Mg2+ diffusion in its host lattice is subject to high lattice strain and mechanical stress mainly due to strong Coulombic interaction. Herein, a microwave-induced selective etching strategy is reported to construct non-stoichiometric-phase robust Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotubes with rich lattice defects, which can proceed with ultra-long-cycling stability over 1600 cycles with ultra-low capacity decay of 0.0109 % per cycle at 1.0 A g−1. Furthermore, the Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotube cathode can also exhibit a large specific capacity of 314 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 as well as an excellent rate capability of 91.7 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1. The present electrochemical performances greatly surpass those of Cu 7.2 S 4 nanowire, Cu 7.2 S 4 nanoparticle, and conventional phase CuS nanotubes and at least are comparable to the conversion-type cathode materials reported so far. The generated lattice defect combined with the optimized robust nanotube structure can effectively buffer lattice strain and mechanical stress to provide a favorable diffusion kinetic. Our designed microwave-induced selective etching system demonstrates significant superiority in morphology, phase, and defect engineering of Cu 7.2 S 4 nanotubes to accommodate reversible Mg2+ storage for high-performance rechargeable magnesium batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-020-02027-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HER3 is the third member of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER/EGFR) family, and unlike its other family members, is unique due to its minimal intrinsic kinase activity. As a result, HER3 has to interact with another receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), such as EGFR or HER2, in order to activate the PI-3 K/Akt, MEK/MAPK, Jak/Stat pathways, as well as Src kinase. Over-expression of HER3 in various human cancers promotes tumor progression by increasing metastatic potential and acting as a major cause of treatment failure. Effective inhibition of HER3, and/or the key downstream mediators of HER3 signaling, is thought to be required to overcome resistance and enhance therapeutic efficacy. To date, there is no known HER3-targeted therapy that is approved for breast cancer, with a number of anti-HER3 antibodies current in various stages of development and clinical testing. Recent data suggests that the epigenetic strategy of using a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, or functional cooperative miRNAs, may be an effective way to abrogate HER3 signaling. Here, we summarize the latest advances in our understanding of the mechanism of HER3 signaling in tumor progression, with continuing research towards the identification of therapeutic anti-HER3 antibodies. We will also examine the potential to develop novel epigenetic approaches that specifically target the HER3 receptor, along with important key downstream mediators that are involved in cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The HER3 receptor functions as a major cause of drug resistance in cancer treatment. It is believed that therapeutic targeting of HER3 is required to improve patient outcomes. It is not clear whether a novel strategy with two functional cooperative miRNAs would effectively inhibit erbB3 expression and potentiate the anti-proliferative/anti-survival effects of a HER2-targeted therapy (trastuzumab) and chemotherapy (paclitaxel) on HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Results: Combination of miR-125a and miR-205, as compared to either miRNA alone, potently inhibited expression of HER3 in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer BT474 cells. Co-expression of the two miRNAs not only reduced the levels of phosphorylated erbB3 (P-erbB3), Akt (P-Akt), and Src (P-Src), it also inhibited cell proliferation and increased cells at G1 phase. A multi-miRNA lentiviral vector - the cluster of miR-125a and miR-205 - was constructed to simultaneously express the two miRNAs in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Concurrent expression of miR-125a and miR-205 via the miRNA cluster transfection significantly enhanced trastuzumab-mediated growth inhibition and cell cycle G1 arrest in BT474 cells and markedly increased paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in another HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cell line HCC1954. Conclusions: Here, we showed that functional cooperative miRNAs effectively suppressed erbB3 expression. This novel approach targeting of HER3 was able to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of trastuzumab and paclitaxel against HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]