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This paper presents controllable growth and photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 hierarchical nanostructures by solvothermal method at different temperatures. It is revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that the morphology of TiO 2 can be effectively controlled as rose-like, chrysanthemum-like and sea-urchin-like only changing solvothermal temperature. BET surface area analysis confirms the presence of a mesoporous network in all the nanostructures, and shows high surface area at relatively high temperature. The photocatalytic activities of the photocatalysts are evaluated by the photodegradation of RhB under UV light irradiation. The TiO 2 samples exhibit high activity on the photodegradation of RhB, which is higher than that of the commercial P25. The enhancement in photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the synergetic effect of the surface area, crystallinity, band gap and crystalline size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leakage dissolution is one of the potential threats to the long-term operating safety of a dam. The aim of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of leakage dissolution around the dam foundation of Qingju Hydropower Station and evaluate its engineering influence based on laboratory testing and in situ monitoring. Comparative analysis of water samples in 20 representative positions shows that the bedrock of the dam foundation has been enduring obvious dissolution under the effects of the groundwater. In situ monitoring data of displacement and leakage during the period from 2005 to 2013 indicates that there has been no excessive deformation, obvious uneven settlement, or concentration leakage in these nine years, and; therefore, the leakage dissolution of the dam foundation has not resulted in critical danger to the safety of dam so far. However, with an annual amount of gypsum dissolution discharged by the drainpipes of about $$ 1.82 \times 10^{5}\,{\rm kg} $$ , long-term leakage dissolution may be hazardous, besides the higher content of SO than normal in the groundwater of the dam foundation caused by leakage dissolution may invoke some crystal corrosion and decrease the durability of the concrete structures. To guarantee the long-term safety of the dam, implementing grouting is proposed to prevent dissolution or slow down the dissolution rate on the basis of real-time monitoring and feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Construct carbon protective shell to alleviate huge volume changes of Si. • Robust carbon framework can effectively maintains the structure integrity. • Carbon buffer layer can offer rich e-/ion channels to improve reaction kinetics. • The SCM electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical performance. Si-based anodes have revealed the potential as the next generation of lithium ion battery anode material, whereas the poor conductivity and huge volume changes during (de)lithiation process of silicon still limit their practical application. Herein, the Si/nitrogen doped carbon layer/carbon framework microspheres (SCM) are designed by nano-Si via electro-spray technology as anodes for lithium ion batteries. It has been found that the SCM consists of individual carbon-coated nano-Si primary particles linked by PAN framework, in which the carbon buffer layer can further absorb the stress of volume changes during charge/discharge process, and the carbon framework carbon framework not only provides fast diffusion path of electron, but also effectively reduces the consumption of electrolyte. Therefore, the initial columbic efficiency (ICE) of SCM anode can reach as high as 72%, and the SCM anode also shows a high specific capacity of 1192 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and keeps a reversible capacity of 746 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles, demonstrating the as-designed SCM possesses an high ICE and a good electrochemical performance. This strategy provides a significant inspiration for fabricating high-performance Si/C anode materials of lithium-ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel carbazole-based Schiff-bases L1 and L2 have been synthesized and characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. L1 can selectively detect Fe 3+ by UV–vis spectroscopy and Fe 3+ /Cr 3+ by fluorescent spectroscopy in CH 3 CN among various metal ions. The addition of Fe 3+ ions to a L1 solution results in a significant blue-shift from 410 nm to 378 nm accompanied with color change from yellowish green to colorless. Upon excitation at 380 nm, the addition of Fe 3+ or Cr 3+ causes a 13-fold or 11-fold fluorescence enhancement. The binding stoichiometry ratio of L1 –Fe 3+ and L1 –Cr 3+ is recognized as 2:1 by the method of Job׳s plot, and the possible binding mode of the system also proposes. The results indicate that L1 is an ideal chemosensor for Fe 3+ and Cr 3+ recognition. However, L2 without hydroxyl in ortho imino group cannot selectively recognize the tasted metal ions, indicating that the introduction of the appropriate coordination binding site to receptor can improve efficiently the selectivity of chemosensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joint application of Fenton’s reagent and CaO can dramatically enhance sludge dewaterability, thus are also likely to affect subsequent thermal drying process. This study investigated the synergistic effects of the two conditioners on the thermal drying behavior of sewage sludge and the emission characteristics of main sulfur-/nitrogen-containing gases. According to the results, Fenton peroxidation combined with CaO conditioning efficiently promoted sludge heat transfer, reduced the amounts of both free and bound water, and created porous structure in solids to provide evaporation channels, thus producing significant positive effects on sludge drying performance. In this case, the required time for drying was shortened to one-third. Additionally, joint usage of Fenton’s reagent and CaO did not increase the losses of organic matter during sludge drying process. Meanwhile, they facilitated the formation of sulfate and sulfonic acid/sulfone, leading to sulfur retention in dried sludge. Both of Fenton peroxidation and CaO conditioning promoted the oxidation, decomposition, and/or dissolution of protein and inorganic nitrogen in sludge pre-treatment. As a consequence, the emissions of sulfurous and nitrogenous gases from dewatered sludge drying were greatly suppressed. These indicate that combining Fenton peroxidation with CaO conditioning is a promising strategy to improve drying efficiency of sewage sludge and to control sulfur and nitrogen contaminants during sludge thermal drying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies are subject to both formal regulation pressure from government and informal regulation pressure from other stakeholders to adopt green innovations for sustainability. Using a sample of 4924 private Chinese companies, our empirical study indicates that both formal and informal regulation pressures have a positive effect on green innovation. We also find that political connections positively moderate the effect of formal regulation pressure on green innovation, but negatively moderate the effect of informal regulation pressure on green innovation. • Both formal and informal regulation pressures have a positive effect on green innovation. • Political connections positively moderate the effect of formal regulation pressure on green innovation. • Political connections negatively moderate the effect of informal regulation pressure on green innovation. • Political connections shield local companies from some of the pressures of informal regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A special coating show a stiff surface and strong adhesion to substrate. • Showing good self-healing ability and 4H hardness by strong and weak coordination. • Better self-healing efficiency in humid and hot environments. • An innovative method to prepare "inner soft external hard" coatings. To reduce pollution and maintain sustainable development, environmental friendly waterborne coatings as a replacement for conventional oil-based coatings have drawn lots of attention and been widely studied recently. It is a challenge to overcome the inherited weakness of waterborne coatings including poor scratch-resistance, low hardness and short lifespan. Herein, we have developed a scratch-resistant and self-healing waterborne coating of poly(urethane-urea), which contains a dual metal coordination structure of Zn(II)-carboxyl and Zn(II)-diamidepyridine by using the method of ions penetration. The addition of zinc ions has given dense metal coordination bonds on the coating surface, which has greatly increased the surface hardness (from B to 4H) and scratch-resistance, while the inner layer keeps excellent adhesion (>1.5 MPa) to substrates because of less metal ion penetration to the inner. What's more, the coating exhibits outstanding self-repairing performance, and the repair ability is better under hygrothermal condition. Atomic force microscope (AFM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermal analysis were used to characterize the self-healing and hardening mechanisms of the coatings. These results are expected to provide a useful method to improve the overall strength of waterborne coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional triaxial braided composite (2DTBC) often fails by external force from different directions in service. In this work, the in-plane compression failure mechanism of 2DTBC was studied along the axial (0°), off-axial (±60°) and perpendicular (90°) directions at quasi-static and high strain rate. The progressive failure process was recorded by infrared thermography with the final morphology using computer tomography technology. A three-dimensional mesoscale finite element model was established to simulate the initiation, accumulation and propagation of various damages. The results show that the in-plane compression strength, strain, energy absorption and failure mode of 2DTBC depends on whether there are main load-bearing (axial or braided) yarns directly transferring stress along load directions. The occurrence and development of localized damages can be captured by high-speed IR thermography and verified by final morphology. The in-plane failure mechanism of 2DTBC is induced by different dominating factors under different load directions, such as the out-of-plane movement of braided yarns, kinking effect at crimp positions, structure antisymmetry effect, buckling and shear instability. • Effect of main load-bearing (axial or braided) yarns during the in-plane compression. • Occurrence and development of damages captured by high-speed IR thermography. • Effect of yarns out-of-plane movement, kinking, buckling and shear instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Integral braiding and near-net forming of CFRP and CFRP/Al hybrid composite tubes. • In-situ and real-time failure mode analysis of CFRP and CFRP/Al composite tube under transverse impact. • Comprehensive effect of braiding angle, locailzed temperature rise, and ductile aluminum on the damage mechanism. High-speed infrared thermography, micro-CT characterization and full-scale mesostructural simulation were jointly applied to reveal the impact deformation and damage mechanism of composite tubes. Two different failure modes, namely the Impact Side Dominated (ISD) and Impact-/Non-impact Side (INIS), were found to have relation with the braiding angle and localized temperature rise. The hybrid effect can not only prevent resin fragmentation in the triangle region at the lateral side and the diamond region at the non-impact side, but also inhibit the CFRP damage development at the lateral and non-impact side. In small-angle braided tube, the impact-side rebound trend of CFRP layer leads to mismatch at the CFRP-Al interface, which results in opening delamination. In large-angle braided tube, the non-impact-side damage plays an important role in further load-bearing capacity. Apart from the structure effect, temperature rise has an effect on composite damage mode by degrading the localized matrix stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coiled tubing (CT) has been increasingly used in offshore oil and gas engineering. However, a number of issues should be solved to guarantee reliability and safety of the application. In this study, a mechanical model of CT-in-riser system is extracted from actual operations. Moreover, micro elements of the CT and riser are respectively analyzed using the infinitesimal method, and then a coupling model is derived. After differential equations are replaced by algebraic equations, the Newton iteration method is used to solve the coupling model. To validate above theory, an experimental platform based on the similarity laws is built. There are two types of experiments to be investigated, including the effects of fixed and floating boundaries, and the effects of three annular clearances. The results show that the force-out has a similarly increasing trend along the force-in under the fixed and floating boundaries, and the larger the annular clearances, the lower the transfer efficiency of the axial force. The maximum error between calculation results and experimental results is within ±5%, which validates the accuracy of the coupling model. The study will provide a theoretical support for CT's operations in offshore engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the demand of lightweight truss, thin-walled single-/double-/four-cell carbon fiber reinforced polymethacrylimide foam sandwich composite beams were manufactured by tubular braiding. Transverse impact damage and axial compression failure of the braided sandwich beams were investigated by finite element modeling, micro-CT detection, acoustic emission and infrared imaging characterization. It is found that impact damage concentrated at edges of the indentation region, internal CFRP walls and surrounding foams. Different from the continuous vertical wall in double-cell beam, cracks on the internal vertical wall of four-cell beam were suppressed at half height due to the discontinuous horizontal wall. During the axial compression, six failure modes were observed for non-impacted(0J) and impacted(40J, 60J, 80J) specimens, which were determined by the combined effect of impacted damages and inner configurations. And the inner configurations have an advantage over the transverse impact effect on the axial failure mechanism. Unlike the single-cell beams, the double- and four-cell counterparts did not present buckling or bending failures owing to the effective support from internal CFRP walls, however, more significant fracture was found at their outer CFRP layers due to the progressive mechanism of shear, tearing, splaying, and separation. • Integral braiding and net forming of sandwich beams with complex cross sections. • Mutual verification by micro-CT, FE analysis, and morphology characterization. • Real-time failure analysis by joint application of AE and IR method. • Effect of pre-impact and inner configurations on CAI properties of sandwich beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ultralight PAFP/GONRs-A aerogel was prepared facilely by solvothermal polymerization method. • The aerogel showed a low density, large specific surface area and high phosphorus content. • The aerogel presented an unexpectedly high adsorption capacity and selectivity for thorium. • Phosphonic groups play an important role in Th(IV) adsorption. • DFT calculations revealed the coordination modes of Th(IV) with the aerogel, confirming the experimental results. An ultralight three-dimensional porous network phosphonic acid functionalized polymer/graphene oxide nanoribbons aerogel (PAFP/GONRs-A) was prepared using trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) and vinylphosphonic acid (VPA) as monomers via solvothermal polymerization method for thorium capture from aqueous solutions. The synthesized aerogel presented a low density (10.6 mg cm−3), large specific surface area (433.2 m2 g−1) and high phosphorus content (18.2%). The adsorption process of Th(IV) on PAFP/GONRs-A was pH-dependent, spontaneous and endothermic, and well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm model. Under optimal experimental conditions (10 mg of adsorbent dosage, 50 mL of solution volume, 240 min of contact time, 298 K of temperature), PAFP/GONRs-A presented an excellent high adsorption capacity of thorium, with maximum capacity of 457.9 mg g−1 at a pH of 3.0, and maximum thorium-selectivity of 87.1% at a pH of 2.0. The values of ΔG for Th(IV) adsorption on PAFP/GONRs-A were calculated to be −21.78, –23.32, −24.87 and −26.41 kJ mol−1 at 283, 298, 313 and 328 K, respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that Th(IV) ions were fixed in aerogel by coordinating with the P = O groups of PAFP/GONRs-A, and both 1:2 ratio of Th(IV) with the P = O ligands on the same graft chain and 1:4 ratio of Th(IV) with P = O ligands on two distinct graft chains could jointly contribute to the adsorption of Th(IV) on PAFP/GONRs-A. This work offers a facile approach for synthesizing the phosphonic acid functionalized graphene oxide nanoribbons aerogel and demonstrates that PAFP/GONRs-A has high potential as a candidate adsorbent for the capture of thorium from aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SiO x has aroused great attractions as a promising substitute for the anode materials of high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of the high specific capacity and the longer cycle life as well as relatively low volume expansion compared to Si. However, the unstable structure and poor conductivity of the SiO x lead to unideal electrochemical properties in LIBs, and thus hindering the widespread application of the SiO x anode. Herein, a facile approach has been put forward to prepare the high-performance mesoporous structure SiO x /carbon (m-SiO x /C) composites by electrospinning technique and sintering processes. The spherical SiO x nanoparticles are well anchored on the carbon fibers, and the reserved space can accommodate large volume expansion of the SiO x materials. Besides, the fibrous carbon materials can significantly enhance the conductivity for the SiO x anodes. Therefore, the resultant m-SiO x /C composites exhibit high discharge specific capacity of 1434 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1 with 67.5% capacity retention after 500 cycles and the good rate properties of 410 mAh g−1 at 2000 mA g−1. In consequence, the reasonable structural design and innovative fabrication technique can facilitate the practical application for the m-SiO x /C composites and further promote the comprehensive electrochemical performance of LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-term glycemic variation in diabetes patients may have contributed to cancer incidence.Aim: In this study we aimed at the association between annual glycemic variation and the risk of cancer in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: Subjects of this study were from an established population-based cohort of T2DM patients in Minhang District of Shanghai, China. Incident cancer were obtained from the Shanghai Cancer Registry. Glycemic variation was evaluated using the annual fasting glucose coefficient of variation (FG-CV), which was used as a time-dependent variable in a Cox regression model to estimate the associations with the cancer risk. Restricted cubic splines were used to explore potential non-linear associations.Results: A total of 2,140 incident cancers (1100 men and 1040 women) were identified from the 46,202 diabetes patients during 12-year follow-up. The annual FG-CV remained significantly associated with an increased risk of cancer, even after adjusting for the annual mean FG level. A significant non-linear association was found in male T2DM patients, and a significant linear association in female patients.Conclusions: The positive association of the annual FG-CV with the risk of cancer in T2DM patients indicate the importance to stabilize the FG level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-velocity impact and flexure-after-impact (FAI) tests were performed on 2D plain woven fabric (PWF) and 3D orthogonal woven fabric (OWF) reinforced carbon fibers/epoxy composite beams while the electrical resistance measurement was applied during impact and FAI tests via four-probe technique to study the relations between resistance variation (RV) and residual mechanical properties. The impact tests (from 3 J to 9 J) showed that OWF specimens have better suppression of delamination than PWF, which was also evaluated through thermography and cross-sectional imaging method. Then FAI tests were implemented on impacted specimens while acoustic emission signals were captured. The residual flexural strength and modulus from the FAI tests were normalized by the values of intact specimens and compared with the RV from impact tests. The relations between electrical and mechanical properties revealed that the rise of resistance after the impact is an effective sign that indicates the reduction in the residual flexural strength and modulus of the composite beam. Moreover, the relation between RV and residual modulus is more effective than that with residual strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oriented construction of high-performance mesoporous TiNb 2 O 7 (m-TNO) is important to the design innovation of anode material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the high capacity and long cyclic life of m-TNO. However, the conductivity enhancement of m-TNO and thus accelerating Li+ transfer is still the key point to realize its practical application in LIBs. In this work, a synergistic strategy based on the single-core/dual-shell m-TNO@TiC@NC hierarchical structure is put forward, which is achieved by using m-TNO as host architecture as well as TiC and N-doped carbon layer (NC) as dual-shell layers. The results show that the m-TNO@TiC@NC hierarchical structure can not only provide an integrated conductive network to improve the conductivity of m-TNO, but also can establish a reinforced structure to maintain the anode stability. Besides, it is found that the m-TNO@TiC@NC composite has a high capacity of 328.6 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C after 200 cycles and a high-rate capacity of 186.4 mAh g−1 at 5 C by galvanostatic discharge-charge tests. Therefore, this kind of special single-core/dual-shell structure design can convincingly enhance the conductivity of m-TNO and facilitate the Li+ transfer rate, thus promoting electrochemical performances of LIBs due to the synergistic effect of dual-shell layers. Image 1 • The m-TNO@TiC@NC composite is achieved by using m-TNO as host architecture as well as TiC and NC as dual-shell layers. • The m-TNO@TiC@NC composite shows the single-core/dual-shell hierarchical structure. • The new-type ceramic material TiC is used as conducting layer. • The m-TNO@TiC@NC composite displays good electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliability of integrated circuits under advanced process nodes is facing more severe challenges. Single-event transients (SET) are an important cause of soft errors in space applications. The SET caused by heavy ions in the 28 nm bulk silicon inverter chains was studied. A test chip with good symmetry layout design was fabricated based on the 28 nm process, and the chip was struck by using 5 kinds of heavy ions with different linear energy transfer (LET) values on heavy-ion accelerator. The research results show that in advanced technology, smaller sensitive volume makes SET cross-section measured at 28 nm smaller than 65 nm by an order of magnitude, the lower critical charge required to generate SET will increase the reliability threat of low-energy ions to the circuit, and high-energy ions are more likely to cause single-event multiple transient (SEMT), which cannot be ignored in practical circuits. The transients pulse width data can be used as a reference for SET modeling in complex circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interlayer friction is an important factor in producing rolls of glass-fiber woven fabric and strongly depends on the fabric structure and fabric interlayer contact mechanism. This paper investigates the effect of the initial contact state on the fabric/fabric friction coefficient by adjusting dislocations along circumferential and axial directions with a Capstan-based test setup. Results reveal that the maximal friction coefficient is approximately proportional to the height gradient between two adjacent yarns, while the minimal friction coefficient is less sensitive to the fabric structure. Moreover, a dislocation between fabric layers reduces both the maximal static and dynamical friction coefficients, and actively reciprocating a dislocation along the axial direction is an effective way of avoiding the interlayer friction from remaining at a low level. A dislocating mechanism is developed and introduced to a commercial fabric winding machine to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving winding quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activated carbon cloth (ACC@TNO) with flexible self-support structure, which is decorated by TiNb 2 O 7 (TNO) nanoparticle, is successfully obtained through hydrothermal reaction and calcination process in high temperature, and is used as the binder-free anode material of lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The morphology characteristic, pore structure properties and the phase structure of the ACC@TNO composites are detailedly studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller adsorption/desorption measurement (BET) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Meanwhile, the electrochemical properties of ACC@TNO composite are further tested by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. As a result, the LIBs with ACC@TNO as anode material shows an initial discharge capacity of 356 mAh g−1 and an initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 87% at the current density of 0.5 C with the voltage window of 1.0–3.0 V. It also has been found that the reversible capacity can still keep as 290 mAh g−1 with the capacity retention of 81% after 500 cycles. Besides, when the cutoff voltage range is set to 0.01–3.0 V, the reversible capacity can reach 340 mAh g−1. Apparently, this work is of great significance for the exploration of the new anode materials with high performance and long cyclic life in next-generation LIBs. Image 1 • The ACC@TNO composite is obtained by epitaxially growing TNO particles on ACC surface like stab grown on the thorn. • The thiourea is use as a nitrogen source and sulfur source to treat the carbon cloth. • The ACC@TNO composite is binder-free anode material. • The ACC@TNO composite displays good electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the long-term shifts in distributions of three abdominal-obesity-related indicators, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) among Chinese adults. Traditional mean regression models used in the previous analyses were limited in their ability to capture cross-distribution among effects. The current study aims to describe the shift in distribution of WC, WHpR, and WHtR over a period of 18 years (1993-2011) in China, and to reveal quantile-specific associations of the three indicators with key covariates.Methods: Longitudinal data from seven waves of the China Health and Nutrition Surveys (CHNS) in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2011 were analyzed. The LMS method was used to illustrate the gender-specific quantile curves of WC, WHtR and WHpR over age. Separate gender-stratified longitudinal quantile regressions were employed to investigate the effect of important factors on the trends of the three indicators.Results: A total of 11,923 participants aged 18-65 years with 49,507 observations were included in the analysis. The density curves of WC, WHtR and WHpR shifted to right and became wider. The three outcomes all increased with age and increased more at upper percentiles. From the multivariate quantile regression, physical activity was negatively associated in both genders; smoking only had a negative effect on male indicators. Education and drinking behavior both had opposite effects on the three indicators between men and women. Marital status and income were positively associated with the shifts in WC, WHtR and WHpR in male and female WC, while urbanicity index had a positive effect on three outcomes in men but inconsistent effect among female outcomes.Conclusions: The abdominal-obesity related indicators of the Chinese adults experienced rapid growth according to our population-based, age- and gender-specific analyses. Over the 18-year study period, major increases in WC, WHtR and WHpR were observed among Chinese adults. Specifically, these increases were greater at upper percentiles and in men. Age, physical activity, energy intake, drinking, smoking, education, income and urbanicity index were associated with elevated abdominal obesity indicators, and the effects differed among percentiles and between genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although palliative care has been accepted throughout the cancer trajectory, accurate survival prediction for advanced cancer patients is still a challenge. The aim of this study is to identify pre-palliative care predictors and develop a prognostic nomogram for overall survival (OS) in mixed advanced cancer patients. Methods: A total of 378 consecutive advanced cancer patients were retrospectively recruited from July 2013 to October 2015 in one palliative care unit in China. Twenty-three clinical and laboratory characters were collected for analysis. Prognostic factors were identified to construct a nomogram in a training cohort (n = 247) and validated in a testing cohort (n = 131) from the setting. Results: The median survival time was 48.0 (95% CI: 38.1–57.9) days for the training cohort and 52.0 (95% CI: 34.6–69.3) days for the validation cohort. Among pre-palliative care factors, sex, age, tumor stage, Karnofsky performance status, neutrophil count, hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, uric acid, and cystatin-C were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS. Based on the 10 factors, an easily obtained nomogram predicting 90-day probability of mortality was developed. The predictive nomogram had good discrimination and calibration, with a high C-index of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.73–0.80) in the development set. The strong discriminative ability was externally conformed in the validation cohort with a C-index of 0.75. Conclusions: A validated prognostic nomogram has been developed to quantify the risk of mortality for advanced cancer patients undergoing palliative care. This tool may be useful in optimizing therapeutic approaches and preparing for clinical courses individually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely studied for biomedical applications, although their safety and potential toxicity in pregnancy remains unknown. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of AuNPs maternal exposure at different gestational ages on fetal survival and development, as well as the potential mechanism of AuNPs affecting embryos and fetuses. Methods: Thirty nm polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated AuNPs (A30) were administered to pregnant mice via intravenous injection (5 μg Au/g body weight) over three days at either early or late pregnancy. Fetal abortion rate and morphological development in E16.5 were then detected in detail. The pregnant mice physiological states with A30 exposure were examined by biochemical, histological or imaging methods; and materno-fetal distribution of gold elements was assayed by electron microscopy and mass spectrometry. Murine embryonic stem cells derived embryoid-bodies or neuroectodermal cells were treated with A30 (0.0025 to 0.25 μg Au/mL) to examine A30 effects on expression levels of the germ differentiation marker genes. Tukey's method was used for statistical analysis. Results: Exposure to A30 during early (A30E) but not late (A30L) pregnancy caused a high abortion rate (53.5%), lower fetal survival rate and abnormal decidualization compared with non-exposed counterparts. The developmental damage caused by A30 followed an "all-or-nothing" pattern, as the non-aborted fetuses developed normally and pregnancies maintained normal endocrine values. A30 caused minor impairment of liver and kidney function of A30E but not A30L mice. TEM imaging of fetal tissue sections confirmed the transfer of A30 into fetal brain and live as aggregates. qPCR assays showed A30 suppressed the expression of ectodermal, but not mesodermal and endodermal differentiation markers. Conclusions: These results illustrate that maternal A30 exposure in early pregnant results in A30 transfer into embryonic tissues, inhibiting ectodermal differentiation of embryonic stem cells, leading to abnormal embryonic development and abortion. While exposure to A30 during late pregnancy had little or no impact on dams and fetuses. These findings suggest the safety of biomedical applications employing AuNPs during pregnancy is strongly influenced by fetal maturity and gestational age at exposure and provide the clues for AuNPs safe application period in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Respiration is a rhythmic activity as well as one that requires responsiveness to internal and external circumstances; both the rhythm and neuromodulatory responses of breathing are controlled by brainstem neurons in the preBötzinger complex (preBötC) and the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN), but the specific ion channels essential to these activities remain to be identified. Because deficiency of sodium leak channel, non-selective ( Nalcn ) causes lethal apnea in humans and mice, we investigated Nalcn function in these neuronal groups. We found that one-third of mice lacking Nalcn in excitatory preBötC neurons died soon after birth; surviving mice developed apneas in adulthood. Interestingly, in both preBötC and RTN neurons, the Nalcn current influences the resting membrane potential, contributes to maintenance of stable network activity, and mediates modulatory responses to the neuropeptide substance P. These findings reveal Nalcn’s specific role in both rhythmic stability and responsiveness to neuropeptides within the respiratory network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]