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Aims. To compare the surgical and oncological outcomes of rectal mucinous adenocarcinomas treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus surgery alone. Methods. A total of 167 locally advanced rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery alone between 2008 and 2014 were matched using propensity score; the surgical and oncological outcomes were compared. Results. Ninety-six patients were matched. Postoperative morbidity was similar between groups. Sphincter preservation rate was higher in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (79.2% versus 60.4%, P=0.045), especially for tumors ≥ 3 cm but ≤5 cm from the anal verge (75.0% versus 44.0%, P=0.036). With a median follow-up of 54.8 months, the 5-year overall survival rate (neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus surgery alone: 79.6% versus 67.1%; P=0.599) and disease-free survival rate (75.6% versus 64.2%; P=0.888) were similar. The 5-year local recurrence rate was lower in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (7.7% versus 26.0%, P=0.036), while no difference was observed in distant metastasis. A poor response to chemoradiation was associated with higher local recurrence (P=0.037). Conclusions. Compared with surgery alone, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was found to increase the sphincter preservation rate and reduce local recurrence, thus being beneficial for locally advanced rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma patients.

A simple, convenient and efficient synthesis for a series of crown ether functionalized imidazoles from benzo-15-crown-5 (B15C5), benzo-18-crown-6 (B18C6), imidazole (Im), 2-methylimidazole (mIm), benzimidazole (bIm) and 2-methyl benzimidazole (mbIm) is reported. All these compounds obtained were characterized by IR, 1H NMR, ESI-MS and elemental analysis.

A series of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives were synthesized by the three-component reaction of aromatic aldehyde, malononitrile and 6-amino-4-hydroxy-2-mercaptopyrimidine catalyzed by sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous media. It was interesting that further aromatization took place automatically. This method provides several advantages such as easier work-up, milder reaction conditions and environmental friendly.

In this study, the CuIn(Ga)Se2 (CIGS) crystalline quality and MoSe2 thickness of films produced by the rapid thermal selenization process under various selenization pressures were investigated. When the selenization pressure increased from 48 Pa to 1.45 × 104 Pa, the CIGS films were smooth and uniform with large crystals of varying sizes. However, the MoSe2 thicknesses increased from 50 nm to 2,109 nm, which created increased contact resistivity for the CIGS/MoSe2/Mo structures. The efficiency of CIGS solar cells could be increased from 1.43% to 4.62% due to improvement in the CIGS crystalline quality with increasing selenization pressure from 48 Pa to 1.02 × 103 Pa. In addition, the CIGS crystalline quality and MoSe2 thickness were modified by the pressure released valve (PRV) selenization process method. The crystalline qualities of the CIGS films were similarly affected by the selenization pressure at 1.02 × 103 Pa in the PRV selenization method and the MoSe2 thicknesses were reduced from 1,219 nm to 703 nm. A higher efficiency of 5.2% was achieved with the thinner MoSe2 obtained by using the PRV selenization method.

This paper describes a method for fabricating silicon heterojunction thin film solar cells with an ITO/p-type a-Si : H/n-type c-Si structure by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering. A short-circuit current density and efficiency of 28.80 mA/cm2 and 8.67% were achieved. Novel nanopatterned silicon wafers for use in cells are presented. Improved heterojunction cells are formed on a nanopatterned silicon substrate that is prepared with a self-assembled monolayer of SiO2 nanospheres with a diameter of 550 nm used as an etching mask. The efficiency of the nanopattern silicon substrate heterojunction cells was 31.49% greater than that of heterojunction cells on a flat silicon wafer.

The refractive index and extinction coefficient of a triiodide perovskite absorber (TPA) were obtained by fitting the transmittance spectra of TPA/PEDOT:PSS/ITO/glass using the transfer matrix method. Cu nanoplasmonic structures were designed to enhance the exciton generation in the TPA and to simultaneously reduce the film thickness of the TPA. Excitons were effectively generated at the interface between TPA and Cu nanoparticles, as observed through the 3D finite-difference time-domain method. The exciton distribution is advantageous for the exciton dissociation and carrier transport.

Uniformly distributed graphene domains were synthesized on standing copper foil by a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition system. This method improved the distribution of the graphene domains at different positions on the same piece of copper foil along the forward direction of the gas flow. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the average size of the graphene domains to be about ~20 m. This results show that the sheet resistance of monolayer graphene on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate is about ~359 /□ whereas that of the four-layer graphene films is about ~178 /□, with a transmittance value of 88.86% at the 550 nm wavelength. Furthermore, the sheet resistance can be reduced with the addition of HNO3 resulting in a value of 84 /□. These values meet the absolute standard for touch sensor applications, so we believe that this method can be a candidate for some transparent conductive electrode applications.

The absorption coefficient at 1.4 eV is divided by the value at 0.9 eV to obtain the factor used to judge the quality of μc-Si:H. PV device performance can be predicted by multiplying Voc with Isc when using this layer as an intrinsic layer. The results show a good relationship between the quality factor and the product of open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current. However, the final efficiency is influenced by the identities of the interface in the multilayer structure.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by β-cell dedifferentiation, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of the current study was to explore the mechanisms of β-cell dedifferentiation with and without long-term control of calorie intake. We used a diabetes mouse model (db/db) to analyze the changes in the expression levels of β-cell-specific transcription factors (TFs) and functional factors with long-term caloric restriction (CR). Our results showed that chronic euglycemia was maintained in the db/db mice with long-term CR intervention, and β-cell dedifferentiation was significantly reduced. The expression of Glut2, Pdx1, and Nkx6.1 was reversed, while MafA expression was significantly increased with long-term CR. GLP-1 pathway was reactivated with long-term CR. Our work showed that the course of β-cell dedifferentiation can intervene by long-term control of calorie intake. Key β-cell-specific TFs and functional factors play important roles in maintaining β-cell differentiation. Targeting these factors could optimize T2D therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-layer graphene was grown on copper at a low temperature of 600°C by plasma-assisted thermal chemical vapor deposition. Its growth mechanism was discussed with reference to the emission spectra of the plasma. The methane plasma produces the active species (Hx, CHx, and Cx) without the addition of flowing hydrogen, and the amounts of hydrogen-containing species can be controlled by varying the plasma power. The effective distance was found between the plasma initial stage and the deposition stage for the single-layer graphene synthesis. The results reveal that high-quality graphene can be synthesized using methane plasma at a suitable plasma power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the CuIn(Ga)Se2 (CIGS) crystalline quality and MoSe2 thickness of films produced by the rapid thermal selenization process under various selenization pressures were investigated. When the selenization pressure increased from 48 Pa to 1.45 x 104 Pa, the CIGS films were smooth and uniform with large crystals of varying sizes. However, the MoSe2 thicknesses increased from 50 nm to 2,109 nm, which created increased contact resistivity for the CIGS/MoSe2/Mo structures. The efficiency of CIGS solar cells could be increased from 1.43% to 4.62% due to improvement in the CIGS crystalline quality with increasing selenization pressure from 48 Pa to 1.02 x 10³ Pa. In addition, the CIGS crystalline quality and MoSe2 thickness were modified by the pressure released valve (PRV) selenization process method. The crystalline qualities of the CIGS films were similarly affected by the selenization pressure at 1.02 x 10³ Pa in the PRV selenization method and the MoSe2 thicknesses were reduced from 1,219 nm to 703 nm. A higher efficiency of 5.2% was achieved with the thinner MoSe2 obtained by using the PRV selenization method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-electrolyte-step (MES) anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) method was used to achieve nanochannel arrays with good circularity and periodic structure. The nano-channel array fabrication process included immersion in a phosphoric acid solution with a 120-150 bias voltage. Bowl-shaped structures were then formed by removing the walls of the nano-channel arrays. The nanochannel arrays were grown from the bottom of the bowl structure in an oxalic solution using a 50V bias voltage. A comparison of this new MES process with the one-step and five-step AAO process showed a 50% improvement in the circularity over the onestep process. The standard deviation of the average period in the MES array was 25 nm which is less than that of one-step process. This MES method also took 1/4 of the growing time of the five-step process. The orderliness of the nano-channel arrays for the five-step and MES process was similar. Finally, Cu nanoparticle arrays with a 200 nm period were grown using an electroplating process inside the MES nano-channel arrays on fluorine doped tin oxide glass. Stronger surface plasmon resonance absorption from 550 nm to 750nm was achieved with the MES process than was possible with the one-step process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]