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Hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) is a life-threatening disease with high short-term mortality. Early and accurate prognosis is significant for clinical decisions, in which liver volume (LV) imparts important information. However, LV has not been considered in current prognostic models for HBV-ACLF.Three hundred and twenty-three patients were recruited to the deriving cohort, while 163 were enrolled to validation cohort. The primary end-point was death within 28 days since admission. Estimated liver volume (ELV) was calculated by the formula based on healthy population. Logistic regression was used to develop a prediction model. Accuracy of models were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.The ratio of LV to ELV (LV/ELV%) was significantly lower in non-survivors, and LV/ELV% ≤82% indicated poor prognosis. LV/ELV%, Age, prothrombin time (PT), the grade of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), ln-transformed total bilirubin (lnTBil), and log-transformed HBV DNA (LogLiver volume was an independent predictor, and LEAP-HBV, a prediction model based on LV, was developed for the short-term mortality in HBV-ACLF. This study was registered on ClinicalTrails (NCT03977857).

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a worldwide crisis caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Many COVID-19 patients present with fever in the early phase, with some progressing to a hyperinflammatory phase. Ethanol (EtOH) exposure may lead to systemic inflammation. Network meta-analysis was conducted to examine possible relationships between EtOH consumption and COVID-19 pathologies. METHODS: Molecules affected by EtOH exposure were identified by analysis with QIAGEN Knowledge Base. Molecules affected by COVID-19 were identified from studies in MEDLINE, bioRxiv, and medRxiv reporting gene expression profiles in COVID-19 patients, QIAGEN Coronavirus Network Explorer, and analysis of the RNA-sequencing data of autopsied lungs of COVID-19 patients retrieved from the GEO database. Network meta-analysis was then conducted on these molecules using QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies reporting significant gene expression changes in COVID-19 patients were identified. One RNA-sequencing dataset on autopsied lungs of COVID-19 patients was retrieved from GEO. Our network meta-analysis suggests that EtOH exposure may augment the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on hepatic fibrosis signaling pathway, cellular metabolism and homeostasis, inflammation, and neuroinflammation. EtOH may also enhance the activity of key mediators including cytokines, such as IL-1s, IL-6, and TNF, and transcription factors, such as JUN and STAT, while inhibiting the activity of anti-inflammatory mediators including glucocorticoid receptor. Furthermore, IL-1s, IL-6, TNF, JUN, and STAT were mapped to 10 pathways predicted to associate with SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including HMGB1, IL-1, and IL-6 signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analyses demonstrate that EtOH exposure may augment SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation by altering the activity of key inflammatory mediators. Our findings suggest that it is important for clinicians to caution patients about the risk of alcohol consumption, which has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also call for further investigation into how alcohol exposure affects viral infections.

Reactive template grain growth method was applied to prepare grain oriented 0.94(Na0.52K0.48)NbO3–0.06LiNbO3 ceramics using plate-like NaNbO3 particles as template. A two-step sintering procedure was put forward to obtain textured ceramics with electromechanical coupling factor kp = 64%, piezoelectric constant d33 = 220 pC/N, and in practical application the value of available d33∗ (converse piezoelectric constant) is about 516 pm/V, which are much higher than these of random form with same composition. Based on the analysis for the behavior of piezoelectricity against the measuring frequency and the intensity of external field, a possible mechanism considering the interaction between defect dipoles induced by the doping of Cu2+ and spontaneous polarization dipoles was proposed to elucidate the field-induced giant strain in textured ceramics. This study does not only provide an insight to the origin and coupling effect of two kinds of dipole but also renders a general approach of defect engineering to take advantage of point defect in ceramics realizing certain function enhancement.

A novel approach to prepare dense AlN ceramics with high thermal conductivity was proposed. The aluminum isopropoxide (AIP) was introduced to prepare dense AlN ceramics possessing enhanced thermal conductivity via in situ reaction. The effect of AIP and sintering temperatures on the microstructure and properties of AlN ceramics were investigated. Results indicate that AIP is beneficial for the densification of AlN ceramics, and particularly, when the addition of AIP reaches 1 wt%, the density and thermal conductivity could reach up to 3.29 g/cm3, 182 W/mK, respectively. Finally, the mechanism of the in situ reaction was proposed.

Single-phase (Ca,Dy)-α-Sialon with elongated crystals and high aspect ratios was prepared at 1700°C by carbothermal reduction and nitridation (CRN) with Y-α-Sialon seed crystals. Effects of Y-α-Sialon seeding and holding time on the phase assemblage and crystal morphology of CRN products were discussed. The results showed that adding seed crystals and prolonging holding time could facilitate not only phase transformation, but also crystal refinement. Moreover, they resulted in the increase of the aspect ratios of α-Sialon crystals, due to the decreasing range in the crystal width exceeding that in the length. In addition, a highly unusual phenomenon of crystal size reduction during reaction was observed in the seeded samples with the holding time extending from 2 to 4 h. Crystallization from liquid phase and growth followed by nucleation based on the surface of existing large crystals were the growth modes of elongated α-Sialon crystals.

A few warfarin pharmacogenetic dosing algorithms have been proposed,based on multiethnic or homogeneous populations, to estimate warfarin therapeutic doses. However, it remains to be proven that which algorithm is accurate in predicting warfarin dose in Chinese people. We selected eight warfarin dose predictive pharmacogenetic algorithms and retrospectively assessed the predictive accuracy of each algorithm in a total of 368 eligible outpatients by comparing the actual stable therapeutic dose to the dose predicted by the algorithm. Our results showed that a high level of performance was demonstrated by three algorithms,Gage et al., Anderson et al., and Wu et al., having a similar performance in coefficient of determination (R2) and percentage of patients predicted dose within 20% of actual dose. The Gage et al. algorithm had the lowest mean absolute error (MAE). These results indicated that the algorithm by Gage et al. provided a more accurate prediction than did the others,which suggests that this pharmacogenetic algorithm might be used in clinical practice to guide rational administration of warfarin.

(Ca,Dy) co-stabilized α-Sialon with elongated grains was prepared from SiO2–AlN–CaF2–Dy2O3 powders by carbothermal reduction-nitridation (CRN) at 1700°C. Detailed investigations on the formation process of (Ca,Dy)-α-Sialon elongated grains performed under various firing conditions revealed that the big quartz particles were initially reduced and decomposed gradually by carbon, and a large number of ball-shaped particles consisting of amorphous (Si,Al,Ca,Dy)x(O,N)y were formed. With increasing temperature, nitrogen continuously diffused into the liquid to form nitrogen-rich solid balls. Further increasing the temperature to 1700°C and held for 2 h, hollow α-Sialon spheres with nanometric particles were obtained from nitrogen-rich solid balls. Subsequently, the framework structure of hollow spheres was destroyed at 1700°C for 3 h, and (Ca,Dy)-α-Sialon grains grew up continuously by consuming nanometric particles in the rough interface via Ostwald ripening and growth stages moving on the smooth interface. Finally, (Ca,Dy)-α-Sialon developed well-defined crystalline elongated grains because the growth rate of rough surfaces is more rapid than that of smooth surfaces.

(NaxKy) (Nb0.885Sb0.08)–0.035LiTaO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (NxKyNS–LT) with an excessive amount of Na or K were synthesized by conventional solid-state processes. Effects of Na/K ratio on structure and electrical properties of NxKyNS–LT ceramics were investigated. Excessive Na or K did not change the major crystal structure and barely influenced the sintering temperature, but excessive Na or K exhibited effects on grain size. Better piezoelectric properties of the ceramics were achieved when a certain amount of excessive K was added (the Na/K ratio before calcining was adjusted to 0.520:0.450). X-Ray fluorescence was used to examine the cause, and the enhanced properties are attributed to the formation of an MPB-like composition when the Na/K was changed. Specimens with properties of d33=183 pC/N, kp=0.33, Qm=103 were obtained in this work.

The 0.95(K0.5Na0.5NbO3)–0.05Li(Nb0.5Sb0.5)O3 doped with 0.8 mol% copper oxide (CuO) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction route. The introduction of CuO could significantly improve the sinterability of 0.95(K0.5Na0.5NbO3)–0.05Li(Nb0.5Sb0.5)O3 ceramics. The grain size of the specimen was considerably decreased due to the formation of a large amount of liquid phase when the sintering temperature exceeded 960°C. The piezoelectric constant (d33), planar electromechanical coupling (kp), and dielectric constant () values increased with increasing relative density and grain size. The improved piezoelectric and dielectric properties of d33=207 pC/N, kp=44%, tan δ=0.0137, Qm=320, and =340 can be obtained for specimens sintered at 960°C for 2 h.

Lead-free 0.94(K0.48Na0.535)NbO3–0.06LiNbO3–xmol%CuO ceramics were synthesized by conventional ceramics processes. The doping of CuO can decrease the sintering temperature to 890°C and effectively promote the densification of 0.94(K0.48Na0.535)NbO3–0.06LiNbO3 ceramics. X-ray diffraction result reveals that doping of CuO induces lattice distortion. Homogeneous grain growth is observed, due to the presence of liquid phase that resulted from the addition of CuO. The ceramics sintered at 890°C show fairly good properties with the planar electromechanical coupling factor kp=34.8%, piezoelectric constant d33=157.5 pC/N, dielectric constant ɛ33T/ɛ0=391, and mechanical quality factor Qm=173.5.

Monodisperse Fe 3 O 4 crystals have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. Reaction conditions are performed in an ethylene glycol (EG)/NaOH system using FeCl 3 as the iron source without adding any surfactants. By adjusting the initial molar ratio of NaOH to Fe 3+ , several morphologies including solid spheres, hollow spheres, spherical chains, tetrakaidecahedrons, octahedrons, and some flower-like structures can be obtained. Further investigation reveals that all of the spherical structures are formed by the highly oriented assembly of Fe 3 0 4 nanoparticles. The evolution of the morphology from spheres to octahedrons can be attributed to the competition effect between ethylene glycol and NaOH under the reaction conditions. The saturation magnetization, coercivity, and remanent magnetization of the as-synthesized samples vary as the morphology and grain size changes.

Combustion synthesis of Ti3SiC2/TiC composites from 3Ti/xSi/2C (x=1, 1.1, 1.2) powders was conducted under high-gravity conditions with gravity up to 895 G. The results showed that the phase composition of the products strongly depended on the gravity level. We find that high-gravity synthesis favors the growth of TiC phase over Ti3SiC2 phase, as a consequence of the reduced existence time of the Ti–Si liquid phase. This discovery suggests that gravity provides a new leverage for controlling product phase composition in combustion synthesis. It was also found that the densification process during combustion synthesis could be enhanced under a high-gravity condition.

Plate-like Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) particles with perovskite structure were synthesized by topochemical microcrystal conversion from plate-like particles of layer-structured Na0.5Bi4.5Ti4O15 (NBIT) at 950°C in NaCl molten salt. As the precursors of NBT, plate-like NBIT particles were first synthesized by molten salt process by the reaction of Bi4Ti3O12, Na2CO3, and TiO2. After the topochemical reactions, layer-structured NBIT particles were transformed to the perovskite NBT platelets. NBT particles with a thickness of approximately 0.5 μm and a length of 10–15 μm retained the morphology feature of the precursor. High-aspect-ratio NBT platelets are suitable templates to obtain textured ceramics (especially NBT-based ceramics) by (reactive) template grain growth process.

This paper studies the formation of titanium nitride (TiN) by combustion of Ti particles in air. It is proposed that the combustion reaction is a dynamically controlled process, in which the formation of TiN is fulfilled by delayed gas infiltration behind the propagation of combustion wave. With the addition of NH4Cl or carbon black, the yield of TiN can be enhanced. The as-synthesized TiN grains show a terraced morphology with parallel layers stacked in the normal direction. It is thought that this terraced morphology has been derived from a surface-coarsening process. The parallel layers show regular hexagonal outlines and thus are considered to be (111) planes according to the symmetric characters of the FCC structure. The (111) texture is also revealed by X-ray diffraction results, where the relative intensity of (111) peak is clearly higher than the reference in the JCPDS card. In addition, nanoscale twinning areas are observed in TiN grains. From transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results, it is determined that the twinning plane is (111) and the twinning direction is [211]. The movement of atoms during twinning is discussed according to the FCC structure of TiN and high-resolution TEM images.

Barium strontium titanate is a promising material for microwave-phased array applications. 1,2 In this study, highly dense and fine-grained Ba 0.6 Sr 0.4 TiO 3 ceramics were prepared using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The structure and dielectric tunable properties of the samples were investigated. The "distorted nano-region" emerged in the interior of the grains of SPS samples, and resulted in the deterioration of the dielectric tunable properties of Ba x Sr 1-x TiO 3 . This phenomenon indirectly testified to the assumption of the "polar nano-region" mechanism. After the SPS samples were annealed, the "distorted nano-region" disappeared and better dielectric tunable properties were obtained. The dielectric constant was decreased to 1048, and the K value (Commutation Quality Factor) reached 7089.

A high-aspect-ratio platelet sodium niobate (NaNbO3) was synthesized by a topochemical reaction. Plate-like layered-perovskite Bi2.5Na3.5Nb5O18 (BNN5) as a precursor was first prepared, and then Bi3+ in the precursor phase was replaced by Na+ through topotactic conversion and perovskite NaNbO3 formed at 950°C in NaCl molten salt. NaNbO3 crystals had an average length of 15 μm and a thickness of 0.5 μm. Scanning electron microscope and high-resolution transmission electron microscope analyses indicated that the retro-synthesis process of the desired perovskite NaNbO3 retained the morphological and structural features of the BNN5 precursor. It may be possible to synthesize other perovskite-structured templates using the same method.

Micron-scale platelet barium titanate was synthesized using a twostep molten salt and topochemical technique. Plate-like BaBi 4 Ti 4 O 15 was first synthesized as a precursor by molten salt synthesis. Then, B1 3+ in the precursor was replaced by Ba 2+ and formed perovskite-structure BaTiO 3 through a topochemical reaction. The BaTiO 3 single crystals have an average size of 5-10 μm and a thickness of 0.5 μm. The purpose of this article is to control the particle shape with desired structure. High aspect ratio BaTiO 3 platelets are suitable templates to obtain textured ceramics (especially Pb(Mgi/3Nb2/3)03-32.5PbTi03) by the templated grain growth process.

A novel filter material for separating and eliminating microorganisms in water and gas was fabricated by incorporating silver ions into porous hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramics prepared by a starch additive technique. The porous ceramics reveal a microstructure of both large and small pores. Microorganism separating and eliminating properties of the porous silver-incorporated HA ceramics (PHA-Ag) were investigated by bacterial and viral filtration tests. The PHA-Ag demonstrated excellent separating and antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli and the mechanisms were studied. Adsorption of bacterial cells to the HA and the barricading effect of small pores contribute to the separating property of PHA-Ag, while the Ag+ ions equip the ceramics with antibacterial property. Furthermore, the PHA-Ag exhibited an observable virus-eliminating property and its probable mechanism was also discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2006

We developed a practical strategy for serum protein profiling using antibody microarrays and applied the method to the identification of potential biomarkers in prostate cancer serum. Protein abundances from 33 prostate cancer and 20 control serum samples were compared to abundances from a common reference pool using a two-color fluorescence assay. Robotically spotted microarrays containing 184 unique antibodies were prepared on two different substrates: polyacrylamide based hydrogels on glass and poly-1-lysine coated glass with a photoreactive cross-linking layer. The hydrogel substrate yielded an average six-fold higher signal-to-noise ratio than the other substrate, and detection of protein binding was possible from a greater number of antibodies using the hydrogels. A statistical filter based on the correlation of data from "reverse-labeled" experiment sets accurately predicted the agreement between the microarray measurements and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay measurements, showing that this parameter can serve to screen for antibodies that are functional on microarrays. Having defined a set of reliable microarray measurements, we identified five proteins (von Willebrand Factor, immunoglobulinM, Alpha1-antichymotrypsin, Villin and immunoglobulinG) that had significantly different levels between the prostate cancer samples and the controls. These developments enable the immediate use of high-density antibody and protein microarrays in biomarker discovery studies.

Textured 0.94Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 ―0.06BaTiO 3 (NBT-6BT) ceramics were fabricated by templated grain growth (TGG) using anisotropically shaped Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 (NBT) templates. Platelet NBT was synthesized by the topochemical technique, using precursor Na 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 (NBIT). The NBT particles have an average length of 10-15 μm and a thickness of 1 μm, which are suitable templates for obtaining textured ceramics (especially NBT-based ceramics) by the TGG process. This study revealed that the NBT templates are effective in inducing grain orientation in NBT―6BT ceramics. For NBT―6BT ceramics textured with 5 vol% NBT templates, a Lotgering factor of 0.87 and a d 33 of 299 pC/N are given.

Novel faceted α-SiAlON micro-crystals were prepared by combustion synthesis with proper additives. These crystals exhibited various end shapes, including smooth flat hexagonal faces, pyramids bounded by six small isosceles triangles, and partial pyramids with the sharp roofs removed. The formation mechanisms of different crystal shapes were discussed, and a terraced epitaxial nucleation mode for α-SiAlON was proposed. By this nucleation mode, two interesting crystal morphologies were formed: a terraced tower structure and a T-like shape. Transmission electron microscopy results showed that the fast growth direction of rod-like α-SiAlON crystals was parallel to the c-axis.