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To boost the adsorption‐photocatalytic performances of biochar in wastewater treatment, biochar was modified with ternary metal oxides ZnO, Sm2O3, and MgO (ZnSm/Mg‐biochar) via the one‐step pyrolysis method. The optimal 2b‐ZnSm/Mg‐biochar with a Zn/Sm molar ratio of 1:1 exhibited the better removal activity of RhB in comparison with biochar, 2‐Mg/biochar, and b‐ZnSm/biochar. The removal efficiency and adsorption capacity of 2b‐ZnSm/Mg‐biochar was 99.46% and 979.22 mg g−1 for RhB solution of 410 mg g−1, respectively. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of ZnSm/Mg‐biochar composites were as described by second‐order and Langmuir models, respectively. The abundant vacant sites at the junction interface of ZnO, Sm2O3, MgO, and biochar were favorable for the adsorption and photon capturing, achieving the efficient photo‐conversion of RhB under the stimulated solar‐light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Researchers have developed the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) as a tool to quantify the inflammatory potential of a given diet. Higher DII scores indicated a more proinflammatory diet. While inflammation is known to have a strong impact on thyroid function, the precise nature of the association between DII scores and thyroid function has yet to be clarified. This study was conducted with the goal of exploring this relationship in a representative population of adults from the United States. Methods: For this study, we used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Standardized questionnaires were used to collect demographic and dietary data from the participants, and laboratory tests were used to collect data on the participants' thyroid parameters and other relevant data. Linear regression models and smoothed curve fitting were used to assess the relationship between DII scores and thyroid function, with weighted data analyses and subgroup analyses being conducted as appropriate. Results: In total, 7712 subjects were recruited from the NHANES 2007–2012 cohort. Their weighted mean age was 44.87 (0.47) years, mean DII score was 1.41 (0.05). Mean FT3 was 3.20 (0.01) pg/mL and mean TT4 was 7.81 (0.03) µg/dL. In adjusted analyses, higher DII values were related to increases in FT3 (β =.007; p =.027) and TT4 (β =.050; p =.005) levels. Subgroup analyses showed a negative correlation between FT3 levels and DII scores in a population with high urinary iodine concentrations. Conclusion: These data indicate that the consumption of a more proinflammatory diet, as evidenced by elevated DII scores, is correlated with significant increases in FT3 and TT4 levels. However, for people with high urinary iodine concentrations, a more proinflammatory diet was associated with lower FT3 levels. Additional research will be vital to clarify the mechanistic basis for these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The existing evidence has indicated that hyperthermia ablation (HA) and HA combined with transarterial chemoembolization (HATACE) are the optimal alternative to surgical resection for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the COVID‐19 crisis. However, the evidence for decision‐making is lacking in terms of comparison between HA and HATACE. Herein, a comprehensive evaluation was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of HATACE with monotherapy. Materials and Methods: Worldwide studies were collected to evaluate the HATACE regimen for HCC due to the practical need for global extrapolation of applicative population. Meta‐analyses were performed using the RevMan 5.3 software (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). Results: Thirty‐six studies involving a large sample of 5036 patients were included finally. Compared with HA alone, HATACE produced the advantage of 5‐year overall survival (OS) rate (OR:1.90; 95%CI:1.46,2.46; p < 0.05) without increasing toxicity (p ≥ 0.05). Compared with TACE alone, HATACE was associated with superior 5‐year OS rate (OR:3.54; 95%CI:1.96,6.37; p < 0.05) and significantly reduced the incidences of severe liver damage (OR:0.32; 95%CI:0.11,0.96; p < 0.05) and ascites (OR:0.42; 95%CI:0.20,0.88; p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis results of small (≤3 cm) HCC revealed that there were no significant differences between the HATACE group and HA monotherapy group in regard to the OS rates (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusions: Compared with TACE alone, HATACE was more effective and safe for HCC. Compared with HA alone, HATACE was more effective for non‐small‐sized (>3 cm) HCC with comparable safety. However, the survival benefit of adjuvant TACE in HATACE regimen was not found for the patients with small (≤3 cm) HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy-ion radiotherapy has a potential advantage over conventional radiotherapy due to improved dose distribution and a higher biological effectiveness in cancer therapy. However, there is a little information currently available on the cellular and molecular basis for heavy-ion irradiation-induced cell death. Autophagy, as a novel important target to improve anticancer therapy, has recently attracted considerable attention. In this study, the effect of autophagy induced by high linear energy transfer ( LET) carbon ions was examined in various tumor cell lines. To our knowledge, our study is the first to reveal that high- LET carbon ions could induce autophagy in various tumor cells effectively, and the autophagic level in the irradiated cells increased in a dose- and LET-dependent manner. The ability of carbon ions to inhibit the activation of the PI3 K/ Akt pathway rose with increasing their LET. Moreover, modulation of autophagy in tumor cells could modify their sensitivity to high- LET radiation, and inhibiting autophagy accelerated apoptotic cell death, resulting in an increase in radiosensitivity. Our data imply that targeting autophagy might enhance the effectiveness of heavy-ion radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]