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The water-in-salt strategy successfully expands the electrochemical window of the aqueous electrolyte from 1.23 to ∼3.0 V, which can lead to a breakthrough in the energy output of the aqueous battery system while maintaining the advantage of high safety. The expanded electrochemical window of the water-in-salt electrolytes can be ascribed to the decreased water activity and the solid electrolyte interphase formed on the anode. The solid electrolyte interphase in the aqueous system is not fully understood, and the basic composition, the structure, and the formation mechanism are still cloaked in mystery. This perspective summarizes the published research with emphasis on the most possible formation mechanism and composition of the interphase layer in the aqueous system. Further understanding of the interphase as well as rounded assessment of the water-in-salt electrolyte in practical operating conditions is encouraged. The full understanding of the interface will guide the design of aqueous electrolytes and help to build novel aqueous batteries with high safety and high energy density.

Lithium sulfur (Li–S) battery is considered as one of the most viable candidates for next-generation rechargeable batteries. However, the development of Li–S battery is severely hindered by the stubborn “shuttle” issue that arises from the dissolution of the intermediate polysulfides. Herein, a new kind of organosulfur polymer composite is designed as cathode material for Li–S batteries. Via a facile two-step heating method, the ring opening S is copolymerized with triallyl isocyanurate. The resulting S-triallyl isocyanurate organosulfur polymer composite (STI) demonstrates a unique two-phase structure: ultrafine monoclinic S particles embedded in the organosulfur polymer matrix, which enables a S content as high as 90 ​wt%. The STI cathode delivers a high initial reversible capacity of 904 ​mA ​h ​g−1 at 0.5 ​C, and an ultraslow capacity decay rate of 0.017% over 350 cycles at 1 ​C. The work offers new insights into the design of S-rich copolymer composite cathode for highly-stable Li–S batteries.

Exploring efficient luminophores in the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) system is highly desired to pursue a sensitive ECL sensing platform. Herein, the black phosphorus nanosheets (BP NSs) with excellent ECL properties are investigated and serve as the luminophore with the coreactant of peroxydisulfate (S2O82-) solution. Moreover, owing to the overlapping of emission and absorbance spectra, effective resonance energy transfer (RET) is realized between the BP NSs and the introduced Au nanoparticles. In order to achieve the portable and miniaturized developing trends for the paper-based ECL sensing platform, a paper-based perovskite solar cell (PSC) device is designed to act as the power source to replace the commonly utilized expensive and cumbersome electrochemical workstation. Benefiting from that, a PSC driven paper-based constant potential ECL-RET sensing platform is constructed, thereby realizing sensitive microRNAs (miRNAs) detection. What's more, to attain the preferable analytical performance, the duplex-specific nuclease (DSN) is also introduced to assist the target recycling signal amplification strategy. Based on this, highly sensitive detection of miRNA-107 with a range from 0.1 pM to 15 nM is achieved by this designed sensing platform. Most importantly, this work not only pioneers a precedent for developing a high-sensitivity PSC triggered ECL sensing platform but also explores the application prospect of BP nanomaterial in the field of bioanalysis.

Introduction The objective of the study was to identify trends in incidence of adult diffuse gliomas in the United States and evaluate the contribution of age, period, and cohort effects to the trends. Methods Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 database, primary diffuse glioma patients (≥20 years old) diagnosed from 1973 to 2014 were identified. Incidence trends were analyzed using joinpoint regression and age‐period‐cohort modeling. Results Overall, the incidence for adult glioma decreased slowly from 1985 to 2014 (annual percent change [APC] = 0.5%, 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.3%‐0.6%). In histology subtype‐stratified analysis, glioblastoma and nonglioblastoma exhibited opposite trends. The incidence for glioblastoma increased from 1978 to 2014 (APC for year 1978‐1992 = 2.7%, 95% CI, 1.8%‐3.6%; APC for 1992‐2014 = 0.3%, 95% CI, 0%‐0.6%), while the incidence for nonglioblastoma decreased significantly from 1982 to 2014 (APC = 2.2%, 95% CI, 2.0%‐2.5%). Age‐period‐cohort modeling revealed significant period and cohort effects, with the patterns for glioblastoma and nonglioblastoma distinctive from each other. Compared with adults born 1890s, those born 1920s had approximately 4‐fold the risk of glioblastoma after adjustment of age and period effects, while the risk of nonglioblastoma was reduced by half in individuals in the 1939 cohort as compared with those in the 1909 cohort. Conclusions The results support the hypothesis of etiological heterogeneity of diffuse gliomas by histology subtypes. The established risk factors cannot fully explain the distinct patterns by histology subtypes, which necessitate further epidemiological studies.

The aim of the present study was to assess the association between the efficacy and adverse events (AEs) of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with sorafenib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Between July 2008 and May 2011, 50 patients with unresectable HCC were enrolled and assigned to receive TACE combined with sorafenib in the present study. The primary outcomes were considered as time to disease progression (TTP) and sorafenib-related AEs. In the present study, 34 of 50 patients had disease progression with a median TTP (mTTP) of 210 days. The most common AEs included hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR), fatigue, diarrhea and hypertension. The mTTP of patients with HFSR extended 140 days compared to that of the patients without HFSR. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for mTTP between the two groups of patients. This difference was statistically significant when analyzed by the univariate COX proportional hazards regression model. In conclusion, TACE in combination with sorafenib had an acceptable safety profile in the treatment of unresectable HCC. Additionally, it also revealed that HFSR served as a good prognostic predictor in using combination therapy. Therefore, discontinuation of sorafenib treatment should be prevented to avoid disease progression.

NaA zeolite membranes were prepared on an external surface of novel four-channel α-Al2O3 hollow fiber (4CF) supports for pervaporation dehydration of ethanol. The 4CF supports were first seeded with ball-milled NaA zeolite seeds by a dip-coating approach and followed by hydrothermal crystallization at 100 °C for 4 h. Influences of the seeding condition and microstructure of the 4CF supports were extensively investigated. The separation performances of the as-synthesized membranes were evaluated by pervaporation dehydration of 90 wt% ethanol/water mixtures at 75 °C. A notably high water permeation flux of 12.8 kg m−2 h−1 and a separation factor of >10 000 was obtained in the membrane supported on 4CF which had a porosity of 55% as well as a high mechanical strength of 18 N. In comparison with single-channel α-Al2O3 hollow fiber supported NaA zeolite membranes, the 4CF supported membranes were considerably superior in permeation flux, mechanical strength and convenience of seeding operation. Allowing for high reproducibility as well as high performance, there would be great potential in industrial applications for 4CF-supported NaA zeolite membranes.

Some observational studies have shown that elevated serum selenium levels are associated with reduced prostate cancer risk; however, not all published studies support these results. A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane Library up until September 2016 identified 17 studies suitable for further investigation. A meta-analysis was conducted on these studies to investigate the association between serum selenium levels and subsequent prostate cancer risk. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the overall OR of prostate cancer for the highest versus the lowest levels of serum selenium. We found a pooled OR (95% CI) of 0.76 (0.64, 0.91; P

A number of epidemiological studies have suggested that obesity is associated, albeit inconsistently, with the incidence of prostate cancer (PCa). In order to provide a quantitative assessment of this association, the present study examined the correlation between obesity and the incidence and associated mortalities of PCa in an updated meta-analysis of cohort studies. The cohort studies were identified by searching the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases on January 1, 2014. The summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects models. In total, 17 studies, which included 3,569,926 individuals overall, were selected according to predefined inclusion criteria. Based upon the results of the random-effects models, obesity was not significantly correlated with the incidence of PCa (RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.95–1.06). However, further analysis revealed that obesity was significantly correlated with an increased risk of aggressive PCa (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.04–1.25). Furthermore, an increased risk of PCa-associated mortality was significantly associated with obesity (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.15–2.33), without any heterogeneity between the studies (I2=0.0%; P=0.847). The present study provides preliminary evidence to demonstrate that obesity is a significant risk factor for aggressive PCa and PCa-specific mortality. The low survival rates observed among obese males with PCa may be a likely explanation for this association.

An intelligent micro-manipulator based on 3-PRS in-parallel mechanism was developed for the purpose of assembling micro-machines, operating biological cells, and performing micro-surgery. The micro-manipulator consists of a left finger and a right finger driven separately by three driving units. With such construction it can mimic the motion of Chinese chopsticks to manipulate a micro-object with a relatively large workspace and high precision. Presented here are the structure design method and the approach for kinematic analysis. The experimental setup for micro-manipulation is also discussed.

A thiol-substituted carotenoid, 7‘-apo-7‘-(4-mercaptomethylphenyl)-β-carotene, (AMC) was allowed to self-assemble on polycrystalline gold surfaces. The stability, packing density, optical absorption, and hydrophobicity of the resulting monolayers were investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared reflection−absorption spectroscopy (FTIR-RAS), UV-Vis spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and contact angle measurements. XPS and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements reveal the saturation coverage is ∼4 × 1014 AMC molecules/cm2 and the film thickness is ∼20 A, respectively. FTIR-RAS and contact angle measurements suggest that the polyene chains are packed well enough to create a hydrophobic interface.

2-Diformylmethylene-1,3-diselenole was prepared and condensed with dithiolium phoshonium bromides and dithiolium phosphonates in the presence of base to give dendralene-type vinylogs of TTF bearing a 1,3-diselenole moiety. The electrochemistry of these dendrimers was studied. SEEPR measurements were also carried out. Calculations were carried out on the radical cations and correlated with the EPR values.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed by adsorption of thiols onto gold provide a flexible method to study the electrochemical reactivity of 7,7‘-diapo-(7E,7‘Z)-diphenylcarotene (DDC) on such bar...

The initial stages of the anodic oxidation of Au(111) were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry as well as in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The results suggest that the place exchange process, which initiates the oxide formation, starts at step edges. The oxide phase was imaged in situ by scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The topographic information acquired by the two techniques is compared. Keywords: gold, gold oxide, corrosion, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM).

The urea sensor was prepared by combining a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device, in which a SAW resonator operating at 61 MHz and a pair of parallel electrodes were used in series, with urease extracted from green soya bean. The Michaelis constant and maximum reaction rate of the urease were estimated as 2.14 mM and 27.18 kHz min-1, respectively, at pH 7.0 and 25.0 degrees C. Influences of pH, temperature and effectors on the response properties of the SAW urea sensor were investigated. Recovery of the sensor ranged from 95 to 105% and the detection limit of urea was 1.0 micrograms ml-1 (1.7 x 10(-5) M). The proposed sensor has been successfully applied to the rapid determination of urea in human urine samples. The results are consistent with the reported values and also support the clinical diagnosis.

A novel SAW-IDA sensor system was constructed for the first time by connecting the IDA electrodes in series with a SAW resonator. The frequency characteristics of the SAW-IDA sensor in non-aqueous solution were investigated. The effects of the parallel capacitance and cell constant were studied, and were calculated with the circuit network theory. These calculations provide guiding rules for design of the SAW-IDA sensor system. The SAW-IDA sensor was applied to determination of recalcification time and activated partial thromboplastin time of blood plasma. The sensor offers a new and effective way of studying clinical and laboratory haemostasis.

A specific and simple method for the determination of arginine was developed by using a new type sensor, a surface acoustic wave (SAW)/conductance sensor system. The assay was based on two coupling reactions involving arginase (E.C. 3.5.3.1) and urease (E.C. 3.5.1.5) with measurement of frequency shift that resulted from the changes of conducting ions produced in the reactions. Arginase was extracted from fresh bovine liver and required no further separation step. The optimum pH (8.5) and reaction medium (Tris-HCl-EDTA, pH 8.5) were determined. We also investigated the influences of reaction medium, pH, temperature, and amount of urease or arginase on the frequency response of the SAW/conductance sensor system. The results were linear up to 4.0 × 10 −4 m of arginine, and the detection limit was 2.0 × 10 −6 m . When the SAW/conductance sensor system was applied to arginine analysis, the results obtained compared well with those of the pharmaceutical method.

A new type of glutamine biosensor system based on a conductance-surface acoustic wave (SAW) frequency response, in which a SAW resonator oscillating at 61 MHz and a biosensor involving kidney cortex tissue or Escherichia coliform and a pair of parallel electrodes were used, was developed for the determination of glutamine. Glutaminase from porcine kidney or Escherichia coliform was used as a biocatalyst of the hydrolysis reaction of glutamine. There was an excellent linear relationship between the frequency shift response and the glutamine concentration in the range of 6.8 · 10 −4 m to 6.8 · 10 −3 m . The SAW frequency responses obtained from the proposed biosensor system were compared with the conductance response. Some other factors such as pH and selectivity are also discussed.