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Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a gut microbiota metabolite derived from trimethylamine- containing nutrient precursors such as choline, L-carnitine, and betaine, which are rich in many vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy products, and meats. An increasing number of clinical studies have demonstrated a strong relationship between elevated plasma TMAO levels and adverse cardiovascular events. It is commonly agreed that TMAO acts as an independent risk factor and a prognostic index for patients with cardiovascular disease. Although most animal (mainly rodent) data support the clinical findings, the mechanisms by which TMAO modulates the cardiovascular system are still not well understood. In this context, we provide an overview of the potential mechanisms underlying TMAO-induced cardiovascular diseases at the cellular and molecular levels, with a focus on atherosclerosis. We also address the direct effects of TMAO on cardiomyocytes (a new and under-researched area) and finally propose TMAO as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target for diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease.

The detection of microRNA (miRNA) in human serum has great significance for cancer prevention. Herein, a novel self-powered biosensing platform is developed, which effectively integrates an enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC)-based self-powered biosensor with a matching capacitor for miRNA detection. A catalytic hairpin assembly and hybrid chain reaction are used to improve the analytical performance of EBFC. Furthermore, the matching capacitor is selected as an auxiliary signal amplifying device, and graphdiyne is applied as substrate material for EBFC. The results confirm that the developed method obviously increases the output current of EBFC, and the sensitivity can reach 2.75 μA/pM, which is 786% of pure EBFC. MiRNA can be detected in an expanded linear range of 0.1-100000 fM with a detection limit of 0.034 fM (S/N = 3). It can offer a selective and sensitive platform for nucleotide sequence detection with great potential in clinical diagnostics.

Introduction Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) swept rapidly throughout the world. So far, no therapeutics have yet proven to be effective. Ribavirin was recommended for the treatment of COVID-19 in China because of its in vitro activity. However, evidence supporting its clinical use with good efficacy is still lacking. Methods A total of 208 confirmed severe COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in Wuhan Union West Campus between 1 February 2020 and 10 March 2020 were enrolled in the retrospective study. Patients were divided into two groups based on the use of ribavirin. The primary endpoint was the time to clinical improvement. The secondary endpoints included mortality, survival time, time to throat swab SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid negative conversion, and the length of hospital stay. Results 68 patients were treated with ribavirin while 140 not. There were no significant between-group differences in demographic characteristics, baseline laboratory test results, treatment, and distribution of ordinal scale scores at enrollment, except for coexisting diseases especially cancer (ribavirin group vs no ribavirin group, P = 0.01). Treatment with ribavirin was not associated with a difference in the time to clinical improvement (P = 0.48, HR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.63–1.25). There were also no significant differences between-group in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid negative conversion, mortality, survival time, and the length of hospital stay. Conclusions In hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19, no significant benefit was observed with ribavirin treatment.

Long-term use of a unilateral cochlear implant (CI) may lead to abnormal development of contralateral auditory pathway.To investigate the usefulness of measuring the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (eABR) with the electrical stimulation at the round window membrane and the effect of unilateral CI use on the contralateral auditory pathway functions.According to duration of unilateral CI use, 45 children with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss were divided into sCI (≤12 months), lCI (≥24 months) and nCI (no CI use) groups. Intra-operative eABRs evoked by electrical stimulation at the round window membrane were recorded.The latencies of eIII and eV were significantly longer in lCI group than in sCI group and in nCI group, respectively, but not significantly different between sCI group and nCI group. The eABR thresholds and eIII-eV latency intervals were not significantly different among three groups.The eABR evoked by the electrical stimulation at the round window membrane is a reliable and effective way of evaluating functions of the auditory pathway in deaf children. Long-term use of a unilateral CI may promote the degenerative process of the contralateral auditory pathway to the level of the brainstem.

To seek novel miRNAs for the diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), this study analyzed the differential expression of miRNA from blood samples of COPD patients and healthy smokers (n = 3) by human microarray analysis. Then, some miRNAs were chosen for qRTPCR validation. A total of 158 miRNAs revealed by microarray analysis have been differentially expressed between the two groups, 33 miRNAs identified to be up-regulated, whereas 125 miRNAs have been down-regulated in COPD. qRT-PCR showed the miR-548h-5p was decreased in the COPD patients compared with healthy smokers (p = 0.04). The sensitivity and specificity of miR-548h-5p to the diagnosis of COPD were 84.6% and 81.8%, respectively. In conclusion, it is recommend that miR-548h-5p as an approach to the diagnosis of COPD.

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of horizontal mattress suture vs free-edge suture in the all-inside arthroscopic Brostrom-Gould procedure. Methods This retrospective cohort study included 68 chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) patients who underwent either a horizontal mattress suture or a free-edge suture all-inside arthroscopic Brostrom-Gould procedure from January 2014 to January 2017. Patients were divided into two groups based on the suture fashion during the all-inside arthroscopic Brostrom-Gould procedure. In the horizontal mattress suture group (n = 31), anchor sutures were used to suture the ATFL, capsule, and inferior extensor retinaculum in horizontal mattress suture fashion. In the free-edge suture group (n = 37), anchor sutures were used to suture the ATFL, capsule, and inferior extensor retinaculum in free-edge suture fashion. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, Karlsson Ankle Functional Score (KAFS), Anterior Talar Translation (ATT), the rate of return to sports, and ankle proprioceptive recovery were compared in both groups. Results The operative times and duration of hospitalization between the two groups were comparable (all P > 0.05). The VAS, AOFAS, ATT, the rate of return to sports, and ankle proprioceptive recovery were comparable between the horizontal mattress suture and free-edge suture groups at 1 and 2 years after surgery. Patients of the free-edge suture group achieved better KAFS 1 and 2 years after the surgery compared with those of the horizontal mattress suture group. In both groups, incisions were healed by first intention, and complications such as infection, implant reactions, tendon injury, and nervous or vascular injuries were not observed. The ankle proprioceptive recovery in horizontal mattress suture and free-edge suture groups showed no significant differences at 1 and 2 years after surgery. The mean time of the return to full activity for patients in the horizontal mattress suture group was 10.38 ± 2.02 (range 8 to 12) weeks vs 8.63 ± 2.31 (range 8 to 12) weeks for those in the free-edge suture group (P = 0.001, power = 0.907). The exercise participation rates were comparable between groups (P > 0.05). At the 2-year follow-up, all patients regained normal activities and ankle stability, and no recurrence of CLAI or revision surgery was recorded. Conclusion All-inside arthroscopic Brostrom-Gould surgery for the treatment of CLAI ensures a better functional effect (KAFS) and better recovery time when free-edge suture is used instead of horizontal mattress suture.

A hot electron bolometer (HEB) with Johnson noise readout is an attractive technique for radiation detection due to its high sensitivity, wide operating temperature range, and large dynamic range. In this paper, we present the development of a terahertz HEB based on Johnson noise readout. The HEB consists of a titanium microbridge connected to two high-energy-gap niobium contacts for confining hot electrons. We measured the thermal conductance and noise equivalent power (NEP) of the HEB at different bath temperatures. We find that the thermal conductance due to the electron–phonon interaction increases with temperature as T2.5. At 3.0 K, the thermal conductance is found to be 37.9 ± 1.4 nW/K and the electrical NEP is as low as 23.0 ± 0.8 pW/$$ \sqrt {\text{Hz}} $$. In addition, we find that the HEB works efficiently up to 15 μW input power.

Superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs) have demonstrated high detection efficiency and photon-number-resolving capability, making TESs attractive in quantum information and astrophysics. Aiming to achieve high energy detection efficiency (i.e., the ratio of the detected energy to incident energy), we integrate the TES in an optical cavity, consisting of 16-layer dielectric reflection mirror and 4-layer antireflection coating. The critical temperature was decreased to 260 mK after deposition of antireflection coating from its original 323 mK. The energy detection efficiency was increased by a factor of two, up to 40%, thanks to the enhancement of photon absorption by adding the optical cavity.

Coal measure gas (also known as coal-bearing unconventional gas) is the key field and development direction of unconventional natural gas in recent years. The exploration and evaluation of coal measure gas (coalbed methane, coal shale gas and coal measure tight sandstone gas) from single coalbed methane has greatly expanded the field and space of resource evaluation, which is of positive significance for realizing the comprehensive utilization of coal resources, maximizing the benefits and promoting the innovation of oil and gas geological theory and technological advances in exploration and development. For the first time, in Yangmeishu Syncline of Western Guizhou Province, the public welfare coalbed methane geological survey project of China Geological Survey has been carried out a systematic geological survey of coal measure gas for the Upper Permian Longtan Formation, identified the geological conditions of coal measure gas and found high quality resources. The total geological resource quantity of coalbed methane and coal shale gas is 51.423×109 m3 and the geological resource abundance is up to 566×109 m3/km2. In this area, the coal measures are characterized by many layers of minable coal seams, large total thickness, thin to the medium thickness of the single layer, good gas-bearing property of coal seams and coal measure mudstone and sandstone, good reservoir physical property and high-pressure coefficient. According to the principle of combination of high quality and similarity of key parameters of the coal reservoir, the most favorable intervals are No.5−2, No.7 and No.13−2 coal seam in Well YMC1. And the pilot tests are carried out on coal seams and roof silty mudstone, such as staged perforation, increasing hydraulic fracturing scale and “three gas” production. The high and stable industrial gas flow with a daily gas output of more than 4000 m3 has been obtained, which has realized the breakthrough in the geological survey of coal measure gas in Southwest China. Based on the above investigation results, the geological characteristics of coal measure gas in the multi-thin-coal-seam-developed area and the co-exploration and co-production methods, such as the optimization method of favorable intervals, the high-efficiency fracturing and reservoir reconstruction method of coal measures, and the “three gas” drainage and production system, are systematically summarized in this paper. It will provide a reference for efficient exploration and development of coal measure gas in similar geological conditions in China.

Every day social multimedia applications generate millions of images. To handle such huge amount of images, an optimal solution is using the public cloud, since it has powerful storage capability. Images usually contain a wealth of sensitive information, therefore social service providers need not only to provide services such as retrieval and sharing but also to protect the privacies of the images. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving scheme for content-based image retrieval and sharing in social multimedia applications. First, the users extract visual features from the images, and perform locality-sensitive hashing functions on visual features to generate image profile vectors. We then model the retrieval on the images as the equality search on the image profile vectors. To enable accurate and efficient retrieval, we design the secure index structure based on cuckoo hashing, which has constant lookup time. To meet the requirements of dynamic image updating, we enrich our service with image insertion and deletion. In order to reduce the key management overhead and the access control overhead in social applications, we process keys using secret sharing techniques to enable the users holding similar images to query and decrypt images independently. Finally we implement the prototype of the proposed scheme, and perform experiments over encrypted image databases.

In order to solve the practical problem that the traditional operational effectiveness evaluation method is difficult to effectively evaluate the new type of autonomous swarm operational effectiveness, this paper proposes an aviation swarm operational effectiveness evaluation method based on the practical needs of the future autonomous swarm operational effectiveness evaluation. Firstly, based on the hierarchical thinking, the operational effectiveness index system for aviation swarm was constructed. Secondly, using the exponential logarithm method, the evaluation model of aviation swarm operational effectiveness is established. Finally, the ground attack from aviation swarm is taken as an example to verify the proposed method. Simulation results show that the method proposed in this paper can measure the emergence of aviation swarm operation capabilities to a certain extent.

While moving ahead with science and technology., the service conditions of microelectronic devices are becoming more and more complicated., and the performance requirements of packaging materials are also increasing especially for hash applications. The dependability of solder joints in electronic chips under high temperatures and high strain rates have attracted much attention. In this paper., experimental studies are carried out on the dynamic behavior of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) materials. The dynamic compression experiments are operated by using the Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) with a heating furnace to achieve the target temperature condition. The true stress- strain curves are received by this system at a temperature of 343K and the strain rates from 959 ${\mathrm{s}^{-1}}$ to ${1961\ {\mathrm{s}^{-1}}}$ . Additionally., in order to investigate the deformation mechanism under impact scenarios., an optical microscopy is utilized to characterize the microstructure of the SAC305 lead-free solder specimen at high temperatures and high strain rates.

Optical transition-edge sensor (TES) with high quantum efficiency, low dark count rate, and high energy resolution has been used in quantum information and communications. The gap distance between the fiber tip and TES has an influence on the TES performance. Here we measured the interference pattern of our optical TES devices with and without anti-reflection coating and obtain the gap distance. We also obtain the absolute reflectivity of the Ti-TESs by correcting the effect of power splitter and circulator. Our copper block shrinks ~10 μm when cooled from room temperature down to 100 mK. The measured reflectivity is consistent with the simulation taking the dielectric mirror, Ti film and anti-reflection coating into account. In addition, we study the gap distance dependence of the system efficiency, and find that it is in good agreement with the measured reflectivity at 100 mK. These analyses are useful for further improvement of TES packaging.

Nuclear factor (NF)-κB–ty -50mediated neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in early brain injury (EBI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). As an important negative feedback regulator of NF-κB, A20 is essential for inflammatory homeostasis. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that A20 attenuates EBI by establishing NF-κB–associated negative feedback after experimental SAH. In vivo and in vitro models of SAH were established. TPCA-1 and lentivirus were used for NF-κB inhibition and A20 silencing/overexpression, respectively. Cellular localization of A20 in the brain was determined via immunofluorescence. Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were applied to observe the expression of members of the A20/tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6)/NF-κB pathway and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α). Evans blue staining, TUNEL staining, Nissl staining, brain water content, and modified Garcia score were performed to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of A20. A20 expression by astrocytes, microglia, and neurons was increased at 24 h after SAH. A20 and inflammatory cytokine levels were decreased while TRAF6 expression was elevated after NF-κB inhibition. TRAF6, NF-κB, and inflammatory cytokine levels were increased after A20 silencing but suppressed with A20 overexpression. Also, Bcl-2, Bax, MMP-9, ZO-1 protein levels; Evans blue, TUNEL, and Nissl staining; brain water content; and modified Garcia score showed that A20 exerted a neuroprotective effect after SAH. A20 expression was regulated by NF-κB. In turn, increased A20 expression inhibited TRAF6 and NF-κB to reduce the subsequent inflammatory response. Our data also suggest that negative feedback regulation mechanism of the A20/TRAF6/NF-κB pathway and the neuroprotective role of A20 to attenuate EBI after SAH.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a set of complex, chronic inflammatory conditions that are characterized by central obesity and associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have become an important type of endocrine factors, which play crucial roles in maintaining energy balance and metabolic homeostasis. However, its unfavorable properties such as easy degradation in blood and off-target effect are still a barrier for clinical application. Nanosystem based delivery possess strong protection, high bioavailability and control release rate, which is beneficial for success of gene therapy. This review first describes the current progress and advances on miRNAs associated with MetS, then provides a summary of the therapeutic potential and targets of miRNAs in metabolic organs. Next, it discusses recent advances in the functionalized development of classic delivery systems (exosomes, liposomes and polymers), including their structures, properties, functions and applications. Furthermore, this work briefly discusses the intelligent strategies used in emerging novel delivery systems (selenium nanoparticles, DNA origami, microneedles and magnetosomes). Finally, challenges and future directions in this field are discussed provide a comprehensive overview of the future development of targeted miRNAs delivery for MetS treatment. With these contributions, it is expected to address and accelerate the development of effective NA delivery systems for the treatment of MetS.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is imposing substantial burdens on individuals and society with the aging population. Cortex Daphnes patch is widely used for symptomatic knee OA in China with a satisfying clinical efficacy; however, there is scant clinical evidence supporting its use. To evaluate its efficacy, we conducted a multicenter, non-inferiority, randomized, parallel-group study comparing Cortex Daphnes patch with topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with knee OA (NCT02770950).Methods: A total of 264 symptomatic knee OA patients were treated with Cortex Daphnes or indomethacin cataplasms applied to affected sites once daily for 2 weeks. The primary outcome was improvement in knee pain on walking as assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS). The non-inferiority margin based on the full analysis population was set as –5 mm on the pain VAS. The secondary outcomes were changes of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) total score, WOMAC scores for pain, function and stiffness, the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and global assessment of knees by the patients. Responder rates for pain VAS, WOMAC total score, and WOMAC pain were also included in the secondary outcomes.Results: The Cortex Daphnes patch was non-inferior to indomethacin cataplasms for the primary outcome with a group difference (Cortex Daphnes patch–indomethacin cataplasm) of 2.1 mm (95% confidence interval: 2.1–6.4); similar results were found in the per-protocol population. For all other outcomes, no significant differences were found in the full analysis set or in the per-protocol analysis set, except the responder rates for WOMAC pain was higher in the Cortex Daphnes patch group than in the indomethacin cataplasm group (78.4 vs. 64.7%, p = 0.022) in the per-protocol analysis set. Overall, 28.8% patients in the Cortex Daphnes patch group and 9.8% in the indomethacin cataplasm group reported treatment-related adverse events, the vast majority of which were mild-to-moderate skin irritation, resulting in only 3.8 and 0.8% of patients dropping out, respectively.Conclusion: The Cortex Daphnes patch, which provides satisfactory analgesic efficacy and enhances the physical function of the knee, as well as improving quality of life, may be a promising alternative to knee OA.

Background: Cochlear implantation (CI) helps patients with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) restore hearing and speech abilities. However, some patients exhibit abnormal vestibular functions with symptoms such as dizziness or balance disorders, after CI. Whether age at CI and CI approach (unilateral or sequential bilateral) affect vestibular functions in users with cochlear implants remains unclear.Objectives: To investigate the vestibular functions in children and adults before and after unilateral or sequential bilateral CI.Materials and Methods: Thirty-seven patients with severe or profound SNHL who were candidates for a first- or second-side CI were divided into three groups: first-side CI-implanted adults (≥18 years), first-side CI-implanted children (6–17 years), and second-side CI-implanted children (6–17 years). All cases were implanted with the round window approach to minimize damage to the intra-cochlear structures. The caloric test, vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test, video head impulse test (vHIT), Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Pediatric Vestibular Symptom Questionnaire (PVSQ), and audiometric tests were performed before and 1 month after CI.Results: The abnormal rates of caloric test and VEMP test after CI in the first-side CI-implanted adults and children significantly increased compared with those before CI. The pre-implantation VEMP test showed significantly higher abnormal rates between first- and second-side CI-implanted children. No other significant differences of abnormal rates between first- and second-side CI-implanted children or between first-side CI-implanted adults and children were found. In second-side CI-implanted children, PVSQ scores significantly increased at day 3 post-implantation but decreased at day 30.Conclusion: CI has a negative effect on the results of caloric and VEMP tests, but not on vHIT, indicating that the otolith and low-frequency semicircular canal (SCC) are more vulnerable to damage from CI. The alterations of vestibular functions resulting from CI surgery may be independent of age at CI and CI approach (unilateral or sequential bilateral). Long-term impacts on the vestibular function from CI surgery, as well as the chronic electrical stimulation to the cochlea, are still to be investigated.

Superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs), working as single-photon detectors with high quantum efficiency, low dark count rate, and photon number resolving capability, have been successfully used in quantum information experiments as well as astronomical transient object observations. Aiming to achieve high count rate, we are developing titanium-based superconducting TES single-photon detectors with a critical temperature of ~300 mK. Ti-based TESs with active area from 10 × 10 μm to 40 × 40 μm are first fabricated on silicon substrate coated with SiO x . The fabricated TES devices show a thermal conductance scaling with the active area and an effective time constant of ~4 μs from pulsed laser diode illumination. In order to get high quantum efficiency, we further design and fabricate a 1550-nm optical cavity based on dielectric mirror and antireflection layer, and study its absorption with an IR spectrometer. Ti TES devices on the dielectric mirror are then fabricated and the superconducting transition is measured.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 plays a vital role in carcinogenesis and drug response. Platinum-based chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for lung cancer patients, especially those in advanced stages. In the present study, we investigated the association of STAT3 polymorphism rs4796793 with lung cancer susceptibility, platinum-based chemotherapy response, and toxicity. A total of 498 lung cancer patients and 213 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. 467 of them received at least 2-cycle platinum-based chemotherapy. Unconditional logistical regression analysis was used to assess the associations. STAT3 rs4769793 G allele carriers had an increased susceptibility of lung cancer [additive model: adjusted OR (95% CI) 1.376 (1.058–1.789), P = 0.017; recessive model: adjusted OR (95% CI) 1.734 (1.007–2.985), P = 0.047]. Rs4769793 was not significantly associated with platinum-based chemotherapy response in lung cancer patients. STAT3 rs4796793 was associated with an increased risk of severe overall toxicity [additive model: adjusted OR (95% CI) 1.410 (1.076–1.850), P = 0.013; dominant model: adjusted OR (95% CI) 1.638 (1.091–2.459), P = 0.017], especially hematological toxicity [additive model: adjusted OR (95% CI) 1.352 (1.001–1.826), P = 0.049]. STAT3 rs4796793 may be considered as a potential candidate biomarker for the prediction of susceptibility and prognosis in Chinese lung cancer patients. However, well-designed studies with larger sample sizes are required to verify the results.

To overcome the problems of human skeleton loss and body occlusion in a person following system, this paper proposes a real-time and reliable control method for mobile service robots, which combines human skeleton tracker and the discriminative correlation filter with channel and spatial reliability (CSR-DCF) visual tracker. In particular, the CSR-DCF visual tracker is responsible for correcting and locking the special person when the human skeleton tracker provided by Orbbec SDK becomes unstable under the moving mobile service robot. While the skeleton tracker is responsible for taking over the tracking task when the CSR-DCF visual tracker drifts to non-skeleton regions. Experiment results show that the total accuracy has risen to 84.3%, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Economic globalization has greatly promoted the development and integration of global industries and greatly intensified competition and cooperation among enterprises in various countries. On the basis of combing the practical characteristics of the industrial, education and research alliances in various developed countries, this paper makes a comprehensive study on the role that the government should play in the process of the industrial, education and research alliances in China, and puts forward that the government should flexibly use the means of finance, finance and taxation in the industrial, academic and research alliances and play a leading role.

Transition edge sensors (TES) are highly sensitive detectors and have been widely used at different wavelengths from millimeter to X-ray astronomy. Especially at optical/near infrared wavelengths TES exhibits photon-number resolving capability because of its high energy resolution, which also makes it attractive in quantum information. In order to verify the possibility of space applications, we study the effect of ion irradiation on the performance of titanium-based optical TESs including normal-state resistance (RN), critical temperature (TC), thermal conductance (G), effective response time, detection efficiency, and energy resolution by measuring the DC and optical characteristics. The optical TESs survive in the ion irradiation and their parameters keep almost the same as before ion irradiation, which makes it possible for future space applications.

Background Acetabular roof lesions (ARLs) in children are uncommon and may involve a variety of diseases. The acetabular roof is the main weight-bearing area of the hip joint, and lesions affecting the acetabular roof lead to fluid accumulation in the hip joint, causing hip pain and claudication. Methods for diagnosing and treating ARLs and the prognosis after treatment are rarely reported. We present our experience in a group of children and teenagers with ARLs to retrospectively explore the clinical and imaging features and histopathological diagnosis and report the treatment methods and follow-up observations. Methods Patients with ARLs admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from April 2011 to September 2018 were selected retrospectively. We collected the basic information of patients (name, sex, age), main symptoms and signs, results of various laboratory tests, treatment methods, and intraoperative observations through the hospital medical record system. We collected X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathological examination data through the Picture Archiving and Communications System. Follow-up data were collected through an outpatient medical record system, telephone, and chat software (such as WeChat). We used descriptive methods to analyze the lesion structure and destruction mode based on the imaging findings and histopathological diagnosis. Results There were 14 ARL patients, including 6 with eosinophilic granuloma (EG), 5 with chronic osteomyelitis, 2 with bone cyst, and 1 with tuberculosis. One patient underwent percutaneous needle biopsy, 2 underwent open biopsy, and 11 underwent curettage; among them, 5 patients also underwent bone grafting. These lesions had no characteristic imaging findings, and the diagnosis was mainly based on histopathological examination. Most patients showed complete symptom resolution and good hip function at the 1-year follow-up. Conclusion ARLs are not common in children. The types of lesions are diverse and mostly benign, with EG being most common. Malignant tumors may also occur, such as Ewing’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, metastases and neuroblastoma. CT and MRI can be helpful in diagnosing certain cases, but incisional biopsy is required in most cases.

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) spreads rapidly throughout the world. So far, no therapeutics have yet been proven to be effective. Ribavirin was recommended for the treatment of COVID-19 because of its in vitro activity. However, evidence supporting its clinical use with good efficacy is still lacking.Methods: A total of 208 confirmed severe or critical COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in Wuhan Union West Campus between 1 February 2020 and 10 March 2020 were enrolled in the retrospective study. Patients were divided into two groups based on the use of ribavirin. The primary endpoint was the time to clinical improvement. The secondary endpoints included mortality, survival time, time to throat swab SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid negative conversion, and hospital duration.Results: 68 patients were treated with ribavirin while 140 not. There were no significant between-group differences in demographic characteristics, baseline laboratory test results, treatment, and distribution of ordinal scale scores at enrollment, except coexisting diseases especially cancer (ribavirin group vs no ribavirin group, P = 0.014). Treatment with ribavirin was not associated with a difference in the time to clinical improvement (P = 0.483, HR = 0.884, 95% CI = 0.627-1.247). There were also no significant differences between-group in the number of patients with SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid negative conversion, mortality, survival time, and hospital duration. Conclusion: In hospitalized adult patients with severe or critical COVID-19, no significant benefit was observed with ribavirin treatment.

Background The prognosis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is optimistic with a 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of 70%-85%. However, the major causes of mortality are chemotherapy toxicity, infection and relapse. The Guangdong(GD)-2008-ALL collaborative protocol was carried out to study the effect of reduced intensity in terms of duration in ALL chemotherapy on chemotherapy related mortality. The study was designed to elucidate weather the reduced intensity of induction is effective and safe for children with ALL, compared with Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) backbone treatment. Methods The clinical data was obtained from February 28, 2008 to June 30, 2016. A total of 1,765 childhood ALL cases from 9 medical centers were collected and data was retrospectively analyzed. Bone marrow morphology, prednisone response, age, genotype, and karyotype information was evaluated for the stratification of chemotherapy intensity. Patients were stratified into 3 groups: standard risk (SR), intermediate risk (IR) and high risk (HR). The dose of cyclophosphamide (CTX), Cytarabine (Ara-c) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) during induction for the SR group was half that of the BFM backbone treatment. Results The 5-year and 8-year overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) were 83.5±0.9% and 83.1±1.0%, 71.9±1.1% and 70.9±1.2%, and 19.5±1.0% and 20.5±1.1%, respectively. The 2-year treatment-related mortality (TRM) was 5.2±0.5%. The 5-year and 8-year OS were 90.7±1.4% and 89.6±1.6% in the SR group, while the 5-year and 8-year EFS were 81.5±1.8% and 80.0±2.0%. In the SR group, 74 (15.2 %) patients measured minimal residual disease (MRD) on Day 15 and Day 33 of induction therapy. Among them, 7 patients (9.46%) were MRD positive (≥ 0.01%) on Day 33. The incidence of relapse in the MRD Day33 positive group (n=7) was 28.6%, while the incidence of relapse in the MRD Day33 negative group (n=67) was 7.5% (p=0.129).Conclusions The results of GD-2008-ALL protocol are outstanding for reducing treatment related mortality in childhood ALL in China with excellent long term EFS. This protocol provided the evidence for further reducing intensity of induction therapy in the SR group according to the risk stratification. MRD levels on Day 15 and Day 33 are appropriate indexes for stratification.

Background The prognosis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is optimistic with a 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of 70–85%. However, the major causes of mortality are chemotherapy toxicity, infection and relapse. The Guangdong (GD)-2008-ALL collaborative protocol was carried out to study the effect of reduced intensity on treatment related mortality (TRM) based on Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) 2002 backbone treatment. The study was designed to elucidate whether the reduced intensity is effective and safe for children with ALL. Methods The clinical data were obtained from February 28, 2008 to June 30, 2016. A total of 1765 childhood ALL cases from 9 medical centers were collected and data were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were stratified into 3 groups according to bone marrow morphology, prednisone response, age, genotype, and karyotype information: standard risk (SR), intermediate risk (IR) and high risk (HR). For SR group, daunorubicin was decreased in induction IA while duration was reduced in Induction Ib (2 weeks in place of 4 weeks). Doses for CAM were same in all risk groups - SR patients received one CAM, others got two CAMs. Results The 5-year and 8-year overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) were 83.5±0.9% and 83.1±1.0%, 71.9±1.1% and 70.9±1.2%, and 19.5±1.0% and 20.5±1.1%, respectively. The 2-year treatment-related mortality (TRM) was 5.2±0.5%. The 5-year and 8-year OS were 90.7±1.4% and 89.6±1.6% in the SR group, while the 5-year and 8-year EFS were 81.5±1.8% and 80.0±2.0%. In the SR group, 74 (15.2%) patients measured minimal residual disease (MRD) on Day 15 and Day 33 of induction therapy. Among them, 7 patients (9.46%) were MRD positive (≥ 0.01%) on Day 33. The incidence of relapse in the MRD Day 33 positive group (n=7) was 28.6%, while in the MRD Day 33 negative group (n=67) was 7.5% (p=0.129). Conclusions The results of GD-2008-ALL protocol are outstanding for reducing TRM in childhood ALL in China with excellent long term EFS. This protocol provided the evidence for further reducing intensity of induction therapy in the SR group according to the risk stratification. MRD levels on Day 15 and Day 33 are appropriate indexes for stratification.

Hai-ying Wang, Jun-feng Chu, Peng Zhang, Jia-qiang Wang, Zheng Yan, Shu-na Yao, Zhi-hua Yao, Yan-yan Liu Department of Internal Medicine, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhi-hua Yao; Hai-ying WangDepartment of Internal Medicine, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, No. 127 Dongming Road, Zhengzhou, Henan 450008, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 371-65587791; +86 13838326280Email happierzhihua@126.com; 470242877@qq.comPurpose: Anlotinib, a newly developed oral small-molecule receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), has been shown to have encouraging activity against sarcoma. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of chemotherapy combined with anlotinib plus anlotinib maintenance in advanced/metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients in a real-world setting in China.Patients and Methods: We retrospectively collected the medical data of thirty-two patients with advanced/metastatic STS who received chemotherapy combined with anlotinib plus anlotinib maintenance therapy. The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were calculated according to the RECIST 1.1 criteria. The progression-free rates (PFRs) at three and six months, the progression-free survival (PFS) time, and adverse events were recorded.Results: On the basis of investigator assessments, two patients (6%) achieved CR (complete response) and nine patients (28%) achieved PR (partial response), with an ORR of 34%. Eleven patients (34%) achieved SD (stable disease), and ten patients (31%) achieved PD (progression disease), with a DCR of 69%. The progression-free rates (PFRs) at three and six months were 81% and 69%, respectively. The median PFS time was 8.2 months. The hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities were manageable. The most common grade 3 and 4 adverse events were febrile neutropenia (9%), leukopenia (19%), thrombocytopenia (3%), anemia (6%), anorexia (6%), vomiting (3%), and hypertension (6%). The combination therapy was generally well tolerated.Conclusion: Our study suggests that chemotherapy combined with anlotinib plus anlotinib maintenance therapy had good efficacy and resulted in more favorable survival with good tolerance among patients with advanced/metastatic STS.Keywords: advanced/metastatic soft tissue sarcoma, anlotinib, chemotherapy, toxicity

Quantum correlations of higher-dimensional systems are an important content of quantum information theory and quantum information application. The quantification of quantum correlation of high-dimensional quantum systems is crucial, but difficult. In this paper, using the second-order nonlinear optical effect and multiphoton interference enhancement effect, we experimentally implement the photonic qutrit states and demonstrate the spin-1 information entropic inequality for the first time to quantitative quantum correlation. Our work shows that information entropy is an important way to quantify quantum correlation and quantum information processing.

Secondary brain injury following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is the critical contributor to the mortality of SAH patients. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we utilized a mice model of SAH to investigate whether FoxO4 is related to the brain injury after SAH and identified its upstream regulator Akt. Experimental SAH was induced in adult male mice by prechiasmatic cistern injection. Brain FoxO4 protein levels in cytoplasm and nucleaus were examined in the sham-operated controls, and in mice 1h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 3d, and 5d after SAH induction. The Akt inhibitor LY294002 was administered by intracerebroventricular infusion to determine its effects on FoxO4. Moreover, the expression of FoxO4 was also investigated in neurons incubated with hemoglobin in vitro, which was also dertermined after inhibition of Akt. FoxO4 protein expression in the nuclei increased remarkably after SAH. The Akt inhibitor LY294002 induced more FoxO4 nuclear localization after SAH in vivo and in vitro. Our results suggest the activation of FoxO4 after SAH and which was inhibited by the increased phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt).

This study aimed to evaluate the surgical technique and long-term clinical outcomes of all-inside arthroscopic treatment for flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon impingement syndrome. We retrospectively evaluated 34 FHL tendon impingement syndrome patients with complete follow-up data who were admitted from June 2015 to August 2018 and underwent the all-inside arthroscopy technique. The subjects consisted of 20 (58.82%) males and 14 (41.18%) females, with a mean age of 32.7 ± 10.2 (range 21-52) years. The cases consisted of 19 (55.88%) right and 15 (44.12%) left feet. The mean disease duration was 18.5 ± 9.1 (range 10-43) months. The visual analogue scale (VAS), American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS), Karlsson Ankle Functional Score (KAFS), and 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36) scores for pain were 3.6 ± 1.2, 84.1 ± 9.6, 86.3 ± 10.7, and 94.7 ± 9.3, respectively. All patients were treated with all-inside posterior arthroscopy for the debridement of the FHL tendon sheath combined with partial muscle belly resection. Post-operative follow-up and observation of the patients' pain and ankle movement were evaluated using VAS, AOFAS, KAFS, and SF-36. All incisions were healed in the first stage, and no complications such as nerve, blood vessel, or tendon injuries occurred. The hospital stays were 3 to 5 days, with a mean of 3.7 ± 1.3 days. All patients were followed up for 12 to 36 months, with a mean follow-up time of 25.4 ± 8.5 months. By the last follow-up, the ankle joint and hallux movement were normal and returned to the pre-pain state for these patients. The VAS score decreased to 0.2 ± 0.1, while the AOFAS, KAFS, and SF-36 scores increased to 97.7 ± 8.5, 97.9 ± 8.2, and 118.2 ± 8.4, respectively. Advantages of all-inside posterior arthroscopic partial muscle belly resection for the treatment of FHL tendon impingement syndrome include small surgical trauma, fast functional recovery, and reliable outcomes. This procedure is therefore worthy of clinical attention and promotion.

Superconducting titanium thin films are good candidates for transition edge sensors. In this paper, we deposit titanium thin films on cooled silicon-on-insulator substrates by using electron-beam evaporation. The deposition rate dependence of the film stress, resistivity, and superconducting transition temperature are presented and analyzed. The relationship between film electrical properties and thickness is discussed. For investigating the heating influence on thin Ti films, a depth profile of oxygen diffusion in the films is also analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

We have improved the detection efficiency of Ti-based superconducting transition edge sensor(TES) with the integration of dielectric mirror at the operation wavelength of 1550 nm. The TES fabricated on the dielectric mirror is coupled to the optical fiber using back-side through-chip imaging. The measured effective response time is several μs and the detection efficiency is improved to 30%.

We have developed four-leg-supported superconducting Ti transition-edge sensors (TES) formed by KOH wet etching. Energy relaxation mechanism is changed from electron–phonon coupling to diffusive phonon after wet etching. The current–voltage curves of the same TES device were measured before and after wet etching. After wet etching, its thermal conductance (G) is reduced to 500 pW/K from 8950 pW/K. The measured effective response time (τeff) is 143 μs, about 30 times larger. In addition, we have studied the optical noise equivalent power (NEP) with a cryogenic blackbody in combination with metal-mesh filters to define the radiation bandwidth. The obtained optical NEP is 5 × 10−16 W/√Hz, which is suitable for ground-based astronomical applications.

In the process of global transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy, the two major low-carbon energy technologies, namely, methane (CH4) storage and methane capture face the same challenge, that is, the lack of efficient adsorbents. Metal-organic framework (MOF) materials have potential value in the field of gas adsorption storage because of their high specific surface area, good porosity, and adjustable pore structure. In this study, the structural design and synthesis methods of MOFs are introduced, and the research progress and problems associated with MOF materials in methane storage and capture are reviewed. The current research status of methane storage at high pressure is introduced in terms of volumetric and gravimetric uptake. For methane capture at atmospheric pressure, emphasis is placed on CH4/N2 and CO2/CH4 separation and methane capture technologies. Finally, the problems and challenges of using MOF materials to achieve efficient methane storage and capture are analyzed and future prospects are presented.

Compared with children having normal hearing (NH), those with cochlear implants (CIs) perform poorly in spoken language comprehension which involves both low-level acoustic encoding and higher-level cognitive processing. Here, we performed an electroencephalography study to portray this brain dynamics of speech perception in CI children. We presented a Mandarin Chinese monosyllable or four-syllable idiom to CI and NH children, and infrequently varied its lexical tone to form a novel monosyllable or pseudo-idiom in an oddball paradigm. The tone contrast embedded in the monosyllables evoked similar mismatch negativities (MMNs) in CI and NH children at an early stage (~200 ms). However, the amplitude of the MMN evoked by the tone contrast in the idiom context was significantly lower in CI children than in NH children. Furthermore, robust late discriminative negativity (LDN) at a late stage (~500 ms) was found only in NH children, but not in CI children. The MMN and LDN findings indicate deficits of low-level acoustic encoding in a complex context (such as an idiom) and higher-level cognitive processing in CI children, respectively. Both deficient sensory and cognitive processing may contribute to the speech perception difficulties in CI children.

Objectives To investigate the usefulness of measuring the electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (eABRs) to electrical stimulation at the round window niche (RWN) and round window membrane (RWM) and the effect of deafness duration on functions of the auditory pathway to the level of the brainstem. Methods According to the age at cochlear implantation (CI), 99 children with profound sensorineural hearing loss were divided into four groups: ≤12 months (group A), 13–36 months (group B), 37–60 months (group C) and >60 months (group D). The eABRs were evoked by electrical stimulation at RWN and RWM during the operation of CI. Results The higher eABR extraction rate and lower threshold for RWM stimulation was found than those for RWN stimulation. The eⅢ latencies and eⅢ-eⅤ latency intervals for RWM stimulation were similar among four groups. However, children with earlier CI (group A) showed a significantly shorter eⅤ latency than others. Conclusion The eABR evoked by the electrical stimulation at RWM is more stable and sensitive compared with that at RWN for evaluating functions of the auditory conduction pathway. Development in the upper brainstem pathway may be more vulnerable to long-term deafness as revealed by the eⅤ latency.

Optical superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) has been widely used in quantum information, biological imaging, and fluorescence microscopy owing to its high quantum efficiency, low dark count, and photon number resolving capability. The temperature sensitivity (αI ) and current sensitivity (βI ) are important parameters for optical TESs, which are generally extracted from the complex impedance. Here we present a method to extract αI and βI based on a two-fluid model and compare the calculated current–voltage curves, pulse response, and theoretical energy resolution with the measured ones. This method shows qualitative agreement that is suitable for further optimization of optical TESs.

Purpose: the survival effect of smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COPD with acute exacerbation (COPDAE) is unclear for patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) receiving standard treatments. Methods: we recruited women with clinical stage I–III IDC from the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database who had received standard treatments between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2018. The time-dependent Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze all-cause mortality. To reduce the effects of potential confounders when all-cause mortality between Groups 1 and 2 were compared, 1:2 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed. We categorized the patients into two groups based on COPD status to compare overall survival outcomes: Group 1 (current smokers with COPD) and Group 2 (nonsmokers without COPD group). Results: PSM yielded 2319 patients with stage I–III IDC (773 and 1546 in Groups 1 and 2, respectively) eligible for further analysis. In the multivariate time-dependent Cox regression analyses, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR, 95% confidence interval (CI)) of all-cause mortality for Group 1 compared with Group 2 was 1.04 (0.83–1.22). The aHRs (95% CIs) of all-cause mortality for ≥1 hospitalization for COPDAE within one year before breast surgery was 1.51 (1.18–2.36) compared with no COPDAE. Conclusion: smoking-related COPD was not a significant independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in women with stage I–III IDC receiving standard treatments. Being hospitalized at least once for COPDAE within one year before breast surgery is highly associated with high mortality for women with IDC receiving standard treatments. The severity of smoking-related COPD before treatments for breast cancer might be an important prognostic factor of survival. Thus, the information of the severity of COPD before treatment for breast cancer might be valuable for increasing the survival rate in treatment of breast cancer, especially in the prevention of progress from COPD to COPDAE.

Superconducting transition edge sensors (TES) based on a Ti microbridge on Si substrate have demonstrated a very low noise equivalent power. Their effective response time, however, is in the order of microseconds due to relatively high transition temperature (i.e., 300–400 mK) of the Ti microbridge, making it difficult to read out the signal of a large Ti TES array with a SQUID-based multiplexer. We propose a twin-slot antenna coupled superconducting Ti microbridge separated from the antenna feed and supported by a free-standing membrane. Its resistive transition (R-T) and current-voltage (I–V) curves are measured before and after KOH wet etching of the Si substrate underneath the Ti microbridge. The free-standing membrane supported Ti TES with a thickness of 40 nm shows slightly lower transition temperature and higher normal resistance. Its thermal conductance is reduced to ∼800 pW/K from ∼3000 pW/K. In addition, its effective response time measured with a current pulse signal is about 5 μ s. The uniformity of the 8 × 8 TES array is studied by measuring the distribution of normal resistance and critical temperature. In order to improve the uniformity, we increase the Ti film thickness to 64 nm, and characterize its thermal and electrical features.

Background and aim Although femoral artery ligation-induced ischemia is commonly used in C57BL/6 or Balb/c mice, direct comparisons between femoral artery/vein (FAV) versus femoral artery (FA) excisions have not been reported. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effects of FAV versus FA excisions on hindlimb models using adult CD-1 mice. Methods Two groups (n = 10/group) of adult, mixed gender CD-1 mice were used to generate hindlimb ischemic models by excising either the FAV or FA. Laser Doppler Imaging was used to evaluate blood flow before surgery, immediately after surgery (Day 0), and then on Days 14 and 28. Toe necrosis was checked every 14 days while skeletal muscle cellular remodeling and vascular networks were analyzed at the end of the experiment using pathohistological, Dil-vessel painting, and immunohistochemical approaches. Results During the 4-week period, no statistical differences were found between FAV and FA excision-induced ischemia in terms of reduction of limb blood flow, paw size, number of necrotic toes, or skeletal muscle cell sizes. However, significant increases in centrally-located nuclei cells, adipose cells, diameters of Dil-stained arterioles, and CD31+ capillary densities, but decreases in arteriole densities/lengths were observed in ischemic limbs of both FAV and FA groups compared to control limbs. Conclusion We conclude that FAV and FA excision in CD-1 mice generate a comparable degree of hindlimb ischemia, suggesting that, as expected, FAV is no more severe than FA. These findings may provide important information for researchers when selecting ligation methods for their hindlimb models.

Core–shell structured NiS2@MoS2 nanospheres have been successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the nanospheres were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicated that this unique core–shell structure was beneficial to high-performance microwave absorption. A possible absorption mechanism was explained in detail. As an absorber, nanocomposites with a filler loading of 20 wt% exhibited enhanced microwave absorption properties due to characteristic impedance matching, synergistic effects, dipole and interface polarization, multiple reflections and quarter-wavelength matching. The minimum reflection loss can reach −41.05 dB at 12.08 GHz, and the absorption bandwidth exceeding −10 dB is 4.4 GHz with a thickness of 2.2 mm.

Background: Propofol and etomidate are the most important intravenous general anesthetics in the current clinical use and that mediate gamma-aminobutyric acid’s (GABAergic) synaptic transmission. However, their long-term effects on GABAergic synaptic transmission induced by neonatal propofol or etomidate exposure remain unclear. We investigated the long-term GABAergic neurotransmission alterations, following neonatal propofol and etomidate administration. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rat pups at postnatal days 4–6 were underwent 6-h-long propofol-induced or 5-h-long etomidate-induced anesthesia. We performed whole-cell patch-clamp recording from pyramidal cells in the cornus ammonis 1 area of acute hippocampal slices of postnatal 80–90 days. Spontaneous and miniature inhibitory GABAergic currents (spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents [sIPSCs] and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents [mIPSCs]) and their kinetic characters were measured. The glutamatergic tonic effect on inhibitory transmission and the effect of bumetanide on neonatal propofol exposure were also examined. Results: Neonatal propofol exposure significantly increased the frequency of mIPSCs (from 1.87 ± 0.35 Hz to 3.43 ± 0.51 Hz, P < 0.05) and did not affect the amplitude of mIPSCs and sIPSCs. Both propofol and etomidate slowed the decay time of mIPSCs kinetics (168.39 ± 27.91 ms and 267.02 ± 100.08 ms vs. 68.18 ± 12.43 ms; P < 0.05). Bumetanide significantly blocked the frequency increase and reversed the kinetic alteration of mIPSCs induced by neonatal propofol exposure (3.01 ± 0.45 Hz and 94.30 ± 32.56 ms). Conclusions: Neonatal propofol and etomidate exposure has long-term effects on inhibitory GABAergic transmission. Propofol might act at pre- and post-synaptic GABA receptor A (GABAA) receptors within GABAergic synapses and impairs the glutamatergic tonic input to GABAergic synapses; etomidate might act at the postsynaptic site. Key words: Etomidate; Gamma-aminobutyric Acid; Glutamate; Propofol; Synapse Transmission

The three-dimensional (3D) MoS2 hierarchical nanospheres which assembled spontaneously by two-dimensional (2D) lamina have been successfully designed and fabricated in large scale via a simple hydrothermal process. Subsequently, the electromagnetic wave absorption properties of hierarchical MoS2 nanospheres compounded with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were investigated in a broad frequency range of 2–40 GHz. The results indicated that the MoS2/PVDF nanocomposites possess adjustable and enhanced wave absorption performance. Furthermore, the MA performance can be effectively tuned by the absorber’s thickness and filler content. In addition, the peculiar hierarchical nanostructure of MoS2 is beneficial to microwave absorption property compared with the bulk MoS2 and micrometer-sized MoS2. Moreover, the main microwave absorption mechanism including various polarization, destructive interference theory, and multiple reflection has been described in detail.

Electrospun microfiber meshes have been shown to support the proliferation and differentiation of many types of stem cells, but the phenotypic fate of c-kit(+) human cardiac stem cells (hCSCs) have not been explored. To this end, we utilized thin (~5µm) elastomeric meshes consisting of aligned 1.7µm diameter poly (ester-urethane urea) microfibers as substrates to examine their effect on hCSC viability, morphology, proliferation, and differentiation relative to cells cultured on tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS). The results showed that cells on microfiber meshes displayed an elongated morphology aligned in the direction of fiber orientation, lower proliferation rates, but increased expressions of genes and proteins majorly associated with cardiomyocyte phenotype. The early (NK2 homeobox 5, Nkx2.5) and late (cardiac troponin I, cTnI) cardiomyocyte genes were significantly increased on meshes (Nkx=2.5 56.2±13.0, cTnl=2.9±0.56,) over TCPS (Nkx2.5=4.2±0.9, cTnl=1.6±0.5, n=9, p0.05 for both groups) after differentiation. In contrast, expressions of smooth muscle markers, Gata6 and myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC), were decreased on meshes. Immunocytochemical analysis with cardiac antibody exhibited the similar pattern of above cardiac differentiation. We conclude that aligned microfiber meshes are suitable for guiding cardiac differentiation of hCSCs and may facilitate stem cell-based therapies for treatment of cardiac diseases.