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In this paper, the fabrication of a highly orientated Bi2Fe4O9 (BFO) photoelectrode in the presence of two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO) was reported. It was found that the GO can be used as a template for controlling the growth of BFO, and the nanoplate composites of BFO/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with a high orientation can be fabricated. The thickness of the nanoplates became thinner as the ratio of GO increased. As a result, the ferroelectric spontaneous polarization unit arranges itself in the space in a periodic manner, leading to the formation of a polarization field along a special direction. Therefore, the created built-in electric field of the nanoplate composites of BFO/RGO is improved upon the increase of the amount of RGO. As expected, carrier separation is enhanced by the built-in electric field, therefore substantially enhancing the photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity of water splitting compared to pure BFO under the irradiation of visible-light.

To explore the effect and underlying molecular mechanism of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA)‐H19 on ovarian cancer (OC) cells, a total of 41 cases of OC and adjacent normal tissues were collected. H19 and microRNA (miR)‐140 expressions in OC tissues and cells were detected using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐RCR). The correlation between H19 expression and prognosis of OC patient was analyzed. siRNA (si)‐H19 and si‐negative control (NC) were transfected into OC cells. Cell proliferation was checked by cell counting kit‐8 assay and colony formation assay, and cell migration and invasion were analyzed via Transwell assay. The targeted binding relationship between H19 and miR‐140 was predicted and verified, miR‐140 downstream gene was predicted and Wnt1 was screened out. The impact of in‐miR‐140 on the si‐H19‐induced decreased OC cell proliferation and migration was evaluated. H19 expression was upregulated in OC tissues and cells, and its overexpression was associated with a poor prognosis of OC. si‐H19 remarkably reduced OC cell proliferation and migration. H19 upregulated Wnt1 expression through targeting miR‐140 in OC cells. Altogether, miR‐140 was notably downregulated in OC, and in‐miR‐140 partially inhibited the si‐H19‐induced decrease of OC cell proliferation and migration. H19 competitively bound to miR‐140 to upregulate Wnt1, thereby promoting OC cell proliferation and migration.

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an emerging renewable energy source to derive clean, efficient, and high-energy-density hydrogen fuel from electrochemical water splitting mostly by using t...

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a life-threatening cerebrovascular disease, and most of the SAH patients experience sleep deprivation during their hospital stay. It is well-known that sleep deprivation is one of the key components of developing several neurological disorders, but its effect on brain damage after SAH has not been determined. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of sleep deprivation using an experimental SAH model in rats. Induction of sleep deprivation for 24 h aggravated the SAH-induced brain damage, as evidenced by brain edema, neuronal apoptosis and activation of caspase-3. Sleep deprivation also worsened the neurological impairment and cognitive deficits after SAH. The results of immunostaining and western blot showed that sleep deprivation increased the activation of microglial cells. In addition, sleep deprivation differently regulated the expression of anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The results of immunofluorescence staining and western blot showed that sleep deprivation markedly increased the activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88). Mechanically, treatment with the TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242 or the MyD88 inhibitor ST2825 significantly attenuated the brain damage and neuroinflammation induced by sleep deprivation after SAH. In conclusion, our results indicate that sleep deprivation aggravates brain damage and neurological dysfunction following experimental SAH in rats. These effects were mediated by the activation of the TLR4-MyD88 cascades and regulation of neuroinflammation.

All-inorganic perovskite quantum dot (PeQD) light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) are promising candidates for the next-generation flat-panel displays and semiconductor lighting technology. However, the st...

OBJECTIVES To demonstrate the efficacy and safety of mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy, micro-percutaneous nephrolithotomy, and flexible ureteroscopy for pediatric upper urinary tract calculi and to develop nomograms predicting surgical outcomes. METHODS A prospectively managed database containing children who were diagnosed with upper urinary tract calculi and treated with mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy, micro-percutaneous nephrolithotomy, and flexible ureteroscopy between June 2014 and April 2019 was analysed. Patient demographics, intraoperative data, stone characteristics, stone-free rate, and complication rate were analysed and compared. Nomograms predicting the postoperative stone-free rate and complication rate were established based on predictors, and internal validation was performed. Calibration curves and decision curves were generated to assess the predictive efficacy and clinical benefit. RESULTS Forty-three children underwent mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy on 56 sides in 47 operations, 30 children underwent micro-percutaneous nephrolithotomy on 30 sides in 30 operations, and 275 children underwent flexible ureteroscopy on 320 sides in 288 operations. The stone-free rates were 88.5% (282/320) for flexible ureteroscopy, 89.3% (50/56) for mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy, and 90.0% (27/30) for micro-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (P = 0.94). And the complication rates were 19.8% (57/288), 36.2% (17/47), and 33.3% (10/30), respectively (P = 0.02). Nomograms based on stone characteristics, operation duration, and the physical condition of the child were shown to have good discrimination and calibration. The area under the curve of the models was 81% for stone-free rate and 73% for complication rate. The calibration curves showed that the nomogram might underestimate the probability of stone-free rate when the threshold was below 82% and might overestimate the risk of complication rate when the threshold was over 25%. The decision curves demonstrated that the Capital Medical University nomograms improved clinical risk prediction against threshold probabilities of stone-free rate ≤20% and complication rate ≤10%. CONCLUSIONS Both the percutaneous nephrolithotomy and flexible ureteroscopy procedures could have acceptable stone-free rates when treating pediatric stones. The Capital Medical University nomograms performed well in helping to predict stone-free and complication rates.

The low-cost, solution-processed and stable perovskite quantum dots (QDs) light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) have great potential applications for the new-generation displays technology and white-LEDs. The stability of perovskite QDs has been improved via polymers or inorganic encapsulation strategies, but at the cost of their semiconducting properties, so it is not suitable for active light-emitting devices. In this paper, the Zn-doped CsPbBr3/ZnS QDs heterojunction were fabricated via a simple solution-phase method, which demonstrated simultaneously enhanced the optical properties and stability of perovskite QDs films without damaging their semiconducting properties. The photoluminescence quantum yields and stability of the Zn-doped CsPbBr3/ZnS heterojunction QDs films have been significantly improved because of good surface passivation on the surface defects of perovskite QDs with ZnS nanoclusters and Zn2+ doping. Finally, solution-processed n-ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and p-NiO NPs as carrier transport layers are used to fabricate all-inorganic Zn-doped CsPbBr3/ZnS QLEDs. The QLEDs show high-efficiency green light emission with a maximum luminance of 8600 cd/m2 and external quantum efficiency of 4.8%. Moreover, the researched green perovskite QLEDs also show good working stability after a long test time in the outside environment. This study may provide an effective way for the preparation high-performance perovskite QLEDs with good environmental stability, making practical applications possible.

Background. Autophagy plays an essential role in tumorigenesis. At present, due to the unclear role of autophagy in renal clear cell carcinoma, we studied the potential value of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in renal clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Methods. We obtained all ccRCC data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We extracted the expression data of ARGs for difference analysis and carried out biological function analysis on the different results. The autophagy risk model was constructed. The 5-year survival rate was assessed using the model, and the predictive power of the model was evaluated from multiple perspectives. Cox regression analysis was use to assess whether the model could be an independent prognostic factor. Finally, the correlation between the model and clinical indicators is analyzed. Results. The patients were divided into the high-risk group and low-risk group according to the median of autophagy risk score, and the results showed that the prognosis of the low-risk group was better than that of a high-risk group. The validation results of external data sets show that our model has good predictive value for ccRCC patients. The model can be an independent prognostic factor. Finally, the results show that our model has a stable predictive ability. Conclusion. The autophagy gene model we constructed can be used as an excellent prognostic indicator for ccRCC. Our study provides the possibility of individualized and precise treatment for ccRCC patients.

5G communication technology has been applied to several fields in telemedicine, but its effectiveness, safety, and stability in remote laparoscopic telesurgery have not been established. Here, we conducted four ultra-remote laparoscopic surgeries on a swine model under the 5G network. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness, safety, and stability of the 5G network in remote laparoscopic telesurgery. Four ultra-remote laparoscopic surgeries (network communication distance of nearly 3000 km), including left nephrectomy, partial hepatectomy, cholecystectomy, and cystectomy, were performed on a swine model with a 5G wireless network connection using a domestically produced “MicroHand” surgical robot. The average network delay, operative time, blood loss, and intraoperative complications were recorded. Four laparoscopic telesurgeries were safely performed through a 5G network, with an average network delay of 264 ms (including a mean round-trip transporting delay of 114 ms and a 1.20% data packet loss ratio). The total operation time was 2 h. The total blood loss was 25 ml, and no complications occurred during the procedures. Ultra-remote laparoscopic surgery can be performed safely and smoothly with 5G wireless network connection using domestically produced equipment. More importantly, our model can provide insights for promoting the future development of telesurgery, especially in areas where Internet cables are difficult to lay or cannot be laid.

The fiber-reinforced voxel modeling technique is proposed to analyze the stress field and predict stiffness properties of textile composites. The textile reinforcements and matrix materials are modeled by virtual fibers and 3D voxel elements separately. Then the virtual fibers are “inserted” into the background voxel elements to construct the fiber-reinforced voxel elements. Stiffness properties of each fiber-reinforced voxel element are determined using volume average method based on the volume fraction and orientation of the virtual fibers it occupies. Geometry modeling and meshing of the complex reinforcements and matrix regions are avoided. As the reinforcements are generated in quasi-fiber scale, contact interactions and compaction deformations of the yarns can be modeled with high fidelity. A composite model containing one crimped yarn is used to verify the proposed method by comparing the calculating results of the fiber-reinforced voxel and traditional meso-scale models. The effect of voxel meshing density and virtual fiber radius on the simulation accuracy is also analyzed. Mechanical modeling of a multiply plain weave composite is performed by this model. Influence of nesting and compaction of the plies on the stress field can be fully characterized.

Jia Xu,1 Ming-Ying Zhang,2 Wei Jiao,1 Cong-Qi Hu,1 Dan-Bin Wu,2 Jia-Hui Yu,1 Guang-Xing Chen2,3 1First Clinical Medical School, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rheumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Baiyun Hospital of The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510470, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Guang-Xing ChenDepartment of Rheumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail cgx02@hotmail.comObjective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis worldwide. However, the genes and pathways associated with macrophages from synovial fluids in RA patients still remain unclear. This study aims to screen and verify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to identifying candidate genes related to synovial macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis by bioinformatics analysis.Methods: We searched the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and GSE97779 and GSE10500 with synovial macrophages expression profiling from multiple RA microarray dataset were selected to conduct a systematic analysis. GSE97779 included nine macrophage samples from synovial fluids of RA patients and five macrophage samples from primary human blood of HC. GSE10500 included five macrophage samples from synovial fluids of RA patients and three macrophage samples from primary human blood of HC. Functional annotation of DEGs was performed, including Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was established using the STRING database. CytoHubba was used to identify hub genes. MCODE was used to determine gene clusters in the interactive network.Results: There were 2638 DEGs (1425 upregulated genes and 1213 downregulated ones) and 889 DEGs (438 upregulated genes and 451 downregulated ones) selected from GSE97779 and GSE10500, respectively. Venn diagrams showed that 173 genes were upregulated and 106 downregulated in both two datasets. The top 10 hub genes, including FN1, VEGFA, HGF, SERPINA1, MMP9, PPBP, CD44, FPR2, IGF1, and ITGAM, were identified using the PPI network.Conclusion: This study provides new insights for the potential biomarkers and the relevant molecular mechanisms in RA patients. Our findings suggest that the 10 candidate genes might be used in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of RA in the future. However, further studies are required to confirm the expression of these genes in synovial macrophages in RA and control specimen.Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, synovitis macrophages, key genes, pathways, bioinformatics analysis

Designed micro-nano structures on the surface of aluminum alloy provide excellent light trapping properties that can be used extensively in thermal photovoltaics, sensors, etc. However, the fabrication of high-performance antireflective micro-nano structures on aluminum alloy is challenging because aluminum has shallow intrinsic losses and weak absorption. A two-step strategy is proposed for fabricating broadband antireflection structures by superimposing nanostructures onto microscale structures. By optimizing the processing parameters of femtosecond laser, the average reflectances of 2.6% within the visible spectral region (400–800 nm) and 5.14% within the Vis-NIR spectral region (400–2500 nm) are obtained.

Background Long non‐coding RNA potassium voltage‐gated channel subfamily Q member 1 opposite strand 1 (lnc‐KCNQ1OT1) represses inflammation and multiple organ dysfunction, whereas its clinical value in sepsis is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to explore this issue. Methods Lnc‐KCNQ1OT1 from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were detected by RT‐qPCR in 116 sepsis patients and 60 healthy controls (HCs). Moreover, sepsis patients were followed‐up until death or up to 28 days. Results Lnc‐KCNQ1OT1 decreased in patients with sepsis than in HCs (p, Lnc‐KCNQ1OT1 negatively correlated with multiple organ dysfunction and inflammatory indexes in sepsis patients. Furthermore, lnc‐KCNQ1OT1 decreased in sepsis deaths compared to sepsis survivors, whose expression could discriminate sepsis deaths from sepsis survivors.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem and a major cause of mortality and disability that imposes a substantial economic burden worldwide. Dexmedetomidine (DEX), a highly selective α-2-adrenergic receptor agonist that functions as a sedative and analgesic with minimal respiratory depression, has been reported to alleviate early brain injury (EBI) following traumatic brain injury by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, apoptosis and autophagy. Autophagy is a programmed cell death mechanism that serves a vital role in neuronal cell death following TBI. However, the precise role of autophagy in DEX-mediated neuroprotection following TBI has not been confirmed. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects and potential molecular mechanisms of DEX in TBI-induced EBI by regulating neural autophagy in a C57BL/6 mouse model. Mortality, the neurological score, brain water content, neuroinflammatory cytokine levels, ROS production, malondialdehyde levels and neuronal death were evaluated by TUNEL staining, Evans blue extravasation, ELISA, analysis of ROS/lipid peroxidation and western blotting. The results showed that DEX treatment markedly increased the survival rate and neurological score, increased neuron survival, decreased the expression of the LC3, Beclin-1 and NF-κB proteins, as well as the cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, which indicated that DEX-mediated inhibition of autophagy and neuroinflammation ameliorated neuronal death following TBI. The neuroprotective capacity of DEX is partly dependent on the ROS/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway. Taken together, the results of the present study indicated that DEX improves neurological outcomes in mice and reduces neuronal death by protecting against neural autophagy and neuroinflammation.

BACKGROUND: Recent literature has demonstrated the potential of “liquid biopsy” and detection of circulating, cell-free tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) as a cancer biomarker. However, to date there is a lack of data specific to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). The purpose of this study is to determine how detection and quantification of ctDNA changes with disease burden in patients with EAC and to evaluate its potential as a biomarker in this population. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from patients with Stage I-IV EAC. Longitudinal blood samples were collected from a subset of patients. Imaging studies and pathology reports were reviewed to determine disease course. Tumor samples were sequenced to identify mutations. Mutations in plasma DNA were detected using custom, barcoded, patient-specific sequencing libraries. Mutations in plasma were quantified, and associations with disease stage and response to therapy were explored. RESULTS: Plasma samples from a final cohort of 38 patients were evaluated. Baseline plasma samples were ctDNA positive for 18 (47%) patients overall with tumor allele frequencies ranging from 0.05 – 5.30%. Detection frequency of ctDNA and quantity of ctDNA increased with stage. Data from longitudinal samples indicate that ctDNA levels correlate with, and precede evidence of response to therapy or recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: ctDNA can be detected in plasma of EAC patients and correlates with disease burden. Detection of ctDNA in early stage EAC is challenging and may limit diagnostic applications. However, our data demonstrate the potential of ctDNA as a dynamic biomarker to monitor treatment response and disease recurrence in patients with EAC.

I find that home‐country culture affects portfolio managers’ investment risk‐taking and performance. I focus on security value, which measures the degree to which people in a country assign importance to security, safety, and stability. Funds managed by managers from countries with higher security value exhibit lower fund return volatility, trade less frequently, and follow benchmarks more closely. These funds also tend to avoid lottery‐type stocks and hence perform significantly better. However, the impact of home‐country security value decays as managers spend more time away from their home countries.

ChinaPurpose: To compare the diagnostic efficiency of 68Gallium labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (68Ga-PSMA PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for staging the lymph node metastases (LNMs) in the prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: A broad search of scientific databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Database, and Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database (updated prior to November 1st, 2018) was conducted systematically by two reviewers. In this paper, we evaluated the methodological quality of each included article independently and performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to reveal the summary of the diagnostic performance of 68Ga-PSMA PET and MRI in properly identifying LNMs of intermediate- and/or high-risk prostate cancer.Results: Thirteen eligible articles comprising 1,597 patients were included. For LNMs detection, the pooled sensitivity and specificity of 68Ga-PSMA PET were 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.49–0.79) and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88–0.97), respectively, while the corresponding values of MRI were 0.41 (95% CI: 0.26–0.57) and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86–0.95). The area under the symmetric receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curve for 68Ga-PSMA PET and MRI were 0.92 and 0.83, respectively. Conclusions: In intermediate- or high-risk pre-treatment prostate cancer, 68Ga-PSMA PET had a higher sensitivity and a slightly different specificity in probing the LNMs when comparing with MRI. Moreover, the area under the SROC curve indicated that 68Ga-PSMA PET was a more effective weapon for predicting the LNMs prior to radical surgery.

Recently, all-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (QDs) (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, I) as the emerging semiconductor materials have been intensively studied owing to superior optical properties. Currently, the strategy for preparation of inorganic perovskite QDs mainly focuses on the hot-injection method, but requires inert gas protection and is difficult to mass-produce. In this work, we developed a simple and low-cost strategy for preparing highly luminescent and air-stable all-inorganic perovskite QDs by directly heating perovskite precursors in octane in air. The emission wavelength of CsPbX3 perovskite QDs can be tunable from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared region by simply controlling their halide composition and display high PLQYs. Moreover, CsPbX3 perovskite QDs in octane can exist more than half a year in air and the film of CsPbX3 perovskite QDs also shows good thermal stability and air stability, especially high iodide-substituted CsPbBr3−xIx perovskite QDs. The CsPbX3 perovskite QDs can be easily blended with PDMS and used as color conversion layer on the blue LEDs chip for high-quality white LEDs. Our work opens a window for the potential application of such highly luminescent material in the fields of multicolor LEDs, backlight display and other related optoelectronic devices.

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis of evidence from randomized controlled trails (RCTs) of different doses of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in children with severe hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) to provide the scientific basis for clinical practice. Methods: A search of PubMed-Medline, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP database (until June 30, 2017) was performed and Software RevMan5.3 was used to evaluate the effect of different doses of IVIG on HFMD in RCTs. We used random-effects models (or fixed-effects models) and generic inverse variance methods to process quantitative data, followed by a leave-one-out method for sensitivity analysis. Results: From a total of 420 entries identified via searches, 8 RCTs involving 1,450 patients were included in the final analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with conventional therapy alone, conventional therapy combined with IVIG had shorter fever clearance time, shorter rash regression time, and shorter clinical cure time. Subgroup analyses showed that the high-dose group (1 g/kg/day) had shorter fever clearance time (p < 0.05), shorter rash regression (p< 0.05), shorter remission time of neurological symptoms (p < 0.05), but longer clinical cure time (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The high-dose group has a better prognosis; however, the advantages and disadvantages should be carefully considered when deciding the doses in the treatment of severe HFMD.

Backgroud: This study was aimed to develop and internally validate a nomogram for risk of upgrade of ISUP (International Society of Urology Pathology) grade group from biopsy tissue to RP (radical prostatectomy) final histology.Methods: 166 patients with prostate cancer were retrospectively analyzed and divided into two groups based on ISUP upgrade status from needle biopsy to radical prostatectomy specimen, these being the 'ISUP upgrade' group and the 'no ISUP upgrade' group. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict the significant independent factors for ISUP upgrade. A nonogram was then developed based on these independent factors, which would predict risk of ISUP upgrade. The C-index, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis were used to assess the discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of the predicting model. Internal validation was evaluated by using the bootstrapping validation. Results: There were 47 patients in the ISUP upgrade group and 119 patients in the no ISUP upgrade group respectively. Patients in the ISUP upgrade group tended to be of younger age, smaller PV (prostate volume), lower GS (Gleason score) of PB (prostate biopsy) tissue than the no ISUP upgrade group (p=0.043, p=0.041, p < 0.001, p =0.04, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that GS ≤6 (OR=14.236, P=0.001), prostate biopsy approach (TB-SB (transperineal prostate systematic biopsy) VS TR-SB (transrectal prostate systematic biopsy), OR=0.361, P=0.03) and number of positive cores < 10 (OR=0.396, P=0.04) were the independent risk factors for ISUP upgrade. A prediction nomogram model of ISUP upgrade was built based on these significant factors above, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve of which was 0.802. The C-index for the prediction nomogram was 0.798 (95%CI: 0.655–0.941) and the nomogram showed good calibration. High C-index value of 0.772 could still be reached in the interval validation. Decision curve analysis also demonstrated that the threshold value of RP-ISUP upgrade risk was 3% to 67%. Conclusion: A novel nomogram incorporating PSA, GS of PCa, ways of prostate biopsy and number of positive cores was built with a relatively good accuracy to assist clinicians to evaluate the risk of ISUP upgrade in the RP specimen, especially for the low-risk prostate cancer diagnosed by TR-SB.

Wave plates based on metasurfaces have attracted intensive attention over the past decade owing to their compactness and design flexibility. Although various wave plates have been designed, their working wavelengths are fixed once they are made. Here we present a study on tunable wave plates based on phase-change metasurfaces made of Ge2Sb2Te5 nanopillar structures. The Ge2Sb2Te5 nanopillars can work as a high-efficiency transmissive half- or quarter-wave plate depending on their structural parameters. The working wavelength of wave plate can be tuned via the phase transition of Ge2Sb2Te5. Moreover, the polarization state of the transmitted light at a fixed wavelength can be modified by changing the crystallinity of Ge2Sb2Te5. The features suggest that tunable wave plates may have applications in optical modulators, molecular detection, and polarimetric imaging.

This study established an oligoasthenospermic rat model using tripterygium glycosides (TGs) and investigated the mechanism by which Qilin pills (QLPs) ameliorate reproductive hypofunction. Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were allocated to four equal-sized groups: (1) the control group received continuous physiological levels of saline; (2) the oligoasthenospermia model group was induced with TGs by daily intragastric administration for 28 days; (3 and 4) oligoasthenospermic rats were treated intragastrically with low dose (1.62 g kg-1 d-1 ) and high dose (3.24 g kg-1 d-1 ) of QLPs once daily for 60 days. The QLP-treated rats showed a marked increase (p

Background/Aim: Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness (RT), which can reflect the status of the retinal optic nerve cells, may be affected in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are few studies on the correlation of RT of patients with AD (AD-RT) with clinical symptoms of various cognitive domains, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and activities of daily living (ADL). This study is to investigate the relationships between RT and the abovementioned clinical symptoms of AD.Methods: A total of 96 patients with AD were included in this study. RT was measured in these patients using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Demographic variables, RT, and clinical symptoms were compared between the normal and the abnormal AD-RT groups. Clinical symptoms, including cognitive symptoms, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and ADL, were evaluated using a series of rating scales.Results: The relationships between RT and cognitive symptoms scores were analyzed in patients with AD. Reduced RT was found in 54.4% of patients with AD. The average RT, RT of the superior 1/2 quadrant, and RT of the inferior 1/2 quadrant of both eyes were all significantly decreased in the abnormal AD-RT group (p < 0.001). Overall cognitive function and performance in multiple cognitive domains, including memory, language, attention, and executive function, were also significantly impaired in the abnormal AD-RT group (p < 0.05). For lower RT value, the global cognitive function and the performance in multiple cognitive domains were worse. ADL was significantly compromised in patients with AD having lower RT values (p < 0.05).Conclusions: Lower RT value appear to be correlated with cognitive impairment, and RT may be an indicator of cognitive decline in patients with AD. Further studies are required to confirm our findings.

BackgroundBladder cancer (BLCA) is a common malignant tumor of urinary system with high morbidity and mortality. In recent years, immunotherapy has played a significant role in the treatment of BLCA. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) has been reported to be a powerful biomarker for predicting tumor prognosis and efficacy of immunotherapy. Our study aimed to explore the relationship between TMB, prognosis and immune infiltration to identify the key genes in BLCA.MethodsClinical information, somatic mutation and gene expression data of BLCA patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Patients were divided into high and low TMB groups according to their calculated TMB scores. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to screen for significantly enriched pathways. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two groups were identified. Univariate Cox analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were applied for screening key genes. Immune infiltration was performed for TMB groups and NTRK3.ResultsHigher TMB scores were related with poor survival in BLCA. After filtering, 36 DEGs were identified. NTRK3 had the highest hazard ratio and significant prognostic value. Co-expressed genes of NTRK3 were mainly involved in several pathways, including DNA replication, basal transcription factors, complement and coagulation cascades, and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes. There was a significant correlation among TMB scores, NTRK3 expression and immune infiltration.ConclusionsOur results suggest that NTRK3 is a TMB-related prognostic biomarker, which lays the foundation for further research on the immunomodulatory effect of NTRK3 in BLCA.

In China, the traditional taxi industry is conforming to the trend of the times, with taxi drivers working with e-hailing applications. This reform is of great significance, not only for the taxi industry, but also for the transportation industry, cities, and society as a whole. Our goal was to analyze the changes in driving behavior since taxi drivers joined e-hailing platforms. Therefore, this paper mined taxi trajectory data from Shanghai and compared the data of May 2015 with those of May 2017 to represent the before-app stage and the full-use stage, respectively. By extracting two-trip events (i.e., vacant trip and occupied trip) and two-spot events (i.e., pick-up spot and drop-off spot), taxi driving behavior changes were analyzed temporally, spatially, and efficiently. The results reveal that e-hailing applications mine more long-distance rides and new pick-up locations for drivers. Moreover, driver initiative have increased at night since using e-hailing applications. Furthermore, mobile payment facilities save time that would otherwise be taken sorting out change. Although e-hailing apps can help citizens get taxis faster, from the driver’s perspective, the apps do not reduce their cruising time. In general, e-hailing software reduces the unoccupied ratio of taxis and improves the operating ratio. Ultimately, new driving behaviors can increase the driver’s revenue. This work is meaningful for the formulation of reasonable traffic laws and for urban traffic decision-making.

To investigate the clinical efficacy of ginger partitioned moxibustion combined with acupuncture in the treatment of breast fibroma. 128 cases of breast hyperplasia combined with breast fibroma in our hospital from June 2018 to June 2020 were selected as the research object, and they were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group, 64 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were given Rupixiao, 5 tablets each time, 3 times a day, while the patients in the observation group were treated with ginger partitioned moxibustion combined with acupuncture for 3 mo. The levels of sex hormones (luteinizing hormone, estradiol, prolactin and progesterone), the pathological characteristics of color Doppler ultrasound and the changes of quality of life of the two groups before and after treatment were observed and analyzed, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated. After treatment, the estradiol and prolactin levels of the two groups were lower than before treatment, Progesterone and luteinizing hormone levels were higher than before treatment, and the estradiol and prolactin levels of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, progesterone and luteinizing hormone levels were higher than those of the control group, the differences were statistically significant (p

Backgroud: This study was aimed to develop and internally validate an ISUP (International Society of Urology Pathology) upgrade risk nomogram from the biopsy tissue to the specimen of radical prostatectomy. Methods: The clinical characteristics of 166 patients with prostate cancer were retrospectively analyzed, who were divided into two groups based on the upgrade of ISUP between the biopsy tissue and radical prostatectomy specimen. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict the significant independent factors of ISUP upgrade, a nomogram was established to predict ISUP upgrade of prostatectomy specimen based on the significant factors. The C-index, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis were used to assess the discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of the predicting model. Internal validation was evaluated by using the bootstrapping validation. Results: There were 47 patients in the ISUP upgrade group and 119 patients in the no ISUP upgrade group respectively. Patients in the ISUP upgrade group inclined to be younger age, smaller PV, lower GS scores and PB-ISUP than the no ISUP upgrade group (p=0.043, p=0.041, p < 0.001, p =0.04, respectively), Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that PSA≥20 ng/ml (OR=8.558, P=0.024), Gleason score of PCa≤6 (OR=9.026, P=0.004), PB-ISUP=3,4vs5 (OR=23.232, P=0.000417; OR=26.72, P=0.000241), ways of prostate biopsy (TP-SB+COG-TB (transperineal prostate biopsy + cognitive fusion targeted biopsy) VS TR-SB (transrectal prostate system biopsy), OR=033, P=0.036) and number of positive cores < 10 (OR=0.21, P=0.002) were the independent risk factors for ISUP upgrade. A prediction nomogram model of ISUP upgrade was built based on these significant factors above, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve of which was 0.843. The C-index for the prediction nomogram was 0.871 (95% CI: 0.817–0.925) and the nomogram showed good calibration. Decision curve analysis also demonstrated that the threshold value of RP-ISUP upgrade risk was 1% to 89%. Conclusion: A novel nomogram incorporating PSA, Gleason score of PCa, PB-ISUP, ways of prostate biopsy and number of positive cores was built with a relatively good accuracy to assist clinicians to evaluate the risk of ISUP upgrade in the radical prostatectomy specimen, especially for the low-risk prostate cancer diagnosed by TR-SB.

BACKGROUND: Prognostic biomarkers play a vital role in the early detection of the cancer and assessment of prognosis. With advances in technology, a large number of biomarkers of kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) have been discovered, but their prognostic value has not been fully investigated, and thus have not been widely used in clinical practice. We aimed to identify the reliable markers associated with the prognosis of KIRC patients. METHODS: We obtained 72 normal samples and 539 tumor samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and 23 normal samples and 32 tumor samples from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Overlapping differentially expressed genes (ODEGs) were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, followed by construction of a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to screen hub genes. Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate Cox analysis, multivariate Cox analysis, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed to verify the prognostic value and function of the markers we selected. The relationships among gene expression level, tumor immune cell infiltration, and immune-checkpoints were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 910 genes were screened out, and C3, C3AR1, HLA-DRA, and HLA-E were identified as potential tumor markers. The expression of each gene was closely associated with tumor immune cell infiltration, survival rate, and the patients’ clinical characteristics (P

PET detector is composed of scintillation crystal and optical sensor. The optical sensor receives the photons passing through the scintillation crystal. In order to improve the light output of the photonic crystal, we adopt the method of processing microstructure on the crystal surface to improve the transmittance of the photonic crystal. With the wide application of femtosecond laser in micro / nano machining, we studied the possibility of fabricating microstructure and improving the optical output of photonic crystal by femtosecond laser.

Background: To explore the changes of neuroinflammatory factors in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and their correlation with monoamine neurotransmitters in Parkinson’s disease (PD) with depression (PD-D) patients. Methods: Neuroinflammatory factors and neurotransmitters in CSF were measured and compared between PD with no depression (PD-ND) and PD-D groups. The relationship between PD-D and neuroinflammatory factors was studied by binary logistic regression equation, and the related factors of PD-D were adjusted. The correlations of the levels of neuroinflammatory factors and neurotransmitters in PD-D group were analyzed. Results: The levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in CSF from PD-D group were significantly higher and there were no significant differences in the levels of interleukin-1β, prostaglandin (PG) E2, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and nitric oxide (NO). The 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24) score was positively correlated with the level of TNF-α in CSF. Binary logistic regression showed that the OR of CSF TNF-α level was 1.035 (95% CI 1.002–1.069). The level of dopamine (DA) in CSF of PD-D group was significantly lower than that in PD-ND group. TNF-α level was negatively correlated with DA level in CSF from PD patients (r = −0.320, P = 0.003). Conclusions: Neuroinflammatory factors, especially TNF-α, may play an important role in PD-D. It may cause damage to DA neurons and lead to the depletion of DA, which is related to the occurrence and development of PD-D.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, which is quickly spreading around the world and causes coronavirus disease 2019, may attack the urogenital system. We thought that a summary of the current literature about urogenital disease associated with the virus would be useful for physicians treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019. PubMed was com-prehensively screened for studies published from 2019 to 2020. Studies of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with kidney dis-ease, reproductive system diseases, or urological cancer were included. Through reviewing current literature, we summarized that acute kidney injury is a risk factor for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 and is related to their survival. A diagnosis of chronic kidney disease increases the risk of infection. The therapy for kidney transplant patients should be cautious and implemented on a case-by-case basis. When the public health burden is too heavy to bear, a rational selection of treatment for patients with urological cancer is vital. The male reproductive system is at high risk of being attacked by the virus, which may cause damage to reproductive function, and the long-term effects require further study. So, the complications associated with the urogenital system should not be ignored during the course of infection treatment and more robust evidence of long-term effects on the urogenital system will be proposed as more studies are published.

Intracranial inflammatory granuloma is a common intracranial occupying lesion. Common postoperative complications include intracranial edema, intracranial infection, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. This report aims to summarize the nursing care of a patient with right frontoparietal inflammatory granuloma complicated with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). Acute pulmonary embolism is a clinical syndrome in which endogenous or exogenous emboli block the main trunk or branches of the pulmonary artery, resulting in disorders of pulmonary and respiratory circulation that seriously threatening the lives of patients. The occurrence and report of pulmonary embolism caused by intracranial inflammatory granuloma are rare. The patient had rapid onset, atypical clinical manifestations, and was in critical condition. Pulmonary embolism can easily lead to death. Nursing care after rapid thrombolysis included observation of coagulation function, prevention of complication, control of infection, improvement of intestinal dysfunction, maintenance and monitoring of sedation, prevention and observation of epilepsy, and prevention of the recurrence of embolism. After early intervention, active treatment and meticulous care, the patient's condition improved, mechanical ventilation was successfully withdrawn, and the patient was ultimately discharged and walked out on his own.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as a noninvasive detection technology have become a research hotspot in the field of precision medicine. However, CTC detection faces great challenges with respect to specificity and sensitivity. We divided 39 subjects into three groups: renal carcinoma, renal stones and healthy persons. Using subtraction enrichment (SE) combined with immunostaining-fluorescence in situ hybridization technology, we identified and characterized CTCs. CTCs were identified as DAPI +/CD45-/PanCK + (−). We explored whether the number of CTCs was related to clinicopathological factors and their clinical application. The CTC count in the renal carcinoma group (29/39) was 86.20% using a cut-off value of 1 CTC, which was significantly higher than that of other technologies in detecting CTCs, demonstrating that SE-iFISH technology can be used for CTC detection. The CTC count was much higher in the renal carcinoma group than that in the other control groups, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.931 (95% confidence interval 0.851 to 1.000, P

Background: This study aimed to compare the detection efficacy of transrectal ultrasound -guided systematic prostate biopsy (TR-SB) and transperineal cognitive fusion targeted +systematic biopsy (TP-SB+COG-TB) in patients with suspected prostate cancer (PCa). In addition, the relative clinical characteristics of PCa were evaluated. Methods: 385 patients were enrolled in this study, who underwent transrectal (n=275) or transperineal (n = 110) cognitive fusion biopsy. Relative factors of PCa including age, prostate volume and PSA level were collected for multivariable analysis. The cancer detection rates were compared, and logistic regression was used to assess the impact of patient characteristics on PCa detection Results: For all patients, the overall detection rates of TR-SB and TP-SB+COG-TB were 121/275(40%) and 67/110（60.91%）, respectively. TP-SB+COG-TB detected a higher rate of PCa (P =0.003) and more clinically significant prostate cancers (csPCa) (P=0.001) than TR-SB. Logistic regression analyses revealed that age、TPSA（total prostate specific antigen）and PV were related to the detection rate of PCa (P≤0.05). Conclusion ： TP-SB+COG-TB could find more clinically significant PCa than TR-SB. Due to the high detection rate at certain ages, PSA levels and PV, patents’ clinical characteristics should be considered in biopsy.

Background. In recent years, immune-associated genes (IAGs) have been documented as having critical roles in the occurrence and progression of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Novel immune-related biomarkers and a robust prognostic signature for MIBC patients are still limited. The study is aimed at developing an IAG-based signature to predict the prognosis of MIBC patients. Methods. In the present study, we identified differentially expressed IAGs in MIBC by using transcriptomics data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and proteomics data from our samples. We further constructed an IAG-based signature and evaluated its prognostic and predictive value by survival analysis and nomogram. Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) was applied to explore the correlation between the IAG-based signature and immune cell infiltration in the microenvironment of MIBC. Results. A total of 22 differentially expressed IAGs were identified, and 2 IAGs (NR2F6 and AHNAK) were used to establish a prognostic signature. Subsequently, survival analysis showed that high-risk scores were significantly correlated with poor overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) of MIBC patients. A prognostic nomogram was constructed by integrating clinical factors with the IAG-based signature risk score. In addition, the IAG-based signature risk score was positively associated with the infiltration of macrophages and dendritic cells in MIBC. Conclusions. We constructed and verified a novel IAG-based signature, which could predict the prognosis of MIBC and might reflect the status of the immune microenvironment of MIBC. Further studies in more independent clinical cohorts and further experimental exploration of the prognostic IAG-based signature are still needed.

The microenvironment of the crop area in a greenhouse is the main factor that affects its growth, quality, and pest control. In this study, we propose a double-layer film solar greenhouse microenvironment testing system based on computational fluid dynamics simulations of a celery canopy with a porous medium. A real greenhouse was examined with a sensor system for soil, air, radiation, and carbon dioxide detection to verify the simulation results. By monitoring the internal environment of celery canopies with heights of 0.8 and 1 m during a period of temperature fluctuations, we found the temperature and humidity of the canopy interior changed spatially and differed greatly from the those in the greenhouse under solar radiation conditions. The temperature and humidity of the celery canopy were 4–14°C lower and 10%–30% higher than those of the surroundings. As the canopy grew, the differences in temperature and humidity between the canopy and other parts of the greenhouse increased. The root mean square errors of the temperature and humidity with the 0.8 m high celery canopy were found to be 0.56 and 2.86 during the day and 0.24 and 0.81 at night, respectively; the corresponding values for the 1 m high celery canopy were found to be 0.51 and 2.26 during the day and 0.26 and 0.78 at night. The porous medium model expressed the temperature and humidity characteristics of the celery crop appropriately, and the simulation method was shown to be effective and feasible. With the simulation method proposed in this study, the production of crops in complex microenvironments in greenhouses can be modeled and digitized.

We propose a hyperchaotic encryption algorithm for the region of interest (ROI) in a color image. The ROI for the human face is first identified based on the Open Source Computer Vision library by using a Gaussian mixture model. It is then encrypted using a novel hyperchaotic system, which has three positive Lyapunov exponents. The system can be in a hyperchaotic state with the parameter changing over a wide region, which is proved by Lyapunov exponent spectrum calculations. Furthermore, hierarchical keys are adopted to ensure the security of the encrypted sequences generated. In the encryption process, crossed image row–column scrambling and pixel value diffusion are experienced. The hyperchaotic sequences required for the encryption relate not only to the keys but also to the plaintext images. Consequently, the algorithm is effective against plaintext and ciphertext attacks. The security performance is also verified in detail with respect to histograms, correlations, information entropy, key space, key sensitivity analysis, number of pixel change rate, unified average changing intensity, and known and chosen attacks. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm has a large key space and a low correlation between adjacent pixels, hence, it can also be usefully employed to resist brute-force and statistical attacks.

Adrenal myelolipoma with hyperandrogenemia is extremely rare. We report a case of a 26-year-old Chinese female with schizophrenia, who presented with a hormonally active tumor causing hyperandrogenemia. The mass was found by computerized tomography when she had her gynecologic examination for secondary amenorrhea, and it was confirmed to be an adrenal myelolipoma after a histopathological study. She was referred for a left adrenal laparoscopic excision, and the size of adrenal myelolipoma was found to be more than 10 cm. We report this case because large adrenal myelolipomas with hyperandrogenemia and schizophrenia are rare, and adrenal myelolipoma associated with hyperandrogenemia might be determined by the enzymes involved in the production of hormones.

A new tunable capacitor system based on a magnetostrictive material and an electret film has been proposed. The traditional dynamic measurement of the magnetoelectric effect was used to investigate the magnetoelectric properties of the system. The results show that the output AC voltage of the system is significantly affected by the DC bias and AC signal magnetic field; the system exhibits a high magnetoelectric response. The detected magnetoelectric response of the system increases with increasing magnitude of the DC bias magnetic field and exhibits hysteresis. The maximum tunability of the magnetoelectric response based on the DC bias magnetic field is found to be more than 10%. These findings not only enhance the use of the dynamic method of magnetoelectric measurement, but also provide a new type of capacitor for potential applications in magnetic detections, magnetoelectric sensors and energy converter.

Hematite (α-Fe2O3) is a red material with a band gap of about 2.0 eV, which indicates that it can absorb more solar light. It is a promising photocatalyst applied in many fields. In this paper, α-Fe2O3 single crystal hollow hexagonal bipyramids were synthesized by a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The morphology and structure of the prepared α-Fe2O3 hollow hexagonal bipyramids were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hollow single crystals show a good light absorption and performance in photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). Due to the strategy of depositing ultra-thin layers of Al2O3 by atomic layer deposition (ALD), the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of α-Fe2O3 under the simulated solar light irradiation is also improved.

OBJECTIVES: Xpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin (MTB/RIF) Ultra assay has increasingly been used in adult tuberculosis diagnosis, but data relating to its diagnostic accuracy in children are lacking. Because a qualified sputum specimen is difficult to obtain in children, this study evaluated the diagnostic value of Ultra in childhood tuberculosis using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. METHODS: The accuracy of Ultra was calculated by using bacteriologic results and clinical evidence as reference standards. Concordance between Ultra and Xpert MTB/RIF assays was assessed by using к coefficients. RESULTS: In total, 93 children with pulmonary tuberculosis and 128 children with respiratory tract infections were enrolled. The sensitivity of Ultra, in all pulmonary tuberculosis cases and in bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis cases, was 70% and 91%, respectively. Ultra could detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 58% of cases with negative culture or acid-fast–staining results. The specificity of Ultra was 98%. There was no significant difference in sensitivity between samples with a volume ≤1 and >1 mL (66% vs 73%; P = .50; odds ratio [OR] = 0.71). Among 164 children for which Ultra and Xpert were simultaneously performed, the sensitivity was 80% and 67%, respectively, indicating good agreement (к = 0.84). An additional 6 children were identified as Ultra-positive but Xpert-negative. The positive rate decreased from 93% to 63% after 1 month (P = .01; OR = 0.12) and to 71% after 2 months (P = .03; OR = 0.18) of antituberculosis treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Ultra using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid has good sensitivity compared with bacteriologic tests and adds clinical value by assisting the rapid and accurate diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in children.

The fatigue in aerobic exercise affects the task performance. In addition to the fatigue in the muscular system, the diminished performance may arise from the altered cerebral blood supply and oxygen extraction. However, the effects of the fatiguing aerobic exercise on the ability of brain to regulate the cerebral blood flow (CBF) and to extract the oxygen are not fully understood. In this pilot study, we aim to quantify such effects via advanced functional MRI techniques. Twenty healthy younger elite athletes were recruited. In the screening visit, one circle ergometer test was used to screen the maximal relative oxygen consumption (VO2max). Eleven eligible participants then completed the next MRI visit after 7 days. These participants completed a 2-min pulsed arterial spin labeling (ASL) using the PICORE/QUIPSS II and 5-min asymmetric spin echo (ASE) scan at baseline and immediately after the aerobic circle ergometer test. The CBF was then measured using the ASL images and the oxygen consumption of the brain was quantified using oxygen extraction fractions (OEF) derived from the ASE images. The test time, VO2max, and anaerobic threshold were also recorded. As compared to baseline, participants had significant reduction of global CBF (p = 0.003). Specifically, the CBF in bilateral striatum, left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) decreased significantly (p < 0.005, K > 20). No significant changes of the OEFs were observed. Participants with greater OEF within the right striatum at baseline had longer test time, greater anaerobic threshold and relative VO2max (r2 > 0.51, p < 0.007). Those with longer test time had less reduction of CBF within the right IFG (r2 = 0.55, p = 0.006) and of OEF within the left striatum (r2 = 0.52, p = 0.008). Additionally, greater anaerobic threshold was associated with less reduction of OEF within the left MTG (r2 = 0.49, p = 0.009). This pilot study provided first-of-its-kind evidence suggesting that the fatiguing aerobic exercise alters the cerebral blood supply in the brain, but has no significant effects on the ability of brain to extract oxygenation. Future studies are warranted to further establish the CBF and OEF as novel markers for physical and physiological function to help the assessment in the sports science and clinics.

Rationale: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare intermediate soft tissue tumor. Rarely occurring in the urinary bladder, MTs is composed of myofibroblast differentiated spindle cells and accompanied by numerous inflammatory cells, plasma cells and/or Lymphocytes. Patient concerns: A 28-year-old female, with history of 2 cesarean sections 8 years ago and 2 years ago, was admitted to the emergency department for a 7-day ongoing gross hematuria with clots. Diagnoses: A cystoscopy showed a tumor near the bladder neck, computed tomography (CT) showed a mass and massive blood clots in the bladder. Finally, postoperative pathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of bladder. Interventions: The patient was given rehydration and blood transfusion to improve the general condition. Then, emergency transurethral resection of the bladder tumor was performed. Outcomes: No metastases to lymph nodes and other organs were found, and no tumor progression was revealed during 3-months of follow-up. Lessons: IMTs rarely occur in the urinary bladder. Due to the lack of specificity in clinical symptoms, it's difficult to arrive at a definite diagnosis before operation. Therefore, usually, the final diagnosis depends on histomorphological features and the immunohistochemical profile. Further case studies are required to study the biological behavior of this condition.

Primary thyroid-like follicular carcinoma of the kidney (TLFCK) is a least-frequent and least-studied variant of renal tumor which is rich in follicular structures of colloidal substances, otherwise, it is typically negative for the thyroid immunohistochemical markers. We report a 44-year-old patient with mild anemia, who was found a right kidney occupying lesion incidentally during the medical examination. The microfollicular and macro-follicular structures under the microscope and typical negative performance of thyroid immunohistochemical markers is in line with the diagnosis of TLFCK. To our knowledge this is the first report of TLFCK with anemia. Brief review of previously published TLFCs, we discuss the clinical and histopathological features of limited cases.

Photocatalysis has received much attention as it is considered one of the potential solutions for solar energy conversion and counteracting environmental degradation. In order to promote the research work of the field and meet the requirements of practical applications, it is necessary to develop high efficiency visible-light-driven photocatalysts, especially the red semiconductor photocatalysts. This review aims to sum up the progress recently made in this field, concentrating on the scientific and technological possibilities offered by three kinds of red semiconductor photocatalysts for water splitting, organic contaminant decomposition, and CO 2 photoreduction. The important progress is discussed and explained in detail, including the synthesis, characterization, and specific applications of red semiconductor photocatalysts. Finally, the review concludes by summarizing both findings and perspectives.

The sandwich magnetoelectric (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3/CoFe2O4/(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 films have been fabricated on Ni–5 at.%W RABiTS tape by pulsed laser deposition. The dielectric properties of the films have been investigated. The dielectric tunability of the sandwich films increases initially and then decreases with increasing the bias field. It is suggested that the peak behavior originates from the interfacial polarization, trapping and locking mechanisms. The abnormal dielectric tunability not only has some new physical meanings, but also has potential practical applications in detectors, sensors and so on.

Recently, all-inorganic perovskite (CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I)) nanocrystals (NCs) have caused extensive attention due to their high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY), high color purity, and narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM). Although the excellent optical properties of perovskite NCs (PNCs) endow them good application prospects, their inherent instability severely limits the commercialization process. In this paper, highly-luminescence and ultra-stable phosphor were obtained by loading PNCs onto the surface of amino modified hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) white graphene (PNCs-BNWG), This structural design can effectively suppress the attenuation of photoluminescence (PL) intensity and enhance thermal stability, thereby realizing the high stability and brightness white LEDs. The synthesis process is simple and can be finished in a few minutes to ensure scalable production. Compared with bare PNCs, it can maintain excellent optical properties. The high PL QY and thermal stability mainly stem from the isolation effect that separates PNCs from each other on the surface of BNWG and their superior high transparency as well as thermal conductivity. In addition, multi-color inks are produced by dispersing PNCs-BNWG nanocomposites in PDMS to form a multicolor painting demonstrating high PL QY and wide color gamut.

Subsequent to the stricter corporate governance listing standards adopted by the NYSE and NASDAQ in the early part of this century and the independence requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), the number of investment bankers (IB) serving on corporate boards has declined significantly. We document that the firms that lose the relationship with the investment bank after SOX become relatively more financially constrained soon after. The evidence is similar, albeit weaker, after departures of investment bankers at the advent of the financial crisis. We examine the mechanisms through which the constraints might be lowered, and observe that firms with IB directors face lower underwriting spreads when they issue equity and debt. Inconsistent with the hold-up problem associated with IB directors, the market reaction to seasoned equity offerings in firms with IB directors is less negative than comparable firms. The results point to costs associated with the increased attempts to improve board independence.