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Purpose The safe prerequisite of hippocampal-sparing whole brain radiotherapy (HS-WBRT) for patients with breast cancer is unclear. This study investigated the risk and relapse of perihippocampal (PH) metastases in breast cancer. Methods Consecutive breast cancer patients with brain metastasis (BM) were reviewed. Metastases and hippocampi were contoured in cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The closest distance from metastasis to hippocampus was calculated. Clinical and radiographic variables were correlated with PH (in or within 5 mm around the hippocampus) metastasis. The risk of post-treatment PH recurrence was estimated. Results Three hundred and fourteen patients with 1678 metastases exhibited a median breast cancer-specific overall survival (OS) and OS after BM (BMOS) of 75.4 and 14.3 months, respectively. Hippocampal metastases were identified in 1.2% of metastases and 4.1% of patients. PH lesions comprised 3.5% of lesions in 11.1% of patients. The number and aggregated volume of BM were associated with PH disease probability (univariate). Only the number of BM significantly correlated with PH disease in the multivariate analysis. The patients with PH lesions exhibited more non-oligometastatic disease, increased tumor volume, and poor BMOS. One hundred and eleven patients without original PH lesions developed intracranial progression post-treatment. The risks of PH metastasis recurrence were 4.6% for WBRT and 6.8% for sub-therapeutic irradiation in the PH region. The increase in the absolute risk of PH recurrence with hippocampal-sparing irradiation was approximately 2%. Conclusions These novel findings indicate that BM from breast cancer exhibits low risks of metastases and relapse within the hippocampal avoidance region. Non-oligometastatic disease is associated with PH metastasis. Thus, HS-WBRT is considered safe and suitable for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect of KOH/biomass ratios and pyrolysis temperatures on products distribution, the evolution of oxygen-containing groups in pyrolytic tri-state products and the possible chemical reactions between oxygen-containing groups and KOH were investigated. The results indicated that KOH can react with oxygen-containing groups in biomass to facilitate gas generation at lower ratios (≤1:2) or higher temperature (∼800 °C). When at higher ratios (>1:2) and 600 °C, KOH has an inhibitory effect on gas production. With a significant decreased in the oxygen-containing species and acids, the phenols and hydrocarbons became the main species in bio-oil. Moreover, KOH facilitates methoxyphenol conversion and has high selectivity for alkyl phenol generation. For biochar, at lower ratios (<1:2), K can attack the oxygen sites of phenolic hydroxyl groups, forming dangling bonds and promoting the formation of aromatic rings with anhydride groups. However, at higher ratios (>1:2), the oxygen-containing groups on the surface of biochar gradually changed from anhydride groups to quinone groups, and finally form a biochar with large aromatic ring and rich in quinone groups. As analyzed above, a possible chemical reaction between KOH and oxygen-containing groups during KOH-catalyzed pyrolysis of biomass was proposed. [Display omitted] • KOH can react with oxygen-containing groups to facilitate gas generation at ≤ 1:2 or ∼800 °C. • Phenols and hydrocarbons content increased, while oxygen-containing species and acids decreased. • KOH facilitates methoxyphenol conversion and has high selectivity for alkyl phenol generation. • Biochar with large aromatic ring and rich in quinone groups was formed at > 1:2. • Possible chemical reactions between KOH and oxygen-containing groups was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Catalytic oxidation of o -ClA and nitrogen transformation in HCW were investigated. • A flexible micro-reactor platform consist of FQTR and Raman spectroscopy was developed. • Mn 2 O 3 improved the degradtion of ammonia-N and inhibited the production of nitrate-N. • o -Chlorophenol was the main intermediate product of o -ClA in HCWO process. • The potential degradation pathway of o -ClA was proposed. Catalytic oxidation of o -chloroaniline (o- ClA) in hot compressed water (HCW) was investigated in a fused quartz tube reactor (FQTR) to determine the effects of catalyst, temperature, oxygen stoichiometric ratio (OSR) and reaction time on o- ClA mineralization, total nitrogen (TN) removal rate and nitrogen-containing products distribution. The results showed that o -ClA can be effectively degraded in HCW. With the increased of OSR, retention time and temperature or added of Mn 2 O 3 as catalyst, the mineralization rate of o -ClA and the removal rate of TN increased. Ammonia-N was the main nitrogen-containing intermediate product of o -ClA degradation, however, when the oxidant was excessive, ammonia-N was oxidized to form nitrate-N. Althought the catalytic effect of Mn 2 O 3 on the mineralization of o -ClA was not outstanding, it promoted the removal of ammonia-N from the benzene ring, improved the degradtion of ammonia-N, and inhibited the production of nitrate-N. GC–MS analyzed results indicated that o -chlorophenol was the main degradation intermediate product of o -ClA in HCWO process. Meanwhile, the potential degradation pathway of o -ClA was proposed. This work thus provides basic knowledge about o -ClA catalytic oxidation removal in HCW process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, due to the complex and numerous targets of Sarcandrae Herb (also known as Zhong Jie Feng), network pharmacology was performed to analyze its therapeutic effect on 2 cervical cancer cell lines, which could assist with the development of novel therapies. The results suggested that the natural flavonoid quercetin (Que), the effective antitumor ingredient in SH, which is widely present in a variety of plants, may depend on the target, EGFR. Previous studies have shown that EGFR serves a crucial role in the occurrence and development of cervical cancer, but its downstream molecules and regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. The anti-cervical cancer cell properties of Que, which are present in ubiquitous plants, were examined in vitro to identify the association between Que and its underlying pathway using MTT assays, flow cytometry, western blot analysis and Transwell assays. It was found that Que reduced cervical cancer cell viability, promoted G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis, as well as inhibited cell migration and invasion. The Tyr1068 phosphorylation site of EGFR and the corresponding ERK target were also examined and the 2 kinases were markedly activated by Que. Furthermore, the EGFR inhibitor, afatinib and the ERK inhibitor, U0126 blocked the increase of EGFR and ERK phosphorylation, and resulted in a notable enhancement of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, the current results provided the first evidence that EGFR and ERK activation induced by Que could resist Que-induced anticancer activities. On this basis, the present study determined the role of EGFR and the underlying signaling pathways involved in the anti-cervical cancer malignant behavior induced by Que and identified the negative regulatory association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Dechloranes, including Mirex, Dechlorane 602 (Dec 602), Dechlorane 603 (Dec 603), Dechlorane 604 (Dec 604) and Dechlorane Plus (DP), are a class of chlorinated flame retardants. To investigate the effect of urbanization and tide on the distribution of Dechloranes in sediment, we assayed surficial sediments collected from the Qiantang River in eastern China for the presence of these chemicals. The concentrations of Mirex, Dec 602, Dec 603, and DP ranged from below detection limit (BLD) to 0.68ng/g dry weight (dw), BLD–0.048ng/g dw, BLD–0.026ng/g dw, and BLD–1.1ng/g dw, respectively. Dechloranes 604 was not detected in any sediment samples. It was evident that local urban and industrial activities were the primary source of DP in surficial sediments in the Qiantang River, which was supported by the fact that the average DP concentration of sediment samples in urban sites was approximately three-fold higher than that in rural sites. An extremely high concentration of DP at a reservoir site in a rural area indicated that a dam can block the movement of DP in the Qiantang River by slowing down the river current and making the reservoir the primary sink of DP. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of Dechloranes suggested that concentrations of Dechloranes in sediment in the tide zone were much lower than those in the non-tidal zone, indicating that tide played an important role in transportation and re-distribution of Dechloranes in sediments of the Qiantang River. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Microcosm studies were undertaken to relate biomarker responses to the toxicities in soil ecosystems contaminated by phenanthrene (Phe) and pyrene (Pyr), both singly and combined. Growth inhibition, enzyme activity, MDA content, sperm count, neutral-red retention time (NRRT) and annetocin and TCTP gene transcriptions were determined in earthworm Eisenia fetida exposed to Phe and Pyr, both singly and combined pollution in microcosm. Exposure to 0.5 and 2.5mgkg−1 Phe or 50 and 100mgkg−1 Pyr alone significantly decreased E. fetida growth, NRRT and sperm count. Two-way ANOVA analysis shows that the combination of these two compounds decreased growth, SOD activities, NRRT and sperm count synergistically, but increased the CAT activities and MDA content. The highest suppression rate of growth was 48.12%, the lowest levels of SOD activities and NRRT were 51.66% and 45.57% of the control, respectively. The highest increase in CAT activities and MDA content were 120.05% and 121.03% greater than that of the control when exposed to 0.5 (Phe)+100 (Pyr) mgkg−1 soils. A clear dose-related response with exposure concentration was established for the NRRT. Real-time PCR shows that Phe and Pyr increased the expression levels of annetocin and TCTP gene synergistically. These results demonstrate that earthworms were under physiological stress at field dose of 0.5 (Phe)+100 (Pyr) mgkg−1 soils. Phe and Pyr synergistically decreased sperm count and NRRT, but antagonistically caused changes in antioxidant enzyme activities to disrupt the detoxification functions and inhibit earthworm growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between 7-(3-azidopropoxy)-5-hydroxyflavone and phenylacetylene was carried out to investigate the synthesis of 7-(3-(4-phenyl-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)propoxy)- 5-hydroxyflavone in presence of ultrasound (sono-synthesis) and absence of ultrasound (conventional method) under relatively optimized solvent and catalyst conditions. The reaction rate was notably accelerated with the help of ultrasound irradiation. An experiment was especially carried out for investigating the acceleration mechanism of ultrasound on the cycloaddition. A novel series of chrysin derivatives linked with 1,2,3-triazoles were obtained by the copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar Huisgen cycloaddition reaction using t-BuOH/H2O (1:1v/v) as reaction solvents and CuSO4·5H2O/sodium ascorbate as the catalyst at room temperature in the presence of ultrasound irradiation. Their structures are elucidated by NMR, ESI MS, IR and Elemental analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lightweight low-cost multipollutant sensor package is particularly portable to aerial measurements and field campaign due to its light weight (2.0 kg), compact size (L × W × H, 22 × 15 × 10 cm), and low energy-consumption (20 Wa). The sensor system consists of electrochemical sensors measuring O 3 , NO 2 , NO, SO 2 , CO, an optical counting (OPC) particulate matter (PM) sensor for PM 1.0 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 , a miniature photoionization detector (PID) for total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), and metrological sensors for air temperature, relative humidity (RH) and air pressure. All sensor signals were collected and transferred by a data acquirement (DAQ) logger. The sensor data were saved in a microcomputer and transmitted wireless by a GSM/GPS module. All sensors and the accessories were integrated and installed in a thermal insulation foam package, of which temperature was stable at 25 °C to avoid the temperature effect. A silicone desiccant tube was connected to the inlet of air sample to minimize the RH influence. The sensor performances were compared with on-ground reference instruments for a 21-day field campaign and commercial portable instruments from Thermal Scientific and Vaisala in aerial observations. All gas sensors and PM sensor showed good correlations with the reference instruments with R 2 varying from 0.81 to 0.93 and slope from 0.89 to 1.35. The O 3 sensor performed best with R 2 = 0.93 and slope = 1.02. In aerial measurements PM and O 3 sensors obtained similar vertical profiles of PM and O 3 with those obtained by commercial Thermal PTR PM monitor and Vaisala O 3 sounding sensor, respectively. The sensor package was successfully deployed to observe the vertical profiles of air pollutants on a tethered balloon and to exactly locate exhaust sources in an industrial park with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Our sensor package was substantiated to be a reliable and accurate device for aerial measurements of air pollutants in atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Unlabelled Image • A low-cost multipollutant sensor package is developed with features of lightweight and low-energy-consumption. • The performances of sensor package in grounding and sounding deployments were consistent with those of reference devices. • Sensor package with a UAV and a tethered balloon can locate exhaust leakage and obtain vertical profiles of air pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ningbo is a major coastal city in the Yangtze River Delta region, China, with the largest cargo capacity in the world. We conducted a field campaign in Ningbo to measure the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air pollutants including NO2, O3 and CO from 21 January to 23 March 2020, using a home-made low-cost sensor package. The average concentrations of NO2, O3 and CO were observed to be 7.2, 37.5 and 648.5 ppb, respectively, during the lockdown. Compared with the previous year, the concentrations of NO2 and CO decreased by 63.1% and 6.9%, while the concentration of O3 increased by 37.9%. The significant reduction of NO2 concentration may be attributed to the reduced emissions of freighters and heavy trucks with lower port cargo throughput, which led to a decrease of NO concentration. The increase of O3 concentration was probably due to the lower titration of O3 by NO. After the lockdown, the concentrations of O3 and NO2 increased by 15.5% and 143.1%, respectively, compared with those during the lockdown. The temporal variations of the concentrations of NO2, O3 and CO measured by the sensor package were coincident with those obtained by the reference apparatus, which proves the sensor package to be suitable for air quality monitoring in field campaigns. This is the first time that a dramatic decrease in NO2 concentration in a coastal city due to a lockdown has been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The offshore aquaculture environment is a potential water area with high concentrations of tiny plastics and feeding proteins. In this study, the negatively charged bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the positively charged lysozyme (LSZ) were used to explore the effects of protein corona on the aggregation, transport, and retention of polystyrene nanoplastics (NPs; 200, 500, and 1000 nm) in sea sand saturated with seawater of 35 practical salinity units (PSU). The BSA corona, which was formed by the adsorption of BSA on the surface of NPs, drove the dispersion of NPs (200 and 500 nm) due dominantly to the induced colloidal steric hindrance. For example, the aggregate sizes of 500 nm NP decreased from 1740 ± 87 nm to 765 ± 8 nm at 40 min, which resulted in the enhanced transportation of NP. The calculated interaction energies indicated the BSA corona-induced high energy barriers (>104 K B T) between 1000 nm NPs and sand surface, demonstrating the BSA-enhanced transport of 1000 nm NPs. The mass percentage recovered from the effluent (M eff) increased from 33.4% to 61.7%. Inversely, the LSZ corona triggered the aggregation of 200 nm NPs into the large aggregates via electrostatic adsorption and bridging effect, thereby inhibiting the transport of 200 nm NPs. Nevertheless, no LSZ corona was formed on the surface of 500 and 1000 nm NPs due to extremely low protein adsorption. Accordingly, LSZ cannot affect the stability and transport of these NPs. In the diluted seawater (3.5 PSU), the strong electrostatic attraction between positively charged LSZ and 500 nm NPs significantly increased and the LSZ corona formed, which induced the aggregation of 500 nm NPs. The M eff of NPs therefore decreased from 53.1% to 11.2%. Overall, the protein corona-mediated transport of NPs in seawater-saturated porous media depends on protein type, NP size, and seawater salinity. Image 1 • BSA and LSZ show different effects on the transport of nanoplastics (NPs). • BSA–corona enhances NP transport (200-1000 nm) by steric repulsion. • LSZ–corona induces 200 nm NP aggregation and inhibits its transportability. • No change in NP transport (500 and 1000 nm) is due to lack of LSZ–corona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the adsorption behaviors and mechanisms of Pb(II) and Zn(II) by animal-derived biochar (ADB) in single and binary metal systems were comparatively investigated. ADB contains considerable amounts of Ca/P components and is mainly composed of hydroxyapatite (HAP), which plays an important role in the adsorption of Pb(II) and Zn(II). The maximum adsorption capacities of Pb(II) and Zn(II) on ADB were in the order of Zn(II)-single (3.23 mmol g−1) > Pb(II)-single (2.74 mmol g−1) ≈ Pb(II)-binary (2.71 mmol g−1) > Zn(II)-binary (2.31 mmol g−1). In the single metal system, approximately 99.9% of the adsorbed Pb(II) existed as Pb 5 (PO 4) 3 Cl, while the dominant adsorption mechanism of Zn(II) was cation exchange, followed by precipitation, accounting for 78.0%–80.6% and 19.4%–21.5% of the adsorption capacity, respectively. These findings were verified by X-ray diffraction refinement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, metal speciation modeling, and Ca(II) exchange experiment. In the binary metal system, the proportion and form of Pb(II) precipitate remained unchanged. However, the binding of Zn(II) to ADB was completely dependent on the cation exchange with Ca(II), and no remarkable Zn(II) precipitation was observed. Phosphate released from HAP preferentially precipitated with Pb(II) than with Zn(II) when they coexisted. Consequently, Pb(II) competition may alter the Zn(II) adsorption mechanism on ADB. Nonetheless, ADB could serve as an efficient biochar for the simultaneous immobilization of Pb(II) and Zn(II) via different mechanisms. Unlabelled Image • Precipitation contributes above 99% of Pb adsorption in single and binary systems. • Single-Zn sorption mechanism involves about 80% ion exchange and 19% precipitation. • The competition of Pb weakens the contribution of precipitation to Zn adsorption. • Competition reduces the maximum adsorption capacity of Zn adsorbed on ADB by 28.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Lubei cupronickel (Cu-Ni) deposition in West of East Tianshan and North Xinjiang, China. It states that the Lubei complex contains gabbro or hornblende-gabbro blocks and ultramafic phases due to lateral zonation. It is notes the possibility of discovering the Cu-Ni ore deposit in East Tianshan.