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Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) offer numerous advantages, such as high energy density, enhanced safety, and low cost, making them an ideal choice for energy storage and conversion applications in the “postlithium” era. Hydrogel electrolytes, as the key component of flexible ZIBs, combine the ionic conductivity of traditional water electrolytes with the dimensional stability of solid polymer electrolytes. However, it remains a challenge to design comprehensive and appropriate hydrogel electrolytes to provide flexible ZIBs with good reversibility and versatility. This review discusses the engineering design of hydrogel electrolytes required for flexible ZIBs from the viewpoint of an electrolyte designer. The basic properties of the hydrogel electrolytes, zinc anodes, cathodes and electrolyte stabilization effects are described in detail. Furthermore, we explore the various challenges faced by hydrogel electrolytes and propose corresponding strategies. Finally, the review offers insights into the future development of hydrogel-stabilized ZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing demand for scalable and cost-effective electrochemical energy storage systems, aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted attention as cheap, efficient, and safe energy storage devices. However, practical applications of ZIBs are hampered by some challenges, such as Zn dendrite growth, corrosion, passivation, byproducts, cathodic dissolution, and harmful electrostatic interactions. These problems are directly associated with the electrolytes of ZIBs, which are in contact with both the cathode and anode. Recently, several studies have been conducted to optimize ZIB electrolytes. The electrolyte system includes the electrolyte and solvent. The solvent ensures stable operation of the electrolyte and improves the electrochemical efficiency of the cathode and anode, thus improving the electrochemical performance and stability of ZIBs. However, to date, the effect of solvents on the stability of Zn anodes remains unclear. Therefore, there is a need for detailed studies on solvents for ZIB electrolytes. Herein, we review the research progress in the stabilization of Zn anodes using various solvents, including alcohols, amines, acetonitrile, lipids, ethers, and dimethyl sulfoxide. In addition, we discuss the effects of different solvents on the stabilization mechanism of Zn anodes. Finally, the challenges and prospects of solvents used for stabilizing Zn anodes in electrolytes are analyzed, and future research directions for ZIB electrolyte dissolution are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) varies by estrogen receptor (ER) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) statuses, with responses being lower in ER-positive, HER2-negative tumors as compared with ER-negative, HER2-positive or triple-negative tumors. Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) is an attractive alternative to NAC for ER-positive, HER2-negative cancer. However, a prior trial comparing NET with standard NAC in ER-positive tumor showed that the difference of response was not significant. Studies demonstrated that the mTOR inhibitor everolimus could sensitize breast tumors to endocrine therapy. A pilot open-label, randomized trial has been designed to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and tolerability of neoadjuvant everolimus plus letrozole versus NAC in treating postmenopausal women with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.Methods: Forty postmenopausal women with non-metastatic ER-positive, HER2-negative invasive breast cancer with a primary tumor > 2 cm or positive axillary lymph node(s) proved by biopsy will be randomly (1:1) enrolled from Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital to receive neoadjuvant everolimus plus letrozole for 18 weeks or fluorouracil, epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide (FEC) for six cycles before surgery. Primary outcome is the feasibility of the trial. Secondary outcome measures include ultrasound response rate, pathological complete response rate, breast-conserving surgery rate, toxicities, and changes in the percentages of peripheral blood CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, T helper cells, regulatory T cells, and NK cells.Discussion: This is the first study to determine the feasibility, efficacy and tolerability of head-to-head neoadjuvant everolimus plus letrozole versus neoadjuvant FEC in treating postmenopausal women with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. The trial will provide evidence to assess the feasibility of a future multicenter, randomized controlled trial, and will provide valuable clinical data of the immunoregulatory effect of everolimus in breast cancer.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov registry, ID: NCT02742051 . Registered on 7 April 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is an acute and highly contagious enteric disease characterized by severe enteritis, vomiting and watery diarrhea in swine. Recently, the outbreak of the epidemic disease has been a serious problem in swine industry. The objective of this study is to develop a rapid, sensitive, and real-time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method for the detection of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in less equipped laboratories. Results: The optimal reaction condition of the current real-time RT-LAMP for PEDV was 62 °C for 45 min. It was capable of detecting PEDV from clinical samples and differentiating PEDV from several related porcine viruses, while it did not require additional expensive equipment. The minimum detection limit of the real-time RT-LAMP assay was 0.07PFU per reaction for PEDV RNA, making this assay approximately 100-fold more sensitive than that of one-step RT-PCR. By screening a panel of clinical specimens, the results showed that this method presented a similar sensitivity with real-time RT-PCR and was somewhat sensitive than one-step RT-PCR in detection of clinical samples. Conclusions: In this study, we have developed a new real-time RT-LAMP method, which is rapid, sensitive and efficient to detect PEDV. This method holds great promises not only in laboratory detection and discrimination of PEDV but also in large scale field and clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]