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Cancer patients are associated with an elevated risk of suicide. This study aims to investigate the suicide rates and identify risk factors for suicide among patients with malignant intracranial tumors (MITs).Patients diagnosed with MITs during the years of 1975-2015 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Suicide rates and standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated. Cox regression analyses were used to identified risk factors for suicide among MIT patients.Among 115,668 patients with MITs collected from the SEER program, 99 committed suicide. The rate of suicide was 23.02 per 100,000 person-years, and SMR of suicide was 1.90. Diagnosis in recent era (years 2000-2015, SMR = 2.01), male gender (SMR = 1.78), older age (60-79 years, SMR = 3.54), white race (SMR = 1.86), married persons (SMR = 2.31), living in rural areas (SMR = 2.50), history of other malignancy (SMR = 3.81), diagnosis of glioblastoma (SMR = 4.05) and supratentorial location (SMR = 2.45) were associated with an increased incidence of suicide. In addition, the risk of suicide increased significantly within the first year after diagnosis (SMR = 13.04). Multivariate Cox regressions showed that older age, male sex, and supratentorial location were independent risk factors for suicide.The suicide mortality among patients with MITs steadily elevated in the past decades. Male sex, older age, and supratentorial location were significantly associated with risk of suicide, especially within the first year following diagnosis. Healthcare providers should early identify and effectively intervene with MIT patients at risk.

Pectin is a major component in many agricultural feedstocks. Despite the wide use in industrial production of cellulases and hemicellulases, the fungus Trichoderma reesei lacks a complete enzyme set for pectin degradation. In this study, three representative pectinolytic enzymes were expressed and screened for their abilities to improve the efficiency of T. reesei enzymes on the conversion of different agricultural residues. By replacing 5 % of the T. reesei proteins, endopolygalacturonase and pectin lyase remarkably increased the release of sugars from inferior tobacco leaves. In contrast, pectin methylesterase showed the strongest improving effect (by 31.1 %) on the hydrolysis of beetroot residue. The pectin in beetroot residue was only mildly degraded with the supplementation of pectin methylesterase, which allowed the extraction of pectin keeping the original emulsifying activity with a 51.1 % higher yield. The results provide a basis for precise optimization of lignocellulolytic enzyme systems for targeted valorization of pectin-rich agricultural residues.

Nurses play an essential role in the People's Republic of China. In particular, they are essential to meet the challenges of an aging population. While there has been little change in their situation for many years, change is now underway. The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China has announced the upcoming implementation of strategies essential to the development of the profession.

Herein, a dual-mode sensing platform using cationic N,N-bis(2-(trimethylammonium iodide)propylene)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxydiimide (PDA+)-assembled DNA strands as a quencher was suggested for estradiol (E2) detection. The aptamer chain was initially anchored with the Ru(II) novel molecule (Ru complex), which was recombined with carbohydrazide (CON4H6) and tris(4,4'-dicarboxylicacid-2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) dichloride [Ru(dcbpy)32+] modified on copper oxide (CuO) nanospheres. Intramolecular electrochemiluminescence (ECL) occurring between CON4H6 and Ru(dcbpy)32+ effectively improved the reaction rate and increased the ECL efficiency. By employing effective van der Waals' force, PDA+ was endowed with an efficient ECL quenching probe on an electrode. The signal on the ECL interface can be converted into quenching because of energy transfer between the intercalator and the emitter. Notably, cationic PDA+ possessing a large planar π-π skeleton improved advantageous activity of redox and DNA aptamer indurative loading capacity and directly generated a well-defined cathodic peak to execute the EC bio-detection. This method not only avoids the difficulty of assembling various signal indicators but also improves the sensitivity greatly using the quenching mechanism. In addition, disparate double-response signals coming from different principles of transduction are in a position to verify each other to improve the accuracy. Hence, examination areas of 0.001-100 nM with E2 for ECL and EC were obtained, supplying a novel sensing strategy with promising ideas and perspectives of detection platform construction.

Objective: To explore the negative emotions of mothers during chemotherapy of their children with malignant brain tumors. Methods: The phenomenological method for qualitative studies was adopted; convenience sampling was used to conduct semi-structured interviews to the mothers of 9 children with malignant brain tumors who received chemotherapy from June 2019 to December 2019; the Colaizzi 7-step analytical method was implemented to collate and analyze the original data. Results: The results were summarized into six subjects: stressed, exhausted because of trying to control everything in home care, prone to excessive care, financially burdened, desperate for knowledge of patient care, and desperate for psychosocial support. Conclusions: Understanding the real experiences and inner feelings of mothers during chemotherapy of their children with malignant brain tumors is helpful for medical staff to learn about the psychological distress and needs of mothers of children with malignant brain tumors, so as to give them psychological support and even social support, and help the mothers and the families of children with malignant brain tumors get through a special period.

Objective: So as to provide a theoretical basis for the future development of intervention measures to reduce the negative psychological mood of caregivers. To investigate the psychological status of the main caregivers for patients who were transferred out of ICU after craniocerebral tumor surgery and analyze their factors. Methods: 112 patients with cerebral tumor surgery were reviewed from sun yat-sen university cancer hospital. The research object is caregivers. The general data questionnaire, hospital anxiety depression scale and migration of ICU patients’ family members stress questionnaire scale investigation are collected. Multiple linear regression analysis in cerebral tumor patients with postoperative ICU transition out main factors influencing the psychological condition of the caregivers. Results: The anxiety and depression scores were (15.60 ± 5.83) and (38.73 ± 3.23) respectively. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the gender, education level, relationship with the patient and family monthly income of the primary caregivers of the patients were the influencing factors of anxiety, depression and migration stress psychological state (P

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of and the method and nursing strategy for sellar reconstruction for intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage in pituitary adenoma resection under neuroendoscopy. Methods: The data from 20 cases of intraoperative CSF leak caused by transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection were retrospectively analyzed. Six patients were treated with mucosal flap and artificial dural reconstruction of sellar (simple sellar floor reconstruction). In 45 patients, autologous fat, fascia lata, and artificial dura were used to repair and reconstruct the sellar floor (multilayer sellar floor reconstruction). After the operation, all patients underwent follow-up for 6 - 24 months. Results: Fifty patients were followed up without CSF leakage. One patient was cured after leakage of CSF through the lumbar cistern 1 month after discharge. Conclusion: For patients with CSF leakage during neuroendoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection, individualized sellar floor reconstruction should be adopted according to the degree of CSF leakage and the size of the sellar floor defect. Strict nursing measures can effectively prevent CSF leakage and reduce postoperative complications.

Purpose This study aimed to examine the life dilemmas of long-term survivors of central nervous system germ cell tumors based on the Social Ecological Model and provide a reference for targeted interventions. Methods A semi-structured interview was conducted on 14 survivors of central nervous system germ cell tumors. The questions were based on the Social Ecological Model. Data were transcribed and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method. Results Three themes were identified in this study. In the macro system, the physical and mental state of long-term survivors is affected by the disease and treatment, and the quality of life was poor. In the mezzo system, friendly work and community environments were included, but resources were scarce. Moreover, the support system in macro system was weak. Conclusion The social ecological system for long-term survivors of central nervous system germ cell tumors was poor. The society should pay attention to the survivors’ physical and mental health to promote better integration into society.

This study summarized the clinical management of 27 patients with glioblastoma multiforme who tumor treating fields therapy for the healthcare providers.Glioblastoma multiforme patients who experienced dermatologic adverse events after tumor treating fields therapy from April 2019 to May 2021 were included. The clinical management involved educating patients and their caregivers on the prevention of dermatologic adverse events, scalp assessment and preparation, and removal and replacement of the transducer array. Informed consent for participating in the study including the taking of pictures was obtained from all patients.The dermatologic adverse events were successfully managed in all 27 patients, with no severe dermatologic adverse events were reported.Data on tumor treating fields-related dermatologic adverse events is rarely reported, and published reports of management of scalp dermatologic adverse events are lacking. This case series summarizes a clinically individualized management for tumor treating fields-related dermatologic adverse events.

To construct convenient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing systems in industrial enzyme-producing fungi Penicillium oxalicum and Trichoderma reesei. Employing the 5S rRNA promoter from Aspergillus niger for guide RNA expression, the β-glucosidase gene bgl2 in P. oxalicum was deleted using a donor DNA carrying 40-bp homology arms or a donor containing no selectable marker gene. Using a markerless donor DNA as editing template, precise replacement of a small region was achieved in the creA gene. In T. reesei, the A. niger 5S rRNA promoter was less efficient than that in P. oxalicum when used for gene editing. Using a native 5S rRNA promoter, stop codons were introduced into the lae1 coding region using a markerless donor DNA with an editing efficiency of 36.67%. Efficient genome editing systems were developed in filamentous fungi P. oxalicum and T. reesei by using heterologous or native 5S rRNA promoters for guide RNA expression.

The α-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose, produced by Actinoplanes sp. SE50/110, is a well-known drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the largely unexplored biosynthetic mechanism of this compound has impeded further titer improvement. Herein, we uncover that 1-epi-valienol and valienol, accumulated in the fermentation broth at a strikingly high molar ratio to acarbose, are shunt products that are not directly involved in acarbose biosynthesis. Additionally, we find that inefficient biosynthesis of the amino-deoxyhexose moiety plays a role in the formation of these shunt products. Therefore, strategies to minimize the flux to the shunt products and to maximize the supply of the amino-deoxyhexose moiety are implemented, which increase the acarbose titer by 1.2-fold to 7.4 g L−1. This work provides insights into the biosynthesis of the C7-cyclitol moiety and highlights the importance of assessing shunt product accumulation when seeking to improve the titer of microbial pharmaceutical products., Biosynthetic mechanism for the type 2 diabetes treatment drug acarbose is not fully revealed. Here, the authors show that shunt pathways and inefficient amino-deoxyhexose biosynthesis lead to 1-epi-valienol and valienol accumulation, and minimizing the flux to these shunt products can increase acarbose titer in Actinoplanes species.

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the most common solid tumors among children. Due to the severity of the tumors and the complexity of therapeutic regimes, it is very important to examine whether parents of the children with CNS tumors have positive coping methods against the disease. This study aims to analyze the coping methods of the parents and the factors influencing the methods. Methods: A total of 108 parents of brain cancer children admitted from January 2019 to September 2020 were selected as subjects. After collecting the general information of the parents, they were studied using the Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP, Chinese version). Additionally, their coping pattern and the influencing factors were analyzed. Results: The average scores of the three subscales of the CHIP were (4.25 ± 0.939), (3.11 ± 1.205) and (3.60 ± 1.187), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that parents’ education, medical payment methods, places of residence and economic concerns were the main factors influencing the coping methods (all P Conclusions: Healthcare staff should fully evaluate the coping methods adopted by the parents having children with CNS tumors, take targeted nursing measures accordingly, and assist the parents in seeking social support and learning disease-related knowledge. In addition, public education on disease is equally important.

Background: Since there has been training, there has been discussion about the effect of training. But training evaluation is not systematic until Kirkpatrick came up with the training evaluation model in 1959. At present, the prevailing model in the systematic summary of training evaluation is still The Kirkpatrick’s model. This model was further improved in 1994, more responsive to contemporary needs, and thus widely used all over the world. At the beginning, it was widely used in human resource management of enterprises. In recent years, this model has been gradually used in the medical field to evaluate the effect of medical training. The Kirkpatrick’s model has a systematic, integrated and persuasive evaluation system for trainees. It has good effects in the pre-service nurse training, the professional image and code of conduct nurses training, and the geriatric nurse training. At present, there are few studies on the chemotherapeutic drug training of neurologist nurses in China. In clinical work, nurses’ cognitive and practical behaviors of chemotherapeutic drug protection and drug extravasation prevention and treatment are insufficient. It directly harms the health of nursing staff and increases the complications of chemotherapy, increases pain of tumor patients, delays or interrupts chemotherapy, and aggravates the economic burden of patients. Especially, Chemotherapeutic drugs for neuro-oncology have particularity and necessity of urgent training. Objective: To investigate the effect of chemotherapeutic drug training through mobile terminal for neuro-oncology nurses based on the Kirkpatrick’s model. Methods: The training content and evaluation questionnaire for chemotherapeutic drugs were designed by nursing management personnel and senior nurses in our department according to the guidelines and common diseases requiring chemotherapy in the department. The content includes the basic knowledge of neuro-oncology chemotherapy, pharmacological knowledge, toxic and side effect of chemotherapy, etc., which are regularly pushed through the mobile terminal-WeChat. Forty nurses participated in the training and the effect is evaluated by Kirkpatrick’s model. Result: After the training, 100% of nurses were satisfied with the training content and 97.5% with the training form. The scores of nurses in learning level such as basic pharmacological knowledge, drug configuration and exposure, drug treatment and infusion, observation of toxic and side effects, and treatment of drug extravasation were significantly higher than those before the training (P

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight is a major risk factor for many cutaneous pathologies including skin aging and cancers. Despite decades of research, the different responses to UVA and UVB in human keratinocytes have not been systemically investigated. Here, we performed multi-omics to characterize the common and different changes in gene transcription and protein expression after exposure to UVB and UVA, respectively. Keratinocyte cells, treated with or without UV, were analyzed by TMT-labeled MS/MS spectra and RNA-sequencing. A common set of genes/proteins was found to be impacted by both UVA and UVB and the other differential genes/proteins showed wavelength specificity. The common set of genes/proteins were mainly involved in keratinization, lipid metabolic processes and stimulus response. The UVB specifically responsive genes/proteins were mainly related to RNA processing, gene silencing regulation and cytoskeleton organization. The UVA specifically responsive genes/proteins were mainly involved in vesicle-mediated transport and oxygen-containing compound response. Meanwhile, the hub differential genes/proteins in each set were identified by protein-protein interaction networks and cluster analysis. This work provided a global view of the similar and differential molecular mechanisms of UVB- and UVA-induced cell damage in keratinocytes, which would be beneficial for further studies in the prevention or treatment of UV-related pathologies.

High-grade glioma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in the central nervous system. Multiple strategies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have been used, but the prognosis of patients with high-grade glioma remains poor. No standard treatment exists for recurrent gliomas; however, combination therapies of programmed cell death protein 1 blockades with antiangiogenic agents have demonstrated promising effects in different solid tumors. We have initiated a clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficiency of neoadjuvant therapy using camrelizumab and apatinib in patients with recurrent highgrade gliomas. In this prospective, Phase II, singlearm study, patients with recurrent highgrade gliomas will receive singledose intravenous injection of camrelizumab (200 mg) and daily oral administration of apatinib (250 mg/day for 7 days) 14 days before surgery for recurrent tumor. Sequential therapy will begin 2 weeks after surgery with the biweekly injection of camrelizumab and 4 weeks after surgery with the daily administration of apatinib. Treatment of camrelizumab and apatinib will be continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity or death. The trial is planned to enroll 30 patients. Up-to date (March 31, 2022), 12 patients had been enrolled, in which, 9 were GBM. Three patients died, while 4 cases on trial more than 6 months, the longest already 1 year. Although an evaluation is still impossible to be conducted yet, some patients have shown a promising outcome. We will present updated results on the meeting. These preliminary data suggest that this study would be worthwhile. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sun Yatsen University Cancer Center (Guangzhou, China; approval No. SLB202014901). This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT04588987.

Objective Postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage represents a challenge even for experienced pituitary surgeons. We aimed to quantitatively synthesize data from studies regarding the risk factors for postoperative CSF leakage after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary adenoma (PA). Methods PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, and VIP database were searched for case–control and cohort studies, focusing on the risk factors associated with postoperative CSF leakage after TSS for PA. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine the risk factors. Results A total of 34 case–control and cohort studies involving a total of 9,144 patients with PA were included in this systematic review. The overall rate of postoperative CSF leakage after TSS for PA was 5.6%. Tumor size, adenoma consistency, revision surgery, and intraoperative CSF leakage were independent risk factors for postoperative CSF leakage (ORs, 3.18–6.33). By contrast, the endoscopic approach showed a slight protective benefit compared with the microscopic approach in TSS (OR, 0.69). Conclusions This review provides a comprehensive overview of the quality of the evidence base, informing clinical staff of the importance of screening risk factors for postoperative CSF leakage after TSS for PA. More attention should be paid to PA patients at high risk for CSF leakage after TSS to reduce complications and improve prognosis.

Background. Butylphthalide (NBP), approved by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS), showed pleiotropic potentials against central nervous system (CNS) diseases, including neuroprotection and cognitive deficits improvement. However, the effects and corresponding modes of action were not fully explored. This study was designed to investigate the potential of NBP against IS-associated CNS diseases based on network pharmacology (NP) and molecular docking (MD). Methods. IS was inputted as the index disease to retrieve the “associated diseases” in DisGeNET. Three-database-based IS genes were obtained and integrated (DisGeNET, Malacards, and OMIM). Then, IS-associated genes were identified by combining these genes. Meanwhile, PubMed references and online databases were applied to identify NBP target genes. The IS-related disease-disease association (DDA) network and NBP-disease regulation network were constructed and analyzed in Cytoscape. In silico MD and references were used to validate the binding affinity of NBP with critical targets and the potential of NBP against certain IS-related CNS disease regulation. Results. 175 NBP target genes were obtained, while 312 IS-related disease genes were identified. 36 NBP target genes were predicted to be associated with IS-related CNS diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), epilepsy, major depressive disorder (MDD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and dementia. Six target genes (i.e., GRIN1, PTGIS, PTGES, ADRA1A, CDK5, and SULT1E1) indicating disease specificity index (DSI) >0.5 showed certain to good degree binding affinity with NBP, ranging from −9.2 to −6.7 kcal/mol. And the binding modes may be mainly related to hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic “bonds.” Further literature validations inferred that these critical NBP targets had a tight association with AD, epilepsy, ALS, and depression. Conclusions. Our study proposed a drug-target-disease integrated method to predict the drug repurposing potentials to associated diseases by application of NP and MD, which could be an attractive alternative to facilitate the development of CNS disease therapies. NBP may be promising and showed potentials to be repurposed for treatments for AD, epilepsy, ALS, and depression, and further investigations are warranted to be carefully designed and conducted.

The α-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose is produced in large-scale by strains derived from Actinoplanes sp. SE50 and used widely for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. Compared with the wild-type SE50, a high-yield derivative Actinoplanes sp. SE50/110 shows 2-fold and 3–7-fold improvement of acarbose yield and acb cluster transcription, respectively. The genome of SE50 was fully sequenced and compared with that of SE50/110, and 11 SNVs and 4 InDels, affecting 8 CDSs, were identified in SE50/110. The 8 CDSs were individually inactivated in SE50. Deletions of ACWT_4325 (encoding alcohol dehydrogenase) resulted in increases of acarbose yield by 25% from 1.87 to 2.34 g/L, acetyl-CoA concentration by 52.7%, and PEP concentration by 22.7%. Meanwhile, deletion of ACWT_7629 (encoding elongation factor G) caused improvements of acarbose yield by 36% from 1.87 to 2.54 g/L, transcription of acb cluster, and ppGpp concentration to 2.2 folds. Combined deletions of ACWT_4325 and ACWT_7629 resulted in further improvement of acarbose to 2.83 g/L (i.e. 76% of SE50/110), suggesting that the metabolic perturbation and improved transcription of acb cluster caused by these two mutations contribute substantially to the acarbose overproduction. Enforced application of similar strategies was performed to manipulate SE50/110, resulting in a further increase of acarbose titer from 3.73 to 4.21 g/L. Therefore, the comparative genomics approach combined with functional verification not only revealed the acarbose overproduction mechanisms, but also guided further engineering of its high-yield producers. Keywords: Acarbose, Comparative genomics, Overproduction, Regulation

Herein, a dual-mode sensing platform using cationic

Hyphal morphology is considered to have a close relationship with the production level of secreted proteins by filamentous fungi. In this study, the gul1 gene, which encodes a putative mRNA-binding protein, was disrupted in cellulase-producing fungus Trichoderma reesei. The hyphae of Δgul1 strain produced more lateral branches than the parent strain. Under the condition for cellulase production, disruption of gul1 resulted in smaller mycelial clumps and significantly lower viscosity of fermentation broth. In addition, cellulase production was improved by 22% relative to the parent strain. Transcriptome analysis revealed that a set of genes encoding cell wall remodeling enzymes as well as hydrophobins were differentially expressed in the Δgul1 strain. The results suggest that the regulatory role of gul1 in cell morphogenesis is likely conserved in filamentous fungi. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the engineering of gul1 in an industrially important fungus.

One competitive aptasensor based on novel intramolecular ECL emission system was investigated for ultrasensitive detection of E2. It should be noted that the Ru(II) derivative for the mechanism of intramolecular ECL could improve electron transfer efficiency and reduce energy consumption. The Ru(II) derivatives were prepared by optimizing distribution ratio of Ru(dcbpy)32+ and carbohydrazide for acquiring the ECL signal maximum. Stimulated by In3+/In+ redox reversible electron pair in the InVO4/β-AgVO3 heterostructures, the InVO4/β-AgVO3 heterostructures were designed as co-reaction accelerator to expedite ECL emission reaction between CON4H6• and Ru(dcbpy)33+. Taking advantage of associative competition between cDNA and E2 with aptamer, the ECL signal realized further amplification. The specific binding of the aptamer to E2, was stronger than that to the cDNA by hybridization. A mass of Ru(II) derivatives could adsorb and embed into the hybridized double-stranded DNA to immobilize on the electrode surface and generate satisfactory ECL signal. The specific binding of the aptamer to E2 decreased the cDNA content on electrode surface, which contributed to lessen the adsorption amount of Ru(dcbpy)32+ and distinctly affected the ECL signal. Under optimal conditions, the proposed biosensor provided an admirable linearity to the level of E2 between 0.001 nmol/L and 100 nmol/L with a low detection limit of 0.27 pmol/L. The proposed aptasensor not only stimulates more interest in the mechanism of intramolecular ECL but also has towardly development potential for constructing competitive strategies.

Research has shown that FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) may be a vital drug target for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, even though the clinically relevant F691L gatekeeper mutation conferred resistance to current FLT3 drug quizartinib, PLX3397 remained unaffected. In this study, the protein–ligand interactions between FLT3 kinase domain (wild-type or F691L) and quizartinib or PLX3397 were compared via an integrated computational approach. The classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in conjunction with dynamic cross-correlation (DCC) analysis, solvent-accessible surface area (SASA), and free energy calculations indicated that the resistant mutation may induce the conformational change of αC-helix and A-loop of the FLT3 protein. The major variations were controlled by the electrostatic interaction and SASA, which were allosterically regulated by residues Glu-661 and Asp-829. When FLT3-F691L was bound to quizartinib, a large conformational change was observed via combination of accelerated MD simulations (aMDs), principal component analysis (PCA), and free energy landscape (FEL) calculations. The umbrella sampling (US) simulations were applied to investigate the dissociation processes of the quizartinib or PLX3397 from FLT3-WT and FLT3-F691L. The calculated results suggested that PLX3397 had similar dissociation processes from both FLT3-WT and FLT3-F691L, but quizartinib dissociated more easily from FLT3-F691L than from FLT3-WT. Thus, reduced residence time was responsible for the FLT3-F691L resistance to inhibitors. These findings indicated that both the conformational changes of αC-helix and A-loop and the drug residence time should be considered in the design of drugs so that rational decisions can be made to overcome resistance to FLT3-F691L.

Hollow cubic Zn 2 SnO 4 sub-microstructures (ZTOs) were fabricated via a one-pot hydrothermal method. The samples were carefully characterized and the experimental results show that the as-prepared ZTOs possess hollow cubic morphology with the length of 500 nm and a relatively rough surface which may endow them high surface areas. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB), methylene orange (MO), and rhodamine B (RhB) and the results exhibit a much higher selectivity to the degradation of MB (95%) by Zn 2 SnO 4 than that of MO (70%), RhB (81%) and ZnSn(OH) 6 (MB 20%) in 20 min.

Polyhedral Zn2SnO4 (ZTO) have been successfully fabricated with a facile hydrothermal method. Their morphologies, gas sensing and photocatalytic properties were carefully studied. The morphologies were found to be dependent on the growth time. Morphologies achieved include cubes and octahedrons with the reaction time of 16 h and 36 h. A plausible mechanism for the formation of octahedral ZTO microstructure was proposed. The gas sensing properties of triethylamine (TEA) for ZTO microstructures showed that the sensor response (S = Ra/Rg) reach to be 37 at 100 ppm, which is much larger than the previous reports. Furthermore, the detection limit can be down to 5 ppm-level with a response value about 11 at 200 °C. For the photocatalytic performance, the octahedral ZTO structures (24 h) exhibited faster photocatalytic degradation efficiency toward methylene blue (MB) than others (16 h and 36 h) which can be ascribed to their specific octahedral structures.

Molybdenum dioxide (MoO 2 ) nanoparticles with the size of 200 nm in diameter were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The nanoparticles were directly functionalized as supercapacitors (SCs) electrodes and photocatalysts. The electrochemical studies showed that the SCs demonstrated high capacitance of 621 F g −1 , which was 3 times larger than previous reports. Furthermore, they exhibited good cyclic performance with 90% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g −1 . The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB), respectively, and the nanoparticles demonstrated preferred selectivity on the degradation of RhB (70%) than that of MB (30%).