Adverse Effects and Intervention of Frailty on Elderly Cancer Patients

Purpose:To study the adverse effects of frailty on elderly cancer patients and explore effective interventions.Methods:The convenience sampling method was used to select 362 elderly cancer patients who were consecutively admitted to the Oncology Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University from April 2020 to March 2021.The patients had five physical dimensions of activity tested and were divided into a frail group(n=128)and a non-frail group(n=234)based on the test results.The Chinese version of the Vulnerable Elders Questionnaire was formed on the basis of the Vulnerable Elders Survey-13(VES-13).The two groups of patients were surveyed within three days of admission.The questionnaire includes general information(age,gender,education level,marital status,monthly income,living area,smoking,and alcohol history,hearing,vision,and sleep status),Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS),Mini Nutritional Assessment(MNA),Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE),and Charlson Comorbidity Index(CCI).Results:(1)By comparing the general information of the two groups of patients,it was found that the gender,education level,marital status,living area,and history of tobacco and alcohol had no statistical significance(P>0.05).In contrast,the frail group’s age,hearing status,vision status,and sleep status are significantly worse than those of the non-frail group(P<0.05);(2)Analysis of Vulnerable Elderly Questionnaire results found that the GDS scores in the frail group were higher than those in the non-frail group,and the MNA and MMSE scores were lower than those in the non-frail group(P<0.05).This indicated that the patients in the frail group had more severe depression,poor nutritional status,and specific impairments in cognitive function.Conclusion:Frailty adversely affects elderly cancer patients,and effective measures should be taken to intervene.

一种含偶氮苯的二肽表面活性剂的合成及自组装行为

合成了尾端含有偶氮苯基团的双甘肽衍生表面活性剂(Azo-C_(6)-GG)。在各种弱相互作用的驱动下,Azo-C_(6)-GG自组装形成囊泡结构。紫外光照诱导反式偶氮苯转变为顺式结构,但自组装结构依然为囊泡。Azo-C_(6)-GG和α-环糊精(α-CD)可以形成超两亲分子(Azo-C_(6)-GG@α-CD)。偶氮苯基团进入环糊精的空腔,但同时发现环糊精在烷基链和偶氮苯之间发生滑动。该超两亲分子自组装形成囊泡结构;紫外光照后,超两亲分子没有解体,但环糊精移动到烷基链部分。环糊精的结合部位对聚集结构没有造成明显的影响,均为囊泡结构。

Corrosion properties of ECAP-processed Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloys with separate Al2Ca and Mg2Ca phases

To investigate the effect of separate Al_(2)Ca and Mg_(2)Ca phases on the corrosion properties of Mg−Al−Ca−Mn alloys,OM,SEM,immersion and electrochemical tests were conducted on the as-cast and ECAP Al_(2)Ca-containing(2Ca)and Mg_(2)Ca-containing(4Ca)alloys.At the beginning of corrosion,the two as-cast alloys are corroded slowly compared with ECAP alloys.With prolonging the corrosion time,the corrosion of ECAP alloys becomes slighter than that of as-cast alloys,which is mainly ascribed to the dispersion and refinement of the second phase in ECAP alloys.Moreover,the corrosion degree of 2Ca alloys is always slighter than that of 4Ca alloys,suggesting that Al_(2)Ca phase is more beneficial to the enhancement of corrosion resistance of Mg−Al−Ca−Mn based alloys than Mg_(2)Ca phase.Finally,based on the examinations of corrosion surface and electrochemical testing results,different corrosion mechanisms caused by the distributions and morphology of Al_(2)Ca and Mg_(2)Ca phases are discussed.

Electronic modulation and interface engineering of electrospun nanomaterials‐based electrocatalysts toward water splitting

Nowdays,electrocatalytic water splitting has been regarded as one of the most efficient means to approach the urgent energy crisis and environmental issues.However,to speed up the electrocatalytic conversion efficiency of their half reactions including hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER),electrocatalysts are usually essential to reduce their kinetic energy barriers.Electrospun nanomaterials possess a unique one‐dimensional structure for outstanding electron and mass transportation,large specific surface area,and the possibilities of flexibility with the porous feature,which are good candidates as efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting.In this review,we focus on the recent research progress on the electrospun nanomaterials‐based electrocatalysts for HER,OER,and overall water splitting reaction.Specifically,the insights of the influence of the electronic modulation and interface engineering of these electrocatalysts on their electrocatalytic activities will be deeply discussed and highlighted.Furthermore,the challenges and development opportunities of the electrospun nanomaterials‐based electrocatalysts for water splitting are featured.Based on the achievements of the significantly enhanced performance from the electronic modulation and interface engineering of these electrocatalysts,full utilization of these materials for practical energy conversion is anticipated.

Occurrence Regularity and Integrated Control Technology of Canker in Citrus

Canker is a quarantine bacterial disease that seriously harms leaves,branches and fruits of citrus,leading to a decrease in the production and affecting the commodity and sales of citrus.Citrus canker has the characteristics of fast spreading speed and difficult radical cure.Through the identification of symptoms and a summary of occurrence regularity,the integrated prevention and control technology for citrus canker is described in this article,in order to achieve effective prevention and control and reduce prevention and control cost.

Mott insulator-density ordered superfluid transition and‘shamrock transition’in a frustrated triangle lattice

Density order is usually a consequence of the competition between long-range and short-range interactions.Here we report a density ordered superfluid emergent from a homogeneous Mott insulator due to the competition between frustrations and local interactions.This transition is found in a Bose–Hubbard model on a frustrated triangle lattice with an extra pairing term.Furthermore,we find a quantum phase transition between two different density ordered superfluids,which is beyond the Landau–Ginzburg(LG)paradigm.A U(1)symmetry is emergent at the critical point,while the symmetry in each density ordered superfluid is Z_(2)×Z_(3).We call the transition a‘shamrock transition’,due to its degenerate ground state in the parameter space being a shamrock-like curve rather than a circle in an LG-type transition.Effective low energy theories are established for the two transitions mentioned above and we find their resemblance and differences with clock models.

Degradation of Rhodamine B by MnFe-LDH/PMS/O_(3) three-phase catalytic system: performance, mechanism and ecotoxicity studies

This study developed a novel MnFe-LDH/PMS/O3 three-phase catalytic system to degrade the organic dye RhB, which was used to address the drawbacks of persulfate oxidation and ozonation techniques. The structure, ionic and elemental composition, specific surface area, and magnetic properties of the LDHs were investigated using a variety of physicochemical characterization tools. The results showed that MnFe-LDH had a large specific surface area, a rich crystalline phase composition, and a functional group structure. The RhB degradation rate of MnFe-LDH/PMS/O3 was 0.34 min−1, which was much higher than that of other comparative systems. RhB could be completely degraded in 10 min after optimization and had a significant effect on TOC removal. The system was found to be effective over a wide pH range. Common anions were largely unaffected and humic acid acted as an inhibitor. At the same time, the system had generally effective degradation performance for different dyes. Combined with quenching experiments and EPR, it was found that SO4•−, •OH, O_(2)•−, and 1O_(2) all participated in the reaction, and •OH contributed more. The degradation pathway of RhB was derived by LC-MS, and the T.E.S.T. evaluation found that the toxicity of the intermediate product was significantly reduced. Finally, the stability and availability of LDHs were verified using cycling experiments and metal ion leaching. This work provides a theoretical basis and data support for the synergistic catalysis of PMS/O3 and the deep treatment of dye wastewater.

Potential of multi-pass ECAP on improving the mechanical properties of a high-calcium-content Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloy

In this study,the multi-pass equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)was employed on a high-calcium-content Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloy to tailor its microstructure and mechanical properties.The obtained results showed that the network-shaped Mg2Ca and(Mg,Al)2Ca eutectic compounds in as-cast alloy were gradually crushed into ultra-fine particles after ECAP,which exhibited a bimodal particle size distribution and most aggregated at original grain boundaries.Dynamic recrystallization(DRX)of α-Mg occurred during hot deformation via a particle stimulated mechanism,and the almost complete DRX with an average grain size around 1.5μm was obtained after 12p-ECAP.Moreover,abundant nano-sized acicular and spherical precipitates were dynamically precipitated withinα-Mg grains during ECAP.Tensile test results indicated that the maximum strength and ductility were acquired for 12p-ECAP alloy with ultimate tensile strength of 372 MPa and fracture elongation of 8%.The enhanced strength of the alloy could be ascribed to fine DRX grains,ultra-fine Ca-containing particles and dynamically precipitated nano-precipitates,while the improved ductility was mainly due to the refined and homogeneous microstructure,and weak texture with high average Schmid factors.

Preparation and characterization of porous TiO_2/ZnO composite nanofibers via electrospinning

Porous TiO2/ZnO composite nanofibers have been successfully prepared by electrospinning technique for the first time.It was generated by calcining TiO2/ZnCl2/PVP[PVP：polyvinyl pyrrolidone）]nanofibers,which were electrospun from a mixture solution of TiO2,ZnCl2 and PVP.Transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and X-ray diffraction（XRD） analyses were used to identify the morphology of the TiO2/ZnO nanofibers and a formation of inorganic TiO2/ZnO fibers.The porous structure of the TiO2/ZnO fibers was characterized by N2 adsoption/desorption isotherm.Surface photovoltage spectroscopy（SPS） and photocatalytic activity measurements revealed advance properties of the porous TiO2/ZnO composite nanofibers and the results were compared with pure TiO2 nanofibers,pure ZnO nanofibers and TiO2/ZnO nanoparticles.

Machine learning identification of impurities in the STM images

We train a neural network to identify impurities in the experimental images obtained by the scanning tunneling microscope(STM)measurements.The neural network is first trained with a large number of simulated data and then the trained neural network is applied to identify a set of experimental images taken at different voltages.We use the convolutional neural network to extract features from the images and also implement the attention mechanism to capture the correlations between images taken at different voltages.We note that the simulated data can capture the universal Friedel oscillation but cannot properly describe the non-universal physics short-range physics nearby an impurity,as well as noises in the experimental data.And we emphasize that the key of this approach is to properly deal with these differences between simulated data and experimental data.Here we show that even by including uncorrelated white noises in the simulated data,the performance of the neural network on experimental data can be significantly improved.To prevent the neural network from learning unphysical short-range physics,we also develop another method to evaluate the confidence of the neural network prediction on experimental data and to add this confidence measure into the loss function.We show that adding such an extra loss function can also improve the performance on experimental data.Our research can inspire future similar applications of machine learning on experimental data analysis.

Rational design of robust iridium-ceria oxide-carbon nanofibers to boost oxygen evolution reaction in both alkaline and acidic media

Anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is essential to participate in diverse renewable energy conversion and storage processes,while most OER electrocatalysts present satisfactory catalytic performance in only alkaline or acidic medium,limiting their practical applications in many aspects.Herein,we have designed and prepared Ir-CeO_(2)-C nanofibers(NFs)via an electrospinning and a relatively low-temperature calcination strategy for OER application in both alkaline and acidic conditions.Density functional theory(DFT)simulations demonstrate the high catalytic active sites of Ir atoms for OER,that the formation of Ir–O bonds at the interface between Ir and CeO_(2)can modulate the electron density of the relevant Ir atoms to promote the OER activity.In addition,the unique nanofibrous heterostructure increases the exposed active sites and promotes the electrical conductivity.Therefore,the prepared Ir-CeO_(2)-C nanofibrous catalyst delivers an excellent OER property in both alkaline and acidic solutions.Impressively,the overpotentials to reach 10 mA·cm^(−2)are only 279 and 283 mV in the alkaline and acidic electrolyte,respectively,with favorable long-term stabilities.In addition,the two-electrode overall water splitting set-ups equipped with Ir-CeO_(2)-C NFs as anode and commercial Pt/C as cathode provide a cell voltage of 1.54 and 1.53 V to drive 10 mA·cm^(−2)in the alkaline and acidic electrolyte,respectively,which are much lower than Pt/C||IrO_(2)and lots of transition metal oxides-based electrolyzers.This research presents an efficient means to design OER catalysts with superior properties in both alkaline and acidic solutions.

Provenance of sediments in the northern Manila Trench:An assessment from detrital zircon geochronology

Manila Trench is a critical region for revealing the tectonic evolution and source-to-sink process of the South China Sea,but the sediment provenance in the northern part of the trench remains unclear.In this study,we present a first detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of sediments in the northern Manila Trench,in the vicinity of Northwestern Luzon Island,to identify the sediment provenance and understand the source-to-sink process in the marginal sea.The study shows that the sediments yielded multiple zircon age populations at ca.123,221,443,565,906,and 1871 Ma.A detailed detrital zircon age study indicates that the sediments were derived mainly from Taiwan Island,China,rather than the nearby Luzon Island.In comparison with the modern drainage systems surrounding northeastern South China Sea,this study further confirms that the sediments primarily originated from the Gaoping River(ca.45%),with subordinate contributions from the Lanyang River(ca.24%)and Min River(ca.19%).The study also elucidates two completely different sedimentary transport modes in the northern Manila Trench.The transportation of sediments from southwestern Taiwan Island is primarily related to the gravity-driven transport through the Gaoping submarine canyon.Furthermore,a quarter of detritus derived from eastern Taiwan Island might have been transported by the deep-water circulation of the Luzon Strait.This study highlights the provenance and transport pathway of sediments in the northern Manila Trench and provides a solution for understanding the source-to-sink process in the marginal sea.

Anatomical feasibility of vagus nerve esophageal branch transfer to the phrenic nerve

This study measured the vagus and phrenic nerves from 12 adult cadavers. We found that the width and thickness of the vagus and phrenic nerves were different in the chest. The distance from the point of the vagus nerve and phrenic nerve on the plane of the inferior border of portal pulmonary arteries （T point） was approximately 7 cm to the diaphragm and was approximately 10 cm to the clavicle level. The number of motor fibers in the vagus nerves was 1 716 ± 362, and the number of nerve fibers was 4 473 ± 653. The number of motor fibers in the phrenic nerves ranged from 3 078 ± 684 to 4 794 ± 638, and the number of nerve fibers ranged from 3 437 ± 642 to 5 071 ± 723. No significant difference was found in the total number of nerve fibers. The results suggest that width, thickness, and total number of nerve fibers are similar between the vagus and phrenic nerves, but the number of motor fibers is different between them.

General synthesis of Pt and Ni co-doped porous carbon nanofibers to boost HER performance in both acidic and alkaline solutions

It is essential to develop efficient electrocatalysts to generate hydrogen from water electrolysis for hydrogen economy. In this work, platinum(Pt) and nickel(Ni) co-doped porous carbon nanofibers(Pt/NiPCNFs) with low Pt content were prepared via an electrospinning, carbonization and galvanic replacement reaction. Because of the high electrical conductivity, abundant electrochemical active sites and synergistic effect between Pt and Ni nanoparticles, the optimized Pt/Ni-PCNFs catalyst shows an excellent HER activity with overpotentials of 20 m V in 0.5 mol/L H_(2)SO_(4) and 46 m V in 1 mol/L KOH at a current density of10 m A/cm^(2). Furthermore, over 35-h long-term stability has been achieved without significant attenuation.This work provides a simple route to prepare highly efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting and has great prospects in the field of renewable energy.

Dormancy heterogeneity among Arabidopsis thaliana seeds is linked to individual seed size

Production of morphologically and physiologically variable seeds is an important strategy that helps plants to survive in unpredictable natural conditions.However,the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and most agronomically essential crops produce visually homogenous seeds.Using automated phenotype analysis,we observed that small seeds in Arabidopsis tend to have higher primary and secondary dormancy levels than large seeds.Transcriptomic analysis revealed distinct gene expression profiles between large and small seeds.Large seeds have higher expression of translation-related genes implicated in germination competence.By contrast,small seeds have elevated expression of many positive regulators of dormancy,including a key regulator of this process,the DOG1 gene.Differences in DOG1 expression are associated with differential production of its alternative cleavage and polyadenylation isoforms;in small seeds,the proximal poly(A)site is selected,resulting in a short mRNA isoform.Furthermore,single-seed RNA sequencing analysis demonstrated that large seeds resemble DOG1 knockout mutant seeds.Finally,on the single-seed level,expression of genes affected by seed size is correlated with expression of genes that position seeds on the path toward germination.Our results demonstrate an unexpected link between seed size and dormancy phenotypes in a species that produces highly homogenous seed pools,suggesting that the correlation between seed morphology and physiology is more widespread than initially assumed.

Liposomal Honokiol induces ROS-mediated apoptosis via regulation of ERK/p38-MAPK signaling and autophagic inhibition in human medulloblastoma

Dear Editor,Nowadays,medulloblastoma accounts for approximately 25% of all pediatric brain tumors.1 Even with the successful treatment of primary tumors,there are still serious side effects.Honokiol(HNK)is defined as small bisphenol lignin extracted from the bark and seed cones of several species of Magnolia.

Single-cell Long Non-coding RNA Landscape of T Cells in Human Cancer Immunity

The development of new biomarkers or therapeutic targets for cancer immunotherapies requires deep understanding of Tcells.To date,the complete landscape and systematic characterization of long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs)in T cells in cancer immunity are lacking.Here,by systematically analyzing full-length single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)data of more than 20,000 libraries of T cells across three cancer types,we provided the first comprehensive catalog and the functional repertoires of lncRNAs in human T cells.Specifically,we developed a custom pipeline for de novo transcriptome assembly and obtained a novel lncRNA catalog containing 9433 genes.This increased the number of current human lncRNA catalog by 16%and nearly doubled the number of lncRNAs expressed in T cells.We found that a portion of expressed genes in single T cells were lncRNAs which had been overlooked by the majority of previous studies.Based on metacell maps constructed by the MetaCell algorithm that partitions scRNA-seq datasets into disjointed and homogenous groups of cells(metacells),154 signature lncRNA genes were identified.They were associated with effector,exhausted,and regulatory T cell states.Moreover,84 of them were functionally annotated based on the co-expression networks,indicating that lncRNAs might broadly participate in the regulation of T cell functions.Our findings provide a new point of view and resource for investigating the mechanisms of T cell regulation in cancer immunity as well as for novel cancer-immune biomarker development and cancer immunotherapies.

One-dimensional metallic, magnetic, and dielectric nanomaterialsbased composites for electromagnetic wave interference shielding

The excrescent electromagnetic(EM)radiation exposure in the air threatens human health and electronic equipment due to the abuse of EM waves in wireless telecommunication technology and electronic applications.Consequently,electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding materials are provided to solve the EM waves pollution problem.In particular,the appearance of onedimensional(1D)metallic,magnetic,and dielectric nanofillers will extremely reduce the density of EMI composite and enhance EMI protection performance because they can easily assemble to form complete two-dimensional(2D)or three-dimensional(3D)EMI network based on their high aspect ratio,large specific surface area,and additional attenuated sites.This review focuses on the EMI shielding composites with 1D metallic,magnetic,and dielectric nanofillers,which could be constructed in the final form of membrane-or aerogel/sponge-like shielding materials.According to the structural features,1D metallic,magnetic,and dielectric nanofillers are classified into nanowires,nanorods,nanospindles,nanochains,nanofibers,nanotubes,nanorings,nanocoils,and quasi-one-dimensional(1D)van der Waals materials.Accordingly,the fabricated routes,shielding performances,and EM waves attenuation mechanism of the 1D metallic,magnetic,and dielectric nanofiller-based composites are summarized.It is found that the dominant shielding mechanism of most of the 1D metal-based EMI composites is reflection loss,while that of 1D magnetic and dielectric nanomaterials-based EMI composites is absorption loss caused by interfacial polarization,natural resonance,eddy current,and multiple scattering.Finally,the challenges and prospects of 1D nanofiller-based composites with a tunable architecture and composition are put forward,aiming to give a guideline for the next generation of high-performance EMI shielding materials.

Conducting polymer-based peroxidase mimics:synthesis, synergistic enhanced properties and applications

The concept of artificial enzymes has been proposed for a long time and a large variety of materials have been exploited in enzyme-like catalytic field for decades. The emergence of nanotechnology provides increasing opportu- nities for the development of artificial enzymes. Conducting polymer-based nanocomposites are a new type of burgeoning functional materials as enzyme mimics owing to their nu- merous functional groups, excellent electrical conductivity and redox properties. This review summarizes the recent progress of the synthesis of conducting polymers and their nanocomposites, as well as their applications as efficient peroxidase mimics. After a brief description of the develop- ment of conducting polymers, we specifically introduce the fabrication of conducting polymers and their nanocomposites via diverse approaches and show the enhanced peroxidase-like catalytic properties. In addition, the mechanism of the en- hanced catalytic efficiency of the conducting polymer-based nanocomposites has been proposed. Finally, we highlight the applications of such conducting polymer-based nanocompo- sites in the sensitive detection of different types of substances. It is anticipated that this review will pave the way for devel- oping more intriguing functional nanomaterials as enzyme mimics, which shows promising applications in a great many technological fields.

Theoretical Simulation on a Nonlinear Photonics Process of Er(1%)Yb(8%):FOV Oxyfluoride Nanophase Vitroceramics

We numerically simulate a photonics phenomenon of what we call intensity inversion between red and green fluorescence in oxyfluoride nanophase vitroceramics Er(1%)Yb(8%):FOV through the integration of whole fluorescence’s theories.We found that it is essential to introduce a coefficient presenting the difference between the Stokes energy transfer and anti-Stokes energy transfer processes in nano-material when calculating the energy transfer rate.Under this consideration,and with the total crystallized volume ratio set to be 17.6%,the simulation results of the population probabilities values of all energy levels of Er^(3+) ion are coincident with the experimental result perfectly.