In this work, a series of methacrylate‐based polymers bearing benzene (poly(benzyl methacrylate)), naphthalene (poly(2‐naphthyl methacrylate)), anthracene (poly(9‐anthracenyl methyl methacrylate), ...PAMA), and pyrene (poly(1‐pyrenemethyl methacrylate)) are blended with conjugated polymer of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) to perform vertical phase separation during spin‐coating. The bilayer structure of the conjugated/insulating polymer blend is driven by their mismatch in surface energy, and the blend films are applied in the phototransistor memory device with the bottom layer of methacrylate‐based polymer as a photoactive electret and the top layer of P3HT as a semiconducting channel. It is found that the vertical phase separation morphology, conjugation, and energy levels of the pendant arene groups in the methacrylate‐based polymers are highly related to the photoresponse, memory retention/endurance of the phototransistor memory. Therefore, the device comprising the polymer blend of P3HT and PAMA successfully produces a high current contrast of 105 to 254 nm light and 104 to 450 nm light over 104 s. This study provides a facile approach to the fabrication of high‐performance phototransistor memory devices.
The polymer blend comprising poly(9‐anthracenyl methyl methacrylate) and poly(3‐hexylthiophene) forms an efficient vertical phase separation during spin‐coating process. The bilayered film is applied as a photoactive electret in a transistor memory device to produce a high current contrast of 105 to 254 nm light and 104 to 450 nm light over 104 s.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
A 16-channel closed-loop neuromodulation system-on-chip (SoC) for human epileptic seizure control is proposed and designed. In the proposed SoC, a 16-channel neural-signal acquisition unit (NSAU), a ...biosignal processor (BSP), a 16-channel high-voltage-tolerant stimulator (HVTS), and wireless power and bidirectional data telemetry are designed. In the NSAU, the input protection circuit is used to prevent MOSFET from overstressing by the high-voltage stimulations. Hence, NSAUs can share electrodes with stimulators. The auto-reset chopper-stabilized capacitive-coupled instrumentation amplifiers (AR-CSCCIAs) are designed with the chopper-stabilized technique with a new offset reduction loop. The measured input-referred noise is 2.09 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \textrm {V}_{\mathrm {rms}} </tex-math></inline-formula> and the noise-efficiency factor (NEF) is 3.78. The entropy-and-spectrum seizure detection algorithm is implemented in the BSP with 0.76-s seizure detection latency and 97.8% detection accuracy. When the seizure onset is detected by the BSP, the HVTS with adaptive supply control delivers 0.5-3-mA biphasic current stimulation to suppress the seizure onset. The proposed SoC is powered wirelessly, and the bidirectional data telemetry is realized through the same pair of coils in 13.56 MHz. The downlink data rate is 211 Kb/s with the binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) modulation and a new BPSK demodulator. The uplink data rate is 106 Kb/s with the load-shift keying (LSK) modulation. The proposed SoC is fabricated in a 0.18-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS technology and occupies 25 mm 2 . Electrical tests have been performed to characterize the SoC performance. In vivo animal experiments using mini-pigs have been performed to successfully verify the closed-loop neuromodulation functions on epileptic seizure suppression.
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•Coagulation combined with sedimentation and GAC filter dominated the removal of MPs.•Coagulation combined with sedimentation tended to remove MPs in shape of fibres.•GAC filtration ...was prone to remove microplastics in size of 1–5 μm.•The abundance of 1–5 μm MPs from the effluent of ozonation increased by 2.8–16.0%.•A large amount of PAM was detected in the effluent of the sedimentation.
Microplastics (MPs) have attracted worldwide attention as the emerging persistent pollutants. Since they have been detected in raw water and the treated water of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), there was an urgent need to explore the properties and fates of microplastics in DWTPs. The characteristics of the effluent MPs from each treatment unit in an advanced drinking water treatment plant (ADWTP) were studied, and the relationship between the variations of MPs and the removal performances of treatment processes was also explored. Overall, both the coagulation combined with sedimentation and the granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration performed well in removing microplastics. The former had a removal efficiency of about 40.5–54.5%, mainly for fibres' removal, and the presence of GAC filtration reduced the microplastic abundance by about 56.8–60.9%, mainly for small-sized MPs. It was worthy of attention that a larger amount of polyacrylamide (PAM) was detected in the effluent of the sedimentation compared to raw water, which was caused by the usage of coagulant containing PAM. Specially, the number of 1–5 μm MPs in the effluent of ozonation tank was increased by 2.8–16.0%, resulting in a negative removal efficiency in ozonation. The removals of microplastics were depended primarily on their physical properties (size and shape).
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) is vital for screening cardiovascular activity. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline for the prevention, detection, ...evaluation, and management of BP in adults recommends measuring BP outside the office setting using daytime ABPM. The recommendation to use night-day BP measurements to confirm hypertension is consistent with the recommendation of several other guidelines. In recent studies, ABPM was used to measure BP at regular intervals, and it reduces the effect of the environment on BP. Out-of-office measurements are highly recommended by almost all hypertension organizations. However, traditional ABPM devices based on the oscillometric technique usually interrupt sleep. For all-day ABPM purposes, a photoplethysmography (PPG)-based wrist-type device has been developed as a convenient tool. This optical, noninvasive device estimates BP using morphological characteristics from PPG waveforms. As measurement can be affected by multiple variables, calibration is necessary to ensure that the calculated BP values are accurate. However, few studies focused on adaptive calibration. A novel adaptive calibration model, which is data-driven and embedded in a wearable device, was proposed. The features from a 15 s PPG waveform and personal information were input for estimation of BP values and our data-driven calibration model. The model had a feedback calibration process using the exponential Gaussian process regression method to calibrate BP values and avoid inter- and intra-subject variability, ensuring accuracy in long-term ABPM. The estimation error of BP (ΔBP = actual BP-estimated BP) of systolic BP was -0.1776 ± 4.7361 mmHg; ≤15 mmHg, 99.225%, and of diastolic BP was -0.3846 ± 6.3688 mmHg; ≤15 mmHg, 98.191%. The success rate was improved, and the results corresponded to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation standard and British Hypertension Society Grading criteria for medical regulation. Using machine learning with a feedback calibration model could be used to assess ABPM for clinical purposes.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou Pb-Zn metallogenic province (SYGMP) is an important region for Pb-Zn resources in China. However, considerable controversy remains as to whether the Pb-Zn deposits are ...Mississippi Valley Type (MVT). The Maozu deposit, a typical example of the carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn deposits in the SYGMP, occurs in the late Ediacaran Dengying Formation and its ore bodies are divided into three types: lower layer (LL), vein layer (VL), and upper layer (UL) ore bodies based on their spatial relationship. In this study, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to systematically analyze the trace-element compositions of sphalerite and galena in these three ore bodies. The results show that sphalerite is characterized by Cd and Ge enrichment; Fe, Mn, and Co depletion; and local In and Sn enrichment. Most of these elements likely appear as solid solutions in sphalerite and show a wide compositional variation, which is probably related to the medium- and low-temperature mixing of the ore-forming fluids. The local enrichment of In and Sn is likely attributed to the long-distance migration of ore-forming fluids through In-Sn-bearing volcaniclastic rocks. In vs. Sn and (Cu+Sb) vs. (Ag+Ge) show strong correlations and similar element distribution in the mapped images, indicating that these elements may be incorporated into sphalerite via a coupled substitution for Zn as 2In++Sn4++2 ⇌ 5Zn2+ (=vacancies) and 4(Cu++Sb3+)+(Ge4++2Ag+)+2 ⇌ 13Zn2+. Galena is enriched in Ag and Sb with minor Cd and Se and depleted in Bi, and most of the elements may occur as solid solutions. Ag vs. Sb in galena displays a strong positive correlation, implying the coupled substitution of Ag++Sb3+ ⇌ 2Pb2+. Notably, the majority of the trace-element concentrations gradually decrease in the order LL → UL except Fe, Co, Cu, and Ge, while Fe, In, and Sn in sphalerite and Ag and Sb in galena have the highest concentration in the VL, indicating that the VL is a secondary migration channel for the ore-forming fluids. Furthermore, the trace-element compositions of the sulfides in the Maozu Pb-Zn deposit are consistent with the typical MVT deposit (hosted in the carbonate sequence) but are markedly different from sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX), volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) and skarn-type deposits. Based on these results, as well as the geological and geochemical characteristics of the deposit, the Maozu Pb-Zn deposit is an MVT deposit.
With the introduction of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents, hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment has dramatically improved. However, there are insufficient data on the benefits of DAA therapy in ...hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcome of patients who received DAA therapy after HCC treatment. We retrospectively reviewed patients with HCV-related HCC in a single medical center, and the outcome of patients with or without DAA therapy was analyzed. In total, 107 HCC patients were enrolled, of whom 60 had received DAA therapy after treatment for HCC. There were no significant intergroup differences in age, sex, laboratory results, or tumor burden. A more advanced stage was noted in the no DAA group (P = 0.003). In the treatment modality, sorafenib was commonly prescribed in the no DAA group (P = 0.007). The DAA group had a longer overall survival (OS) time than the no DAA group (P<0.001). When stratified by Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging, the DAA group had better OS in the HCC stages 0-A and B-C (P = 0.034 and P = 0.006). There were 35 patients who received DAA therapy after curative HCC therapy. At a median follow-up of 20 months, 37.1% patients had HCC recurrence after DAA therapy. There was no statistical difference in recurrence-free survival between patients receiving and those not receiving DAA (P = 0.278). DAA therapy improved the survival outcome of HCC patients and did not increase recurrent HCC after curative therapy. .
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive cancers. Despite recent advances in multimodal therapies, high-grade glioma remains fatal. Temozolomide (TMZ) is an alkylating agent used ...worldwide for the clinical treatment of GBM; however, the innate and acquired resistance of GBM limits its application. Here, we found that TMZ inhibited the proliferation and induced the G2/M arrest of GBM cells. Therefore, we performed microarrays to identify the cell cycle- and apoptosis-related genes affected by TMZ. Notably, GADD45A was found to be up-regulated by TMZ in both cell cycle and apoptosis arrays. Furthermore, GADD45A knockdown (GADD45A
) enhanced the cell growth arrest and cell death induced by TMZ, even in natural (T98) and adapted (TR-U373) TMZ-resistant cells. Interestingly, GADD45A
decreased the expression of O
-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) in TMZ-resistant cells (T98 and TR-U373). In MGMT-deficient/TMZ-sensitive cells (U87 and U373), GADD45A
decreased TMZ-induced TP53 expression. Thus, in this study, we investigated the genes influenced by TMZ that were important in GBM therapy, and revealed that GADD45A plays a protective role against TMZ treatment which may through TP53-dependent and MGMT-dependent pathway in TMZ-sensitive and TMZ-resistant GBM, respectively. This protective role of GADD45A against TMZ treatment may provide a new therapeutic strategy for GBM treatment.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Photocatalytic formation of hydrocarbons using solar energy via artificial photosynthesis is a highly desirable renewable-energy source for replacing conventional fossil fuels. Using an
l
...-cysteine-based hydrothermal process, here we synthesize a carbon-doped SnS
2
(SnS
2
-C) metal dichalcogenide nanostructure, which exhibits a highly active and selective photocatalytic conversion of CO
2
to hydrocarbons under visible-light. The interstitial carbon doping induced microstrain in the SnS
2
lattice, resulting in different photophysical properties as compared with undoped SnS
2
. This SnS
2
-C photocatalyst significantly enhances the CO
2
reduction activity under visible light, attaining a photochemical quantum efficiency of above 0.7%. The SnS
2
-C photocatalyst represents an important contribution towards high quantum efficiency artificial photosynthesis based on gas phase photocatalytic CO
2
reduction under visible light, where the in situ carbon-doped SnS
2
nanostructure improves the stability and the light harvesting and charge separation efficiency, and significantly enhances the photocatalytic activity.
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