One-dimensional (1D) carbon materials are typically used for electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) electrodes due to their excellent charge carrier mobility. However, improvement of the low ...capacitance and energy density of these carbon-based EDLCs has been required although they have a fast charge/discharge rate and long cycle life. In this work, nitrogen and fluorine doped mesoporous carbon nanofibers (NFMCNFs) were fabricated using a hydrothermal treatment for structural modification to create porosity and a vacuum plasma process for introducing heteroatoms into the carbon lattice. Applied to supercapacitor devices, the NFMCNFs exhibited a remarkable EDLC performance of 252.6 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 in a 1 M H 2 SO 4 electrolyte. Additionally, all-solid-state flexible symmetric supercapacitors (SSCs) were assembled with a high specific capacitance of 58.1 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 and outstanding long-term cycle stability over 20 000 cycles. Remarkably, the SSCs also exhibited high energy and power densities of 8.07 W h kg −1 and 248 W kg −1 , respectively. This dynamic porous structure and heteroatom co-doping based carbon material provides a sensational approach for designing energy storage systems.
Background and Aim
Entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) may reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, it is not clear whether there ...is difference in the on‐treatment HCC risks between ETV and TDF.
Methods
In this retrospective cohort study, we compared the on‐treatment HCC incidence of ETV and TDF in 1340 consecutive nucleos(t)ide analog‐naïve CHB patients by propensity score (PS) matching analysis. PS was calculated by using age, sex, drinking history, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, hepatitis B e antigen positivity, hepatitis B virus DNA, hepatitis B s antigen titer, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alpha‐fetoprotein, albumin, bilirubin, prothrombin time, platelet count, and calendar year of treatment initiation as covariates. The HCC risk was assessed by Cox regression with death and liver transplantation as competing risks in the 1:1 PS‐matched cohorts (n = 596).
Results
TDF had higher cumulative virologic response (P = 0.027) whereas ETV showed higher AST and ALT normalization rates (P = 0.005 and < 0.001, respectively) in PS‐matched cohorts. HCC risk was similar between ETV and TDF, either by PS‐matching analysis (hazard ratio HR for TDF over ETV = 2.06, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.98–4.33, P = 0.058) or inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis (HR = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.81–2.10; P = 0.276).
Conclusions
ETV and TDF treatment was associated with similar risk for HCC development in CHB patients.
Apparently healthy individuals with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (>7 ng/mL) for unknown causes visit clinics. We investigated their clinical characteristics, outcomes, and ...relationship with body fat deposition and muscle mass. The case group included asymptomatic 137 individuals with "elevated AFP level" (R772) diagnostic code from 2009 to 2018 in a tertiary hospital. The control group enrolled 274 age- and sex-matched patients with <5 cm hepatic hemangiomas. Hepatic, visceral, and psoas muscle adiposity and psoas muscle index (PMI) were measured in the subgroups of 45 cases and 90 controls with pre-contrast computed tomography (CT) images. The case group (mean age 47.5 years, male 35.8%) showed higher AFP levels (10.3 vs 2.5 ng/mL, p<0.001) and total bilirubin (0.8 vs 0.7 mg/dL, p<0.001), but a lower body mass index (22.2 vs 23.3 kg/m.sup.2, p = 0.011) and alanine aminotransferase levels (17.0 vs 19.0 IU/L, p = 0.047) than the controls. During 13 months of median follow-up, there was no cancer or liver disease development. The AFP levels were stable. In the subgroups with CT images, cases showed a lower proportion of hepatic steatosis (4.4% vs 18.9%, p = 0.023), higher psoas muscle attenuation (48.2 vs 43.8 Hounsfield units, p<0.001) and higher PMI (5.7 vs 4.2 cm.sup.2 /m.sup.2, p<0.001) than the controls. Elevated AFP levels in asymptomatic individuals may play a role in expressing a protective phenotype against hepatic steatosis, myosteatosis, and sarcopenia. AFP levels in patients with elevated AFP were stable during follow-up without liver injury or cancer development. Interaction between AFP expression and steatosis warrants further study.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the most widely used serum biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), despite its limitations. As complementary biomarkers, protein induced by vitamin K absence ...(PIVKA-II), osteopontin (OPN), and Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) have been proposed. This study aimed to perform a head-to-head comparison of the diagnostic performance of AFP, PIVKA-II, OPN and DKK-1 as single or in combination to seek the best biomarker or panel, and to investigate the clinical factors affecting their performance.
Using 401 stored plasma samples obtained from 208 HCC patients and 193 liver cirrhosis control patients, plasma AFP, PIVKA-II, OPN and DKK-1 levels were measured by ELISA, and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed for each biomarker and for every combination of two to four markers.
Of the four biomarkers, AFP showed the highest area under the curve (0.786). The sensitivity and specificity for each single biomarker was 62% and 90.2% (AFP>20 ng/mL), 51.0% and 91.2% (PIVKA-II>10 ng/mL), 46.2% and 80.3% (OPN>100 ng/mL), and 50.0% and 80.8% (DKK-1>500 pg/mL), respectively. Among the combinations of two biomarkers, AFP>20 ng/mL or DKK-1>500 pg/mL showed the best diagnostic performance (sensitivity 78.4%, specificity 72.5%). Triple or quadruple combination did not improve the diagnostic performance further. The patient's age, etiology and tumor invasiveness of HCC affected the performance of each marker.
AFP was the most useful single biomarker for HCC diagnosis, and the combined measurement of AFP and DKK-1 could maximize the diagnostic yield. Clinical decision should be based on the consideration of various factors affecting the diagnostic performance of each biomarker. Efforts to seek novel HCC biomarkers should be continued.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A moth‐eye nanostructured mp‐TiO2 film using conventional lithography, nano‐imprinting and polydimethyl‐siloxane (PDMS) stamping methods is demonstrated for the first time. Power conversion ...efficiency of the moth‐eye patterned perovskite solar cell is improved by ≈11%, which mainly results from increasing light harvesting efficiency by structural optical property.
Metropolitan regions where ground surfaces are covered by an impermeable layer are vulnerable to heavy rainfall. Pervious pavement that facilitates infiltration of stormwater runoff into underground ...reservoirs mitigates the risk of flooding. However, pervious pavement systems are prone to clogging, which reduces its permeability. Three types of pervious block pavers were field tested in order to investigate their clogging characteristics, consequent permeability reduction, and response to cleaning. The permeability of fresh specimens ranged from 0.71 to 0.92 mm/s. After six months in the field, the permeability decreased to 17% of the initial permeability, and was restored to ∼30% of initial value after cleaning. The X-ray computed tomography images of used specimens provided the clogging characteristics such as clogging depth, clog fraction, and cleaning efficiency. The lattice Boltzmann model simulation results corroborated the experimental observations. The results of this study can be used to design concrete and aggregate mix, determine the cleaning period, and plan an appropriate maintenance procedure.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Elastography point quantification is a convenient method for measuring liver stiffness. It can be performed simultaneously with conventional ultrasonography. This study aimed to evaluate its ...diagnostic performance for assessing hepatic fibrosis in patients with autoimmune liver disease (AILD), including autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
The diagnostic performance of elastography point quantification (ElastPQ) was evaluated and compared with that of serum fibrosis markers, including the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), using the receiver operating characteristics analysis with histologic evaluation as the reference standard.
In 49 AIH patients, sensitivity and specificity of ElastPQ were 93.6% and 44.4%, respectively, for significant fibrosis (≥ F2, cutoff 4.47 kPa), and 63.6% and 86.8% for cirrhosis (F4, cutoff 9.28 kPa). In 41 PBC patients, they were 81.8% and 73.3%, respectively, for significant fibrosis (≥ F2, cutoff 5.56 kPa), and 100% and 81.6%, respectively, for advanced fibrosis (≥ F3, cutoff 6.04 kPa). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of ElastPQ for significant fibrosis (0.77, 95% CI 0.67-0.86) and cirrhosis (0.81, 95% CI 0.65-0.96) were higher than those of APRI and FIB-4 in AILD patients. According to the multivariable analysis, histological activity, steatosis, and body max index (BMI) were not significant factors that influenced the result of ElastPQ.
ElastPQ exhibited better diagnostic performance-without the influence of confounding factors-for assessing hepatic fibrosis in AILD patients than serum fibrosis markers.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) is a rare type of liver tumour that exhibits both hepatocytic and biliary differentiation within the same tumour. The histology and genomic ...alterations of recurrent/metastatic cHCC-CC are poorly understood. We selected six patients with cHCC-CC whose recurrent or metastatic tumours were histologically confirmed. Four patients with classic cHCC-CCs and two with intermediate cell carcinomas (ICs) were included. The clinicopathological features were evaluated, and next-generation sequencing was performed in 17 multiregional and longitudinal tumour samples. The histology of recurrent/metastatic lesions of classic cHCC-CCs was variable: hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was observed in one (25.0%) patient, cHCC-CC in one (25.0%) patient, and cholangiocarcinoma (CC) in two (50.0%) patients. Among 13 samples from four classic cHCC-CC patients, the most frequent pathological variants were TP53 (46.2%), TERT promoter (38.5%), ARID1A mutations (23.1%), and MET amplification (30.8%). In the sequencing analysis of each HCC and CC component, three (75.0%) of the four classic cHCC-CCs shared pathogenic variants. A large proportion of mutations, both pathogenic and those of undetermined significance, were shared by each HCC and CC component. Regarding ICs, the ATM mutation was detected in one patient. In conclusion, the histology of recurrent/metastatic cHCC-CCs was heterogeneous. Genomic profiling of classic cHCC-CCs revealed similar genomic alterations to those of HCC. Considerable overlapping genomic alterations in each HCC and CC component were observed, suggesting a monoclonal origin. Genetic alterations in ICs were different from those in either HCC or CC, suggesting the distinct nature of this tumour.
Summary
Genome phasing is a recently developed assembly method that separates heterozygous eukaryotic genomic regions and builds haplotype‐resolved assemblies. Because differences between haplotypes ...are ignored in most published de novo genomes, assemblies are available as consensus genomes consisting of haplotype mixtures, thus increasing the need for genome phasing. Here, we review the operating principles and characteristics of several freely available and widely used phasing tools (TrioCanu, FALCON‐Phase, and ALLHiC). An examination of downstream analyses using haplotype‐resolved genome assemblies in plants indicated significant differences among haplotypes regarding chromosomal rearrangements, sequence insertions, and expression of specific alleles that contribute to the acquisition of the biological characteristics of plant species. Finally, we suggest directions to solve addressing limitations of current genome‐phasing methods. This review provides insights into the current progress, limitations, and future directions of de novo genome phasing, which will enable researchers to easily access and utilize genome‐phasing in studies involving highly heterozygous complex plant genomes.
Summary
The resource orchestrators in the cloud provide different QoS classes. Existing studies have mainly focused on resource guarantee for high‐priority class jobs, but yet to consider delicate ...QoS control of low‐priority jobs in the cloud. In this paper, we propose the differentiated shares that provide weighted CPU scheduling for low‐priority batch jobs in container‐based cloud. To implement the differentiated shares, we extend resource reservation interfaces provided by Kubernetes and suggest an algorithm that maps the resource management attributes of Kubernetes into those of Linux. The proposed differentiated shares can avoid worsening interference with high‐priority containers by exploiting the hierarchical resource sharing of task groups in Linux. In addition, we suggest a node scoring policy to provide efficient inter‐node job scheduling with the consideration of the differentiated shares. The performance measurement results show that the differentiated shares can provide weighted CPU scheduling for best‐effort batch containers without interference with high‐priority containers (less than 3% with respect to application‐level performance).
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