Realizing efficiency and stable hydrogen production by water electrolysis under high current densities is essential to the forthcoming hydrogen economy. However, its industrial breakthrough is ...seriously limited by bifunctional catalysts with slow hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalytic processes. Herein, an ultralow Ru incorporated amorphous cobalt‐based oxide (Ru‐CoOx/NF), effectively driving the electrolysis of water at high current densities in alkaline water and seawater, is designed and constructed. In 1 m KOH, to reach the current density of 1000 mA cm−2 for HER and OER, it only needs 252 and 370 mV overpotentials, respectively, beyond commercial Pt/C and RuO2 catalysts. At the high current density, it also presents outstanding electrochemical stability. Then the electrolyzer apparatus assembled with Ru‐CoOx/NF, just requires the ultra‐low voltage of 2.2 and 2.62 V to support the current density of 1000 mA cm−2 in alkaline water and seawater electrolysis, respectively, for hydrogen production, better than that of the commercial Pt/C and RuO2 catalysts. This work demonstrates that Ru‐CoOx/NF is one of the most promising catalysts for industrial applications and provides a possibility for exploration of high‐current‐density water electrocatalysis by changing the crystallinity of the catalyst.
To deliver the alkaline water and seawater at high current densities, the electrolyzer with Ru‐CoOx/NF || Ru‐CoOx/NF only requires the ultralow voltage compared to commercial Pt/C/NF || RuO2/NF, accompanying the nearly 100% Faraday efficiency and excellent electrochemical stability, which depends on its unique amorphous structure. This study provides a new idea for the development of catalysts toward industrial water electrolysis.
Nowadays, more and more news readers read news online where they have access to millions of news articles from multiple sources. In order to help users find the right and relevant content, news ...recommender systems (NRS) are developed to relieve the information overload problem and suggest news items that might be of interest for the news readers. In this paper, we highlight the major challenges faced by the NRS and identify the possible solutions from the state-of-the-art. Our discussion is divided into two parts. In the first part, we present an overview of the recommendation solutions, datasets, evaluation criteria beyond accuracy and recommendation platforms being used in the NRS. We also talk about two popular classes of models that have been successfully used in recent years. In the second part, we focus on the deep neural networks as solutions to build the NRS. Different from previous surveys, we study the effects of news recommendations on user behaviors and try to suggest possible remedies to mitigate those effects. By providing the state-of-the-art knowledge, this survey can help researchers and professional practitioners have a better understanding of the recent developments in news recommendation algorithms. In addition, this survey sheds light on the potential new directions.
Objective
Illness uncertainty is a significant source of psychological distress that affects cancer patients' quality of life (QOL). Mishel's uncertainty in illness theory (UIT) proposes that illness ...uncertainty influences an individual's use of coping strategies, and directly and indirectly influences their QOL. This study tested the relationships depicted in the adapted UIT in cancer patients.
Methods
This cross‐sectional study is a secondary analysis of the baseline data from a randomized clinical trial (N = 263 prostate cancer patients). Patients were diagnosed with localized (64.6%), biochemical recurrent (12.6%), or advanced (22.8%) prostate cancer. Uncertainty, coping (avoidant and active coping strategies), and QOL (physical and mental well‐being) were measured using the Mishel's uncertainty of illness scale, Brief COPE, and the Medical Outcomes Study 12‐item short form (SF‐12), respectively. We used path analysis to achieve the research aim.
Results
Patients' illness uncertainty directly, negatively influenced their physical well‐being (P < .001) and mental well‐being (P < .05). Patients' illness uncertainty was positively related to their avoidant coping strategies (P < .001). Patients' active and avoidant coping strategies influenced their mental well‐being (P < .001). Uncertainty also negatively influenced mental well‐being through avoidant coping strategies. The model had excellent fit to the data.
Conclusions
Our findings have indicated the potential of improving QOL by decreasing illness uncertainty and reducing avoidant coping strategies. Future research is needed to better understand the complex relationships between illness uncertainty, coping strategies, and domains of QOL among patients with different types of cancer using longitudinal research.
As a distinctive member of the noncoding RNA family, circular RNAs (circRNAs) are generated from single‐stranded, covalently closed structures and are ubiquitous in mammalian cells and tissues. Due ...to its atypical circular architecture, it was conventionally deemed insignificant dark matter for a prolonged duration. Nevertheless, studies conducted over the last decade have demonstrated that this abundant, structurally stable and tissue‐specific RNA has been increasingly relevant in diverse diseases, including cancer, neurological disorders, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Therefore, regulatory pathways controlled by circRNAs are widely involved in the occurrence and pathological processes of CVDs through their function as miRNA sponges, protein sponges and protein scaffolds. To better understand the role of circRNAs and their complex regulatory networks in CVDs, we summarize current knowledge of their biogenesis and function and the latest research on circRNAs in CVDs, with the hope of paving the way for the identification of promising biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for CVDs.
AbstractObjectiveTo delineate the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) who died.DesignRetrospective case series.SettingTongji Hospital in Wuhan, ...China.ParticipantsAmong a cohort of 799 patients, 113 who died and 161 who recovered with a diagnosis of covid-19 were analysed. Data were collected until 28 February 2020.Main outcome measuresClinical characteristics and laboratory findings were obtained from electronic medical records with data collection forms.ResultsThe median age of deceased patients (68 years) was significantly older than recovered patients (51 years). Male sex was more predominant in deceased patients (83; 73%) than in recovered patients (88; 55%). Chronic hypertension and other cardiovascular comorbidities were more frequent among deceased patients (54 (48%) and 16 (14%)) than recovered patients (39 (24%) and 7 (4%)). Dyspnoea, chest tightness, and disorder of consciousness were more common in deceased patients (70 (62%), 55 (49%), and 25 (22%)) than in recovered patients (50 (31%), 48 (30%), and 1 (1%)). The median time from disease onset to death in deceased patients was 16 (interquartile range 12.0-20.0) days. Leukocytosis was present in 56 (50%) patients who died and 6 (4%) who recovered, and lymphopenia was present in 103 (91%) and 76 (47%) respectively. Concentrations of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, cardiac troponin I, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and D-dimer were markedly higher in deceased patients than in recovered patients. Common complications observed more frequently in deceased patients included acute respiratory distress syndrome (113; 100%), type I respiratory failure (18/35; 51%), sepsis (113; 100%), acute cardiac injury (72/94; 77%), heart failure (41/83; 49%), alkalosis (14/35; 40%), hyperkalaemia (42; 37%), acute kidney injury (28; 25%), and hypoxic encephalopathy (23; 20%). Patients with cardiovascular comorbidity were more likely to develop cardiac complications. Regardless of history of cardiovascular disease, acute cardiac injury and heart failure were more common in deceased patients.ConclusionSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection can cause both pulmonary and systemic inflammation, leading to multi-organ dysfunction in patients at high risk. Acute respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory failure, sepsis, acute cardiac injury, and heart failure were the most common critical complications during exacerbation of covid-19.
Copper is an essential trace element participating in many vital biological processes, however it becomes a toxic agent when in excess. Thus, precise and tight regulation of copper homeostasis ...processes, including transport, delivery, storage, detoxification, and efflux machineries, is important, ensuring that only the amount needed to sustain basic biological functions and simultaneously prevent copper toxicity in the cell is maintained. Numerous exciting studies have revealed that copper plays an indispensable role at the microbial pathogen-host axis for entities ranging from pathogenic bacteria to deadly fungal species. Analyses of copper homeostases in bacteria and fungi extensively demonstrate that copper is utilized by the host immune system as an anti-microbial agent. The expression of copper efflux and detoxification from microbial pathogens is induced to counteract the host's copper bombardment, which in turn disrupts these machineries, resulting in the attenuation of microbial survival in host tissue. We hereby review the latest work in copper homeostases in pathogenic bacteria and fungi and focus on the maintenance of a copper balance at the pathogen-host interaction axis.
Hepatitis B virus infection is a global health problem. Worldwide, about 360 million people are chronically infected with the virus. They continue to spread the virus to others and are themselves at ...risk of chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma. The infection can now be treated by antivirals or interferons and the transmission route can be interrupted. Nevertheless, the most effective means is to immunize all susceptible individuals, especially young children, with safe and efficacious vaccines. The combined efforts of vaccination, effective treatment and interruption of transmission make elimination of the infection plausible and may eventually lead to eradication of the virus. Because hepatitis B vaccination has a key role in the control of hepatitis B, properties of this vaccine, its effectiveness in pre-exposure and post-exposure settings, duration of protection after vaccination and the need of booster doses are discussed. Mass hepatitis B vaccination in children decreases the carriage of the virus, and the diseases associated with acute and chronic infection, including hepatocellular carcinoma. Challenges that need to be solved to expand mass vaccination, and the strategies towards elimination and eventual eradication of hepatitis B in the world are also discussed.
Abstract
Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are atomic nuclei from space with vastly higher energies than any other particles ever observed. Their origin and chemical composition remain a mystery. ...As we show here, the large and intermediate angular scale anisotropies observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory are a powerful tool for understanding the origin of UHECRs. Without specifying any particular production mechanism but only postulating that the source distribution follows the matter distribution of the local universe, a good accounting of the magnitude, direction, and energy dependence of the dipole anisotropy at energies above 8 × 10
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eV is obtained after taking into account the impact of energy losses during propagation (the “GZK horizon”), diffusion in the extragalactic magnetic field, and deflections in the Galactic magnetic field (GMF). This is a major step toward the long-standing hope of using UHECR anisotropies to constrain UHECR composition and magnetic fields. The observed dipole anisotropy is incompatible with a pure proton composition in this scenario. With a more accurate treatment of energy losses, it should be possible to further constrain the cosmic-ray composition and properties of the extragalactic magnetic field, self-consistently improve the GMF model, and potentially expose individual UHECR sources.
Intrinsic self-healing materials possessing the capability to autonomously repair their structure and functionalities upon mechanical damage have attracted great attention. Up to now, despite intense ...research in this area, the synthesis of intrinsic self-healing materials with a simultaneous combination of stiffness, strength and toughness is still a huge challenge. Herein, inspired by nature, we prepared a novel poly(urea-urethane)-graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet (PUU-g-C
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NS) composite material, in which the multiple hydrogen bonds within the PUU matrix endow the composite material with room temperature self-healing ability, and g-C
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NSs, serving as both chemical and physical cross-linkers, provide the composite material with significantly improved mechanical properties. The PUU-g-C
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NS material was subsequently deposited onto the surface of aluminum alloy 2024 as a smart anticorrosion coating (AC) by the drop-casting method for protection. The anticorrosion performance as well as the self-healing ability of the PUU-g-C
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NS AC was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, laser microscopy and scanning Kelvin probe technology. The experimental results show that the PUU-g-C
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NS AC maintained its protective capability even after immersion in 0.5 M NaCl for 20 days. Moreover, an artificial scratch on the surface of the PUU-g-C
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NS AC was observed to vanish and the regenerated anticorrosion ability in the damage area was gained after healing for only 10 min. The introduction of g-C
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NSs makes the PUU-g-C
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NS composite material meet the applicable requirements forAC, offers the composite coating excellent anti-penetration ability and retains the satisfactory autonomous self-healing function under ambient conditions, even under high humidity.
Intrinsic self-healing materials possessing the capability to autonomously repair their structure and functionalities upon mechanical damage have attracted great attention.
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