Computational, thin-film deposition, and characterization approaches have been used to investigate the all-inorganic lead-free CsBi3I10 as a candidate to act as a thin-film photovoltaic absorber. In ...this paper, CsBi3I10 was firstly predicted with a layer crystal structure of stable hexagonal phase-like Cs3Bi2I9 and then prepared by one-step coating also showing the high purity hexagonal phase and crystallinity, very consistent with the theoretical calculation. After solvent annealing, a high absorption coefficient of approximately 105 cm–1 in visible light and a suitable optical band gap of 1.78 eV were obtained for the CsBi3I10 thin film. The solar cell based on the CsBi3I10 perovskite thin film exhibited a high power conversion efficiency of 1.05%, good reproducibility, hysteresis-free behavior, and long-term stability. These results indicate that the performance of all-inorganic Pb-free perovskite solar cells can be further improved.
The scientific understanding of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has improved in recent decades. Nevertheless, there has been little research into the role that lncRNAs play in clear cell renal cell ...carcinoma (ccRCC). More lncRNAs are assumed to influence the progression of ccRCC via their own molecular mechanisms.
This study investigated the prognostic significance of differentially expressed lncRNAs by mining high-throughput lncRNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) containing 13,198 lncRNAs from 539 patients. Differentially expressed lncRNAs were assessed using the R packages edgeR and DESeq. The prognostic significance of lncRNAs was measured using univariate Cox proportional hazards regression. ccRCC patients were then categorized into high- and low-score cohorts based on the cumulative distribution curve inflection point the of risk score, which was generated by the multivariate Cox regression model. Samples from the TCGA dataset were divided into training and validation subsets to verify the prognostic risk model. Bioinformatics methods, gene set enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction networks, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were subsequently used.
It was found that the risk score based on 6 novel lncRNAs (CTA-384D8.35, CTD-2263F21.1, LINC01510, RP11-352G9.1, RP11-395B7.2, RP11-426C22.4) exhibited superior prognostic value for ccRCC. Moreover, we categorized the cases into two groups (high-risk and low-risk), and also examined related pathways and genetic differences between them. Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that the median survival time of patients in the high-risk group was 73.5 months, much shorter than that of the low-risk group (112.6 months; P < 0.05). Furthermore, the risk score predicted the 5-year survival of all 539 ccRCC patients (AUC at 5 years, 0.683; concordance index C-index, 0.853; 95% CI 0.817-0.889). The training set and validation set also showed similar performance (AUC at 5 years, 0.649 and 0.681, respectively; C-index, 0.822 and 0.891; 95% CI 0.774-0.870 and 0.844-0.938).
The results of this study can be applied to analyzing various prognostic factors, leading to new possibilities for clinical diagnosis and prognosis of ccRCC.
Objective Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects children's quality of life and learning. The purpose of this research was to systematically evaluate the efficacy of probiotic adjuvant therapy for ...IBS in children. Methods The Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Clinical Trials databases were electronically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published prior to January 2021 exploring the use of probiotic adjuvant therapy for IBS in children. Strict screening and quality evaluations of the eligible articles were performed independently by 2 researchers. Outcome indexes were extracted, and a meta-analysis of the data was performed using RevMan 5.4.1 and STATA 16 software. Finally, the risk of bias in the included studies was assessed with the RCT bias risk assessment tool recommended in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (5.1.0). Results A total of nine RCTs were included. In children, probiotics significantly reduced the abdominal pain score (I.sup.2 = 95%, SMD = -1.15, 95% (-2.05, -0.24), P = 0.01) and Subject's Global Assessment of Relief (SGARC) score (I.sup.2 = 95%, MD = -3.84, 95% (-6.49, -1.20), P = 0.004), increased the rate of abdominal pain treatment success (I.sup.2 = 0%, RR = 3.44, 95% (1.73, 6.87), P = 0.0005) and abdominal pain relief (I.sup.2 = 40%, RR = 1.48, 95% (0.96, 2.28), P = 0.08), and reduced the frequency of abdominal pain (I.sup.2 = 2%, MD = -0.82, 95% (-1.57, -0.07), P = 0.03). However, we found that it might not be possible to relieve abdominal pain by increasing the daily intake of probiotics. Conclusions Probiotics are effective at treating abdominal pain caused by IBS in children, however, there was no significant correlation between abdominal pain and the amount of probiotics ingested. More attention should be given to IBS in children, and a standardized evaluation should be adopted.
Some H5 viruses isolated in poultry or wild birds between 2020 and 2021 were found to be antigenically different from the vaccine strains (H5-Re11 and H5-Re12) used in China. In this study, we ...generated three new recombinant vaccine seed viruses by using reverse genetics and used them for vaccine production. The vaccine strain H5-Re13 contains the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of an H5N6 virus that bears the clade 2.3.4.4h HA gene, H5-Re14 contains the HA and NA genes of an H5N8 virus that bears the clade 2.3.4.4b HA gene, and H7-Re4 contains the HA and NA genes of H7N9 virus detected in 2021. We evaluated the protective efficacy of the novel H5/H7 trivalent inactivated vaccine in chickens, ducks, and geese. The inactivated vaccine was immunogenic and induced substantial antibody responses in the birds tested. Three weeks after vaccination, chickens were challenged with five different viruses detected in 2020 and 2021: three viruses (an H5N1 virus, an H5N6 virus, and an H5N8 virus) bearing the clade 2.3.4.4b HA gene, an H5N6 virus bearing the clade 2.3.4.4h HA gene, and an H7N9 virus. All of the control birds shed high titers of virus and died within 4 days post-challenge, whereas the vaccinated chickens were completely protected from these viruses. Similar protective efficacy against H5 viruses bearing the clade 2.3.4.4h or 2.3.4.4b HA gene was observed in ducks and geese. Our study indicates that the newly updated H5/H7 vaccine can provide solid protection against the H5 and H7N9 viruses that are currently circulating in nature.
We developed an H5/H7 trivalent inactivated vaccine by using Re-11, Re-12, and H7-Re2 vaccine seed viruses, which were generated by reverse genetics and derived their HA genes from ...A/duck/Guizhou/S4184/2017(H5N6) (DK/GZ/S4184/17) (a clade 2.3.4.4d virus), A/chicken/Liaoning/SD007/2017(H5N1) (CK/LN/SD007/17) (a clade 2.3.2.1d virus), and A/chicken/Guangxi/SD098/2017(H7N9) (CK/GX/SD098/17), respectively. The protective efficacy of this novel vaccine and that of the recently used H5/H7 bivalent inactivated vaccine against different H5 and H7N9 viruses was evaluated in chickens. We found that the H5/H7 bivalent vaccine provided solid protection against the H7N9 virus CK/GX/SD098/17, but only 50–60% protection against different H5 viruses. In contrast, the novel H5/H7 trivalent vaccine provided complete protection against the H5 and H7 viruses tested. Our study underscores the importance of timely updating of vaccines for avian influenza control.
Numerous vaccines have been developed to address the current COVID-19 pandemic, but safety, cross-neutralizing efficacy, and long-term protectivity of currently approved vaccines are still important ...issues. In this study, we developed a subunit vaccine, ASD254, by using a nanoparticle vaccine platform to encapsulate the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein. As compared with the aluminum-adjuvant RBD vaccine, ASD254 induced higher titers of RBD-specific antibodies and generated 10- to 30-fold more neutralizing antibodies. Mice vaccinated with ASD254 showed protective immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 challenge, with undetectable infectious viral loads and reduced typical lesions in lung. Besides, neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated mice lasted for at least one year and were effective against various SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron). Furthermore, particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta-potential of ASD254 remained stable after 8-month storage at 4°C. Thus, ASD254 is a promising nanoparticle vaccine with good immunogenicity and stability to be developed as an effective vaccine option in controlling upcoming waves of COVID-19.
Background
Nonmuscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC, Stage T1 or lower) is treated with transurethral resection (TUR), while muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (MIBC, Stage T2 or more) requires ...neoadjuvant chemotherapy before radical cystectomy. Hence, preoperative differentiation is vital.
Purpose
To investigate whether intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) can differentiate NMIBC from MIBC and to assess whether there were correlations between IVIM parameters and the Ki‐67 labeling index (LI).
Study Type
Retrospective.
Subjects
Thirty‐six patients diagnosed with bladder cancer confirmed by histopathological findings.
Field Strength/Sequence
3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) DWI with eight b‐values ranging from 0 to 1000 s/mm2.
Assessment
Molecular diffusion coefficient (D), perfusion‐related diffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were calculated by biexponential and monoexponential models fits, respectively.
Statistical Tests
Comparisons were made between the MIBC and NMIBC group, and differences were analyzed by comparing the areas under the receiver‐operating characteristic curves (AUCs). The correlations between these parameters and Ki‐67 LI were assessed by Spearman's rank correlation analysis.
Results
The ADC and D value were significantly lower in patients with MIBC compared to those with NMIBC (P < 0.01). No significant (P > 0.05) differences were observed in D* and f. The AUC of D value (0.894) was significantly (P < 0.05) larger than the ADC value (0.786), with sensitivities and specificities of 95% and 87.5% (D) and 80% and 68.7% (ADC), respectively. In addition, the D and ADC values were significantly correlated with Ki‐67 LI (r = –0.785, r = –0.643, respectively; both P < 0.01).
Data Conclusion
The D value obtained from IVIM exhibited better performance than conventional DWI for distinguishing NMIBC from MIBC and may serve as a potential imaging biomarker for bladder cancer invasion.
Level of Evidence: 1
Technical Efficacy: Stage 3
J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1054–1060.
To explore the relationship between different types of physical activity and female infertility.
This study analyzed data from 2,796 female participants aged 18-44 years in the United States, ...obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database spanning the years 2013 to 2020. Multiple logistic regression analyses and generalized linear models were used to explore the relationship between different types of physical activity and infertility after adjusting for potential confounding factors.
We found a non-linear relationship between recreational activities and infertility with an inflection point of 5.83 h/week (moderate intensity), while work activities and traffic-related activities did not. On the left side of the inflection point, there was no significant association between recreational activity time and infertility (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86 to 1.02, P = 0.1146), but on the right side of the inflection point, there was a positive association between recreational activity time and the risk of infertility (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.06, P = 0.0008).
The relationship between different types of physical activity and female infertility varies. We acknowledge the potential influence of confounding variables on this relationship. However, we have already adjusted for these potential variables in our analysis. Therefore, our findings suggest that appropriate recreational activity programs are essential for promoting reproductive health in women of reproductive age. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the observed association does not imply causality. Given the limitations of cross-sectional studies, further prospective cohort studies are needed to explore the causal relationship while accounting for additional confounding factors.
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