Although perovskite wafers with a scalable size and thickness are suitable for direct X‐ray detection, polycrystalline perovskite wafers have drawbacks such as the high defect density, defective ...grain boundaries, and low crystallinity. Herein, PbI2‐DMSO powders are introduced into the MAPbI3 wafer to facilitate crystal growth. The PbI2 powders absorb a certain amount of DMSO to form the PbI2‐DMSO powders and PbI2‐DMSO is converted back into PbI2 under heating while releasing DMSO vapor. During isostatic pressing of the MAPbI3 wafer with the PbI2‐DMSO solid additive, the released DMSO vapor facilitates in situ growth in the MAPbI3 wafer with enhanced crystallinity and reduced defect density. A dense and compact MAPbI3 wafer with a high mobility‐lifetime (µτ) product of 8.70 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 is produced. The MAPbI3‐based direct X‐ray detector fabricated for demonstration shows a high sensitivity of 1.58 × 104 µC Gyair−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 410 nGyair s−1.
PbI2‐DMSO powders are adopted as a solid additive for isostatic pressing of MAPbI3 wafers to promote in situ crystal growth. A dense and compact MAPbI3 wafer exhibits high mobility‐lifetime product of 8.70 × 10−4 cm2 V–1. The X‐ray detector shows high sensitivity of 1.58 × 104 µC Gyair –1 cm–2 and low detection limit of 410 nGyair s–1.
Although there is abundant evidence to demonstrate that maternal smoking during pregnancy will harm the health of future generations, the impact of nicotine use by pregnant woman upon the oogenesis ...and folliculogenesis of female offspring has not been as widely scrutinized. Here we focus on the effects of nicotine on the meiotic progression of fetal oocytes. The data indicated that in pregnant mice treated with nicotine, intracellular ROS increased in follicles within the fetal ovary. Excessive intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2-) decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, inducing mitochondrial dysfunction, triggering an autophagic cascade and inhibiting anti-autophagic proteins. Fetal oocytes in F1 offspring of pregnant mice treated with nicotine exhibited a delay in meiotic prophase I, especially from the stage of pachytene to diplotene. In pubertal F1 offspring we observed a reduced number of follicles; the same reduction was also observed in F2 offspring. Of note, we found that melatonin ameliorated nicotine-induced oocyte damage and increased the expression of MnSOD, which decreased the production of nicotine-induced intracellular ROS. In addition, melatonin also maintained normal H3K4 and H3K9 di- and tri-methylation in F1 and F2 ovaries. Taken together, the current evidence suggests that, in the mouse, melatonin could prevent nicotine-impaired fetal oogenesis and folliculogenesis in offspring.
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•Melatonin ameliorates maternal nicotine exposure causes damage to fetal oogenesis.•Melatonin rescued nicotine-induced ROS and mitochondrial dysfunction.•Melatonin prevent nicotine damage transgenerational transmission.
Identifying cancer biomarkers from transcriptomics data is of importance to cancer research. However, transcriptomics data are often complex and heterogeneous, which complicates the identification of ...cancer biomarkers in practice. Currently, the heterogeneity still remains a challenge for detecting subtle but consistent changes of gene expression in cancer cells.
In this paper, we propose to adaptively capture the heterogeneity of expression across samples in a gene regulation space instead of in a gene expression space. Specifically, we transform gene expression profiles into gene regulation profiles and mathematically formulate gene regulation probabilities (GRPs)-based statistics for characterizing differential expression of genes between tumor and normal tissues. Finally, an unbiased estimator (aGRP) of GRPs is devised that can interrogate and adaptively capture the heterogeneity of gene expression. We also derived an asymptotical significance analysis procedure for the new statistic. Since no parameter needs to be preset, aGRP is easy and friendly to use for researchers without computer programming background. We evaluated the proposed method on both simulated data and real-world data and compared with previous methods. Experimental results demonstrated the superior performance of the proposed method in exploring the heterogeneity of expression for capturing subtle but consistent alterations of gene expression in cancer.
Expression heterogeneity largely influences the performance of cancer biomarker identification from transcriptomics data. Models are needed that efficiently deal with the expression heterogeneity. The proposed method can be a standalone tool due to its capacity of adaptively capturing the sample heterogeneity and the simplicity in use.
The source code of aGRP can be downloaded from https://github.com/hqwang126/aGRP .
•A layer distribution of reaction rate with great gradient is formed near wall.•Relative rate of reaction rate and mixing presents multi-scale in radial direction.•Pyrolysis is controlled by mixing ...near wall but by chemical kinetics in core flow.•Increase in turbulent intensity enhances utilization of chemical absorption capacity.
The turbulent heat convection with pyrolysis is very complicated and occurs in cooling system of hypersonic aircraft with hydrocarbon fuel as the coolant. Since the mixing controlled by turbulence directly affects the reaction and leads to variations in both conversion and selectivity, a 2D numerical model was established to study the influences of turbulence on the pyrolysis of hydrocarbon fuel in mini-channel. The numerical results indicated that the turbulence enhanced the heat and mass transfer in core flow. And turbulence became weak as closing to the wall, which leads to a layer distribution of reaction rate with great gradient forming near the wall. So the distribution of the reaction rate in core flow is more uniform compared with that near the wall. According to analyze the radial distribution of relative rate of that between reaction rate and mixing, the result showed that relative rate presented multi-scale in radial direction under the influence of turbulence. In addition, the increase in turbulent intensity was beneficial to the increase in uniformity of radial distribution of conversion, which was helpful to enhance the utilization level of chemical absorption capacity of fuel.
We demonstrate an interesting phenomenon that graphene can emit sound. The application of graphene can be expanded in the acoustic field. Graphene-on-paper sound source devices are made by patterning ...graphene on paper substrates. Three graphene sheet samples with the thickness of 100, 60, and 20 nm were fabricated. Sound emission from graphene is measured as a function of power, distance, angle, and frequency in the far-field. The theoretical model of air/graphene/paper/PCB board multilayer structure is established to analyze the sound directivity, frequency response, and efficiency. Measured sound pressure level (SPL) and efficiency are in good agreement with theoretical results. It is found that graphene has a significant flat frequency response in the wide ultrasound range 20–50 kHz. In addition, the thinner graphene sheets can produce higher SPL due to its lower heat capacity per unit area (HCPUA). The infrared thermal images reveal that a thermoacoustic effect is the working principle. We find that the sound performance mainly depends on the HCPUA of the conductor and the thermal properties of the substrate. The paper-based graphene sound source devices have highly reliable, flexible, no mechanical vibration, simple structure and high performance characteristics. It could open wide applications in multimedia, consumer electronics, biological, medical, and many other areas.
Citrinin (CTN) is a mycotoxin primarily produced by
Monascus
species. Excess consumption of CTN may lead to nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. A pilot study for commercial production of competitive ...direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cdELISA) kit and an immunochromatographic strip (immunostrip) for screening CTN in red yeast rice is established in this study. The coating antibody and the CTN-horse radish peroxidase (HRP) concentrations were optimized to increase the sensitivity and specificity of cdELISA kit. The conjugation methods/ratios of CTN to HRP as well as the long-term stability of kit components were also evaluated. The IC
50
and detection limit of the ELISA kit were determined to be 4.1 and 0.2 ng mL
−1
, respectively. Analysis of 20 red yeast rice samples using ELISA kits revealed the contamination levels of CTN from 64 to 29 404 ng g
−1
. The on-site rapid detection of CTN with the immunostrip showed that CTN levels in seven samples exceeded the regulatory limit of 5 ppm. Additionally, the coefficient correlation between the results of HPLC and ELISA kits of 20 samples was 0.96. Sensitive and convenient tools at commercial levels for detection of CTN contamination in food are established herein to protect the health of the public.
Rapid detection of citrinin in red yeast fermented products with ELISA kit and immunostrip and confirmed with HPLC.
For patients with small breasts, breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and unilateral nipple-/skin-sparing mastectomy (N/SSM) with breast reconstruction may result in visible breast deformities or ...asymmetry, and contralateral breast augmentation often require a two-staged operation. We propose a novel endoscopic technique, direct-to-implant breast reconstruction and simultaneous contralateral breast augmentation (DTI-BR-SCBA), and report its short-term safety and cosmetic outcomes.
In this prospective study, patients with early breast cancer who underwent endoscopic DTI-BR-SCBA between November 2020 and August 2022 were followed for more than 3 months to analysed short-term postoperative safety (complications and oncological safety) and cosmetic outcomes (doctor-assessed results by Ueda scale and patient-reported results by Breast-Q scale).
A total of 33 patients, including 30 treated with endoscopic prepectoral DTI-BR-SCBA, 1 with endoscopic dual-plane DTI-BR-SCBA and 2 with endoscopic subpectoral DTI-BR-SCBA, were analysed. The mean age was 39.7 ± 6.7 years. The mean operation time was 165.1 ± 36.1 min. The overall surgical complication rate was 18.2%. All complications were minor, including haemorrhage (3.0%), cured by compression haemostasis, surgical site infection (9.1%), cured by oral antibiotics, and self-healing nipple-areolar complex ischaemia (6.1%). Furthermore, rippling and implant edge visibility occurred in 6.2% of them. The outcome was graded as "Excellent" and "Good" in 87.9% and 12.1% of patients in the doctor cosmetic assessment, respectively, and patient satisfaction with breasts was significantly improved (55.0 ± 9.5 vs. 58.8 ± 7.9, P = 0.046).
The novel endoscopic DTI-BR-SCBA method may be an ideal alternative for patients with small breasts because it can improve cosmetic results with a relatively low complications rate, which makes it worthy of clinical promotion.
Epidemiological studies on phthalate exposures in associations with uterine fibroids (UF) and endometriosis (EMT) are inconsistent. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.
To investigate the ...relationships of urinary phthalate metabolites with UF and EMT risks, and further to examine the mediating role of oxidative stress.
This study included 83 and 47 women separately diagnosed with UF and EMT, as well as 226 controls from the Tongji Reproductive and Environmental (TREE) cohort. Two spot urine samples from each woman were analyzed for two oxidative stress indicators and eight urinary phthalate metabolites. Unconditional logistic regression models or multivariate regression models were fitted to evaluate the associations among phthalate exposures, oxidative stress indicators, and the risks of UF and EMT. The potential mediating role of oxidative stress was estimated by the mediation analyses.
We observed that each ln-unit increase in urinary mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) concentrations was associated with increased UF risk adjusted OR (aOR): 1.56, 95% CI: 1.20, 2.02, and that each ln-unit increase in urinary MBzP (aOR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.99), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) (aOR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.82), and mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) (aOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.31) concentrations were associated with increased EMT risk (all FDR-adjusted P < 0.05). Moreover, we observed that all tested urinary phthalate metabolites were positively associated with two oxidative stress indicators 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-mercapturic acid (4-HNE-MA) and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), in which 8-OHdG was associated with increased risks of UF and EMT (all FDR-adjusted P < 0.05). The mediation analyses showed that 8-OHdG mediated the positive relationships of MBzP with UF risk, and of MiBP, MBzP, and MEHP with EMT risk, with the estimated intermediary proportion ranging from 32.7% to 48.1%.
Oxidatively generated DNA damage may mediate the positive associations of certain phthalate exposures with the risks of UF and EMT. However, further investigation is warranted to confirm these findings.
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•Urinary MBzP and 8-OHdG were positively associated with UF risk.•Urinary MBzP, MiBP, MEHP and 8-OHdG were positively associated with EMT risk.•All urinary phthalate metabolites were associated with increased oxidative stress.•Urinary 8-OHdG mediated the associations of urinary MBzP with UF risk.•Urinary 8-OHdG mediated the associations of urinary MBzP, MiBP and MEHP with EMT risk.
Wolbachia are Gram‐negative endosymbionts that are known to cause embryonic lethality when infected male insects mate with uninfected females or with females carrying a different strain of Wolbachia, ...a situation characterized as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). However, the mechanism of CI is not yet fully understood, although recent studies on Drosophila melanogaster have achieved great progress. Here, we found that Wolbachia infection caused changes in the expressions of several immunity‐related genes, including significant upregulation of kenny (key), in the testes of D. melanogaster. Overexpression of key in fly testes led to a significant decrease in egg hatch rates when these flies mate with wild‐type females. Wolbachia‐infected females could rescue this embryonic lethality. Furthermore, in key overexpressing testes terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP‐biotin nick‐end labeling signal was significantly stronger than in the control testes, and the level of reactive oxygen species was significantly increased. Overexpression of key also resulted in alterations of some other immunity‐related gene expressions, including the downregulation of Zn72D. Knockdown of Zn72D in fly testes also led to a significant decrease in egg hatch rates. These results suggest that Wolbachia might induce the defect in male host fertility by immunity‐related pathways and thus cause an oxidative damage and cell death in male testes.
Purpose
Ventricular arrhythmia (VA) is related to inflammatory activity. Rhodiola crenulate (RC) and its main active component, salidroside, have been reported as anti-inflammatory agents. The aim of ...this study was to demonstrate the effect of RC and salidroside in preventing VA via the inhibition of IL-17 in an ischemic heart failure (HF) model.
Methods
Rabbit HF models were established by coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks. These rabbits were treated with RC (125, 250, 500 mg/kg) and salidroside (9.5 mg/kg) once every 2 days for 4 weeks. WBC, serum biochemistry, ECG, and the expression of CD4
+
T cells were measured every 2 weeks. The mRNA and protein expressions of IL-17 were measured by real time-PCR, ELISA, and Western blotting after RC and salidroside treatment for 4 weeks. Open-chest epicardial catheter stimulation was performed for VA provocation.
Results
After RC and salidroside treatment in HF left ventricle, (1) the levels of WBC and CD4
+
T cells decreased, (2) the expression of IL-17 and its downstream target genes, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, and CCL20, reduced, (3) the level of NLRP3 inflammasome was decreased, (4) fibrosis and collagen production were significantly downregulated, (5) p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 phosphorylation were attenuated, (6) the inducibility of VA was decreased, and (7) the levels of Kir2.1, Nav1.5, NCX, PLB, SERCA2a and RyR were up-regulated.
Conclusions
RC inhibited the expression of IL-17 and its downstream target genes that were mediated by activation of several MAPKs, which decreased the levels of fibrosis and apoptosis and suppressed VA.
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