To investigate the associations between dietary fatty acids and cholesterol consumption and stomach cancer (SC), we analyzed data from a population-based case-control study with a total of 1900 SC ...cases and 6532 controls. Dietary data and other risk or protective factors were collected by face-to-face interviews in Jiangsu Province, China, from 2003 to 2010. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multiple unconditional logistic regression models and an energy-adjusted method. The joint associations between dietary factors and known risk factors on SC were examined. We observed positive associations between dietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and total cholesterol and the development of SC, comparing the highest versus lowest quarters. Increased intakes of dietary SFAs (
-trend = 0.005; aOR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.22 with a 7 g/day increase as a continuous variable) and total cholesterol (
-trend < 0.001; aOR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06-1.22 with a 250 mg/day increase as a continuous variable) were monotonically associated with elevated odds of developing SC. Our results indicate that dietary SFAs, MUFAs, and total cholesterol are associated with stomach cancer, which might provide a potential dietary intervention for stomach cancer prevention.
In around 1990, significant shifts occurred in the spatial pattern and temporal evolution of the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), with these shifts showing asymmetry between El Niño and La Niña ...phases. El Niño transitioned from the Eastern Pacific (EP) to the Central Pacific (CP) type, while La Niña's multi‐year (MY) events increased. These changes correlated with shifts in ENSO dynamics. Before 1990, El Niño was influenced by the Tropical Pacific (TP) ENSO dynamic, shifting to the Subtropical Pacific (SP) ENSO dynamic afterward, altering its spatial pattern. La Niña was influenced by the SP ENSO dynamic both before and after 1990 and has maintained the CP type. The strengthened SP ENSO dynamic since 1990, accompanied by enhanced precipitation efficiency during La Niña, make it easier for La Niña to transition into MY events. In contrast, there is no observed increase in precipitation efficiency during El Niño.
Plain Language Summary
In this study, we explored changes in the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon from 1950 to 2022. We discovered significant shifts in ENSO complexity, particularly after 1990, affecting where ENSO events occur and how long they last. Notably, these changes differed between El Niño and La Niña phases. El Niño's location shifted from the Eastern Pacific to the Central Pacific, while La Niña extended its duration, leading to more multi‐year events. These complexities relate to shifts in El Niño and La Niña dynamics. El Niño changed from a Tropical Pacific dynamic to a Subtropical Pacific dynamic, influencing its shift to the central Pacific. La Niña dynamics remained constant, causing La Niña's central location to remain unchanged. After 1990, the tropical precipitation efficiency showed an asymmetric change between El Niño and La Niña phases. The intensified atmospheric response to La Niña cooling enabled more frequent activations of the SP ENSO dynamic, thus increasing the frequency of multi‐year La Niña. These findings advance our understanding of ENSO and can enhance ENSO prediction.
Key Points
El Niño‐Southern Oscillation complexity underwent significant asymmetric changes around 1990, especially in spatial pattern and temporal evolution
El Niño's pattern shifted from Eastern Pacific to Central Pacific, while La Niña's timing transitioned from single‐year to multi‐year
El Niño's primary dynamic shifted from Tropical Pacific to Subtropical Pacific (SP) whereas La Niña consistently remained in the SP
Safety concerns are impeding the applications of lithium metal batteries. Flame‐retardant electrolytes, such as organic phosphates electrolytes (OPEs), could intrinsically eliminate fire hazards and ...improve battery safety. However, OPEs show poor compatibility with Li metal though the exact reason has yet to be identified. Here, the lithium plating process in OPEs and Li/OPEs interface chemistry were investigated through ex situ and in situ techniques, and the cause for this incompatibility was revealed to be the highly resistive and inhomogeneous interfaces. Further, a nitriding interface strategy was proposed to ameliorate this issue and a Li metal anode with an improved Li cycling stability (300 h) and dendrite‐free morphology is achieved. Meanwhile, the full batteries coupled with nickel‐rich cathodes, such as LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2, show excellent cycling stability and outstanding safety (passed the nail penetration test). This successful nitriding‐interface strategy paves a new way to handle the incompatibility between electrode and electrolyte.
A nitriding interface has been developed for the successful application of flame‐retardant electrolytes in high‐energy‐density cells using a Li metal anode and a high‐voltage, high‐capacity cathode. The homogeneity of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer is crucially important for the uniform Li deposition required for high‐voltage batteries.
Background & Aims
The potential interaction between family history of liver cancer and HBV infection on liver cancer has not been fully examined.
Methods
We conducted a population‐based case‐control ...study composed of 2011 liver cancer cases and 7933 controls in Jiangsu province, China from 2003 to 2010. Data on major risk or protective factors were collected and HBV/HCV sero‐markers were assayed using blood samples. Semi‐Bayes (SB) adjustments were applied to provide posterior estimates.
Results
Both family history of liver cancer (adjusted odds ratios OR: 4.32, 95% confidence intervals CI: 3.25‐5.73) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity (adjusted OR: 9.94, 95% CI: 8.33‐11.87) were strongly associated with liver cancer development. For individuals with different combinations of serological markers, the adjusted ORs were 8.45 (95% CI: 5.16‐13.82) for HBsAg‐ and HBcAb‐positive; 7.57 (95% CI: 4.87‐11.77) for HBsAg‐, HBeAg‐ and HBcAb‐positive; and 3.62 (95% CI: 2.47‐5.31) for HBsAg‐, HBeAb‐ and HBcAb‐positive, compared to all negatives in HBV serological markers. One log increase in HBV DNA level was associated with 17% increased risk (adjusted OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.03‐1.32). The SB‐adjusted OR of HBV‐positive individuals with family history of liver cancer was 41.34 (95% posterior interval PI: 23.69‐72.12) compared with those HBV‐negative without family history. Relative excess risk due to additive interaction, the attributable proportion and synergy index were 73.13, 0.87 and 8.04 respectively. Adjusted ratio of OR for multiplicative interaction was 2.84 (95% CI: 1.41‐5.75).
Conclusions
Super‐additive and super‐multiplicative interactions may exist between family history of liver cancer and HBV infection on the development of liver cancer.
Low quantum yield and aggregation‐mediated quenching are two concerns for fluorescence imaging. However, there are not yet general means available for addressing these issues. Herein, a viscosity ...confinement‐mediated antiaggregation strategy is established to enable the improved fluorescence properties of entrapped fluorophores in dye‐encapsulation nanotechnology including quantum yield, fluorescence lifetime, and photostability. To instantiate this strategy, solid DL‐menthol (DLM) is introduced to disperse entrapped indocyanine green (ICG) fluorophores when coencapsulating DLM and ICG molecules in organic poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) carriers. Depending on the robust ability of highly viscous DLM to augment the migration barrier and diminish diffusion coefficient, ICG aggregation and aggregation‐mediated quenching are demonstrated to be theoretically and experimentally inhibited, resulting in prolonged fluorescence lifetime, increased quantum yield, and facilitated radiative process. Consequently, the fluorescence imaging ability and photostability are significantly improved, enabling the in vitro, cellular‐level, and in vivo fluorescence imaging. More significantly, this solid DLM‐mediated antiaggregation strategy can act as a general method to extend to the intermolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process and improve FRET efficiency via inhibiting the aggregation‐mediated quenching.
Solid DL‐menthol is introduced into poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) carriers to disperse entrapped fluorophores and establish a viscosity confinement‐mediated antiaggregation strategy for inhibiting quenching and improving fluorescence imaging properties associated with quantum yield, fluorescence lifetime, and photostability via the high viscosity‐mediated migration barrier elevation, which provides a new avenue to improving fluorescence imaging of entrapped fluorophores in dye‐encapsulation nanotechnology.
Background
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Rectal Cancer Guideline Panel recommends American Joint Committee of Cancer and College of American Pathologists (AJCC/CAP) tumor regression ...grading (TRG) system to evaluate pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Yet, the clinical significance of the AJCC/CAP TRG system has not been fully defined.
Materials and Methods
This was a multicenter, retrospectively recruited, and prospectively maintained cohort study. Patients with LARC from one institution formed the discovery set, and cases from external independent institutions formed a validation set to verify the findings from discovery set. Overall survival (OS), disease‐free survival (DFS), local recurrence‐free survival (LRFS), and distant metastasis‐free survival (DMFS) were assessed by Kaplan‐Meier analysis, log‐rank test, and Cox regression model.
Results
The discovery set (940 cases) found, and the validation set (2,156 cases) further confirmed, that inferior AJCC/CAP TRG categories were closely /ccorrelated with unfavorable survival (OS, DFS, LRFS, and DMFS) and higher risk of disease progression (death, accumulative relapse, local recurrence, and distant metastasis) (all p < .05). Significantly, pairwise comparison revealed that any two of four TRG categories had the distinguished survival and risk of disease progression. After propensity score matching, AJCC/CAP TRG0 category (pathological complete response) patients treated with or without adjuvant chemotherapy displayed similar survival of OS, DFS, LRFS, and DMFS (all p > .05). For AJCC/CAP TRG1–3 cases, adjuvant chemotherapy treatment significantly improved 3‐year OS (90.2% vs. 84.6%, p < .001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated the AJCC/CAP TRG system was an independent prognostic surrogate.
Conclusion
AJCC/CAP TRG system, an accurate prognostic surrogate, appears ideal for further strategizing adjuvant chemotherapy for LARC.
Implications for Practice
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends the American Joint Committee of Cancer and College of American Pathologists (AJCC/CAP) tumor regression grading (TRG) four‐category system to evaluate the pathologic response to neoadjuvant treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer; however, the clinical significance of the AJCC/CAP TRG system has not yet been clearly addressed. This study found, for the first time, that any two of four AJCC/CAP TRG categories had the distinguished long‐term survival outcome. Importantly, adjuvant chemotherapy may improve the 3‐year overall survival for AJCC/CAP TRG1–3 category patients but not for AJCC/CAP TRG0 category patients. Thus, AJCC/CAP TRG system, an accurate surrogate of long‐term survival outcome, is useful in guiding adjuvant chemotherapy management for rectal cancer.
The aim of this large cohort study was to define the clinical significance of the AJCC/CAP tumor regression grading system for locally advanced rectal cancer, which could potentially be used to select the patients who would benefit from more intensive adjuvant chemotherapy as well as to protect patients from excessive treatment.
Lithium metal is a promising battery anode. However, inhomogeneous mass and charge transfers across the Li/electrolyte interface result in formation of dendritic Li and “dead” Li, and an unstable ...solid electrolyte interphase, which incur serious problems to impede its service in rechargeable batteries. Here, we show that the above problems can be mitigated by regulating the interfacial mass/charge transfer. The key to our strategy is hybrid Li storage in onion-like, graphitized spherical C granules wired on a three-dimensional conducting skeleton, which enhances the negativity of surface charge of the C host to contribute to a uniform Li plating while also forming stable Li/C intercalation compounds to offset any irreversible Li loss during cycling. As a result, the anode shows a suppressed dendrite formation and a high Li utilization >95%, enabling a practical Li battery to strike a long lifespan of 1000 cycles at a surplus Li of merely 5%.
Hybrid electrolyte of ionic liquid and ethers is used to passivate the surface of Li metal surface via modification of the as‐formed solid electrolyte interphase with N‐propyl‐N‐methylpyrrolidinium ...bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (Py13TFSI), thereby reducing the side reactions between the Li metal and electrolyte, leading to remarkably suppressed Li dendrite growth and mitigating Li metal corrosion.
Thermally conductive polymer composites (TCPCs) are highly desirable for thermal management in modern electrical systems and next-generation flexible electronic devices. However, the integration of ...superior thermal conductivity, good mechanical performance, and high thermostability in TCPCs remains a daunting challenge, due to the utilization of abundant rigid fillers (such as graphene, boron nitride and aluminum nitride) and the low thermal stability of polymer matrices. Herein, a highly thermally conductive film with excellent mechanical strength and toughness is developed based on soft liquid metal (LM) and rigid aramid nanofibers (ANFs),
via
a vacuum infiltration technique. The LM/ANF composite films possess superior in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity (7.14 @ 1.68 W m
−1
K
−1
) because of the formation of a tightly packed structure, in which LM droplets are randomly distributed among the well-ordered ANFs to construct efficient heat conduction networks. Meanwhile, an outstanding tensile strength of 108.5 MPa and a high toughness of 10.3 MJ m
−3
are achieved in the LM/ANF composite films. Furthermore, the LM/ANF composite films also have remarkable thermostability, flexibility, and mechanical reliability, without an obvious change in the thermal conductivity even at an elevated temperature of 250 °C and after repeated folding for 1000 cycles, respectively. These admirable features shed light on the application of the LM/ANF composite films for thermal management of high-power integrated electronic devices.
Mechanically strong and thermostable composites are prepared for thermal management based on soft liquid metal and rigid aramid nanofibers.
Si has been recognized as a next-generation anode alternative to graphite for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. However, the most intractable problem of previous Si-based anodes is the ...relatively low compressive strength of particles because of excess voids and porous structures, thus leading to poor structural integrity and electrochemical performance under high pressure of the rolling procedure in practical application. Therefore, a rational design of robust Si/C microspheres with a compact nano/microstructure is an effective strategy to address the above-mentioned issues. In this ingenious structure, Si nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed and anchored on flake graphite and then the composites self-assemble into microspheres via polycondensation and surface tension of pitch under high temperature and high pressure. Benefitting from this innovative approach and rational design, the obtained robust Si/C microspheres not only present high compressive property and high tap density (1.0 g cm–3) but also demonstrate high initial Coulombic efficiency (90.5%) and cycling stability with areal capacity (4 mA h cm–2) under a compaction density of 1.3 g cm–3. Furthermore, the full cell assembled with LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 and the resultant Si/C microsphere anode also displays good cycling performance and rate capabilities. Owing to these aspects, the proposed rational design of encapsulating Si nanoparticles in high-tap-density microspheres could be extended to load other nanomaterials for advanced batteries.
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