Lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) face huge challenges to achieve long cycling life at wide temperature range owing to the severe dendrite growth at subambient temperature and the intense side ...reactions with electrolyte at high temperature. Herein, an ultrathin LiBO2 layer with an extremely high Young's modulus of 8.0 GPa is constructed on Li anode via an in situ reaction between Li metal and 4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐1,3,2‐dioxa‐borolane (TDB) to form LiBO2@Li anode, which presents two times higher exchange current density than pristine Li anode. The LiBO2 layer presents a strong absorption to Li ions and greatly improves the interfacial dynamics of Li‐ion migration, which induces homogenous lithium nucleation and deposition to form a dense lithium layer. Consequently, the Li dendrite growth during cycling at subambient temperature and the side reactions with electrolyte at high temperature are simultaneously suppressed. The LiBO2@Li/LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) full batteries with limited Li capacity and high cathode mass loading of 9.9 mg cm–2 can steadily cycle for 300 cycles with a capacity retention of 86.6%. The LiBO2@Li/NCM811 full batteries and LiBO2@Li/LiBO2@Li symmetric batteries also present excellent cycling performance at both −20 and 60 °C. This work develops a strategy to achieve outstanding performance of LMBs at wide working temperature‐range.
An ultra‐thin LiBO2 layer with high Young's modulus of 8.0 GPa is constructed on lithium anode via the reaction between lithium metal and 4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐1,3,2‐dioxa‐borolane. The LiBO2 layer presents a strong absorption to lithium ions, which greatly accelerates the interfacial dynamics, induces the formation of integrated solid electrolyte interphase and thus allows the steady operation of Li/LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 batteries over a wide temperature range.
Prediction of kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD) through kidney ultrasound imaging has long been considered desirable in clinical practice because of its safety, convenience, and ...affordability. However, this highly desirable approach is beyond the capability of human vision. We developed a deep learning approach for automatically determining the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and CKD status. We exploited the transfer learning technique, integrating the powerful ResNet model pretrained on an ImageNet dataset in our neural network architecture, to predict kidney function based on 4,505 kidney ultrasound images labeled using eGFRs derived from serum creatinine concentrations. To further extract the information from ultrasound images, we leveraged kidney length annotations to remove the peripheral region of the kidneys and applied various data augmentation schemes to produce additional data with variations. Bootstrap aggregation was also applied to avoid overfitting and improve the model's generalization. Moreover, the kidney function features obtained by our deep neural network were used to identify the CKD status defined by an eGFR of <60 ml/min/1.73 m
. A Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.741 indicated the strong relationship between artificial intelligence (AI)- and creatinine-based GFR estimations. Overall CKD status classification accuracy of our model was 85.6% -higher than that of experienced nephrologists (60.3%-80.1%). Our model is the first fundamental step toward realizing the potential of transforming kidney ultrasound imaging into an effective, real-time, distant screening tool. AI-GFR estimation offers the possibility of noninvasive assessment of kidney function, a key goal of AI-powered functional automation in clinical practice.
Uncontrollable lithium (Li) dendrite growth and continuous side reactions with a carbonate-based electrolyte seriously restrict the use of Li metal anodes. We report a very tough multifunctional ...artificial protective (MAP) layer formed on a Li metal anode that is ultra-stable in the normally used commercial carbonate electrolyte. The MAP layer is prepared by the
in situ
photopolymerization of pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETEA) and poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (PEGDA) in a framework of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) incorporated with graphene oxide (GO). There are two aspects to the functionality of this MAP layer. It has excellent compatibility with the carbonate electrolyte because of the similar chemical structure of the ester group, giving it a high ionic conductivity, and induces the formation of a unique solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) containing organic components and LiF, which has a good chemical stability with the carbonate liquid electrolyte to suppress Li dendrite growth and side reactions. A symmetric battery with the MAP coated Li (MAP-Li) anode steadily cycles for over 1100 h at 1 mA cm
−2
in a carbonate liquid electrolyte. The work provides a way to obtain a stable Li metal anode in a practical carbonate electrolyte.
A multifunctional artificial protective layer is
in situ
fabricated on the surface of Li anode, which facilitates stable cycle of Li anode in carbonate electrolyte by forming a unique SEI and inducing homogeneous deposition of lithium ions.
Silicosis caused by inhalation of silica particles leads to more than ten thousand new occupational exposure-related deaths yearly. Exacerbating this issue, there are currently few drugs reported to ...effectively treat silicosis. Tetrandrine is the only drug approved for silicosis treatment in China, and despite more than decades of use, its efficacy and mechanisms of action remain largely unknown. Here, in this study, we established silicosis mouse models to investigate the effectiveness of tetrandrine of early and late therapeutic administration. To this end, we used multiple cardiopulmonary function test, as well as markers for inflammation and fibrosis. Moreover, using single cell RNA sequencing and transcriptomics of lung tissue and quantitative microarray analysis of serum from silicosis and control mice, our results provide a novel description of the target pathways for tetrandrine. Specifically, we found that tetrandrine attenuated silicosis by inhibiting both the canonical and non-canonical NLRP3 inflammasome pathways in lung macrophages. Taken together, our work showed that tetrandrine yielded promising results against silicosis-associated inflammation and fibrosis and further lied the groundwork for understanding its molecular targets. Our results also facilitated the wider adoption and development of tetrandirne, potentially accelerating a globally accepted therapeutic strategy for silicosis.
Silicosis is a global occupational disease characterized by lung dysfunction, pulmonary inflammation, and fibrosis, for which there is a lack of effective drugs. Pirfenidone has been shown to exert ...anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties in the lung. However, whether and how pirfenidone is effective against silicosis remains unknown. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of pirfenidone in the treatment of early and advanced silicosis in an experimental mouse model and explored its potential pharmacological mechanisms. We found that pirfenidone alleviated silica-induced lung dysfunction, secretion of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) and deposition of fibrotic proteins (collagen I and fibronectin) in both early and advanced silicosis models. Moreover, we observed that both 100 and 200 mg/kg pirfenidone can effectively treat early-stage silicosis, while 400 mg/kg was recommended for advanced silicosis. Mechanistically, antibody array and bioinformatic analysis showed that the pathways related to IL-17 secretion, including JAK-STAT pathway, Th17 differentiation, and IL-17 pathway, might be involved in the treatment of silicosis by pirfenidone. Further in vivo experiments confirmed that pirfenidone reduced the production of IL-17A induced by silica exposure via inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation. Neutralizing IL-17A by anti-IL-17A antibody improved lung function and reduced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in silicosis animals. Collectively, our study has demonstrated that pirfenidone effectively ameliorated silica-induced lung dysfunction, pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in mouse models by inhibiting the secretion of IL-17A.
Background Most neurosurgery presentations in children present with a mass that may be scalp and skull lesions, including neoplastic and congenital malformed structural lesions, respectively. ...Clinicians should make early diagnoses and identify cases requiring surgical intervention promptly to help achieve a better prognosis. Method This study retrospectively reviewed studies on children's scalp and skull lesions within a pediatric medical center's department of neurosurgery. The detailed clinical information and pathological types of these cases were scrutinized. Result A total of 228 children's scalp and skull lesions with clinical information and identified histopathology types were summarized. The most common scalp and skull lesions were benign dermoid cysts; malignant types were rare but can occur in children. Conclusion Based on the combined clinical symptoms and image information, children's scalp and skull lesions should be diagnosed early. Malignant scalp and skull lesions/other special cases should be treated seriously. Keywords: Scalp lesion, Skull lesion, Children, Clinical characteristics
Human cancers induce a chaotic, dysfunctional vasculature that promotes tumor growth and blunts most current therapies; however, the mechanisms underlying the induction of a dysfunctional vasculature ...have been unclear. Here, we show that split end (SPEN), a transcription repressor, coordinates rRNA synthesis in endothelial cells (ECs) and is required for physiological and tumor angiogenesis. SPEN deficiency attenuated EC proliferation and blunted retinal angiogenesis, which was attributed to p53 activation. Furthermore, SPEN knockdown activated p53 by upregulating noncoding promoter RNA (pRNA), which represses rRNA transcription and triggers p53-mediated nucleolar stress. In human cancer biopsies, a low endothelial SPEN level correlated with extended overall survival. In mice, endothelial SPEN deficiency compromised rRNA expression and repressed tumor growth and metastasis by normalizing tumor vessels, and this was abrogated by p53 haploinsufficiency. rRNA gene transcription is driven by RNA polymerase I (RNPI). We found that CX-5461, an RNPI inhibitor, recapitulated the effect of Spen ablation on tumor vessel normalization and combining CX-5461 with cisplatin substantially improved the efficacy of treating tumors in mice. Together, these results demonstrate that SPEN is required for angiogenesis by repressing pRNA to enable rRNA gene transcription and ribosomal biogenesis and that RNPI represents a target for tumor vessel normalization therapy of cancer.
Cardiovascular disease is a common comorbidity in patients with cancer, and the main leading cause of noncancer-related deaths in cancer survivors. Considering that current antitumor drugs usually ...induce cardiovascular injury, the quest for developing new antitumor drugs, especially those with cardiovascular protection, is crucial for improving cancer prognosis. MK2206 is a phase II clinical anticancer drug and the role of this drug in cardiovascular disease is still unclear. Here, we revealed that MK2206 significantly reduced vascular inflammation, atherosclerotic lesions, and inhibited proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cell in ApoE
mice in vivo. We demonstrated that MK2206 reduced lipid accumulation by promoting cholesterol efflux but did not affect lipid uptake and decreased inflammatory response by modulating inflammation-related mRNA stability in macrophages. In addition, we revealed that MK2206 suppressed migration, proliferation, and inflammation in vascular smooth muscle cells. Moreover, MK2206 inhibited proliferation and inflammation of endothelial cells. The present results suggest that MK2206, as a promising drug in clinical antitumor therapy, exhibits anti-inflammatory and antiatherosclerotic potential. This report provides a novel strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular comorbidities in cancer survivors.
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In this study, two types of potential low-molecular-weight gelators with different structural features were designed and synthesized. The influence of two structural features (e.g., ...aromatic core and alkyl chain length) on gel formation, thermal stability, and morphological structures have been thoroughly investigated using various techniques. The gelation tests suggested that the aromatic cores could produce a dramatic influence on gelation. Compared with compounds containing a very small aromatic core (benzene group), compounds containing a much larger aromatic core (1,3,5-triphenylbenzene group) had better gelation ability. The results for thermal stability showed that the alkyl chain length attached to the aromatic core also had an important influence on the gelation behavior. More specifically, increasing the length of alkyl chains of the gelator first enhanced and then decreased the gel-to-sol transition temperature value under identical concentrations. The morphological investigation revealed that organogels were all composed of twist fibrous aggregates with different shapes and dimensions. From the experimental results presented, it can be deduced that the designed gelators should possess a much larger aromatic core and appropriate alkyl chain lengths to achieve highly efficient gelation. These findings provide useful insight into the design of gelators for the development of supramolecular soft materials.
Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a bioactive compound that has attracted significant attention due to its potential health benefits. In this study, we developed a new magnetic molecularly imprinted ...nanoparticle (MMIN) for the selective extraction and determination of PQQ from food samples. The MMIN was synthesized using a surface molecular imprinting technique with PQQ as the template molecule, Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles as the magnetic core, and methacrylic acid as the functional monomer. The MMIN exhibited high selectivity and affinity towards PQQ, allowing for efficient extraction and preconcentration of PQQ from complex food matrices. The extracted PQQ was then quantified using HPLC-DAD. The developed method showed good linearity (
R
2
= 0.9985) and low limits of detection (0.03 μg L
−1
). The accuracy and precision of the method were evaluated by analyzing spiked food samples, with average recoveries close to 89.8%. The MMIN also demonstrated good reusability, with negligible decrease in extraction efficiency after five cycles of use. Overall, the developed MMIN-based method provides a reliable and efficient approach for the analysis of PQQ in food samples.
Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is widely present in various foods that has attracted significant attention due to its potential health benefits.
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