Multidimensional fabrication of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) into multilevel channel integrated devices are in high demanded for Li‐S separators. Such separators have advantages in ...pore‐engineering that might fulfill requirements such as intercepting the diffusing polysulfides and improving the Li+/electrolyte transfer in Li‐S batteries. However, most reported works focus on the roles of MOFs as ionic sieves for polysulfides while offering limited investigation on the tuning of Li+ transfer across the separators. A photoinduced heat‐assisted processing strategy is proposed to fabricate MOFs into multidimensional devices (e.g., hollow/Janus fibers, double‐or triple‐layer membranes). For the first time, a triple‐layer separator with stepped‐channels has been designed and demonstrated as a powerful separator with outstanding specific capacity (1365.0 mAh g−1) and cycling performance (0.03 % fading per cycle from 100th to 700th cycle), which is superior to single/double‐layer and commercial separators. The findings may expedite the development of MOF‐based membranes and extend the scope of MOFs in energy‐storage technologies.
A two‐step photoinduced heat‐assisted processing (PHAP) method is proposed to fabricate a kind of metal–organic framework (MOF)‐based triple‐layer membrane with stepped channels. The membrane can be applied as a high performance separator in a lithium–sulfur battery.
The causal effect of a treatment is of fundamental interest in the social, biological and health sciences. Instrumental variable (IV) methods are commonly used to determine causal treatment effects ...in the presence of unmeasured confounding. In this work, we study a new binary IV framework with randomly censored outcomes where we propose to quantify the causal treatment effect by the concept of complier quantile causal effect (CQCE). The CQCE is identifiable under weaker conditions than the complier average causal effect when outcomes are subject to censoring, and it can provide useful insight into the dynamics of the causal treatment effect. Employing the special characteristic of the binary IV and adapting the principle of conditional score, we uncover a simple weighting scheme that can be incorporated into the standard censored quantile regression procedure to estimate CQCE. We develop robust non‐parametric estimation of the derived weights in the first stage, which permits stable implementation of the second stage estimation based on existing software. We establish rigorous asymptotic properties for the proposed estimator, and confirm its validity and satisfactory finite‐sample performance via extensive simulations. The proposed method is applied to a bone marrow transplant data set to evaluate the causal effect of rituximab in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma patients.
There are >24 million registered adult donors, and the numbers of unrelated donor transplantations are increasing. The optimal strategy for prioritizing among comparably HLA-matched potential donors ...has not been established. Therefore, the objective of the current analyses was to study the association between donor characteristics (age, sex, parity, cytomegalovirus serostatus, HLA match, and blood group ABO match) and survival after transplantation for hematologic malignancy. The association of donor characteristics with transplantation outcomes was examined using either logistic or Cox regression models, adjusting for patient disease and transplantation characteristics associated with outcomes in 2 independent datasets: 1988 to 2006 (N = 6349; training cohort) and 2007 to 2011 (N = 4690; validation cohort). All donor-recipient pairs had allele-level HLA typing at HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1, which is the current standard for selecting donors. Adjusting for patient disease and transplantation characteristics, survival was better after transplantation of grafts from young donors (aged 18-32 years) who were HLA matched to recipients (P < .001). These findings were validated for transplantations that occurred between 2007 and 2011. For every 10-year increment in donor age, there is a 5.5% increase in the hazard ratio for overall mortality. Increasing HLA disparity was also associated with worsening survival. Donor age and donor-recipient HLA match are important when selecting adult unrelated donors. Other donor characteristics such as sex, parity, and cytomegalovirus serostatus were not associated with survival. The effect of ABO matching on survival is modest and must be studied further before definitive recommendations can be offered.
•Donor age and donor-recipient HLA match predict survival after hematopoietic cell transplantation.
A series of pentagonal bipyramidal anionic germanium clusters doped with heavy rare earth elements, REGe6− (RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu), have been identified at the PBE0/def2‐TZVP level ...using density functional theory (DFT). Our findings reveal that the centrally doped pentagonal ring structure demonstrates enhanced stability and heightened aromaticity due to its uniform bonding characteristics and a larger charge transfer region. Through natural population analysis and spin density diagrams, we observed a monotonic decrease in the magnetic moment from Gd to Yb. This is attributed to the decreasing number of unpaired electrons in the 4f orbitals of the heavy rare earth atoms. Interestingly, the system doped with Er atoms showed lower stability and anti‐aromaticity, likely due to the involvement of the 4f orbitals in bonding. Conversely, the systems doped with Gd and Tb atoms stood out for their high magnetism and stability, making them potential building blocks for rare earth‐doped semiconductor materials.
The unique 4f orbital of Er atom destroys the symmetric structure of the five‐membered ring and significantly weakens the aromaticity of the pentagonal bipyramid cluster.
Abstract The cumulative incidence function is commonly reported in studies with competing risks. The aim of this paper is to compute the treatment-specific cumulative incidence functions, adjusting ...for potentially imbalanced prognostic factors among treatment groups. The underlying regression model considered in this study is the proportional hazards model for a subdistribution function 1 . We propose estimating the direct adjusted cumulative incidences for each treatment using the pooled samples as the reference population. We develop two SAS macros for estimating the direct adjusted cumulative incidence function for each treatment based on two regression models. One model assumes the constant subdistribution hazard ratios between the treatments and the alternative model allows each treatment to have its own baseline subdistribution hazard function. The macros compute the standard errors for the direct adjusted cumulative incidence estimates, as well as the standard errors for the differences of adjusted cumulative incidence functions between any two treatments. Based on the macros’ output, one can assess treatment effects at predetermined time points. A real bone marrow transplant data example illustrates the practical utility of the SAS macros.
In this paper we describe flexible competing risks regression models using the comp.risk() function available in the timereg package for R based on Scheike et al. (2008). Regression models are ...specified for the transition probabilities, that is the cumulative incidence in the competing risks setting. The model contains the Fine and Gray (1999) model as a special case. This can be used to do goodness-of-fit test for the subdistribution hazards' proportionality assumption (Scheike and Zhang 2008). The program can also construct confidence bands for predicted cumulative incidence curves.We apply the methods to data on follicular cell lymphoma from Pintilie (2007), where the competing risks are disease relapse and death without relapse. There is important non-proportionality present in the data, and it is demonstrated how one can analyze these data using the flexible regression models.
Spermatogenesis is a fundamental process in male reproductive biology and depends on precise balance between self-renewal and differentiation of male germ cells. However, the regulative factors for ...controlling the balance are poorly understood. In this study, we examined the roles of
and
in male germ cell development by generating their mutants with Crispr/Cas9 technology in zebrafish.
mutant zebrafish displayed a female-biased sex ratio, and both male and female
mutants developed hypertrophic gonads due to uncontrolled proliferation and impaired differentiation of germ cells. A large number of proliferating spermatogonium-like cells were observed within testicular lobules of the
-mutated testes, and they were demonstrated to be both Vasa- and PH3-positive. Moreover, the average number of Sycp3- and Vasa-positive cells in the
mutants was significantly lower than in wild-type testes, suggesting a severely impaired differentiation of male germ cells. Conversely, all the
-mutated testes displayed severe testicular developmental defects and gradual loss of all Vasa-positive germ cells by inhibiting their self-renewal and inducing apoptosis. In addition, several germ cell and Sertoli cell marker genes were significantly downregulated, whereas a prominent increase of Insl3-positive Leydig cells was revealed by immunohistochemical analysis in the disorganized
-mutated testes. Our data suggest that
might act as a guardian to control the balance between proliferation and differentiation of male germ cells, whereas
might be required for the maintenance, self-renewal, and differentiation of male germ cells. Significantly, this study unravels novel functions of
gene in fish.
Cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) secretes extracellular vesicle (EV)-encapsulated microRNAs (miRNAs) which have been underlined great promise for therapeutic target for diseases and cancers. Our ...study aimed to explore the role of EV-encapsulated miR-10a-5p from CAFs in angiogenesis in cervical cancer. Expression of miR-10a-5p in clinical samples of cervical cancer and cancer cells was detected by in situ hybridization and RT-qPCR. Results demonstrated that miR-10a-5p expression was upregulated in both cancer tissues and cells. CAFs and normal fibroblasts (NFs) from cervical cancer patient tissues were characterized under transmission electron microscopy, followed by EV isolation from CAFs. The EVs labeled with PKH67 were cultured with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) cell line (SiHa) and HUVECs. Data indicated that CAF-EVs were internalized by cancer cells and promoted cell proliferation and tube formation. CAF-EVs then were transfected with miR-10a-5p inhibitor and then injected into nude mice. While injection of CAF-EVs promoted tumor growth and increased VEGFR and CD31 expression level, miR-10a-5p inhibitor-treated CAF-EVs resulted in decreased tumor volume and amount of vessel around tumor. Of note, dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and bioinformatic analysis indicated TBX5 as a target gene of miR-10a-5p. Moreover, EV-derived miR-10a-5p promoted angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro through activation of Hedgehog signaling via downregulation of TBX5. Taken altogether, miR-10a-5p in CAF-EVs promoted CSCC cell angiogenesis and tumorigenicity via activation of Hh signaling by inhibition of TBX5, providing insight into novel treatment based on miR-10a-5p against CSCC.
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