Detection of thyroglobulin for diagnosis of metastatic lateral cervical lymph nodes in papillary thyroid carcinoma: accuracy and application in clinical practice.

Background: Accurate assessment of lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (LLNM) involvement is important for treating papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Thyroglobulin is associated with LLNM, but there may be differences in the diagnostic value of serum thyroglobulin (sTg) and fine needle aspiration washout fluid thyroglobulin (FNA-Tg). Herein, we investigated the optimal cutoff value (OCV) of sTg and FNA-Tg and their diagnostic performance.

Expanding from unilateral to bilateral: A robust deep learning-based approach for predicting radiographic osteoarthritis progression.

Objective: To develop and validate a deep learning (DL) model for predicting osteoarthritis (OA) progression based on bilateral knee joint views.

Methods: In this retrospective study, knee joints from bilateral posteroanterior knee radiographs of participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative were analyzed. At baseline, participants were divided into testing set 1 and development set according to the different enrolled sites.

Electrospun VO/carbon fibers for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have become one of the most potential energy storage devices due to their high safety and low cost. Vanadium oxide is an ideal cathode material for AZIBs because of its unique tunnel structure and multivalent nature. In this work, electrospun VO/carbon fibers (VO@CPAN) with a three-dimensional (3D) network are obtained by an electrospinning strategy combining with a controlled heat treatment.

W-doped VO for high-performance aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) have become one of the most promising energy storage devices due to their high safety and low cost. However, the development of stable cathodes with fast kinetics and high energy density is the key to achieving large-scale application of AZIBs. In this work, W-doped VO (W-VO) is developed by a one-step hydrothermal method.

Bonding wood with uncondensed lignins as adhesives.

Plywood is widely used in construction, such as for flooring and interior walls, as well as in the manufacture of household items such as furniture and cabinets. Such items are made of wood veneers that are bonded together with adhesives such as urea-formaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde resins. Researchers in academia and industry have long aimed to synthesize lignin-phenol-formaldehyde resin adhesives using biomass-derived lignin, a phenolic polymer that can be used to substitute the petroleum-derived phenol.

NiFe-LDH/MXene nano-array hybrid architecture for exceptional capacitive lithium storage.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have great advantages in the domain of energy storage because of their exchangeable anions and large specific surface area. Nevertheless, the shortcomings of their poor electrical conductivity, easy stacking of nanosheets, and large volume variation in the cycling processes lead to unsatisfactory cycling stability and rate performance, which severely limits their further application. Therefore, we generated homogeneous nanoarrays of NiFe-LDH on the surface of TiCT-MXene by a refluxing process.

Treatment of refractory organics in biologically treated landfill leachate by a zero valent iron enhanced Peroxone process: Degradation efficiency and mechanism study.

A zero valent iron (ZVI) enhanced Peroxone process (ZVI/Peroxone) was used to treat biologically treated landfill leachate (BTL). The treatment efficiency of the ZVI/Peroxone process was compared to single (ZVI, O and HO) and dual (ZVI/HO, Fe/O and Peroxone) processes. The results showed that ZVI can greatly enhance the treatment capability of the Peroxone process, and the color number (CN), absorbance at 254 nm (UV), and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies were 98.

Revisiting alkaline cupric oxide oxidation method for lignin structural analysis.

Lignin structural analysis is important for the comprehensive utilization of lignin as well as delignification and bleaching during pulping while it is difficult to completely elucidate lignin structure due to its structural complexity and heterogeneity. Depolymerization of lignin into simple monomers via alkaline cupric oxide oxidation (Ox) followed by chromatographic analysis of the monomers is an effective method for lignin structural analysis. Here we revisited the Ox of lignin model compounds (monomers and dimers) and three representative lignocelluloses (i.

Using poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam) to Improve the Enzymatic Hydrolysis Efficiency of Phenylsulfonic Acid-Pretreated Bamboo.

Chemical pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis has been regarded as a viable way to produce fermentable sugars. Phenylsulfonic acid (PSA) pretreatment could efficiently fractionate the non-cellulosic components (hemicelluloses and lignin) from bamboo and result in increased cellulose accessibility that was 10 times that of untreated bamboo. However, deposited lignin could trigger non-productive adsorption to enzymes, which therefore significantly decreased the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of PSA-pretreated bamboo substrates.

Bioinspired Cellulase-Mimetic Solid Acid Catalysts for Cellulose Hydrolysis.

Glucose produced by catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose is an important platform molecule for producing a variety of potential biobased fuels and chemicals. Catalysts such as mineral acids and enzymes have been intensively studied for cellulose hydrolysis. However, mineral acids show serious limitations concerning equipment corrosion, wastewater treatment and recyclability while enzymes have the issues such as high cost and thermal stability.

Understanding the promoting effect of non-catalytic protein on enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of lignocelluloses.

Lignin deposits formed on the surface of pretreated lignocellulosic substrates during acidic pretreatments can non-productively adsorb costly enzymes and thereby influence the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose. In this article, peanut protein (PP), a biocompatible non-catalytic protein, was separated from defatted peanut flour (DPF) as a lignin blocking additive to overcome this adverse effect. With the addition of 2.

Application of Geophysical and Hydrogeochemical Methods to the Protection of Drinking Groundwater in Karst Regions.

To provide theoretical support for the protection of centralized drinking groundwater sources in karst areas, it is necessary to accurately identify the development of karst conduits and analyze the differences in hydrogeochemical characteristics of different karst systems. This provides a scientific basis for the accurate designation of risk zones that may cause drinking groundwater pollution. In this study, a geophysical survey, hydrogeological chemical process analysis and optimized fuzzy cluster analysis were used to gradually improve the understanding of karst water systems.

Efficacy and safety of cycloserine-containing regimens in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a nationwide retrospective cohort study in China.

Background: Our aim was to assess whether the use of cycloserine (CS) would bring additional benefit for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients, and to estimate the incidence and associated risk factors of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from CS.

Patients And Methods: In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes and ADRs of MDR-TB patients treated with CS containing regimens between January 2012 and June 2015 in China.

Results: A total of 623 MDR-TB cases enrolled in this study received regimens containing CS.

Novel Kinetic Models of Xylan Dissolution and Degradation during Ethanol Based Auto-Catalyzed Organosolv Pretreatment of Bamboo.

Due to the invalidity of traditional models, pretreatment conditions dependent parameter of susceptible dissolution degree of xylan (d) was introduced into the kinetic models. After the introduction of d, the dissolution of xylan, and the formation of xylo-oligosaccharides and xylose during ethanol based auto-catalyzed organosolv (EACO) pretreatments of bamboo were well predicted by the pseudo first-order kinetic models (R² > 97%). The parameter of d was verified to be a variable dependent of EACO pretreatment conditions (such as solvent content in pretreatment liquor and pretreatment temperature).

The change in blood glucose levels in tuberculosis patients before and during anti-tuberculosis treatment in China.

Objective: We aimed to observe (i) changes in fasting blood glucose (FBG) in tuberculosis (TB) patients before and during anti-TB treatment, (ii) whether FBG levels were stable or unstable and (iii) baseline characteristics associated with an unstable FBG.

Method: TB patients consecutively attended six clinics or hospitals. FBG measurements were made at months 0, 2 and 6.

MicroRNA-mediated signal amplification coupled with GNP/dendrimers on a mass-sensitive biosensor and its applications in intracellular microRNA quantification.

Here, a mass-sensitive microRNA sensing surface is developed by utilizing a probe DNA/gold nanoparticles (GNP)/dendrimer composite coupling with an enzymatic amplification process. The probe DNA/GNP/dendrimer composite is prepared via the covalent coupling between the NH2 groups in PAMAM or DNA and the COOH group on GNP. Target microRNA binds to a stem-loop-structured DNA on maganatic NPs, forming a heteroduplex.

Multiple turnovers of DNAzyme for amplified detection of ATP and reduced thiol in cell homogenates.

A conveniently amplified DNAzyme-based fluorescence strategy was designed for highly sensitive detection of ATP or reduced thiol based on the introduction of an ATP aptamer or a disulfide bond in the bioconjugates of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) and polystyrene microsphere-DNAzyme complexes (PSM-DNAzyme).

Ultrasensitive detection of ATP based on ATP regeneration amplification and its application in cell homogenate and human serum.

A conformation-switching aptamer molecule that could be circularized without ligation DNA was designed. Pyrophosphate (PPi) was converted to ATP, resulting in higher signals for ATP detection. Meanwhile, the method has significant implications for real applications.