In-Situ Grafting Strategy Enables Functional Separator for Advanced Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

A functional separator is developed by in-situ grafting nickel tetraaminophthalocyanine (NiTAPc) onto the surface of polypropylene (PP). It is applied to inhibit the shuttle effect of polysulfides (PSs) in lithium-sulfur(Li-S) batteries. The characterization results showed that NiTAPc is highly dispersed and uniformly grafted onto PP separator.

Epoxidized Soybean Oleic Acid/Oligomeric Poly(lactic acid)-Grafted Nano-Hydroxyapatite and Its Role as a Filler in Poly(L-lactide) for Potential Bone Fixation Application.

One of the most effective strategies for modifying the surface properties of nano-fillers and enhancing their composite characteristics is through polymer grafting. In this study, a coprecipitation method was employed to modify hydroxyapatite (HAP) with epoxidized soybean oleic acid (ESOA), resulting in ESOA-HAP. Subsequently, oligomeric poly(lactic acid) (OPLA) was grafted onto the surface of ESOA-HAP, yielding OPLA-ESOA-HAP.

Introduction of an interface layer on hydroxyapatite whisker/poly(L-lactide) composite and its contribution for improved bioactivity and mechanical properties.

A hydroxyapatite whisker (w-HA) was synthesized via dissolution-precipitation by forming calcium-ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (Ca-EDTA) complexing. The hydroxyapatite whisker was formed with precipitation of Ca along the c-axis due to the space inhibition of Ca-EDTA complex during refluxing. The op-w-HA (oligomeric poly(lactic acid) modified w-HA), p-w-HA (poly(L-lactide) modified w-HA) and pc-w-HA (poly(L-lactide) and cyclodextrin modified w-HA) were obtained via the surface modification of w-HA.

Surgery of the Primary Tumor Offers Survival Benefits of Breast Cancer with Synchronous Ipsilateral Supraclavicular Lymph Node Metastasis.

Background: Controversy exists around the locoregional management of the primary tumor for breast cancer associated with synchronous ipsilateral supraclavicular lymph node metastasis (sISLM) due to the rarity of the disease and limited available data. This study aimed to compare outcomes of patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database with sISLM who underwent surgical resection and radiation of the primary tumor with those who did not.

Methods: This population-based retrospective study included breast cancer patients with sISLM without distant metastases from 2004 to 2016 in the SEER database.

Photodynamic therapy as salvage therapy for residual microscopic cancer after ultra-low anterior resection: A case report.

Background: The rate of positive resection margins (R1) in patients with low rectal cancer is substantial. Recommended remedies such as extended resection or chemoradiotherapy have their own serious drawbacks. It has been reported that photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a remedial treatment for esophageal cancer.

Chemotherapy-driven increases in the CDKN1A/PTN/PTPRZ1 axis promote chemoresistance by activating the NF-κB pathway in breast cancer cells.

Background: Chemotherapy is the primary established systemic treatment for patients with breast cancer, especially those with the triple-negative subtype. Simultaneously, the resistance of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to chemotherapy remains a major clinical problem. Our previous study demonstrated that the expression levels of PTN and its receptor PTPRZ1 were upregulated in recurrent TNBC tissue after chemotherapy, and this increase was closely related to poor prognosis in those patients.

Restoration of longitudinal laser tomography target image from inhomogeneous medium degradation under common conditions.

In order to overcome the shortages of the target image restoration method for longitudinal laser tomography using self-calibration, a more general restoration method through backscattering medium images associated with prior parameters is developed for common conditions. The system parameters are extracted from pre-calibration, and the LIDAR ratio is estimated according to the medium types. Assisted by these prior parameters, the degradation caused by inhomogeneous turbid media can be established with the backscattering medium images, which can further be used for removal of the interferences of turbid media.

Reconstruction of target image from inhomogeneous degradations through backscattering medium images using self-calibration.

Target images recorded with range-gated laser imaging systems and conventional passive imaging systems through rapidly changing turbid mediums inevitably suffer from inhomogeneous degradations. Consequently, this makes the images partly or entirely different from their true targets and eventually has adverse effects on target identification. To date, the inhomogeneous degradations are still not finely eliminable despite utilizing adaptive optical methods and pure mathematical signal improvement techniques.

Image restoration method for longitudinal laser tomography based on degradation matrix estimation.

Target images captured by longitudinal laser tomography are usually degraded by nonuniform laser beams transmitting through inhomogeneous scattering mediums. An image restoration method with a total variation model is proposed for eliminating the main influence of inhomogeneous scattering mediums from degraded target images. Based on the physical signal relevance between the target layer and the scattering medium layer, the degradation matrix of the target image is approximately estimated by the specified backscattering images of the scattering mediums.

Accuracy improvement capability of advanced projectile based on course correction fuze concept.

Improvement in terminal accuracy is an important objective for future artillery projectiles. Generally it is often associated with range extension. Various concepts and modifications are proposed to correct the range and drift of artillery projectile like course correction fuze.

Angular velocity estimation from measurement vectors of star tracker.

In most spacecraft, there is a need to know the craft's angular rate. Approaches with least squares and an adaptive Kalman filter are proposed for estimating the angular rate directly from the star tracker measurements. In these approaches, only knowledge of the vector measurements and sampling interval is required.

X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1(XRCC1) genetic polymorphisms and thyroid carcinoma risk: a meta-analysis.

A number of studies have been conducted to explore the association of XRCC1 polymorphisms with thyroid cancer risk, but the results have been inconsistent. Thus we performed the present meta-analysis to clarify this issue based on all of the evidence available to date. Relevant studies were retrieved by searching PubMed and statistical analysis conducted using Stata software.

[Laparoscopic partial gastrectomy: Analysis of 18 procedures].

Objective: To explore the laparoscopic partial gastrectomy and the indications.

Methods: Eighteen patients who underwent laparoscopic partial gastrectomy from August 2005 to May 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.

Results: Sixteen patients (including 6 with gastric cancer, 9 with duodenal ulcer, and 1 with gastric multiple polyps) underwent laparoscopic partial gastrectomy.

[Difference in expression of VEGF, bFGF and their receptors between the young and postmenopausal women with breast cancer].

Objective: To study the difference in the expression of VEGF, bFGF and their receptors between young and postmenopausal women with breast cancer.

Methods: The expression of VEGF, FLK-1, bFGF and FLG in 40 young and 30 postmenopausal women with breast cancer was studied by immunohistochemical method (SABC), with its relation with axillary lymph node metastasis and the clinical and pathologic characteristics. The expression index between these two groups was compared.