Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Regenerated Cellulose through High-Temperature Pre-Gelation.

This paper investigates the effects of pre-gelation on cellulose dissolved in LiCl/DMAc solutions to enhance the properties of regenerated cellulose materials. This study focuses on characterizing the crystallinity, molecular orientation, and mechanical performance of cellulose fibers and hydrogels prepared with and without pre-gelation treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals that crystallinity improvement from 55% in untreated fibers to 59% in fibers pre-gelled for 3 and 7 days, indicating a more ordered arrangement of cellulose chains post-regeneration.

Design and Fabrication of a C-Band Patch Antenna with Low Loss BaMSiO Microwave Dielectric Ceramics.

Single-phase BaMSiO (M = Yb, Er, Y, Ho) ceramics have been investigated for their crystal structures, microwave dielectric properties, flexural strength, and potential applications in dielectric antennas. Rietveld refinement and TEM analysis revealed that the BaMSiO ceramics exhibit a monoclinic structure (space groups: 2/). The ε of the BaMSiO ceramics was dominated by ionic polarizability and ρ.

Combination of PEGylation and Cationization on Phospholipid-Coated Cyclosporine Nanosuspensions for Enhanced Ocular Drug Delivery.

Strong precorneal clearance mechanisms including reflex blink, constant tear drainage, and rapid mucus turnover constitute great challenges for eye drops for effective drug delivery to the ocular epithelium. In this study, cyclosporine A (CsA) for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED) was selected as the model drug. Two strategies, PEGylation for mucus penetration and cationization for potent cellular uptake, were combined to construct a novel CsA nanosuspension (NS@lipid-PEG/CKC) by coating nanoscale drug particles with a mixture of lipids, DSPE-PEG2000, and a cationic surfactant, cetalkonium chloride (CKC).

Predictive value of white blood cell to hemoglobin ratio for 30-day mortality in patients with severe intracerebral hemorrhage.

Aim: To explore the predictive value of white blood cell to hemoglobin ratio (WHR) for 30-day mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Methods: In this cohort study, 2,848 patients with ICH were identified in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III and MIMIC-IV. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression screened covariates of 30-day mortality of ICH patients.

Construction of Ag-TiO Hierarchical Micro-/Nanostructures on a Ti Plate for Photocatalysts via Femtosecond Laser Hybrid Technology.

Titanium dioxide photocatalysts can break down pollutants using natural light. They possess notable light stability, chemical stability, and catalytic effects, thus leading to extensive research worldwide. However, the limited light absorption range of titanium dioxide and their inefficiencies in generating and transporting photogenerated carriers hinder the enhancement of their photocatalytic performance.

Quantitative and biosafe modification of bifunctional groups onto carbon dots by click chemistry.

Surface functionalization can effectively affect the properties of carbon dots (CDs), for example, improved solubility and dispersibility as well as enhanced selectivity and sensitivity. However, it is still a challenging task to tailor one or more specific functionalities of CDs precise surface modification. In this study, click chemistry is applied to engineer CD surface functionalization, where the fluorescent molecule Rhodamine B (RhB) can be efficiently grafted onto the glucose-based bare CDs.

Flexible Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Nanogenerators Based on PAN/TMAB Nanocomposite Fiber Mats for Self-Power Multifunctional Sensors.

Self-powered wearable electronics to convert mechanical and thermal energy into electrical energy are important for biomedical monitoring, which highly require good flexibility, comfortability, signal sensitivity, and accuracy. In this work, composite nanofiber mats of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and trimethylamine borane (TMAB) were prepared by electrospinning, which exhibited excellent piezoelectric and pyroelectric abilities in harvesting mechanical and thermal energy. The PAN/TMAB-4 nanofiber mats not only generated a high voltage of up to 2.

Trigone ventricular glioblastoma multiforme with trapped temporal horn: A case report.

Background: Intraventricular glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is extremely rare, especially in the trigone region. This report presents a case of trigone ventricular GBM with trapped temporal horn (TTH).

Case Presentation: A 59-year-old woman was admitted to our department with a 1-month history of rapidly progressive headache, nausea, and weakness in the right lower extremity.

Discovery of Chitin Deacetylase Inhibitors through Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Biological Assays.

Chitin deacetylase (CDA) inhibitors were developed as novel antifungal agents because CDA participates in critical fungal physiological and metabolic processes and increases virulence in soilborne fungal pathogens. However, few CDA inhibitors have been reported. In this study, 150 candidate CDA inhibitors were selected from the commercial Chemdiv compound library through structure-based virtual screening.

Dispersion-assisted tunable fluorescence from carbon dots.

In this study, carbon dots (CDs) synthesized by hydrothermal method with amino-rich surface exhibit tunable fluorescence across entire visible range by simply controlling the concentration. A comprehensive comparison has been performed for the first time between concentration-induced aggregation of the single-type CDs and electrostatic-induced agglomeration of opposite-charged CDs in terms of their fluorescence properties. Experimental results show that both the aggregation of CDs and internal absorption filtration are possible causes of the concentration-dependent fluorescence emission.

The Phase Structural Evolution and Gas Separation Performances of Cellulose Acetate/Polyimide Composite Membrane from Polymer to Carbon Stage.

Blending and heat-treatment play significant roles in adjusting gas separation performances of membranes, especially for incorporating thermally labile polymers into carbon molecular sieve membranes (CMSMs). In this work, cellulose acetate (CA) is introduced into polyimide (PI) as a sacrificial phase to adjust the structure and gas separation performance from polymer to carbon. A novel result is observed that the gas permeability is reduced, even when the immiscible CA phase decomposes and forms pores after heat treatment at 350 °C.

Ratiometric dual-emission of Rhodamine-B grafted carbon dots for full-range solvent components detection.

Quick and visual detection of component contents, such as water, in a mixed solvent is important for many practical applications, and a full range detection is especially preferred. In this work, a carbon dots based ratiometric fluorescent sensor was synthesized by grafting fluorescent group (Rhodamine B, RhB) on carbon dots, and the dual emission peaks exhibited a linear ratiometric response with the change of polarity and hydrogen bond of Solvent Hansen solubility parameters. This responsive behavior is attributed to surface state photoluminescence mechanisms, and has been used for the quantitative detection of water content in ethanol with an excellent linear relationship (R = 0.

The response of tartary buckwheat and 19 bZIP genes to abscisic acid (ABA).

Tartary buckwheat is a kind of plant which can be used as medicine as well as edible. Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling plays an important role in the response of plants such as tartary buckwheat to drought and other stress. However, there are not many studies on tartary buckwheat by ABA treatment.

Interface-Controlled Thermal Rectification Phenomenon of Monolayer Graphene/Boron Nitride Heterosheet.

Thermal rectification (TR) in graphene/boron nitride (GBN) monolayer heterosheets containing various types of interfacial structures has been studied using molecular dynamic simulations. The TR effect is ascribed to the asymmetric heat flow caused by mismatched PDOS of graphene and BN in the boundary. Additionally, the dependences of TR effects on boundary structures and defects are discussed.

Exceptional high thermal conductivity of inter-connected annular graphite structures.

Based on the experimentally observed templating effects in CNTs containing carbon fibers, new types of inter-connected annular graphite structures are proposed and designed in order to significantly improve the cross-plane thermal conductivity of graphite. The calculations of the thermal conductivity of the newly designed structures were carried out by combining macroscopic continuous equations and microscopic molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. First, MD simulation was used to examine the influence of bending curvature on the in-plane thermal conductivity of a graphene sheet along and perpendicular to the rolling direction.

Incorporation of Alkali Lignin in Polyacrylonitrile: Phase Separation, Coagulation, and Cyclization Kinetics.

In this study, we systematically investigated the phase separation behaviors of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/alkali lignin (AL)/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) systems and found that the addition of AL causes phase separation and the systems form sea (PAN)/island (AL) types of structures. Interestingly, the AL-rich domains are very stable even after a long time of storage up to 15 days. Additionally, how the phase separation affected the solution rheology, the coagulation process and PAN cyclization were explored.

Long-Term Survival and Prognostic Factors of Pulmonary Metastasectomy in Liver Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Lung is the most common extrahepatic metastatic organ of liver cancer. Surgical resection is a common local treatment for pulmonary metastasis. But the long-term prognosis of pulmonary metastasectomy varies greatly due to the small sample size and different results of previous studies.

In situ synthesis of NIR-light emitting carbon dots derived from spinach for bio-imaging applications.

Near infrared (NIR)-light emitting fluorescent probes have attracted extensive research attention in the bioimaging field due to their deep tissue penetration, minimal auto-fluorescence and lower emission light damage to bio-tissues. Herein, we designed and prepared NIR-light emitting CDs (R-CDs) from spinach by a one-step solvothermal method. The R-CDs exhibited good water solubility, a maximum fluorescence emission peak at 680 nm, a high quantum yield of 15.

Regenerated cellulose I from LiCl·DMAc solution.

The regeneration of cellulose from microcrystalline cellulose/DMAc·LiCl solutions through thermal induced sol-gel transition and longtime gelation resulted in the formation of wholly cellulose I with a crystallinity as high as 84.7%.

A high-yield and versatile method for the synthesis of carbon dots for bioimaging applications.

A facile and versatile molten-salt method was developed to prepare hydrosoluble carbon dots (CDs) from various precursors, in high yields and on a large scale. Citric acid-based CDs (CA-CDs) were obtained in a maximum yield of 39.6% and exhibited a high fluorescence quantum yield of 20.

Dynamic Self-Stiffening and Structural Evolutions of Polyacrylonitrile/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites.

The self-stiffening under external dynamic strain has been observed for some artificial materials, especially for nanocomposites. However, few systematic studies have been carried out on their structural evolutions, and the effect of the types of nanofillers was unclear. In this study, we used a semicrystalline polymer, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and various types of carbon nanomaterials including C, carbon nanotube (CNT), and graphene oxide (GO).

A mechanistic study of the interaction of water-soluble borate glass with apatite-bound heterocyclic nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates.

Unlabelled: Long-term oral and intravenous use of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) is associated with osteonecrosis of the jaw. Although N-BPs bind strongly to bone surfaces via non-covalent bonds, it is possible for extrinsic ions to dissociate bound N-BPs from mineralized bone by competitive desorption. Here, we investigate the effects and mechanism of using an ionic cocktail derived from borate bioactive glass for sequestration of heterocyclic N-BPs bound to apatite.

Resveratrol sensitizes glioblastoma-initiating cells to temozolomide by inducing cell apoptosis and promoting differentiation.

Glioblastoma-initiating cells play crucial roles in the origin, growth, and recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme. The elimination of glioblastoma-initiating cells is believed to be a key strategy for achieving long-term survival of glioblastoma patients due to the highly resistant property of glioblastoma-initiating cells to temozolomide. Resveratrol, a naturally occurring polyphenol, has been widely studied as a promising candidate for cancer prevention and treatment.

Resveratrol Inhibits the Invasion of Glioblastoma-Initiating Cells via Down-Regulation of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Invasion and metastasis of glioblastoma-initiating cells (GICs) are thought to be responsible for the progression and recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). A safe drug that can be applied during the rest period of temozolomide (TMZ) maintenance cycles would greatly improve the prognosis of GBM patients by inhibiting GIC invasion. Resveratrol (RES) is a natural compound that exhibits anti-invasion properties in multiple tumor cell lines.

Microfibrous borate bioactive glass dressing sequesters bone-bound bisphosphonate in the presence of simulated body fluid.

Ion exchange occurs between borate bioactive glass and simulated body fluid. Borate bioactive glass dressings may be used for managing bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw through the formation of a complex incorporating leached calcium and borate ions and sequestered bone-bound bisphosphonates.