Ultrasonic treatment affects the macromolecular, conformational, structural and rheological properties of curdlan in different solvents.

Curdlan is a microbial extracellular polysaccharide composed of β-(1 → 3)-glycosidic linkages, which exhibits poor water solubility at room temperature due to its formation of crystalline regions through intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonding interactions. The chain conformations of curdlan can be modified by different solvents. Thus, this study examined the effects of ultrasonication on the macromolecular, structural, and rheological characteristics of curdlan in three different solvents (0.

Evaluating Bioinformatics Processing of Somatic Variant Detection in cfDNA Using Targeted Sequencing with UMIs.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a promising cancer biomarker, but accurately detecting tumor mutations in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is challenging due to their low frequency and sequencing errors. Our study benchmarked Mutect2, VarScan2, shearwater, and DREAMS-vc using deep targeted sequencing of cfDNA with Unique Molecular Identifiers (UMIs) from 111 colorectal cancer patients. Performance was assessed at both the mutation level (distinguish tumor variants from errors) and the sample level (detect if an individual has cancer).

Cracking Mechanism and Inhibition Strategies of Polycrystalline NCM Electrode Particles.

Developing a high-energy-density cathode material (LiNiCoMnO, NCM) for lithium-ion batteries is crucial to the electric vehicle and energy storage industries. However, the continuous insertion/extraction of Li generates diffusion-induced stress, causing NCM particles to crack or even pulverize, leading to battery capacity loss and limiting its wider commercial application. Current experimental studies are primarily postmortem examinations, and it is difficult to capture the particle cracking evolution.

Development and validation of nomogram to predict overall survival and disease-free survival after surgical resection in elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the common causes of tumor death in elderly patients. However, there is a lack of individualized prognostic predictors for elderly patients with HCC after surgery.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed HCC patients over 65 years old who underwent hepatectomy from 2015 to 2018, and randomly divided them into training cohort and validation cohort in a ratio of 3:1.

Development of Wide-Angle Depolarizing Reflector at 1064 nm.

Optical coherence tomography is a new promising chromatographic imaging technique with the advantages of noncontact and high resolution without damage, which is widely used in the field of biological tissue detection and imaging. As an important optical element in the system, the wide-angle depolarizing reflector plays a key role in the accurate acquisition of optical signals. TaO and SiO are selected as the coating materials for the technical parameter requirements of the reflector in the system.

Case Report: Primary lymphoepithelioma-like intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Lymphoepithelioma-like intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (LEL-ICC) is a rare variant of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection was considered to play a pivotal role in the tumorigenesis of LEL-ICC. It is difficult to diagnosis of LEL-ICC due to the lack of specific features regarding the laboratory test results and imaging findings.

Recognition Mechanism of Dangerous Goods Marks: Evidence from an Event-Related Potential Study.

Dangerous goods marks are the most effective means of alerting individuals to the potential dangers associated with the transport of dangerous goods. In order to gain a better understanding of how dangerous goods marks convey risk information, the cognitive processing of dangerous goods marks was examined by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs). We recruited 23 participants, and their ERP data were recorded.

Self-Raman 1176 nm Laser Generation from Nd:YVO Crystal by Resonator Cavity Coating.

Crystal coating is an important process in laser crystal applications. According to the crystal characteristics of neodymium-doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO), its intrinsic parameters, and optical film design theory, TaO and SiO were selected separately as high and low refractive index materials. The optical properties and surface roughness of the films were characterized by OptiLayer and Zygo interferometers, and the effects of ion source bias on refractive index and surface roughness were investigated so that the optimal ion source parameters were determined.

A composite scaffold fabricated with an acellular matrix and biodegradable polyurethane for the in vivo regeneration of pig bile duct defects.

Bile duct regeneration is urgently needed to restore the normal function of the damaged biliary system. In this study, an artificial bile duct (ABD) was fabricated for extrahepatic bile duct regeneration based on biodegradable polyurethane (BPU) and ureter acellular matrix (UAM) to endow it with favorable biocompatibility and eliminate bile leakage during in vivo bile duct regeneration. The mechanical properties, in vitro simulation of bile flow and cytocompatibility of BPU-UAM ABD were evaluated in vitro, and surgical implantation in the biliary defect site in minipigs was implemented to reveal the in vivo degradation of BPU-UAM and regeneration of the new bile duct.

Dynamic Changes in Membrane Lipid Metabolism and Antioxidant Defense During Soybean ( L. Merr.) Seed Aging.

Seed viability depends upon the maintenance of functional lipids; however, how membrane lipid components dynamically change during the seed aging process remains obscure. Seed storage is accompanied by the oxidation of membrane lipids and loss of seed viability. Understanding membrane lipid changes and their effect on the cell membrane during seed aging can contribute to revealing the mechanism of seed longevity.

[Review of Research Progress in Biliary Substitutes].

Research and development of artificial biliary substitutes is an indispensable part of modern biliary surgery, bearing great clinical significance on the recovery of the normal functions of the biliary system. The implantation of artificial biliary substitutes may cause the blockage or stenosis of the biliary duct at the transplantation site, which is the most urgent problem in the research of artificial biliary substitutes. The fundamental cause of the problem is tissue hyperplasia caused by chronic inflammatory stimulation of artificial biliary substitutes.

Ultra-compact, broadband adiabatic passage optical couplers in thin-film lithium niobate on insulator waveguides.

We report the first demonstration of broadband adiabatic directional couplers in thin-film lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) waveguides. A three LN-waveguide configuration with each waveguide having a ridge cross section of less than 1 square micron, built atop a layer of SiO based on a 500-µm-thick Si substrate, has been designed and constructed to optically emulate a three-state stimulated Raman adiabatic passage system, with which a unique counterintuitive adiabatic light transfer phenomenon in a high coupling efficiency of >97% (corresponding to a >15 dB splitting ratio) spanning telecom S, C, and L bands for both TE and TM polarization modes has been observed for a 2-mm long coupler length. An even broader operating bandwidth of >800 nm of the device can be found from the simulation fitting of the experimental data.

Mating can initiate stable RNA silencing that overcomes epigenetic recovery.

Stable epigenetic changes appear uncommon, suggesting that changes typically dissipate or are repaired. Changes that stably alter gene expression across generations presumably require particular conditions that are currently unknown. Here we report that a minimal combination of cis-regulatory sequences can support permanent RNA silencing of a single-copy transgene and its derivatives in C.

Effects of DLX3 on the osteogenic differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cell‑derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by the degeneration of bone structure and decreased bone mass. Induced pluripotent stem cell‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (iPSC‑MSCs) have multiple advantages that make them ideal seed cells for bone regeneration, including high‑level proliferation, multi‑differentiation potential and favorable immune compatibility. Distal‑less homeobox (DLX)3, an important member of the DLX family, serves a crucial role in osteogenic differentiation and bone formation.

Recent Advances in Understandings Towards Pathogenesis and Treatment for Intrauterine Adhesion and Disruptive Insights from Single-Cell Analysis.

Intrauterine adhesion is a major cause of menstrual irregularities, infertility, and recurrent pregnancy losses and the progress towards its amelioration and therapy is slow and unsatisfactory. We aim to summarize and evaluate the current treatment progress and research methods for intrauterine adhesion. We conducted literature review in January 2020 by searching articles at PubMed on prevention and treatment, pathogenesis, the repair of other tissues/organs, cell plasticity, and the stem cell-related therapies for intrauterine adhesion.

Postsurgical radiotherapy in stage IIIB gallbladder cancer patients with one to three lymph nodes metastases: A propensity score matching analysis.

Background: The effect of postsurgical radiotherapy (PSRT) among T1-3 gallbladder cancer (GBC) patients with one to three lymph node metastases remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of PSRT on gallbladder cancer-specific survival (GBCSS) in patients with stage IIIB.

Methods: The data of GBC patients were obtained from the American Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Data resources between 2004 and 2015.

A Novel Nomogram Predicting Distant Metastasis in T1 and T2 Gallbladder Cancer: A SEER-based Study.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common malignancy of the biliary system. Early T stage GBC patients with distant metastasis are proven to have a worse prognosis. In this study, our aim was to construct and validate a novel nomogram for predicting distant metastasis in T1 and T2 GBC.

Improving typically developing children's acceptance toward children with autism via teaching with picture books.

A quasi-experimental group design with repeated measures at pretest and posttest was employed to examine the effect of teaching with picture books about autism on improving typically developing children's acceptance and attitude toward children with autism in this study. The participants were children with autism and their typically developing peers in two regular elementary schools, one from Hangzhou (as experimental group) and the other from Ningbo (as control group). A six-week long teaching with picture books about autism was carried out for the thirty-six typically developing children in the experimental group.

Optical control of an Airy beam via four-wave mixing and six-wave mixing.

We use a conventional linear Airy beam to prepare a nonlinear Airy beam via four-wave mixing (FWM) and six-wave mixing (SWM) processes in an atomic vapor. We find that its ballistic trajectory is a result of the competition between the transverse self-acceleration and nonlinear phase shift, and the intensity of Airy beam's sub lobes or main lobe is suppressed due to destructive interference of the FWM and SWM processes. By controlling the nonlinear overlap area of the linear Airy beam and two Gaussian beams, we find that the Airy beam's profile varies from one-dimensional (1D) to two-dimensional (2D).