Surfactant-Free Synthesis of Crystalline Mesoporous Metal Oxides by a Seeds/ NaCl-Mediated Growth Strategy.

Transitional metal oxides (TMOs) with ultra-high specific surface areas (SSAs), large pore volume, and tailored exposed facets appeal to significant interests in heterogeneous catalysis. Nevertheless, synthesizing the metal oxides with all the above features is challenging. Herein, the so-called seeds/NaCl-mediated growth method is successfully developed based on a bottom-up route. First, the (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) BET SSAs of TMOs prepared with this method are significantly higher, where the BET SSAs of CeO2 , SnO2 , Nb2 O5 , Fe3 O4 , Mn3 O4 , Mg(OH)2 , and ZrO2 reached 187, 275, 518, 212, 147, 186, and 332 m2  g-1 , respectively. Second, these TMOs exhibit unique mesoporous structures, generated mainly by the aggregation of rod-like or other aspherical primary nanoparticles. More importantly, no environmental-unfriendly organic surfactants or expensive metal alkoxides are involved in this method. Therefore, the entire synthesis protocol fully fitted the "green synthesis" definition, and the corresponding TMOs prepares displayed excellent catalytic performance.

Interlayer Engineering of VS2 Nanosheets via In Situ Aniline Intercalative Polymerization toward Long-Cycling Magnesium-Ion Batteries.

Rechargeable magnesium batteries (RMBs) show great potential in large-scale energy storage systems, due to Mg2+ with high polarity leading to strong interactions within the cathode lattice, and the limited discovery of functional cathode materials with rapid kinetics of Mg2+ diffusion and desirable cyclability retards their development. Herein, we innovatively report the confined synthesis of VS2/polyaniline (VS2/PANI) hybrid nanosheets. The VS2/PANI hybrids with expanded interlayer spacing are successfully prepared through the exfoliation of VS2 and in situ polymerization between VS2 nanosheets and aniline. The intercalated PANI increases the interlayer spacing of VS2 from 0.57 to 0.95 nm and improves its electronic conductivity, leading to rapid Mg-ion diffusivity of 10-10-10-12 cm2 s-1. Besides, the PANI sandwiched between layers of VS2 is conducive to maintaining the structural integrity of electrode materials. Benefiting from the above advantages, the VS2/PANI-1 hybrids present remarkable performance for Mg2+ storage, showing high reversible discharge capacity (245 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1) and impressive long lifespan (91 mA h g-1 after 2000 cycles at 500 mA g-1). This work provides new perspectives for designing high-performance cathode materials based on layered materials for RMBs.

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the relationships between PM2.5 concentrations and their drivers in China's coastal ports.

PM2.5 is one of the primary air pollutants that affect air quality and threat human health in the port areas. To prevent and control air pollution, it is essential to understand the spatiotemporal distributions of PM2.5 concentrations and their key drivers in ports. 19 coastal ports of China are selected to examine the spatiotemporal distributions of PM2.5 concentrations during 2013-2020. The annual average PM2.5 concentration decreases from 61.03 µg/m3 to 30.17 µg/m3, with an average decrease rate of 51.57%. Significant spatial autocorrelation exists among PM2.5 concentrations of ports. The result of the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model shows significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the effects of meteorological and socioeconomic factors on PM2.5 concentrations. The effects of boundary layer height on PM2.5 concentrations are found to be negative in most ports, with a stronger effect found in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and some ports of the Bohai Rim Area. The total precipitation shows negative effects on PM2.5 concentrations, with the strongest effect found in ports of the Southeast Coast. The effects of surface pressure on PM2.5 concentrations are positive, with stronger effects found in Beibu Gulf Port and Zhanjiang Port. The effects of wind speed on PM2.5 concentrations generally increase from south to north. Cargo throughput shows strong and positive effects on PM2.5 concentrations in ports of Bohai Rim Area; the positive effects found in Beibu Gulf Port increased from 2013 to 2018 and decreased since 2019. The positive effects of GDP and nighttime light on PM2.5 concentrations gradually decrease and turn negative from south to north. Understandings obtained from this study can potentially support the prevention and control of air pollution in China's coastal ports.

Electronic structure engineering on NiSe2 micro-octahedra via nitrogen doping enabling long cycle life magnesium ion batteries.

Multivalent ion batteries have attracted great attention because of their abundant reserves, low cost and high safety. Among them, magnesium ion batteries (MIBs) have been regarded as a promising alternative for large-scale energy storage device owing to its high volumetric capacities and unfavorable dendrite formation. However, the strong interaction between Mg2+ and electrolyte as well as cathode material results in very slow insertion and diffusion kinetics. Therefore, it is highly necessary to develop high-performance cathode materials compatible with electrolyte for MIBs. Herein, the electronic structure of NiSe2 micro-octahedra was modulated by nitrogen doping (N-NiSe2) through hydrothermal method followed by a pyrolysis process and this N-NiSe2 micro-octahedra was used as cathode materials for MIBs. It is worth noting that N-NiSe2 micro-octahedra shows more redox active sites and faster Mg2+ diffusion kinetics compared with NiSe2 micro-octahedra without nitrogen doping. Moreover, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the doping of nitrogen could improve the conductivity of active materials on the one hand, facilitating Mg2+ ion diffusion kinetics, and on the other hand, nitrogen dopant sites could provide more Mg2+ adsorption sites. As a result, the N-NiSe2 micro-octahedra cathode exhibits a high reversible discharge capacity of 169 mAh g-1 at the current density of 50 mA g-1, and a good cycling stability over 500 cycles with a maintained discharge capacity of 158.5 mAh g-1. This work provides a new idea to improve the electrochemical performance of cathode materials for MIBs by the introduction of heteroatom dopant.

Simulation Study on the Interaction between Chemically Reacting Double Coal Char Particles.

Due to the complex atmosphere of the entrained flow gasifier, it is difficult to obtain reactivity properties of coal char particles under high-temperature conditions by experiment. The computational fluid dynamics simulation method is a key way to simulate the reactivity of coal char particles. In this article, the gasification characteristics of double coal char particles under H2O/O2/CO2 atmosphere are studied. The results show that the particle distance (L) has an influence on the reaction with particles. With the gradual increase of L, the temperature first rises and then falls among the double particles due to the migration of the reaction area, and the characteristics of double coal char particles gradually approach that of single coal char particles. The particle size also has an influence on the gasification characteristics of coal char particles. As the particle size varies from 0.1 to 1 mm, the reaction area of particles becomes smaller at high temperature and finally attaches to the surface of the particles. The reaction rate and carbon consumption rate increase with increasing particle size. As the size of double particles is changed, the reaction rate trend of double coal char particles at the same particle distance is basically the same, but the change degree of reaction rate is different. With the increase of the distance between coal char particles, the change of the carbon consumption rate is larger for the small particle size.

Spatiotemporal variations of NO2 and its driving factors in the coastal ports of China.

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is one of the major air pollutants in coastal ports of China. Understanding the spatiotemporal varying effects of driving factors of NO2 is vital for the implementation of differentiated air pollution control measures for different port areas. Based on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data, we adopted a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to explore the influences of meteorological and socioeconomic factors on the NO2 Vertical Column Concentrations (VCDs) in coastal ports of China from 2015 to 2021. The results indicate that NO2 VCD in most ports has decreased since 2016 and the ports with serious NO2 pollution are mainly distributed in northern China. The associations between NO2 VCD levels and their drivers exhibit obvious spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Higher wind speed and relative humidity are more helpful to alleviate NO2 pollution in ports of the Bohai Rim and the Pearl River Delta. Cargo throughput has more closely associated with NO2 pollution in Beibu Gulf in recent years, yet there is no significant association found for Shanghai ports. The positive relationship between transportation emissions and NO2 VCD is more significant in southern ports. This work provides some implications for the formulation of targeted emission reduction policies for different ports along the Chinese coast.

UNC45A-related osteo-oto-hepato-enteric syndrome in a Chinese neonate.

Unexplained diarrhea and cholestasis are common clinical phenotypes in newborns, indicating there is only a little common genetic basis for these conditions. However, it has been reported that defects in the UNC45A gene can lead to osteo-oto-hepato-enteric syndrome. However, to date, only 10 patients with this syndrome have been reported in 2 studies; therefore, there is still a lack of analysis regarding the correlation between disease phenotype and genotype. Trio-whole exome sequencing was conducted using DNA samples from a newborn with congenital diarrhea and cholestasis from a Chinese Han family. The UNC45A variants were verified using Sanger sequencing. In addition, we applied a crystal structure model to analyze the potential hazards associated with the variants. The plasmids were constructed in vitro and transfected into human 293T cells for Western blot (WB) analysis. After the mutant protein was fused with the Green Fluorescent Protein label, intracellular localization was observed using laser confocal microscopy. The gene detection results showed that the UNC45A gene of the newborn examined in the present study harbored the compound heterozygous variants p.Arg819Ter, and p.Leu237Pro; this was confirmed via Sanger sequencing. Analysis of the Leu237Pro crystal structure model suggested that this variant may decrease local structural stability and affect protein function. The Western blot and laser confocal microscopy observation results suggested that the Leu237Pro mutation leads to reduced protein expression, while the Arg819Ter mutation completely inhibits the expression of the protein. The compound heterozygous variants of UNC45A (p.Arg819Ter and p.Leu237Pro) may be pathogenic factors of congenital diarrhea and cholestasis in this neonatal patient. Therefore, UNC45A deficiency should be considered when intractable diarrhea and cholestasis occur in newborns.

Long-range GABAergic projections from the nucleus of the solitary tract.

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) plays a crucial role in integrating peripheral information regarding visceral functions. Glutamate decarboxylase 2 (GAD2) inhibitory neurons are abundant in the NTS, and are known to form local and short-range projections within the NTS and nearby hindbrain areas. Here we performed whole-brain mapping of outputs from GAD2 neurons in the NTS using cell-type specific viral labeling together with ultrahigh-speed 3D imaging at 1-µm resolution. In addition to well-known targets of NTS GAD2 neurons including the principle sensory nucleus of the trigeminal (PSV), spinal nucleus of the trigeminal (SPV), and other short-range targets within the hindbrain, the high sensitivity of our system helps reveal previously unknown long-range projections that target forebrain regions, including the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BST) involved in stress and fear responses, and the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH) involved in energy balance and stress-related neuroendocrine responses. The long-range projections were further verified by retrograde labeling of NTS GAD2 neurons with cholera toxin B (CTB) injections in the BST and PVH, and by Cre-dependent retrograde tracing with rAAV2-retro injections in the two regions of GAD2-Cre mice. Finally, we performed complete morphological reconstruction of several sparsely labeled neurons projecting to the forebrain and midbrain. These results provide new insights about how NTS might participate in physiological and emotional modulation.

Effect of pulsatile perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass in terms of radial artery sphygmogram.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a quantitative method for using radial artery pulse waveforms to assess the effect of pulsatile flow during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: A total of 34 adults with heart disease who underwent open-heart surgery between April 2010 and January 2011 were randomized into a pulsatile perfusion group (n = 17) and a non-pulsatile perfusion group (n = 17). Radial arterial pulse waveforms of pulsatile and non-pulsatile perfusion patients were observed and compared before and during CDB. RESULTS: No pulse waveform could be detected at patients' radial artery in both groups when the aorta was cross-clamped. Pulse waveforms could be detected at pulsatile perfusion patients' radial artery, but could not be detected at non-pulsatile perfusion patients' radial artery during CPB. Additionally, patients' pulse waveforms during pulsatile perfusion were lower than those before the operation. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that radial artery sphygmogram can be used as a valid indicator to evaluate the effectiveness of pulsatile perfusion during CPB.

What constitutes patient safety culture in Chinese hospitals?

OBJECTIVE: To develop a patient safety culture instrument for use in Chinese hospitals, we assessed the appropriateness of existing safety culture questionnaires used in the USA and Japan for Chinese respondents and identified new items and domains suitable to Chinese hospitals. DESIGN: Focus group study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four physicians, nurses and other health-care workers from 11 hospitals in three Chinese cities. METHODS: Three focus groups were conducted in 2010 to elicit information from hospital workers about their perceptions of the appropriateness and importance of each of 97 questionnaire items, derived from a literature review and an expert panel, characterizing hospital safety culture. PARTICIPANTS: understood the concepts of patient safety and safety culture and identified features associated with safe care. They judged that numerous questions from existing surveys were inappropriate, including 39 items that were dropped because they were judged unimportant, semantically redundant, confusing, ambiguous or inapplicable in Chinese settings. Participants endorsed eight new items and three additional dimensions addressing staff training, mentoring of new hires, compliance with rules and procedures, equipment availability and leadership walk-rounds they judged appropriate to assessing safety culture in Chinese hospitals. This process resulted in a 66-item instrument for testing in cognitive interviews, the next stage of survey development. CONCLUSIONS: Focus group participants provided important insights into the refinement of existing items and the construction of new items for measuring patient safety culture in Chinese hospitals. This is a necessary first step in producing a culturally appropriate instrument applicable to specific local contexts.

[Analysis of tongue color under natural daylight based on chromatic aberration correction].

OBJECTIVE: To establish an analytical method for tongue image acquisition under natural daylight based on L*a*b* error correction, and to observe the classification rules of tongue color using color error correction. METHODS: The tongue images in 413 cases were collected under natural indoor daylight by using Nikon D70 digital SLR camera, and then the color error was adjusted by using Nikon Capture NX software correction according to Kodak Q-13 grey card. The classification and quantitative analysis of the tongue color after software correction was carried out depending on L*a*b* color space. RESULTS: The software correction method had good effects in adjusting the tongue color image error. The L* values of light red, deep red and cyanosis tongues decreased as compared with that of light white tongue (P<0.01), while the a* values of light red, deep red and cyanosis tongues increased as compared with light white tongue (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in L* value between deep red tongue and cyanosis tongue, and there was also no significant difference in a* value between light red tongue and cyanosis tongue. The b* values of light red and deep red tongues increased as compared with that of light white tongue (P<0.01), while the b* value of cyanosis tongue decreased as compared with light red and deep red tongues (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in b* value between light white tongue and cyanosis tongue, and there was also no significant difference in b* value between light red tongue and deep red tongue. The a* value of white fur was higher than that of yellow fur (P<0.01), while the b* value of white fur was lower than that of yellow fur (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in L* value between white fur and yellow fur. CONCLUSION: The analytical method for tongue image acquisition under natural daylight based on L*a*b* error correction is accurate in color restoration and feasible to operate.

[Correlation analysis of infrared radiant intensity between hyperplastic breast tissue and tongue surface in patients with hyperplasia of mammary glands].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a supplementary diagnostic indicator (infrared radiant intensity) in tongue diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in patients with hyperplasia of mammary glands through correlation analysis of infrared radiant intensity between hyperplastic breast tissue and tongue surface. METHODS: Infrared radiant intensity of the hyperplastic breast tissue and different points on tongue surface in 20 cases of hyperplasia of mammary glands with liver-energy stagnation and phlegm retention syndrome and 16 cases of hyperplasia of mammary glands with irregular thoroughfare and conception vessels syndrome were measured with external infrared spectrometer PHE-201 made by Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics. Correlation of infrared radiant intensity between the hyperplastic breast tissue and the different points on tongue surface was assessed by using bivariate correlation analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that the numbers of positive correlated wave bands of infrared radiant intensity between the hyperplastic breast tissue and different detected points on tongue surface in the patients with liver-energy stagnation and phlegm retention syndrome and irregular thoroughfare and conception vessels syndrome were 127 (83.55%) and 71 (46.71%), respectively. Infrared radiant intensity between the hyperplastic breast tissue and the tongue surface had a positive correlation. CONCLUSION: Infrared radiant intensity can be used as one of supplementary diagnostic indicators in TCM tongue diagnosis of hyperplasia of mammary glands.

Blood-nourishing and hard-softening capsule costs less in the management of osteoarthritic knee pain: a randomized controlled trial.

The blood-nourishing and hard-softening (BNHS) capsule is a traditional Chinese formula used in the symptomatic treatment of inflammation and pain. We conducted this randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy of BNHS with other commonly prescribed drugs. We recruited 120 patients from two teaching hospitals; 30 patients in each hospital were randomly assigned to receive BNHS. In one hospital, the 30 controls were given another traditional Chinese drug; whereas a Western medicine (chondroprotection drug/Viartril-s) was used as the control in the other hospital. Intervention was carried out over a period of 4 weeks. Primary outcome measures included self-reported pain level, and changes in stiffness and functional ability as measured by the Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index. Mixed models were used for statistical analysis. Substantial improvements in disease-specific symptoms were observed, after 4 weeks of treatment, in patients taking BNHS capsules. As assessed by the WOMAC index, pain level of the BNHS group decreased by 57% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 50, 63], stiffness by 63% (95% CI = 55, 71) and functional ability increased by 56% (95% CI = 50, 63). No significant differences were found in any of the outcome measures between the BNHS group and either of the comparison groups. No severe adverse effects were reported. However, this study lacked a placebo group; therefore, we conclude that BNHS appears to be as effective as commonly prescribed medicines for the relief of pain and dysfunction in knee osteoarthritis patients, but costs a lot less than other Western and herbal drugs in the study.