[Automatic detection method of intracranial aneurysms on maximum intensity projection images based on SE-CaraNet].

Conventional maximum intensity projection (MIP) images tend to ignore some morphological features in the detection of intracranial aneurysms, resulting in missed detection and misdetection. To solve this problem, a new method for intracranial aneurysm detection based on omni-directional MIP image is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) images were projected with the maximum density in all directions to obtain the MIP images. Then, the region of intracranial aneurysm was prepositioned by matching filter. Finally, the Squeeze and Excitation (SE) module was used to improve the CaraNet model. Excitation and the improved model were used to detect the predetermined location in the omni-directional MIP image to determine whether there was intracranial aneurysm. In this paper, 245 cases of images were collected to test the proposed method. The results showed that the accuracy and specificity of the proposed method could reach 93.75% and 93.86%, respectively, significantly improved the detection performance of intracranial aneurysms in MIP images.

A vital sign signal noise suppression method for wearable piezoelectric devices.

This paper tackles the problem of noise suppression during vital sign signal monitoring. Physiological signal monitoring is a significant and promising medical monitoring method, and wearable medical monitoring devices based on piezoelectric polymer sensors are a trending way for their advantages of being flexible in the shape, portable to use, and comfortable to wear. However, this raises the question that the measured signal contains much more noise components. To avoid the following shortcoming of low signal to noise ratio (SNR), a noise suppression method based on improved wavelet threshold and empirical mode decomposition combined with singular value decomposition (SVD) screening the intrinsic mode function (IMF) components is proposed. A wavelet transform is first used under the combination of hard and soft thresholds to focus the target range in the low-frequency region where the energy of the physiological signal is concentrated. Then, a complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition is used to decompose the signal effectively, which can resist the influence of random noises. Meanwhile, a SVD decomposition procedure was used to filter out the lower correlated IMF components to retain the validity of the original signal. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed method through simulated and measured experiments as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the algorithm compared with other physiological signal denoising algorithms through SNR filtering results, power spectrum distribution, and other perspectives. The results proved that the proposed method could effectively remove more detailed noise and improve the SNR of the signal efficiently, which is more conducive to the demand for auxiliary medical diagnosis in the future.

Covalently Assembled Black Phosphorus/Conductive C3N4 Hybrid Material for Flexible Supercapacitors Exhibiting a Superlong 30,000 Cycle Durability.

Black phosphorus (BP) has been demonstrated as a promising electrode material for supercapacitors. Currently, the main limitation of its practical application is the low electrical conductivity and poor structure stability. Hence, BP-based supercapacitors usually severely suffer from low capacitance and poor cycling stability. Herein, a chemically bridged BP/conductive g-C3N4 (BP/c-C3N4) hybrid is developed via a facile ball-milling method. Covalent P-C bonds are generated through the ball-milling process, effectively preventing the structural distortion of BP induced by ion transport and diffusion. In addition, the overall electrical conductivity is significantly enhanced owing to the sufficient coupling between BP and highly conductive c-C3N4. Moreover, the imbalanced charge distribution around the C atom can induce the generation of a local electric field, facilitating the charge transfer behavior of the electrode material. As a result, the BP/c-C3N4-20:1 flexible supercapacitor (FSC) exhibits an outstanding volumetric capacitance of 42.1 F/cm3 at 0.005 V/s, a high energy density of 5.85 mW h/cm3, and a maximum power density of 15.4 W/cm3. More importantly, the device delivers excellent cycling stability with no capacitive loss after 30,000 cycles.

The Effect of Annealing and Optical Radiation Treatment on Graphene Resonators.

Graphene resonant sensors have shown strong competitiveness with respect to sensitivity and size. To advance the applications of graphene resonant sensors, the damage behaviors of graphene harmonic oscillators after thermal annealing and laser irradiation were investigated by morphology analysis and frequency domain vibration characteristics. The interface stress was proven to be the key factor that directly affected the yield of resonators. The resulting phenomenon could be improved by appropriately controlling the annealing temperature and size of resonators, thereby achieving membrane intactness of up to 96.4%. However, micro-cracks were found on the graphene sheets when continuous wave (CW) laser power was more than 4 mW. Moreover, the fluctuating light energy would also cause mechanical fatigue in addition to the photothermal effect, and the threshold damage power for the sinusoidally modulated laser was merely 2 mW. In this way, based on the amplitude-frequency surface morphology of the graphene resonator, the thermal time constant of the order of a few microseconds was confirmed to evaluate the damage of the graphene oscillator in situ and in real time, which could be further extended for those resonators using other 2D materials.

Transcriptome analysis of Macrobrachium rosenbergii: Identification of precocious puberty and slow-growing information.

Macrobrachium rosenbergii is an important economic aquatic animal and has been cultivated worldwide. However, it has suffered a disease of precocious puberty and growth retardation. This disease was also called iron prawn syndrome (IPS) in recent years. However, the cause of this disease has thus far remained a mystery . The present work utilized transcriptome sequencing technology to acquire gene expression information of gonads and to find the differentially expressed genes(DEGs) between diseased and normal male prawn. Finally, 426 significantly expressed genes were identified(p less than 0.01, |log2FC|≥1), of which 171 genes were up-regulated and 255 were down-regulated. Furthermore, DEGs were annotated to 36 GO terms and 202 KEGG pathways. Enrichment analysis of DEGs resulted in 10 significantly enriched GO terms and a total of 12 significantly enriched KEGG pathways. Analysis of the transcriptome sequences and DEGs identified several unigenes and pathways involved in precocious puberty and growth retardation. Quantitative PCR was performed to validate accuracy of the RNA-seq and the expression level of 10 genes, calculated by two analysis method, was mostly consistent. This is the first time to report precocious puberty and growth retardation male M. rosenbergii by transcriptome sequencing. The data presented here reveals key insights into the genetic markers of precocious puberty and growth retardation of male M. rosenbergii.

XELOX doublet regimen versus EOX triplet regimen as first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer: An open-labeled, multicenter, randomized, prospective phase III trial (EXELOX).

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on whether triplet regimen is better than doublet regimen in the first-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of oxaliplatin plus capecitabine (XELOX) and epirubicin, oxaliplatin, plus capecitabine (EOX) regimens in treating AGC. METHODS: This phase III trial enrolled previously untreated patients with AGC who were randomly assigned to receive the XELOX or EOX regimen. The primary endpoint was non-inferiority in progression-free survival (PFS) for XELOX as compared with EOX on an intention-to-treat basis. RESULTS: Between April 10, 2015 and August 20, 2020, 448 AGC patients were randomized to receive XELOX (n = 222) or EOX (n = 226). The median PFS (mPFS) was 5.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.5-6.0 months) in the XELOX arm and 5.5 months (95% CI = 5.0-6.0 months) in the EOX arm (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.989, 95% CI = 0.812-1.203; Pnon-inferiority = 0.003). There was no significant difference in median overall survival (mOS) (12.0 vs. 12.0 months, P = 0.384) or objective response rate (37.4% vs. 45.1%, P = 0.291) between the two groups. In patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and liver metastasis, the EOX arm had a significantly longer mOS (P = 0.021) and a trend of longer mPFS (P = 0.073) than the XELOX arm. The rate of grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) was 42.2% (90/213) in the XELOX arm and 72.5% (156/215) in the EOX arm (P = 0.001). The global health-related quality of life (QoL) score was significantly higher in the XELOX arm than in the EOX arm during chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: This non-inferiority trial demonstrated that the doublet regimen was as effective as the triplet regimen and had a better safety profile and QoL as a first-line treatment for AGC patients. However, the triplet regimen might have a survival advantage in patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and liver metastasis.

Lateral flow colorimetric biosensor for detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus based on hybridization chain reaction and aptamer.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) is the causative agent for acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) of shrimp, and it is also a common seafood-borne pathogen for humans. Rapid and accurate identification of V. parahaemolyticus is helpful to diagnose the AHPND and ensure food safety. Common detection methods suffer the deficiency of time-consuming and complexed operation. Based on the increased development of aptamer and our previous study, a new detection assay of V. parahaemolyticus was introduced, in which the aptamer combined with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) was the recognizer, hybridization chain reaction (HCR) was the signal amplifier, and lateral flow nucleotide biosensor (LFNB) was the signal exporter. The assay possessed high specificity of distinguishing the target with other bacteria, and the calculated limit of detection was 2.6 × 103 cells. Furthermore, the whole process just needs 67 min, free of thermocycle instruments and signal readout instruments, which means it is suitable for low-resource laboratories or districts.

Evaluating a Human Ear-Inspired Sound Pressure Amplification Structure with Fabry-Perot Acoustic Sensor Using Graphene Diaphragm.

In order to enhance the sensitivity of a Fabry-Perot (F-P) acoustic sensor without the need of fabricating complicated structures of the acoustic-sensitive diaphragm, a mini-type external sound pressure amplification structure (SPAS) with double 10 µm thickness E-shaped diaphragms of different sizes interconnected with a 5 mm length tapered circular rod was developed based on the acoustic sensitive mechanism of the ossicular chain in the human middle ear. The influence of thickness and Young's modulus of the two diaphragms with the diameters of 15 mm and 3 mm, respectively, on the amplification ratio and frequency response were investigated via COMSOL acoustic field simulation, thereby confirming the dominated effect. Then, three kinds of dual-diaphragm schemes relating to steel and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) materials were introduced to fabricate the corresponding SPASs. The acoustic test showed that the first scheme achieved a high resonant response frequency with lower acoustic amplification due to strong equivalent stiffness; in contrast, the second scheme offered a high acoustic amplification but reduced frequency range. As a result of sensitivity enhancement, adapted with the steel/TPU diaphragm structure, an optical fiber Fabry-Perot sensor using a multilayer graphene diaphragm with a diameter of 125 µm demonstrated a remarkable sensitivity of 565.3 mV/Pa @1.2 kHz due to the amplification ratio of up to ~29.9 in the range of 0.2-2.3 kHz, which can be further improved by miniaturizing structure dimension, along with the use of microstructure packaging technology.

Coating of Phosphide Catalysts on p-Silicon by a Necking Strategy for Improved Photoelectrochemical Characteristics in Alkaline Media.

The methodology of coating electrocatalysts on semiconductor substrates is critical for the catalytic performance of photoelectrochemical electrodes. A weakly bound coating leads to orders of magnitude lower efficiency and reliability compared to those required to meet the commercial demand. Herein, a facile strategy based on the hydrolysis of TiCl4 is developed to solve the coating issue. Mesoporous tungsten phosphide (WP) particles were spin-coated and affixed onto TiO2-protected planar p-Si by the formation of a TiO2 necking layer between the catalyst particles and the substrates. Under 1 sun illumination, the as-prepared WP/TiO2/Si photocathode yields a saturated current density of -35 mA cm-2 and a durability of over 110 h with a current density over -15 mA cm-2 at 0 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode in a 1.0 M KOH solution, which is among the state-of-the-art performances of commercial planar Si-based photocathodes. The Kelvin probe force microscopy results suggest the successive transfer of photoelectrons from Si to TiO2 and WP. The as-formed TiO2 necking layer plays the key role in ensuring the surface catalytic activity and durability. This necking strategy is also applicable for coating other transition-metal phosphides, for example, MoP and FeP, thus offering a practical approach to meet the commercial requirement of low-cost, highly efficient, and durable photoelectrodes.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Ctenochaetus flavicauda (Acanthuriformes, Acanthuridae).

Ctenochaetus flavicauda is one of most important genera of Acanthuridae. However, the systemically classification and taxonomic studies have so far been limited. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of C. flavicauda. The mitogenome has 15,772 base pairs (55.5% A + T content) and made up of total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs and 2 ribosomal RNAs), and a putative control region. This study will provide useful genetic information for future phylogenetic and taxonomic classification of Acanthuridae.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Pomacanthus arcuatus (Perciformes, Pomacanthidae).

Pomacanthus arcuatus is one of most important genera of Pomacanthidae. However, the systemically classification and taxonomic studies have so far been limited. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of P. arcuatus. The mitogenome has 16,718 base pairs (54.4% A + T content) and made up of total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs and 2 ribosomal RNAs), and a putative control region. This study will provide useful genetic information for future phylogenetic and taxonomic classification of Pomacanthidae.

Confinement Effect of Mesopores: In Situ Synthesis of Cationic Tungsten-Vacancies for a Highly Ordered Mesoporous Tungsten Phosphide Electrocatalyst.

Engineering defects in crystalline electrocatalysts is an effective approach to tailor the electronic structure and number of active sites, which are essential for the intrinsic activity of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Unlike previously reported methods, we demonstrate a confinement effect using a mesoporous template for in situ fabrication of cationic W vacancies in as-prepared ordered mesoporous tungsten phosphide (WP) nanostructures by adjusting the nonstoichiometric ratio of the precursor elements. With a plenty of W vacancies and ordered mesoporosity, the as-prepared catalyst WP-Mesop exhibits better catalytic performance than the catalysts without mesopores and/or vacancies. The WP-Mesop shows an ultralow overpotential of 175 mV in acid and 229 mV in alkaline at 100 mA cm-2 and stability of 48 h without structural collapse in both acid and alkaline media. Meanwhile, density functional theory calculations further reveal that the activation barrier for HER can be lowered by introducing cationic W vacancies. This strategy can be extended to generate cationic defects in other transition metal phosphides to improve their HER activities.

Clinical efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with S-1 in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background Esophageal cancer is a very common malignant tumor in China, especially esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but there is currently no effective treatment for patients after first-line chemotherapy failure. Apatinib has shown promising outcomes in treatment with various solid tumors. Objectives To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with S-1 in the treatment of advanced ESCC patients after first-line chemotherapy failure. Methods In this prospective study, fifteen patients with advanced ESCC who failed first-line chemotherapy were enrolled from Nov 2016 to Apr 2019. Patients received the combination therapy with apatinib (250-500 mg, once daily) plus S-1 (40-60 mg based on body surface area, twice daily). Primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), disease control rate (DCR) and objective response rate (ORR). Adverse events (AEs) were recorded to evaluate the safety. Results A total of 12 patients were included in the efficacy analysis. The median PFS was 6.23 months, and the median OS was 8.83 months. Two (16.67%) patients achieved partial remission, 9 patients (75.00%) achieved stable disease and 1 (8.33%) patient achieved progressive disease. DCR and ORR was 91.67%and 16.67%, respectively. Most frequent AEs were hypertension, myelosuppression, weakness, hemorrhage, hand-foot syndrome, total bilirubin elevation, sick, proteinuria, oral ulcer, loss of appetite, and transaminase elevation. The most AEs were in grade I~II. Conclusion The combination therapy of apatinib plus S-1 was effective and well tolerated in the treatment of advanced ESCC patients after first-line chemotherapy failure. The combination therapy has the potential to be a potent therapeutic option for advanced ESCC patients after first-line chemotherapy failure.

Visible Light-Activated Self-Recovery Hydrophobic CeO2/Black TiO2 Coating Prepared Using Air Plasma Spraying.

Hydrophobic coatings are widely used in many areas from home to industry. However, the hydrophobicity can be easily degraded by adsorption of the atmospheric contaminations. In this study, a novel CeO2/black TiO2 hydrophobic coating with self-recovery capability is prepared using air plasma spraying without any chemical modification. The water contact angles (WCAs) of the coatings decreased after oleic acid contamination. Because of the presence of black TiO2, the composite coating has the photodegradation property under irradiation of visible light, and the part of the black TiO2 transforms to be superhydrophilic after irradiation for the generation of the surface oxygen vacancies. The oleic acid was decomposed and the WCAs changed depending on the volume percentage of the CeO2. The coating exhibits hydrophilicity when the volume percentage of the CeO2 is less than 60%, and hydrophobic when higher. After storage in a dark and clean environment, all the coatings can recover their hydrophobicity for the black TiO2 that returned back to its origin state. It is believed that this hydrophobic self-cleaning ceramic coating should have potential in engineering applications.

Highly coke resistant Mg-Ni/Al2O3 catalyst prepared via a novel magnesiothermic reduction for methane reforming catalysis with CO2: the unique role of Al-Ni intermetallics.

Addition of alkaline promoters is considered to be an effective way to improve the coking resistance of the metal/support composite catalysts for dry reforming of methane (DRM). The traditional metal/promoter/support composites for DRM catalysis are generally obtained from alkaline species impregnation and then high temperature H2 reduction. This two-step process leads to a random distribution of metal-promoter interaction. We herein report a novel magnesiothermic method to reduce Ni from spinel precursor and introduce alkaline Mg(ii) into the composite at the same time, which also gratifies the interaction between the promoter and metal nanoparticles (NPs). The reaction paths to Mg reduction are proposed. The as prepared catalysts show good activity and outstanding coking resistance in DRM. The Ni-Al intermetallics in the catalyst were found for the first time to play an important role in coking resistance as they can be in situ transformed into Ni nanoparticles and MgAl2O4 with strong metal-support interaction during the DRM.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the deep pugnose ponyfish Secutor ruconius (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) in the East China Sea.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Secutor ruconius is firstly described in this article. The total length of mitogenome is16,465 bp. It contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall base composition of H-strand is 31.58% A, 28.65% C, 25.23% T, and 14.53% G, with an A + T bias of 56.81%. The phylogenetic analysis result showed that the S. ruconius, Zebrasoma flavescens, and Pristipomoides multidens were closely related.

An Investigation of Surface Corrosion Behavior of Inconel 718 after Robotic Belt Grinding.

Surface corrosion resistance of nickel-based superalloys after grinding is an important consideration to ensure the service performance. In this work, robotic belt grinding is adopted because it offers controllable material processing by dynamically controlling process parameters and tool-workpiece contact state. Surface corrosion behavior of Inconel 718 after robotic belt grinding was investigated by electrochemical testing in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution at room temperature. Specimens were characterized by morphology, surface roughness and residual stress systematically. The potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis indicate the corrosion resistance of the specimen surface improves remarkably with the decrease of abrasive particle size. It can be attributed to the change of surface roughness and residual stress. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicates that niobium (Nb) is preferentially attacked in the corrosion process. A plausible electrochemical dissolution behavior for Inconel 718 processed by robotic belt grinding is proposed. This study is of significance for achieving desired corrosion property of work surface by optimizing grinding process parameters.

Recoverable Wire-Shaped Supercapacitors with Ultrahigh Volumetric Energy Density for Multifunctional Portable and Wearable Electronics.

Wire-shaped supercapacitors (SCs) based on shape memory materials are of considerable interest for next-generation portable and wearable electronics. However, the bottleneck in this field is how to develop the devices with excellent electrochemical performance while well-maintaining recoverability and flexibility. Herein, a unique asymmetric electrode concept is put forward to fabricate smart wire-shaped SCs with ultrahigh energy density, which is realized by using porous carbon dodecahedra coated on NiTi alloy wire and flexible graphene fiber as yarn electrodes. Notably, the wire-shaped SCs not only exhibit high flexibility that can be readily woven into real clothing but also represent the available recoverable ability. When irreversible plastic deformations happen, the deformed shape of the devices can automatically resume the initial predesigned shape in a warm environment (about 35 °C). More importantly, the wire-shaped SCs act as efficient energy storage devices, which display high volumetric energy density (8.9 mWh/cm3), volumetric power density (1080 mW/cm3), strong durability in multiple mechanical states, and steady electrochemical behavior after repeated shape recovery processes. Considering their relative facile fabrication technology and excellent electrochemical performance, this asymmetric electrode strategy produced smart wire-shaped supercapacitors desirable for multifunctional portable and wearable electronics.

Highly Conductive Mo2C Nanofibers Encapsulated in Ultrathin MnO2 Nanosheets as a Self-Supported Electrode for High-Performance Capacitive Energy Storage.

Nanostructured transition metal carbides (TMCs) with superior electrochemical properties are promising materials for high-efficiency energy-storage applications. Herein one-dimensional molybdenum carbide nanofibers (Mo2C NFs) have been fabricated by a facile and effective electrospinning strategy. Based on the cross-linked network architecture with ultrahigh electronic conductivity, each Mo2C NF is uniformly encapsulated in lamellar manganese dioxide (MnO2) via electrodeposition, forming a self-supported MnO2-Mo2C NF film with excellent electrochemical activity. Remarkably, the highly conductive inner layer of porous Mo2C NFs acts like a "highway" to facilitate charge transport and ionic diffusion, while the MnO2 nanosheets with abundant active area are favorable for the accumulation of effective electric charges. Benefiting from these features, the hybrid film is directly applied as the self-standing electrode of supercapacitors (SCs) without any additives, which delivers considerably large specific capacitance with strong durability in both aqueous and organic (ionic liquid) electrolytes. This work elucidates a feasible way toward heteronanofiber engineering of TMCs on a promising additive-free electrode for flexible and high-performance SCs.

SiO2-Ag-SiO2 core/shell structure with a high density of Ag nanoparticles for CO oxidation catalysis.

SiO2-Ag-SiO2, a sandwiched core/shell structure with a layer of Ag nanoparticles (∼4 nm) encapsulated between a shallow SiO2 surface layer and a SiO2 submicrosphere substrate (∼200 nm), has been synthesized from [Formula: see text] and SiO2 spheres by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. The composite is proposed to result from the dynamic balance between the [Formula: see text] reduction and the dissolution-redeposition of SiO2 in mild basic media. The synthetic mechanism and the roles of the reaction time, temperature, and the amount of ammonia in the formation of this unique structure are investigated and discussed. The composite structure shows superior catalytic performance in CO oxidation to the control Ag/SiO2 structure prepared by impregnation. Pre-treatment by O2 at 600 °C significantly improves the catalytic performance of the composite structure and preserves the nanocomposite structure well.