Evaluation of combination of ALA-PDT and interferon for cervical low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL).

BACKGROUND: Cervical LSIL is a precancerous disease which requires regular follow-up. High risk patients need active interventions. Interferon and topical PDT have been used in the treatment of cervical LSIL. The aim of this study was to evaluate the combination use of topical PDT and interferon in the treatment of cervical LSIL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was carried out involving 159 women with cervical LSIL and high risk human papillomaviruses (hr-HPV) infection. Patients were divided into three groups. Group 1-receiving interferon suppository only, Group 2-receiving 19 mg/cm2 ALA plus post PDT interferon, and Group 3-receiving 38 mg/cm2 ALA plus post PDT interferon. The primary endpoint was pathological regression. The secondary endpoints were the HPV negative conversion rate and the adverse effects of treatment. RESULTS: At 6-12 months after PDT, for Group 1, the effective rate, CR rate and HPV negative conversion rate was 48.3 %, 43.3 % and 24.0 %, respectively. For Group 2, the effective rate, CR rate and HPV negative conversion rate were 89.3 %, 71.4 %, and 72.4 %, respectively. For Group 3, the effective rate, CR rate and HPV negative conversion rate were 91.5 %, 66.1 %, and 64.4 %, respectively, significantly higher than those of interferon only group. Two ALA dose group study showed similar efficacy. No patient experienced serious adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: ALA-PDT combined with interferon therapy was feasible and tolerable. Two ALA dose groups showed similar outcomes in treating cervical LSIL.

[Thermal Environment Evolution and Response Mechanism of Urban Sprawl Based on Multi-source Data].

Improving the urban thermal environment and improving the quality of human settlements are important prerequisites for creating ecologically livable cities. The current research on the relationship between urban expansion and the thermal environment is mostly based on remote sensing data, and the application of multi-source data is weak. Here, we selected the Xi'an metropolitan core area, measured the urban expansion and temporal and spatial evolution of the thermal environment based on Landsat remote sensing images in 2010 and 2020, and used multi-source data, such as interest points and the Baidu thermal index, to study the response mechanism of the urban thermal environment through geoscience statistical analysis methods. The results showed that:① the construction land in the study area had expanded by 200.84 km2, and the area and intensity showed that "the center and the periphery are weaker, and the difference between the two" characteristics, and the expansion mode was mainly edge type and infill type. ② Between 2010 and 2020, the overall thermal environment in the study area deteriorated, and the area of the heat island area increased by 282.65 km2. The spread of the heat island area was in the same direction as the urban expansion, and the distribution pattern evolved from "southeast-northwest" to "northeast-southwest;" however, the average temperature in the central area of the city decreased 1.09℃. ③ Urban expansion was strongly positively correlated with the deterioration of the urban thermal environment. The expansion of urban space had a contribution rate of 60.40% to the deterioration of the thermal environment, and various socio-economic factors had a weaker effect, with an overall contribution rate of 39.60%. The vegetation water body had an obvious cooling effect; under the influence of multiple factors, the surface temperature increased by 0.241 units. In the process of urban expansion, changes in surface parameters and two-dimensional urban morphology were still the main factors for thermal environment changes, whereas three-dimensional morphology had a small effect on the warming of social and economic activities, and the contribution of water bodies and vegetation to cooling was prominent.

[Characteristics and driving forces of wetland landscape pattern evolution of the city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia, China]. / å®å¤æ²¿é»„åŸŽå¸‚å¸¦æ¹¿åœ°æ™¯è§‚æ ¼å±€æ¼”å˜ç‰¹å¾åŠé©±åŠ¨åŠ›.

Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, with functions of water purification, climate regulation, and carbon sinks. Due to the stresses caused by human social development and changes of natural conditions, wetlands have been seriously damaged. We examined the evolutionary law of landscape pattern of wetland along the Yellow River, and acquainted the current situation of wetland resources and dynamic change. Based on satellite images of year 2000, 2009, and 2018 from Landsat, we used landscape indices and geographic detectors to quantitatively analyze the characteristics and driving forces of wetland landscape pattern evolution of the city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia from 2000 to 2018. The results showed that the wetland area of the city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia enlarged first and then decreased from 2000 to 2018. The wetland area increased by 52.2 km2 in the early stage of the study with an increasing rate of 8.2%, and decreased by 26.8 km2 with a reduction rate of 3.9% in the later stage. The wetland was mainly transformed to construction land and unused land, with transfer out area being 166.7 and 158.4 km2 respectively. New wetland was mainly transformed from unused land, forest, and grassland, with an area of 543.1 km2. The fragmentation degree of wetland landscape in city belt was increasing, the balanced distribution of all kinds of wetlands was gradually strengthened, the landscape diversity was increasing, and the dominant landscape types were gradually weakening. Natural factors and socio-economic factors jointly affected the evolution of wetland landscape pattern in city belt. Among all socio-economic factors population was the most important one. Among natural factors, precipitation and temperature were important. Other driving factors were relatively weak, but could not be ignored.

Review of beetle forewing structures and their biomimetic applications in China: (II) On the three-dimensional structure, modeling and imitation.

This paper reviews the research progress made in China regarding the microstructure of the forewing trabeculae, their anti-peeling and anti-collisional mechanical properties, the three-dimensional (3D) microstructures of the forewings, their modeling, and their mechanical properties. We focus on 1) the distribution of the trabeculae in two types of beetles with a six-fold difference in density, the structure of the trabeculae and a proposed 3D model with an integrated trabeculae-honeycomb structure; 2) finite element analyses and experimental results showing that the average anti-peeling strength in the presence of trabeculae can be as much as approximately three-fold greater than that in the absence of trabeculae; 3) the strengthening mechanisms of these structures and describe an optimized double thin-walled biomimetic structure that possesses excellent absorption and buffering properties; 4) the development of technologies to produce fully integrated honeycomb plates with short fibers as a reinforced composite material and the verification that these plates are strong and lightweight and exhibit good integrity. Finally, we note the shortcomings in China in this field of research and propose possible future research directions in the field of biomimetic functional materials.

Simulated effect on the compressive and shear mechanical properties of bionic integrated honeycomb plates.

Honeycomb plates can be applied in many fields, including furniture manufacturing, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, transportation and aerospace. In the present study, we discuss the simulated effect on the mechanical properties of bionic integrated honeycomb plates by investigating the compressive and shear failure modes and the mechanical properties of trabeculae reinforced by long or short fibers. The results indicate that the simulated effect represents approximately 80% and 70% of the compressive and shear strengths, respectively. Compared with existing bionic samples, the mass-specific strength was significantly improved. Therefore, this integrated honeycomb technology remains the most effective method for the trial manufacturing of bionic integrated honeycomb plates. The simulated effect of the compressive rigidity is approximately 85%. The short-fiber trabeculae have an advantage over the long-fiber trabeculae in terms of shear rigidity, which provides new evidence for the application of integrated bionic honeycomb plates.

Concept of heat-induced inkless eco-printing.

Existing laser and inkjet printers often produce adverse effects on human health, the recycling of printing paper and the environment. Therefore, this paper examines the thermogravimetry curves for printer paper, analyzes the discoloration of paper using heat-induction, and investigates the relationship between paper discoloration and the heat-inducing temperature. The mechanism of heat-induced printing is analyzed initially, and its feasibility is determined by a comparative analysis of heat-induced (laser ablation) printing and commercial printing. The innovative concept of heat-induced inkless eco-printing is proposed, in which the required text or graphics are formed on the printing paper via yellowing and blackening produced by thermal energy. This process does not require ink during the printing process; thus, it completely eliminates the aforementioned health and environmental issues. This research also contributes to related interdisciplinary research in biology, laser technology, photochemistry, nano-science, paper manufacturing and color science.