Tuning the Solvation Structure in Water-Based Solution Enables Surface Reconstruction of Layered Oxide Cathodes toward Long Lifespan Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Layered oxides of sodium-ion batteries suffer from severe side reactions on the electrode/electrolyte interface, leading to fast capacity degradation. Although surface reconstruction strategies are widely used to solve the above issues, the utilization of the low-cost wet chemical method is extremely challenging for moisture-sensitive Na-based oxide materials. Here, the solvation tuning strategy is proposed to overcome the deterioration of NaNi1/3Mn1/3Fe1/3O2 in water-based solution and conduct the surface reconstruction. When capturing the water molecules by the solvation structure of cations, here is Li+, the structural collapse and degradation of layered oxides in water-based solvents are greatly mitigated. Furthermore, Li(H2O)3EA+ promotes the profitable Li+/Na+ exchange to build a robust surface, which hampers the decomposition of electrolytes and the structural evolution upon cycling. Accordingly, the lifespan of Li-reinforced materials is prolonged to three times that of the pristine one. This work represents a step forward in understanding the surface reconstruction operated in a water-based solution for high-performance sodium layered oxide cathodes.

The relationship between Helicobacter pylori and pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis.

Background: The relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori, HP) infection and pancreatic cancer would be investigated in this article. Methods: All cohort studies and case-control studies about H. pylori infection and pancreatic cancer up to October 2021 were searched in the databases of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane. The combined odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by R 4.1.0 software. Funnel plot and Egger test were used to evaluate publication bias. Results: A total of 17 studies which included 8 case-control studies, 5 nested case-control studies, and 4 cohort studies were included in this study, and the results of this article have confirmed that the H. pylori infection was significantly correlated with the occurrence of pancreatic cancer (OR =1.30, 95% CI: 1.02-1.64), especially in economically underdeveloped areas (OR =2.10, 95% CI: 1.44-3.05). However, negative results were obtained in the relationship between CagA + H. pylori and pancreatic cancer. Similarly, we also did not find an association between vacuolating cytotoxin gene A-positive strains (VacA-positive H. pylori) and pancreatic cancer. The heterogeneity of this study was significant. Through a sensitivity analysis by the leave-one-out method, we found the results remained unchanged on the whole but the correlation between H. pylori infection and the occurrence of pancreatic cancer in the Asian population was significant. The tests for funnel plot asymmetry indicated that there might be obvious publication bias in this study. After carrying out the Egger test, we proved the existence of the publication bias in this study, which could have a certain impact on the results. Discussion: Based on the currently available data, we confirm that H. pylori infection can increase the incidence of pancreatic cancer in general. CagA/VacA-positive H. pylori infection is not associated with the incidence of pancreatic cancer. H. pylori infection is significantly associated with the incidence of pancreatic cancer in economically underdeveloped areas, while the relationship between H. pylori infection and the incidence of pancreatic cancer in the Asian population is uncertain. In addition, more high-quality studies are needed to be included to confirm this conclusion.

Establishment of a Mouse Severe Acute Pancreatitis Model using Retrograde Injection of Sodium Taurocholate into the Biliopancreatic Duct.

The prevalence of acute pancreatitis (AP), especially severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), is increasing in younger age groups annually. However, there is a lack of effective treatments in the current clinical practice. With the easy accessibility of transgenic and knockout strains and their small size, which allows minimal doses of drugs required for in vivo evaluation, a well-established experimental model in mice is preferred for AP research. Moreover, SAP induced through sodium taurocholate (TC) is currently one of the most widely used and best characterized models. This model has been investigated for novel therapies and possible molecular events during the process of AP. Here, we present the generation of an AP mouse model using sodium taurocholate and a simple homemade microsyringe. Moreover, we also provide the methodology for the subsequent histology and serological testing.

A 14-gene gemcitabine resistance gene signature is significantly associated with the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.

To identify a gemcitabine resistance-associated gene signature for risk stratification and prognosis prediction in pancreatic cancer. Pearson correlation analysis was performed with gemcitabine half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) data of 17 primary pancreatic cancer lines from Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) and the transcriptomic data from GDSC and Broad Institute Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, followed by risk stratification, expression evaluation, overall survival (OS) prediction, clinical data validation and nomogram establishment. Our biomarker discovery effort identified a 14-gene signature, most of which featured differential expression. The 14-gene signature was associated with poor OS in E-MTAB-6134 (HR 2.37; 95% CI 1.75-3.2; p < 0.0001), pancreatic cancer-Canada (PACA-CA) (HR 1.76; 95% CI 1.31-2.37; p = 0.00015), and 4 other independent validation cohorts: pancreatic cancer-Australia (PACA-AU) (HR 1.9; 95% CI 1.38-2.61; p < 0.0001), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (HR 1.73; 95% CI 1.11-2.69; p = 0.014), GSE85916 (HR 1.97; 95% CI 1.14-3.42; p = 0.014) and GSE62452 (HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.02-3.24; p = 0.039). Multivariate analysis revealed that the 14-gene risk score was an independent pancreatic cancer outcome predictor in E-MTAB-6134 (p < 0.001) and TCGA (p = 0.006). A nomogram including the 14-gene was established for eventual clinical translation. We identified a novel gemcitabine resistance gene signature for risk stratification and robust categorization of pancreatic cancer patients with poor prognosis.

Modeling and Inverse Compensation of Cross-Coupling Hysteresis in Piezoceramics under Multi-Input.

In the fast tool servo (FTS) system for microstructure surface cutting, the dynamic voltage hysteresis of piezoelectric actuators (PEAs) and the cutting force produced in the manufacturing affect the driving accuracy and the cutting performance. For a multi-input-single-output (MISO) cutting system, in this paper, a dynamic hysteresis model based on a rate-dependent Prandtl-Ishlinskii model is proposed. A backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is established to describe the cross-coupling effect between the applied voltage and external load. An inverse dynamic model is developed to compensate the nonlinearity of PEAs. The accuracy of the model and its inverse is discussed and the performance of the inverse feedforward compensator is validated through experiments.

Relationships are between metformin use and survival in pancreatic cancer patients concurrent with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Increased risk and cancer-related mortality is observed in pancreatic cancer (PC) patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Whether using metformin as glucose-lowering therapy can result in survival benefit in this group of patients is still unclear. METHODS: A meta-analysis of 21 studies that including 38,772 patients was performed to investigate the association between metformin and overall survival in patients with PC and concurrent DM. RESULTS: A significant survival benefit was observed in metformin treatment group compared with non-metformin group (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74-0.91). These associations were observed in both subgroups of Asian countries (HR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.60-0.79) and Western countries (HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.95), the former was more obvious. Survival benefit was gained for patients at early stage (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.64-0.85) and mixed stage (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70-0.91), but not for patients at advanced stage (HR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.74-1.24). Similarly, survival benefit was also observed in patients receiving surgery (HR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.94) and comprehensive treatment (HR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.77-0.93), but not in chemotherapy group (HR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.67-1.30). No obvious benefit was suggested when pooled by time-varying COX model (HR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86-1.03). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that metformin is associated with survival benefit in patients with PC and concurrent DM. Further randomized controlled trials and prospective studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.

Structure Design of Low-Temperature Regenerative Hyperbranched Polyamine Adsorbent for CO2 Capture.

A novel low-temperature regenerative hydroxy-functionalized hyperbranched polyamine adsorbent (0.16OH-HBPA) for CO2 capture was readily prepared using glutaraldehyde to cross-link amino-terminated hyperbranched polymers (HBP) and functionalized with glycidol, followed by the reduction of the imino groups of 0.16OH-HBPA to alkyl aminos using NaBH4. Here, the HBP has been prepared through the one-pot reaction between pentaethylenehexamine and methyl acrylate. The as-prepared 0.16OH-HBPA adsorbent showed a high adsorption capacity (4.05 mmol/g) for CO2 (concentration, 10%) in the presence of water at 25 °C, and the alkyl amino utilization efficiency reached 73%. More importantly, the CO2-adsorbed 0.16OH-HBPA showed excellent regenerative performance at low temperatures (85 °C, under pure CO2 gas) due to the introduced hydroxyl that can cooperatively adsorb CO2 via the amino groups to form stable carbamic acid. This process suppressed the formation of open-chain urea and cyclic urea and could overcome the disadvantages of high regeneration temperatures (≥90 °C, under pure inert gas) of CO2-adsorbed traditional solid amine adsorbents.

Mechanism for alpha-MnO2 nanowire-induced cytotoxicity in Hela cells.

Alpha-Manganese dioxide (alpha-MnO2) nanowires are used as electrode materials to significantly enhance the performance of lithium batteries. In this study, we investigate the nanotoxicity of alpha-MnO2 nanowires toward Hela cells. The alpha-MnO2 nanowires, which were successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal approach, can induce cytotoxicity dose-dependently in Hela cells. The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and depletion of glutathione (GSH) are also observed in the nanowire-treated cells. In addition, comet assays and cell nucleus morphology show that both DNA damage and cell apoptosis occur in the nanowires exposure group. Based on these results, a mechanism for alpha-MnO2 nanowire-induced cytotoxicity in Hela cells, which involves the accumulation of ROS, formation of oxidative stress, DNA oxidative damage and cell apoptosis, is proposed. This investigation may provide a fundamental insight to understand the nanotoxicity of wire-shaped nanomaterials.