Toward morphologically relevant extracellular matrix: nanofiber-hydrogel composites for tumor cell culture.

The natural extracellular matrix (ECM) consists of a continuous integrated fibrin network and a negatively charged proteoglycan-based matrix. In this work, we report a novel three-dimensional nanofiber hydrogel composite that mimics the natural ECM structure, exhibiting both degradability and mechanical characteristics comparable to that of tumor tissue. The embedded nanofiber improves the hydrogel mechanical properties, and varying the fiber density can match the elastic modulus of different tumor tissues (1.51-10.77 kPa). The degradability of the scaffold gives sufficient space for tumor cells to secrete and remodel the ECM. The expression levels of cancer stem cell markers confirmed the development of aggressive and metastatic phenotypes of prostate cancer cells in the 3D scaffold. Similar results were obtained in terms of anticancer resistance of prostate cancer cells in 3D scaffolds showing stem cell-like properties, suggesting that the current bionic 3D scaffold tumor model has broad potential in the development of effective targeted agents.

Immunogenicity and protective effects of recombinant bivalent COVID-19 vaccine in mice and rhesus macaques.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still spreading rapidly worldwide, and a safe, effective, and cheap vaccine is still required to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we report a recombinant bivalent COVID-19 vaccine containing the RBD proteins of the prototype strain and beta variant. Immunization studies in mice demonstrated that this bivalent vaccine had far greater immunogenicity than the ZF2001, a marketed monovalent recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine, and exhibited good immunization effects against the original COVID-19 strain and various variants. Rhesus macaque challenge experiments showed that this bivalent vaccine drastically decreased the lung viral load and reduced lung lesions in SARS-CoV-2 (the causative virus of COVID-19)-infected rhesus macaques. In summary, this bivalent vaccine showed immunogenicity and protective efficacy that was far superior to the monovalent recombinant protein vaccine against the prototype strain and provided an important basis for developing broad-spectrum COVID-19 vaccines.

Theoretical screening of single atom doping on ß-Ga2O3 (100) for photoelectrochemical water splitting with high activity and low limiting potential.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting combined with renewable energy is an appealing approach for solar energy conversion and storage. Monoclinic gallium oxide (ß-Ga2O3) has been identified as a promising photoelectrode for PEC because of its good electrical conductivity and chemical and thermal stability. However, the wide bandgap (around 4.8 eV) and the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes inside ß-Ga2O3 limit its performance. Doping ß-Ga2O3 is a practical strategy to enhance photocatalytic activity, but studies on doped ß-Ga2O3 based photoelectrodes are lacking. In this study, we evaluate the doping effect of ten different dopants for ß-Ga2O3 photoelectrode at the atomic level using density functional theory calculations. In addition, the oxygen evolution performance is evaluated on doped structures as it is considered the bottleneck reaction in water slitting on the anode of the PEC cell. Our results suggest that rhodium doping is optimal as it demonstrated the lowest overpotential for oxygen evolution reaction. We performed further electronic structure analysis, indicating the narrower bandgap and enhanced photogenerated electron-hole transfer comparing with ß-Ga2O3 are the main reasons for the improved performance after Rh doping. This study demonstrates that doping is an attractive strategy for the development of efficient Ga2O3-based photoanodes and it will be of great importance in helping the design of other semiconductor-based photoelectrodes for practical application.

Research on the optimization of financing scheme of long-term care insurance in China based on system dynamics simulation.

Objective: The aging population in China highlights the significance of long-term care insurance (LTCI). This study provides policy suggestions for China to establish a sustainable LTCI financing mechanism by predicting the trend of funds balance and screening the appropriate financing scheme. Method: A system dynamics model (SDM) of LTCI funds was constructed by clarifying the current situation and its main influencing factors of revenue and expenditure of LTCI funds in China. Also, through literature research and expert consultation, we found the intervention goals and predicted the changing trend of LTCI fund balance from 2020 to 2050 under different intervention schemes. Results: The SDM of LTCI financing passes the dimensional consistency test, structural test, and historical test. Therefore, it can objectively reflect the structure and behavior of the financing system. It is found that the factors affecting the revenue and expenditure system of LTCI funds mainly include economic factors, demographic factors, and other factors. By adjusting three intervention indicators, namely, individual payment rate, reimbursement proportion, and severe disability rate, this study produces 45 financing combination schemes. By comparing the changing trend of LTCI fund balance under different intervention schemes, according to the screening principle, five better financing schemes are finally selected. These five financing schemes have no deficit and excessive balance in the forecast period, which is in line with the principle of sustainability. It can provide a reference for the selection of financing schemes in pilot areas. Discussion: This study has optimized the policy of the LTCI financing mechanism, determined the suitable LTCI participants, financing channels and levels, and screened out the suitable LTCI financing policy optimization scheme for China. By appropriately increasing the individual payment rate, strengthening the disability intervention of the elderly, formulating scientific and objective disability evaluation standards, and finally establishing a dynamic financing adjustment mechanism of LTCI. This study can provide a basis for the scientific formulation of the LTCI financing mechanism in China and provide a reference for developing countries to establish a sustainable LTCI.

NiPS3 ultrathin nanosheets as versatile platform advancing highly active photocatalytic H2 production.

High-performance and low-cost photocatalysts play the key role in achieving the large-scale solar hydrogen production. In this work, we report a liquid-exfoliation approach to prepare NiPS3 ultrathin nanosheets as a versatile platform to greatly improve the light-induced hydrogen production on various photocatalysts, including TiO2, CdS, In2ZnS4 and C3N4. The superb visible-light-induced hydrogen production rate (13,600 µmol h-1 g-1) is achieved on NiPS3/CdS hetero-junction with the highest improvement factor (~1,667%) compared with that of pure CdS. This significantly better performance is attributed to the strongly correlated NiPS3/CdS interface assuring efficient electron-hole dissociation/transport, as well as abundant atomic-level edge P/S sites and activated basal S sites on NiPS3 ultrathin nanosheets advancing hydrogen evolution. These findings are revealed by the state-of-art characterizations and theoretical computations. Our work for the first time demonstrates the great potential of metal phosphorous chalcogenide as a general platform to tremendously raise the performance of different photocatalysts.

A loofah-inspired scaffold with enhanced mimicking mechanics and tumor cells distribution for in vitro tumor cell culture platform.

Tumor cells cultured in a physiologically related three-dimensional (3D) matrix can replicate many basic characteristics of tumor tissue. Tumor tissues are harder than normal, so when using hydrogels for 3D tumor cell culture, attempts have been made to prepare hydrogel scaffolds that mimic the hardness of tumor tissues without reducing the porosity. In this study, a new 3D loofah-inspired scaffold was developed for prostate cancer cell culture. Since the loofah sponge structure of the spacer fabric, the composite scaffolds had a compression modulus similar to that of natural prostate tumor tissue at a lower hydrogel concentration (0.25% W/V), and also, endowed the scaffold with high porosity (85 ± 2.52%) for mass transfer. The results of in vitro cell experiments showed that the composite scaffold can support tumor cells to form clusters in a short time (3 days). Preliminary chemosensitivity analysis showed that the drug resistance of the composite scaffold was significantly higher than that of two-dimensional (2D) culture and COL scaffold. Therefore, the 3D tumor cell culture scaffold with bionic structures has the potential to be used as a tumor drug screening model.

Eosinopenia as a biomarker for antibiotic use in COPD exacerbations: protocol for a retrospective hospital-based cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: The acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) has a seriously negative impact on patients' healths condition and disease progression. Bacterial infection is closely related to AECOPD, and antibiotics are frequently used in clinical practice. The lack of specific biomarkers for rational antibiotics use always leads to antibiotics abuse in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) flare-ups. Eosinopenia has been considered to be related to increased bacterial load of potentially pathogenic organisms at the onset of COPD exacerbations. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether eosinopenia could be used as a reference for the use of antibiotics in AECOPD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this study, a hospital-based retrospective cohort design will be adopted to analyse the clinical data of inpatients who are primarily diagnosed with AECOPD in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020. Relevant data will be extracted from the Clinical Big Data Platform for Scientific Research in West China Hospital, including demographic characteristics, blood eosinophil count, procalcitonin, C reactive protein, microbial cultivation, antibiotics use, length of hospital stay, non-invasive ventilation use, intensive care unit transfer and mortality, etc. The collected data will be described and inferred by corresponding statistical methods according to the data type and their distributions. Multiple binary logistic regression models will be used to analyse the relationship between blood eosinophil count and bacterial infection. The antibiotics use, and patient morbidity and mortality will be compared between patients with or without eosinopenia. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the Biomedical Ethics Review Board of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Approval No. 2020-1056). And the research results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2000039379.

Burden of cancer and changing cancer spectrum among older adults in China: Trends and projections to 2030.

BACKGROUND: Cancer creates considerable challenges for China with its aging population. This analysis aimed to estimate the burden of cancer and transition in cancer spectrum among older adults in China by 2030. METHODS: Using data from the National Central Cancer Registry of China, we estimated annual percent change (APC) in cancer incidence and mortality rates among adults aged 60 years and above between 2006 and 2015 using joinpoint regression. We further estimated the number of new cancer cases and deaths from 2020 to 2030 based on the APC and population projections. RESULTS: Although cancer incidence and mortality rates have been decreasing among older adults in China between 2006 and 2015, there were marked increases in the incidence and mortality rates of cervical (incidence: APC = 9.2%, mortality: APC = 7.6% all p < 0.05) and thyroid cancers (incidence: APC = 9.3%, p < 0.05) in older women. Between 2015 and 2030, the number of new cancer cases is projected to increase by 46% from 2.2 million to 3.2 million; cancer deaths will increase by 31% from 1.6 million to 2.1 million among older Chinese adults. In 2015, the 3 most common cancers were lung, colorectal and breast cancer in women, and lung, colorectal and stomach cancer in men. By 2030, cervical cancer is projected to be the most common cancer in women, followed by lung and thyroid cancer; prostate cancer will surpass stomach cancer to become the third most common cancer in men. In both sexes, lung, liver and stomach cancer were the top 3 leading causes of cancer deaths in 2015. In women, cervical cancer will surpass lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths by 2030. CONCLUSION: The growing burden of cervical, thyroid and prostate cancer among older Chinese adults represents a major shift in cancer spectrum in this population.

Research on Financing Mechanism of Long-Term Care Insurance in Xiamen, China: A System Dynamics Simulation.

Objective: This study aimed to predict the changing trend of long-term care insurance (LTCI) funds by clarifying the linkage between revenue and expenditure and its influencing factors and to provide evidence for the establishment of a sustainable LTCI financing mechanism in China. Method: We have taken Xiamen as an example, based on the data from Xiamen Special Economic Zone Yearbook and field survey. The changing trend of LTCI funds is predicted from 2020 to 2030 based on the system dynamics model (SDM) of the LTCI financing system. Also, through literature research and expert consultation, we found the intervention goals and analyzed their impact on the balance of LTCI funds. Results: In the current situation, according to the forecast, the revenue and the expenditure of the LTCI funds will increase year by year from 2020 to 2030 in Xiamen, an increase of about 3.7 times and 8.8 times, respectively. After 2029, the expenditure will exceed the revenue of the LTCI funds and the balance will turn into a deficit. From the perspective of fund revenue, by adjusting the individual payment rate, government financial subsidies, and enterprise payment rate, the proportion of LTCI funds can be increased to alleviate the balance deficit under the original forecast. On the contrary, from the perspective of fund expenditure, increasing the proportion of reimbursement and the rate of severe disability will lead to an increase in fund expenditure. In this case, the balance of the funds will turn into a deficit, 7 years in advance. In addition, it was found that the severe disability rate has the greatest impact on the balance of funds. Discussion: The SDM can objectively reflect the structure and the behavior of the LTCI financing system and has good applicability. By increasing the individual payment rate, government financial subsidies, and enterprise contribution rate, reasonable setting of the reimbursement ratio of nursing services, especially for the prevention of disability among the elderly, to maintain the sustainability of the funds. This study provides strong evidence for policymakers to establish a sustainable LTCI system in China.

Contrasting liquid imbibition into uncoated versus pigment coated paper enables a description of imbibition into new-generation surface-filled paper.

The transport of print fluids into paper is directly dependent on the imbibition characteristic of the paper including both the z-, x- and y-directions. As the measurement of free liquid imbibition into the paper thickness (z-direction) is difficult experimentally, due to the thin nature of paper, in this paper we resort to imbibition along the y-direction of paper to analyse and explore the possibility of understanding the mechanistic differences between wicking into uncoated unfilled paper versus that of controllable pigment-filled paper and paper coating. Considering the classical imbibition dynamic, the measured imbibition was characterised firstly with respect to [Formula: see text] and secondly with respect to linear t. It is shown that the wicking behaviour of uncoated unfilled paper follows neither the classical viscous drag balance model of Lucas-Washburn ([Formula: see text]) nor the more comprehensive inertia-included imbibition described by Bosanquet. However, by increasing the filler load into the surface layer of the paper, the imbibition dynamic is seen to revert to the Bosanquet model. Thus, when using highly filled papers, the imbibition dynamic for printing liquid shows a fast imbibition at the initial stages dominated by inertial plug flow, and then transits to the Lucas-Washburn viscosity-dominated imbibition component over longer time.