[Determination of 13 perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances in fishes by QuEChERS-ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

Perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are compounds characterized by at least one perfluorinated carbon atom in an alkyl chain linked to side-chain groups. Owing to their unique chemical properties, these compounds are widely used in industrial production and daily life. However, owing to anthropogenic activities, sewage discharge, surface runoff, and atmospheric deposition, PFASs have gradually infiltrated the environment and aquatic resources. With their gradual accumulation in environmental waters, PFASs have been detected in fishes and several fish-feeding species, suggesting that they are bioconcentrated and even amplified in aquatic organisms. PFASs exhibit high intestinal absorption efficiencies, and they bioaccumulate at higher trophic levels in the food chain. They can be bioconcentrated in the human body via food (e. g., fish) and thus threaten human health. Therefore, establishing an efficient analytical technique for use in analyzing PFASs in typical fish samples and providing technical support for the safety regulation and risk assessment of fish products is necessary. In this study, by combining solvent extraction and magnetic dispersion-solid phase extraction (d-SPE), an improved QuEChERS method with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of 13 PFASs in fish samples. Fe3O4-TiO2 can be used as an ideal adsorbent in the removal of sample matrix interference and a separation medium for the rapid encapsulation of other solids to be isolated from the solution. Based on the matrix characteristics of the fish products and structural properties of the target PFASs, Fe3O4-TiO2 and N-propyl ethylenediamine (PSA) were employed as adsorbents in dispersive purification. The internal standard method was used in the quantitative analyses of the PFASs. To optimize the sample pretreatment conditions of analyzing PFASs, the selection of the extraction solvent and amounts of Fe3O4-TiO2 and PSA were optimized. Several PFASs contain acidic groups that are non-dissociated in acidic environments, thus favoring their entry into the organic phase. In addition, acidified acetonitrile can denature and precipitate the proteins within the sample matrix, facilitating their removal. Finally, 2% formic acid acetonitrile was used as the extraction solvent, and 20 mg Fe3O4-TiO2, 20 mg PSA and 120 mg anhydrous MgSO4 were used as purification adsorbents. Under the optimized conditions, the developed method exhibited an excellent linearity (R≥0.9973) in the range of 0.01-50 µg/L, and the limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.001-0.023 and 0.003-0.078 µg/L, respectively. The recoveries of the 13 PFASs at low, medium, and high spiked levels (0.5, 10, and 100 µg/kg) were 78.1%-118%, with the intra- and inter-day precisions of 0.2%-11.1% and 0.8%-8.7%, respectively. This method was applied in analyzing real samples, and PFASs including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluoroundecanoic acid, perfluorododecanoic acid, and perfluorotridecanoic acid, were detected in all 11 samples evaluated. This method is simple, sensitive, and suitable for use in analyzing PFASs in fish samples.

Study on the enantioselective behaviors, activity, toxicity and mechanism of novel SDHI fungicide benzovindiflupyr to reduce the environmental risks.

Benzovindiflupyr (BEN) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing SDHI fungicides in recent years, but it is considered "very highly toxic" to aquatic fish, invertebrates and crustaceans (EC50 or LC50, 0.0035-0.056 mg/L, acute toxicity). The comprehensive study on bioactivity, toxicity, and degradation behaviors of BEN at the enantiomeric level would facilitate the development of a high-efficiency and low-risk application method. The bioactivities of 1S, 4R-(-)-BEN against five target pathogens (Alternaria alternata, Phoma multirostrata, Selerotium rolfsii, Magnaporthe oryzae, and Rhizoctonia solani) (EC50, 0.00562-0.329 mg/L, high-efficiency) were 6.7-1029 times higher than 1R, 4S-(+)-BEN, demonstrating significant enantioselectivity. For Danio rerio, 1S, 4R-(-)-BEN (LC50, 0.0360 mg/L, "very highly toxic") exhibited higher toxicity than 1 R, 4S-(+)-BEN, but the toxic interaction was concentration addition (TUrac, 0.94), indicating an enhanced toxicity in the presence of 1R, 4S-(+)-BEN. Molecular docking was employed to offer insights at the molecular level and elucidate the factors influencing enantioselectivity. The stronger binding affinity of 1S, 4R-(-)-BEN with SDH was in line with the quantitative experimental findings. The degradation of two BEN enantiomers in four different fruits followed the first-order degradation kinetics equation, and displayed enantioselectivity. The preferential degradation of 1R, 4S-(+)-BEN was found in pears and grapes, while varying enantioselectivity was found at different stages in tomatoes and watermelons. The residual concentrations of BEN in grapes were higher than the EU's MRL, which in the other three fruits were below the MRLs during the sampling. In conclusion, 1S, 4R-(-)-BEN proved to be the more effective monomer. Utilizing the pure monomer could not only reduce the dosage of racemate by about 44-59 %, but also mitigate the risk of introducing inefficient monomer into the environment (especially for fish).

A case report and literature review: Mycobacterium leprae infection diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid.

BACKGROUND: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) that is responsible for deformities and irreversible peripheral nerve damage and has a broad spectrum of clinical and serological manifestations. Leprosy primarily affects the peripheral nerves and rarely presents with central nervous system involvement. Diagnosing leprosy can still be difficult in some cases, especially when the infection involves uncommon clinical manifestations and extracutaneous sites. Delayed diagnosis and treatment of leprosy may lead to irreversible damage and death. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 30-year-old female presenting with "repeated high fever with symptoms of headache for 14 days". On the day of admission, physical signs of lost eyebrows and scattered red induration patches all over her body were observed. The patient's diagnosis was based on the clinical characteristics using a combination of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and slit-skin smear. After confirming Listeria meningitis and multibacillary leprosy with erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), a type 2 reaction, she was treated with ampicillin sodium, dapsone, rifampicin, clofazimine, methylprednisolone, and thalidomide. At the 1-year follow-up, the frequency and severity of headaches have significantly decreased and a good clinical response with improved skin lesions was found. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the importance of considering leprosy, which is a rare and underrecognized disease, in the differential diagnosis of skin rashes with rheumatic manifestations, even in areas where the disease is not endemic, and physicians should be alerted about the possibility of central nervous system infections. In addition, mNGS can be used as a complementary diagnostic tool to traditional diagnostic methods to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of leprosy.

A comparative study of sampling methods in the detection of esophageal cancer-related microbiota.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a multifaceted disease. Our understanding of the involvement of esophageal microbiota in its pathogenesis and progression is limited, which is due to the lack of proper endoscopic sampling methods. Hereby, we conducted a comparative analysis of paired samples obtained through endoscopic brushing and cytosponge, aiming at assessing the feasibility of using cytosponge as a minimally invasive sampling way for studying esophageal microbiota. Our findings suggest that cytosponge sampling yielded significantly superior community richness and diversity compared to endoscopic brushing in both controls (non-cancerous) and EC individuals. The analysis of beta-diversity revealed distinct microbial community pattern in the genus diversity between the two sampling methods, underscoring the importance of selecting appropriate sampling methods to effectively characterize the esophageal microbiota. Specifically, Lactococcus and Serratia showed higher abundance in the samples collected by endoscopic brushing, while Alloprevotella and Leptotrichia were more enriched in the samples collected by cytosponge. These differences in dominant microbes were associated with metabolic pathways that particularly were related to host inflammation, such as pyruvate and glucose metabolisms. Notably, the phylogenetic levels of the microbiota indicated varied explanatory power for different detection purposes. This study underscores the substantial impact of sampling method selection on the acquisition of esophageal microbiota associated with the EC development, encompassing considerations of both abundance and diversity. This highlights the significance of selecting an appropriate sampling method for investigating the esophageal microbial status and studying the micro-environment in EC-related individuals. IMPORTANCE: This study addresses a critical issue in esophageal cancer study by comparing two different sampling methods, endoscopic brushing and cytosponge, for investigating the esophageal microbiota. Our work highlights the suitability of the cytosponge technique as a minimally invasive sampling method for studying the esophageal microbiota and emphasizes the importance of selecting an appropriate sampling method to characterize the microbial community. Our findings have significant implications for advancing the understanding of the role of the esophageal microbiota in cancer development and will inform future research and clinical approaches in this field.

The Applicability of Polyetheretherketone and Titanium Mesh in Cranioplasty: A Retrospective Comparative Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical application effect and safety of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and titanium mesh (TM) in cranioplasty. METHODS: Four-year retrospective comparison of patients (96 cases) undergoing synthetic cranioplasty with PEEK or TM. The patients were divided into the PEEK group (24 cases) and the TM group (72 cases) according to the implants, and the patient demographics, general conditions before the operation, postoperative complications, length of postoperative hospital stay, total costs, satisfaction with shaping and long-term complications were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Patients in the PEEK group were younger than those in the TM group (P=0.019). Hospitalization costs were significantly higher in the PEEK group than in the TM group (P<0.001). The incidence of postoperative subcutaneous effusion was 33% in the PEEK group and 6.9% in the TM group, which suggests that patients in the PEEK group had a higher risk of postoperative subcutaneous effusion (P=0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of long-term complications and cosmetic satisfaction between the 2 groups at 4 years postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, both titanium mesh and PEEK are reliable implants for cranioplasty. Titanium mesh is widely used in cranioplasty due to its cost-effective performance. PEEK has gradually gained recognition due to the characteristics of the material and surgical procedure, but the price needs to be further reduced, and attention should be paid to the occurrence and treatment of early postoperative subcutaneous effusion.

Growth differentiation factor-15 predicts all-cause death and major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with coronary heart disease: a prospective cohort study.

The prognostic value of growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) in predicting long-term adverse outcomes in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients remains limited. Our study examines the association between GDF-15 and adverse outcomes over an extended period in CHD patients and firstly assesses the incremental prognostic effect of incorporating GDF-15 into the Framingham risk score (FRS)-based model. This single-center prospective cohort study included 3,321 patients with CHD categorized into 2,479 acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (74.6%) and 842 non-ACS (25.4%) groups. The median age was 61.0 years (range: 53.0-70.0), and 917 (27.6%) were females. Mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) included cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and heart failure (HF) (inclusive of HF episodes requiring outpatient treatment and/or hospital admission). Cox regression models assessed the associations between GDF-15 and the incidence of all-cause mortality and MACEs. Patients were stratified into three groups based on GDF-15 levels: the first tertile group (< 1,370 ng/L), the second tertile group (1,370-2,556 ng/L), and the third tertile group (> 2,556 ng/L). The C-index, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), net reclassification improvement (NRI), and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to assess incremental value. Over a median 9.4-year follow-up, 759 patients (22.9%) died, and 1,291 (38.9%) experienced MACEs. The multivariate Cox model indicated that GDF-15 was significantly associated with all-cause mortality (per ln unit increase, HR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.36-1.64) and MACEs (per ln unit increase, HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.20-1.38). These associations persisted when GDF-15 was analyzed as an ordinal variable (p for trend < 0.05). Subgroup analysis of ACS and non-ACS for the components of MACEs separately showed a significant association between GDF-15 and both cardiovascular mortality and HF, but no association was observed between GDF-15 and MI /stroke in both ACS and non-ACS patients. The addition of GDF-15 to the FRS-based model enhanced the discrimination for both all-cause mortality (∆ C-index = 0.009, 95% CI: 0.005-0.014; IDI = 0.030, 95% CI: 0.015-0.047; continuous NRI = 0.631, 95% CI: 0.569-0.652) and MACEs (∆ C-index = 0.009, 95% CI: 0.006-0.012; IDI = 0.026, 95% CI: 0.009-0.042; continuous NRI = 0.593, 95% CI: 0.478-0.682). DCA suggested that incorporating GDF-15 into the FRS-based model demonstrated higher net benefits compared to FRS-based models alone (All-cause mortality: FRS-based model: area under the curve of DCA (AUDC) = 0.0903, FRS-based model + GDF-15: AUDC = 0.0908; MACEs: FRS-based model: AUDC = 0.1806, FRS-based model + GDF-15: AUDC = 0.1833). GDF-15 significantly associates with the long-term prognosis of all-cause mortality and MACEs in CHD patients and significantly improves the prognostic accuracy of the FRS-based model for both outcomes.

Dual-Mechanism Peptide SR25 has Broad Antimicrobial Activity and Potential Application for Healing Bacteria-infected Diabetic Wounds.

The rise of antibiotic resistance poses a significant public health crisis, particularly due to limited antimicrobial options for the treatment of infections with Gram-negative pathogens. Here, an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) SR25 is characterized, which effectively kills both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria through a unique dual-targeting mechanism without detectable resistance. Meanwhile, an SR25-functionalized hydrogel is developed for the efficient treatment of infected diabetic wounds. SR25 is obtained through genome mining from an uncultured bovine enteric actinomycete named Nonomuraea Jilinensis sp. nov. Investigations reveal that SR25 has two independent cellular targets, disrupting bacterial membrane integrity and restraining the activity of succinate:quinone oxidoreductase (SQR). In a diabetic mice wound infection model, the SR25-incorporated hydrogel exhibits high efficacy against mixed infections of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), accelerating wound healing. Overall, these findings demonstrate the therapeutic potential of SR25 and highlight the value of mining drugs with multiple mechanisms from uncultured animal commensals for combating challenging bacterial pathogens.

On-chip integrated metasystem for spin-dependent multi-channel color holography.

On-chip integrated metasurface driven by in-plane guided waves is of great interests in various light-field manipulation applications such as colorful augmented reality and holographic display. However, it remains a challenge to design colorful multichannel holography by a single on-chip metasurface. Here we present metasurfaces integrated on top of a guided-wave photonic slab that achieves multi-channel colorful holographic light display. An end-to-end scheme is used to inverse design the metasurface for projecting off-chip preset multiple patterns. Particular examples are presented for customized patterns that were encoded into the metasurface with a single-cell meta-atom, working simultaneously at RGB color channels and for several different diffractive distances, with polarization dependence. Holographic images are generated at 18 independent channels with such a single-cell metasurface. The proposed design scheme is easy to implement, and the resulting device is viable for fabrication, promising plenty of applications in nanophotonics.

Digital ray: enhancing cataractous fundus images using style transfer generative adversarial networks to improve retinopathy detection.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate digital ray, based on preoperative and postoperative image pairs using style transfer generative adversarial networks (GANs), to enhance cataractous fundus images for improved retinopathy detection. METHODS: For eligible cataract patients, preoperative and postoperative colour fundus photographs (CFP) and ultra-wide field (UWF) images were captured. Then, both the original CycleGAN and a modified CycleGAN (C2ycleGAN) framework were adopted for image generation and quantitatively compared using Frechet Inception Distance (FID) and Kernel Inception Distance (KID). Additionally, CFP and UWF images from another cataract cohort were used to test model performances. Different panels of ophthalmologists evaluated the quality, authenticity and diagnostic efficacy of the generated images. RESULTS: A total of 959 CFP and 1009 UWF image pairs were included in model development. FID and KID indicated that images generated by C2ycleGAN presented significantly improved quality. Based on ophthalmologists' average ratings, the percentages of inadequate-quality images decreased from 32% to 18.8% for CFP, and from 18.7% to 14.7% for UWF. Only 24.8% and 13.8% of generated CFP and UWF images could be recognised as synthetic. The accuracy of retinopathy detection significantly increased from 78% to 91% for CFP and from 91% to 93% for UWF. For retinopathy subtype diagnosis, the accuracies also increased from 87%-94% to 91%-100% for CFP and from 87%-95% to 93%-97% for UWF. CONCLUSION: Digital ray could generate realistic postoperative CFP and UWF images with enhanced quality and accuracy for overall detection and subtype diagnosis of retinopathies, especially for CFP.\ TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05491798).

The non-invasive serum biomarkers contributes to indicate liver fibrosis staging and evaluate the progress of chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic abilities of the non-invasive serum biomarkers to predict liver fibrosis staging and evaluate the progress of hepatitis B. METHODS: We enrolled 433 patients with chronic HBV infection had complete medical data available for the study, who underwent percutaneous liver biopsy. The extent of fibrosis was assessed using the modified METAVIR score. The predictive values of the non-invasive serum biomarkers were evaluated by the areas under the receiving operator characteristics curves (AUROCs) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The proportion of males with progressive stages of liver fibrosis was relatively larger, and the average age of patients with cirrhosis stages is older than the non-cirrhotic stages. We found PLT, GGT, ALP, TB, FIB4 and GPR to be significantly associated with liver fibrosis in our cohort. GGT showed a sensitivity of 71.4% and specificity of 76.7% in distinguishing cirrhosis (F4) from non-cirrhotic stages (F1-3), with an AUROC of 0.775 (95%CI 0.711-0.840).The AUROCs of the GPR in distinguishing cirrhosis (F4) from non-cirrhotic stages (F1-3) was 0.794 (95%CI 0.734-0.853), but it had a lower sensitivity of 59.2%. Additionally, GGT, FIB4, and GPR could differentiate advanced fibrosis (F3-4) from non-advanced fibrosis (F1-2) among individuals with chronic hepatitis B, with AUROCs of 0.723 (95%CI 0.668-0.777), 0.729 (95%CI 0.675-0.782), and 0.760 (95%CI: 0.709-0.811) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: GGT was a better biomarker to distinguish cirrhosis (F4) from non-cirrhotic stages (F1-3), while GPR was a better biomarker to identify advanced fibrosis (F3-4) and non-advanced fibrosis (F1-2) in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

The burden, causes, and determinants of blindness and vision impairment in Asia: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study.

Background: Asia accounts for more than half of the world's population and carries a substantial proportion of the global burden of blindness and vision impairment. Characterising this burden, as well as its causes and determinants, could help with devising targeted interventions for reducing the occurrence of blindness and visual impairment. Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 database, we retrieved data on the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs); crude and age-standardised rates; and the prevalence (with 95% uncertainty intervals (95%UIs)) of blindness and vision loss due to six causes (age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, near-vision impairment, refractive error, and other vision loss) for Asian countries for the period between 1990 and 2019. We defined DALYs as the sum of the years lost due to disability and years of life lost, and calculated age-standardised figures for the number of DALYs and prevalence by adjusting for population size and age structure. We then evaluated the time trend of the disease burden and conducted subgroup analyses by gender, age, geographic locations, and socio-demographic index (SDI). Results: In 2019, the DALYs and prevalence of blindness and vision loss had risen by 90.1% and 116% compared with 1990, reaching 15.84 million DALYs (95% UI = 15.83, 15.85) and 506.71 million cases (95% UI = 506.68, 506.74). Meanwhile, the age-standardised rate of DALYs decreased from 1990 to 2019. Cataracts, refractive error, and near vision impairment were the three most common causes. South Asia had the heaviest regional disease burden (age-standardised rate of DALYs = 517 per 100 000 population; 95% UI = 512, 521). Moreover, the burden due to cataracts ranked high in most Asian populations. Being a woman; being older; and having a lower national SDI were factors associated with a greater vision loss burden. Conclusions: The burden due to vision loss remains high in Asian populations. Cataracts, refractive error, and near vision loss were the primary causes of blindness and vision loss. Greater investment in ocular disease prevention and care by countries with lower socioeconomic status is needed, as well as specific strategies targeting cataract management, women and the elderly.

The features of male breast cancer in China: A real-world study.

BACKGROUND: Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease. Although several large-scale studies have investigated MBC patients in other countries, the features of MBC patients in China have not been fully explored. This study aims to explore the features of Chinese MBC patients comprehensively. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data of MBC patients from 36 centers in China. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox regression analyses. Multivariate Cox analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors of the patients. RESULTS: In total, 1119 patients were included. The mean age at diagnosis was 60.9 years, and a significant extension over time was observed (P < 0.001). The majority of the patients (89.1 %) received mastectomy. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 7.8 % of the patients diagnosed in 2009 or earlier, and this percentage increased significantly to 38.8 % in 2020 or later (P < 0.001). The five-year OS rate for the population was 85.5 % [95 % confidence interval (CI), 82.8 %-88.4 %]. Multivariate Cox analysis identified taxane-based [T-based, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.32, 95 % CI, 0.13 to 0.78, P = 0.012] and anthracycline plus taxane-based (A + T-based, HR = 0.47, 95 % CI, 0.23 to 0.96, P = 0.037) regimens as independent protective factors for OS. However, the anthracycline-based regimen showed no significance in outcome (P = 0.175). CONCLUSION: As the most extensive MBC study in China, we described the characteristics, treatment and prognosis of Chinese MBC population comprehensively. T-based and A + T-based regimens were protective factors for OS in these patients. More research is required for this population.

Leveraging diffusion models for unsupervised out-of-distribution detection on image manifold.

Out-of-distribution (OOD) detection is crucial for enhancing the reliability of machine learning models when confronted with data that differ from their training distribution. In the image domain, we hypothesize that images inhabit manifolds defined by latent properties such as color, position, and shape. Leveraging this intuition, we propose a novel approach to OOD detection using a diffusion model to discern images that deviate from the in-domain distribution. Our method involves training a diffusion model using in-domain images. At inference time, we lift an image from its original manifold using a masking process, and then apply a diffusion model to map it towards the in-domain manifold. We measure the distance between the original and mapped images, and identify those with a large distance as OOD. Our experiments encompass comprehensive evaluation across various datasets characterized by differences in color, semantics, and resolution. Our method demonstrates strong and consistent performance in detecting OOD images across the tested datasets, highlighting its effectiveness in handling images with diverse characteristics. Additionally, ablation studies confirm the significant contribution of each component in our framework to the overall performance.

A nomogram for predicting pathologic node negativity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients: a nationwide, multicenter retrospective cohort study (CSBrS-012).

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with pathologic node-negativity (ypN0) in patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) to develop and validate an accurate prediction nomogram. Methods: The CSBrS-012 study (2010-2020) included female patients with primary breast cancer treated with NAC followed by breast and axillary surgery in 20 hospitals across China. In the present study, 7,711 eligible patients were included, comprising 6,428 patients in the primary cohort from 15 hospitals and 1,283 patients in the external validation cohort from five hospitals. The hospitals were randomly assigned. The primary cohort was randomized at a 3:1 ratio and divided into a training set and an internal validation set. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on the training set, after which a nomogram was constructed and validated both internally and externally. Results: In total, 3,560 patients (46.2%) achieved ypN0, and 1,558 patients (20.3%) achieved pathologic complete response in the breast (bpCR). A nomogram was constructed based on the clinical nodal stage before NAC (cN), ER, PR, HER2, Ki67, NAC treatment cycle, and bpCR, which were independently associated with ypN0. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the training set was 0.80. The internal and external validation demonstrated good discrimination, with AUCs of 0.79 and 0.76, respectively. Conclusion: We present a real-world study based on nationwide large-sample data that can be used to effectively screen for ypN0 to provide better advice for the management of residual axillary disease in breast cancer patients undergoing NAC.

Association Between Preoperative Ocular Parameters and Myopic Shift in Children Undergoing Primary Intraocular Lens Implantation.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between preoperative ocular parameters and myopic shift following primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in pediatric cataracts. Methods: Eyes from pediatric patients undergoing bilateral cataract surgery with primary IOL implantation were included. Eyes were grouped by age at surgery and subdivided into three axial length (AL) subgroups and three keratometry subgroups. Mixed-effects linear regression was utilized to assess the trend in myopic shift among subgroups. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine factors associated with myopic shift. Results: A total of 222 eyes were included. The median age at surgery was 4.36 years (interquartile range [IQR], 3.16-6.00 years) and the median follow-up was 4.18 years (IQR, 3.48-4.64 years). As preoperative AL increased, a decreased trend was observed in myopic shift and rate of myopic shift (P = 0.008 and P = 0.003, respectively, in the 4 to <6 years old group; P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively, in the ≥6 years old group). Greater myopic shift and rate of myopic shift were associated with younger age at surgery (P = 0.008 and P = 0.008, respectively). Both myopic shift and rate of myopic shift were negatively associated with AL. Conclusions: Age at surgery and preoperative AL were associated with myopic shift in pediatric cataracts following primary IOL implantation. Adjusting the target refraction based on preoperative AL could potentially improve patients' long-term refractive outcome. Translational Relevance: This study may help to guide the selection of postoperative target refraction according to age at surgery and preoperative ocular parameters for pediatric cataracts.

Hybrid Surface Modification and Bulk Doping Enable Spent LiCoO2 Cathodes for High-Voltage Operation.

The emerging market demand for high-energy-density of energy storage devices is pushing the disposal of end-of-life LiCoO2 (LCO) to shift toward sustainable upgrading into structurally stable high-voltage cathode materials. Herein, an integrated bulk and surface commodification strategy is proposed to render spent LCO (S-LCO) to operate at high voltages, involving bulk Mn doping, near surface P gradient doping, and Li3PO4/CoP (LPO/CP) coating on the LCO surface to yield upcycled LCO (defined as MP-LCO@LPO/CP). Benefiting from hybrid surface coating with Li+-conductive Li3PO4 (LPO) and electron conductive CoP (CP) coupled with Mn and P co-doping, the optimized MP-LCO@LPO/CP cathode exhibits enhanced high-voltage performance, delivering an initial discharge capacity of 218.8 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C with excellent capacity retention of 80.9% (0.5 C) after 200 cycles at a cut-off voltage of 4.6 V, along with 96.3% of capacity retention over 100 cycles at 4.5 V. These findings may afford meaningful construction for the upcycling of commercial S-LCO into next-generation upmarket cathode materials through the elaborate surface and bulk modification design.

Synthesis and characterisation of K2CO3-activated carbon produced from distilled spent grains for the adsorption of CO2.

Activated carbon was prepared from distilled spent grains (DSG) using K2CO3 activation and chitosan modification. The effects of activator dosage, activation temperature, and the incorporation of chitosan as a nitrogen source on the adsorption performance were studied in this paper. The activated carbons were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas adsorption. Under the optimal conditions, the BET-specific surface area, total pore volume, and microporous volume of the activated carbon were as high as 1142 m2/g, 0.62 cm3/g, and 0.40 cm3/g, respectively. Chitosan was used as the nitrogen source, and surface modification was carried out concurrently with the K2CO3 activation process. The results revealed a carbon dioxide adsorption capacity of 5.2 mmol/g at 273.15 K and 1 bar without a nitrogen source, which increased to 5.76 mmol/g after chitosan modification. The isosteric heat of adsorption of CO2 all exceed 20 kJ/mol, hinting at the coexistence of both physisorption and chemisorption. The adsorption behaviour of the DSG-based activated carbon can be well-described by the Freundlich model.

Schisandrin B protect inner hair cells from cisplatin by inhibiting celluar oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent; however, ototoxicity is one of its negative effects that greatly limits the use of cisplatin in clinical settings. Previous research has shown that the most important process cisplatin damage to inner ear cells, such as hair cells (HCs), is the excessive production and accumulation of ROS. Schisandrin B (SchB), is a low-toxicity, inexpensive, naturally occurring antioxidant with a variety of pharmacological effects. Therefore, the potential antioxidant effects of SchB may be useful for cisplatin ototoxicity treatment. In this study, the effects of SchB on cochlear hair cell viability, ROS levels, and expression of apoptosis-related molecules were evaluated by CCK-8, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and qRT-PCR, as well as auditory brainstem response (ABR) and dysmorphic product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) tests to assess the effects on inner ear function. The results showed that SchB treatment increased cell survival, prevented apoptosis, and reduced cisplatin-induced ROS formation. SchB treatment reduced the loss of cochlear HCs caused by cisplatin in exosome culture. In addition, SchB treatment attenuated cisplatin-induced hearing loss and HC loss in mice. This study demonstrates the ability of SchB to inhibit cochlear hair cell apoptosis and ROS generation and shows its potential therapeutic effect on cisplatin ototoxicity.