Preparation and Evaluation of Nanoemulsion Formulation Containing Kojic Acid and Kojyl 3-aminopropylphosphonic Acid.

BACKGROUND: The kojyl 3-aminopropylphosphonic acid (KAP) was synthesized by kojic acid (KA) with a 3-aminopropylphosphonic acid. Which is more stable than KA and showed better skin penetration and anti-pigmentation efficacy in melanocytes. However, up till now, there have been no studies aimed at incorporating KAP into an emulsion system and evaluating its effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: We develop a novel skin-lightening agent using KAP as the active ingredient and a low-cytotoxic nanoemulsion as the delivery system in this study. METHOD: The sorbitan monooleate and polysorbate surfactants with polyethylene glycol (PEG) co-surfactant were used to generate a nanoemulsion system. RESULT: The transparency and particle size stability over various storage times indicate that the formulated nanoemulsions are suitable for long-term storage. Besides, results demonstrate that the anti-pigmentation function of KA and KAP-containing nanoemulsions (NE-KA and NEKAP) evidently outperformed that of the non-packed KA and KAP group. Despite having the lowest concentration among other treatments, NE-KAP was able to reduce melanin content to approximately 80% of the blank. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that this newly developed nanoemulsion containing KAP could potentially serve as a sustainable alternative to hydroquinone for treating dermal hyperpigmentation disorders in future applications.

Optimized optical system with a 1.65 m wide-field corrector for the 6.5 m high-performance MUltiplexed Survey Telescope.

The development of modern large-scale spectroscopic survey telescopes responds to the urgent demand for spectral information in astronomical research. Tsinghua University has previously proposed a 6.5 m MUltiplexed Survey Telescope consisting of a Ritchey-Chretien configuration and a 1.8 m multi-element wide-field corrector, achieving excellent performance and world-leading survey efficiency. However, an optimized 1.65 m multi-element corrector with five lenses is proposed to overcome the constraints on glass uniformity and verification in fabrication of the previous corrector design. It maintains outstanding image quality, with the 80% enclosed energy diameter not more than 0.559 arcsec within 3° FoV over up to a 55° zenith angle. The optimized optical system does not revise the working mode of the ADC or the curvature of the primary mirror while ensuring the reasonability and accuracy of manufacturing of large corrector elements. It provides a more feasible reference optical design for the MUltiplexed Survey Telescope in subsequent iterations and communications with manufacturers.

Anatomic versus non-anatomic resection for early-stage intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a propensity score matching and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis.

BACKGROUND: Radical resection is still the most cost-effectiveness curative strategy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), but it remains controversial on the survival benefit of anatomic resection (AR). In this study, we sought to compare the oncologic outcomes between AR versus non-AR (NAR) as the primary treatment for early-stage ICC patients. METHODS: Data of ICC patients who underwent hepatectomy and staged at AJCC I were retrospectively collected from 12 hepatobiliary centers in China between Dec 2012 and Dec 2015. Propensity score matching (PSM) and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis were performed to minimize the effect of potential confounders, and the perioperative and long-term outcomes between AR and NAR groups were compared. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-eight ICC patients staged at AJCC I were eligible for this study, including 126 patients receiving AR and 152 patients receiving NAR. Compared to the NAR group, the AR group experienced more intraoperative blood loss before and after PSM or stabilized IPTW (all P > 0.05); AR group also experienced more intraoperative transfusion after stabilized IPTW (P > 0.05). In terms of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), no significant differences were observed between the two groups before and after PSM or stabilized IPTW (all P > 0.05). Multivariable Cox regression analyses found that AR was not an independent prognostic factor for either DFS or OS (all P > 0.05). Further analysis also showed that the survival benefit of AR was not found in any subgroup stratified by Child-Pugh grade (A or B), cirrhosis (presence or absence), tumor diameter (≤ 5 cm or > 5 cm) and pathological type (mass-forming or non-mass-forming) with all P > 0.05. CONCLUSION: Surgical approach does not influence the prognosis of patients with stage I primary ICC, and NAR might be acceptable and oncological safety.

High robustness single-shot wavefront sensing method using a near-field profile image and fully-connected retrieval neural network for a high power laser facility.

This paper proposes a single-shot high robustness wavefront sensing method based on deep-learning for wavefront distortion measurement in high power lasers. This method could achieve fast and robust wavefront retrieval by using a single-shot near-field profile image and trained network. The deep-learning network uses fully-skip cross connections to extract and integrate multi-scale feature maps from various layers and stages, which improves the wavefront retrieval speed and enhances the robustness of the method. The numerical simulation proves that the method could directly predict the wavefront distortion of high power lasers with high accuracy. The experiment demonstrates the residual RMS between the method and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is less than 0.01 µm. The simulational and experimental results show that the method could accurately predict the incident wavefront distortion in high power lasers, exhibiting high speed and good robustness in wavefront retrieval.

Effect of Different Silane Coupling Agents on Properties of Waste Corrugated Paper Fiber/Polylactic Acid Composites.

The surface of plant fibers was modified by silane coupling agents to prepare plant fiber/polylactic acid (PLA) composites, which can improve the dispersion, adhesion, and compatibility between the plant fibers and the PLA matrix. In this work, three silane coupling agents (KH550, KH560, and KH570) with different molecular structures were used to modify the surface of waste corrugated paper fibers (WFs), and dichloromethane was used as the solvent to prepare the WF/PLA composites. The effects of different silane coupling agents on the microstructure, mechanical properties, thermal decomposition, and crystallization properties of the composites were studied. The mechanical properties of the composites treated with 4 wt% KH560 were the best. Silane coupling agents can slightly improve the melting temperature of the composites, and WFs can promote the crystallization of PLA. The modification of WFs by silane coupling agents can increase the decomposition temperature of the WF/PLA composites. The content and type of silane coupling agent directly affected the mechanical properties of the WF/PLA composites. The interfacial compatibility between the WFs and PLA can be improved by using a silane coupling agent, which can further enhance the mechanical properties of WF/PLA composites. This provides a research basis for the further improvement of the performance of plant fiber/PLA composites.

Hybrid ball-hinged secondary mirror assembly for high-precision surface shape maintenance.

As an essential part of optical telescope, the secondary mirror is subject to the influence of ambient temperature, which leads to temperature-induced distortion on the surface shape. A hybrid ball-hinged secondary mirror assembly (HSMA) is proposed to achieve thermal adaptation over a wide range of temperature. Simulation investigation on the temperature-induced surface shape distortion of the HSMA were carried out by using the finite element model. Simulation results show that the change of secondary mirror surface distortions over a wide range of temperature are minimal and negligible. For the wide ambient temperature range from -30°C to 70°C, the PV and RMS values of the maximum residual distortions can reach as small as 16.31 nm and 3.005 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the influence of gravity-induced distortion on the surface shape is also carried out. Both simulation and experiment results show that the HSMA is able to maintain high-precision surface shape of the secondary mirror over a wide range of temperature and at different attitudes from 0 to 90 ∘.

Dynamic evaluation of postoperative survival in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients who did not undergo lymphadenectomy: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients who did not undergo lymphadenectomy is difficult to assess. This study aims to have a dynamic evaluation on the postoperative survival of ICC patients by calculating conditional survival. METHODS: Relevant data were from patients treated in 12 large-scale hospitals from December 2011 to December 2017. The influence of relevant clinical baseline data on the prognosis of ICC patients was analyzed by Cox regression. Conditional survival (CS) is a method that may predict the prognostic probability dynamically. For a patient with x years of survival, the 1-year CS (CS1) may be calculated as CS1= OS(x + 1)/OS(x). RESULT: A total of 361 patients who met the criteria were included in the study. Conditional survival (CS) means that the patients' prognosis varies with survival time, meanwhile, relevant factors affecting the prognosis have a time-varying effect. The probability of survival assessed by CS1 increased year by year and the 1,2,3-year survival improved from 68.4% to 87.8%, while the postoperative actuarial OS decreased from 69.4% at 1 years to 36.9% at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of CS, the estimated survival for ICC varies with the increase of survival time after excision. Patients who live longer were likely to live longer. At the same time, with the passage of time, the role of the original adverse factors of the tumor would gradually decrease. Conditional survival allows a more accurate assessment of ICC patients who did not undergo lymphadenectomy.

Preparation and Properties of Waste Corrugated Paper Fiber/Polylactic Acid Co-Extruded Composite.

In order to explore the methods of recycling waste paper, reduce environment pollution, and develop a circular economy, the application of waste corrugated paper to the strengthening of polylactic acid (PLA) was studied. Plant fiber from waste corrugated paper (WCPF) was used to prepare WCPF/PLA composite via co-extrusion. The WCPF was extracted from the waste corrugated paper by beating in a Valli beating machine and grinding in a disc grinder. KH-550 coupling agent was used to modify the surface of WCPF to improve the interface adhesive strength between the WCPF and PLA matrix. The effects of the contents of WCPF and KH-550 coupling agent on the mechanical properties, microstructure, crystallization properties, and thermostability of the WCPF/PLA composite were studied. The results show that the WCPF can be well separated from each other. The WCPF can be uniformly dispersed in the PLA matrix through a co-extrusion process. WCPF can increase the mechanical strength and deformation resistance ability of WCPF/PLA composite, and KH-550 coupling agent can further improve that of the WCPF/PLA composite. This study is of obvious significance to the recycling of waste paper and the development of a circular economy.

The Reinforcing Effect of Waste Corrugated Paper Fiber on Polylactic Acid.

To improve the recycle value of waste paper and promote circular economic development, waste corrugated paper fiber (WCPF) was used as a reinforcing agent to prepare waste corrugated paper fiber/polylactic acid (WCPF/PLA) composites via dichloromethane solvent which can be reused. The WCPF in the waste corrugated paper is extracted by beating in a Valli beating machine for different time lengths and grinding in a disc grinder. The effects of beating time and the content of WCPF on the microstructure, mechanical properties, thermal decomposition process, and crystallization properties of the WCPF/PLA composite were studied. The result shows that the WCPF can be well separated from each other and can be evenly dispersed in the PLA matrix. When 25 wt% WCPF which was beat for 30 min was used, the composite has the greatest improvement in tensile property. This study provides a new process for the recycling of waste paper in the application of polymer reinforcement. The research on waste paper fiber and degradable polymer composite is of great significance for reducing environmental pollutants and developing circular economy.

Sulfur edge in molybdenum disulfide nanosheets achieves efficient uranium binding and electrocatalytic extraction in seawater.

Electrochemical extraction of uranium in seawater provides a promising strategy for the persistent supply of fuel in the nuclear industry. However, current operation voltage for the electrochemical extraction of uranium in seawater generally requires a high applied voltage (∼-5 V). Herein, we constructed S-terminated MoS2 nanosheets with abundant electrochemically active S-edge sites for efficient binding and reduction of uranium. In 100 ppm of uranium-spiked seawater at an applied voltage of -3 V, the S-terminated MoS2 nanosheets exhibited a considerable extraction capacity of 1823 mg g-1. After 30 min electrolysis in 100 mL of real seawater with 100 times concentrated uranium (330 ppb), the extracted uranium (29.5 µg) consumes electricity of 8.7 mW h. Moreover, we concentrated 12 L of real seawater (3.3 ppb) into 20 mL of aqueous solution containing 1752.6 ppb U by adding a reverse potential. In the mechanistic study, we directly observed the uranium clusters and single atoms confined by the S-edge at atomic resolution, which served as the intermediate and accounted for the boosted uranium extraction in seawater.

The Efficacy and Safety of Phase I Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients Hospitalized in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: A Study Protocol for a Randomized, Controlled, Clinical Trial.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves outcomes in patients with heart failure. However, data on CR efficacy in patients with acute decompensated heart failure is limited. This study is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of CR in patients hospitalized in cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Methods: This is a single-center, randomized controlled, single-blind clinical trial. A total of 120 participants hospitalized in CICU with ADHF will be randomly allocated in the ratio of 1:1 to two groups: CR group and control group. Participants will receive tailored and progressive CR intervention or attention control. The CR intervention include personalized breathing training, small muscle group resistance training, and aerobic endurance training based on the physical fitness assessment results. The subjects will receive the CR training for 5 days and will be followed up for 6 months. The primary endpoints are the score of the short physical performance battery (SPPB) and 6-month all-cause rehospitalization. The secondary endpoints include cardio-pulmonary function, activities of daily living (ADL), in-hospital mortality rate and 6-month all-cause mortality rate. Discussion: This randomized, controlled, clinical trial will assess whether CR improves physical function and reduces rehospitalization in patients hospitalized in CICU with ADHF. The results will provide further research-based evidence for the clinical application of CR in patients with ADHF. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100050151. Registered on 19 August 2021.

Synthesis of Uranium Single Atom from Radioactive Wastewater for Enhanced Water Dissociation and Hydrogen Evolution.

As a common nuclide in radioactive wastewater, uranium (U) is generally treated by landfill, which induces the massive abandonment of uranium resources. In this work, a pulse voltammetry method for the synthesis of U single atoms on MoS2 (U/MoS2 ) nanosheets from radioactive wastewater for the electrocatalytic alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is reported. The mass loading of U single atoms is facilely controlled with high selectivity for coexisting ions in radioactive wastewater. In the electrolyte of 1 m of KOH, U/MoS2 nanosheets with 5.2% of U single atoms exhibit relatively low overpotentials of 72 mV at 10 mA cm-2 . The mechanistic study reveals that the HER on U/MoS2 includes the water dissociation on U single atoms to form OH* and H transfer from OH* to adjacent S-edge atoms. This procedure exhibits decreased activation energy for transition state in water dissociation and optimized Gibbs free energy for H* adsorption.

Atomically Dispersed Cu Anchored on Nitrogen and Boron Codoped Carbon Nanosheets for Enhancing Catalytic Performance.

Development of high-performance heterogeneous catalytic materials is important for the rapid upgrade of chemicals, which remains a challenge. Here, the benzene oxidation reaction was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the atomic interface strategy to improve catalytic performance. The developed B,N-cocoordinated Cu single atoms anchored on carbon nanosheets (Cu1/B-N) with the Cu-N2B1 atomic interface was prepared by the pyrolysis of a precoordinated Cu precursor. Benefiting from the unique atomic Cu-N2B1 interfacial structure, the designed Cu1/B-N exhibited considerable activity in the oxidation of benzene, which was much higher than Cu1/N-C, Cu NPs/N-C, and N-C catalysts. A theoretical study showed that the enhanced catalytic performance resulted from the optimized adsorption of intermediates, which originated from the manipulation of the electronic structure of Cu single atoms induced by B atom coordination in the Cu-N2B1 atomic interface. This study provides an innovative approach for the rational design of high-performance heterogeneous catalytic materials at the atomic level.

Prognostic value and predication model of microvascular invasion in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a multicenter study from China.

BACKGROUND: At present, hepatectomy is still the most common and effective treatment method for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients. However, the postoperative prognosis is poor. Therefore, the prognostic factors for these patients require further exploration. Whether microvascular invasion (MVI) plays a crucial role in the prognosis of ICC patients is still unclear. Moreover, few studies have focused on preoperative predictions of MVI in ICC patients. METHODS: Clinicopathological data of 704 ICC patients after curative resection were retrospectively collected from 13 hospitals. Independent risk factors were identified by the Cox or logistic proportional hazards model. In addition, the survival curves of the MVI-positive and MVI-negative groups before and after matching were analyzed. Subsequently, 341 patients from a single center (Eastern Hepatobiliary Hospital) in the above multicenter retrospective cohort were used to construct a nomogram prediction model. Then, the model was evaluated by the index of concordance (C-Index) and the calibration curve. RESULTS: After propensity score matching (PSM), Child-Pugh grade and MVI were independent risk factors for overall survival (OS) in ICC patients after curative resection. Major hepatectomy and MVI were independent risk factors for recurrence-free survival (RFS). The survival curves of OS and RFS before and after PSM in the MVI-positive groups were significantly different compared with those in the MVI-negative groups. Multivariate logistic regression results demonstrated that age, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and preoperative image tumor number were independent risk factors for the occurrence of MVI. Furthermore, the prediction model in the form of a nomogram was constructed, which showed good prediction ability for both the training (C-index = 0.7622) and validation (C-index = 0.7591) groups, and the calibration curve showed good consistency with reality. CONCLUSION: MVI is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of ICC patients after curative resection. Age, GGT, and preoperative image tumor number were independent risk factors for the occurrence of MVI in ICC patients. The prediction model constructed further showed good predictive ability in both the training and validation groups with good consistency with reality.

Using a Cellular System to Directly Assess the Effects of Cosmetic Microemulsion Encapsulated DeoxyArbutin.

DeoxyArbutin (dA) is a tyrosinase inhibitor that has effective skin-lightening activity and has no obvious cytotoxicity toward melanocytes. With the aim of directly evaluating the effects of microemulsions containing dA on cells, we developed oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsions with relatively lower cytotoxicities by using polysorbate-series surfactants. Measurement of the transparent properties and particle size analysis at different storage time periods revealed that the developed microemulsions were stable. Moreover, the developed microemulsions had direct effects on B16-F10 mouse melanoma cells. The anti-melanogenesis activities of dA-containing microemulsions were evidently better than that of the free dA group. The results demonstrated that the developed microemulsion encapsulating dA may allow the use of deoxyArbutin instead of hydroquinone to treat dermal hyperpigmentation disorders in the future.

Copper and Zirconium Codoped O3-Type Sodium Iron and Manganese Oxide as the Cobalt/Nickel-Free High-Capacity and Air-Stable Cathode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Considering the abundance of iron and manganese within the Earth's crust, the cathode O3-NaFe0.5Mn0.5O2 has shown great potential for large-scale energy storage. Following the strategy of introducing specific heteroelements to optimize the structural stability for energy storage, the work has obtained an O3-type NaFe0.4Mn0.49Cu0.1Zr0.01O2 that exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance and air stability. It displays an initial reversible capacity of 147.5 mAh g-1 at 0.1C between 2 and 4.1 V, a capacity retention ratio exceeding 69.6% after 100 cycles at 0.2C, and a discharge capacity of 70.8 mAh g-1 at a high rate of 5C, which is superior to that of O3-NaFe0.5Mn0.5O2. The codoping of Cu/Zr reserves the layered O3 structure and enlarges the interlayer spacing, promoting the diffusion of Na+. In addition, the structural stability and air stability observed by Cu-doping is well maintained via the incorporation of extra Zr favoring a highly reversible phase conversion process. Thus, this work has demonstrated an efficient strategy for developing cobalt/nickel-free high-capacity and air-stable cathodes for sodium-ion batteries.

Impact of surgical margin width on long-term outcomes for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the survival outcomes of surgical margin width in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). METHODS: Between November 2011 and August 2017, patients who underwent hepatectomy for ICC were collected from 13 major hepatopancreatobiliary centers in China. The survival outcomes for patients who underwent wide margin hepatectomy (WMH) were compared with those who underwent narrow margin hepatectomy (NMH) using the 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM). RESULTS: Among 478 included patients, 195 (40.8%) underwent WMH whereas 283 (59.2%) underwent NMH. PSM yielded 79 matched patients with similar baseline characteristics. Patients underwent WMH had a significant better OS and DFS compared with those underwent NMH (before PSM: median OS 27 vs 17 months, P < 0.05; median DFS 15 vs 8 months, P = 0.001, after PSM: median OS 41 vs 22 months, p < 0.05; median DFS 16 vs 10 months, p < 0.05). However, subgroup analysis based on the AJCC staging system, WMH could only improve the survival outcomes in AJCC I ICC patients (Stage I: OS, DFS, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons should strive to achieve a wide surgical margin for patients with AJCC I ICC to optimize the long-term outcome.

Generation of a mode-tunable optical vortex based on a mirror curvature dynamically controlled Z-shaped resonant cavity.

We report a novel, to the best of our knowledge, mode-tunable optical vortex generation method based on a mirror curvature dynamically controlled Z-shaped resonant cavity, a mode conversion beamline, and a reference laser beamline. By changing the mirror curvature of an intra-cavity deformable mirror (DM) at a certain pumping voltage and current, various Hermite-Gaussian (HG) mode beams were obtained in the Z-shaped resonant cavity of a laser diode pumped Yb:CALGO laser. The vortex beams were realized finally by using an external cavity astigmatism converter. In the experiment, the dynamic tuning of the 1st to 9th order HG mode beams and Laguerre-Gaussian mode vortex beams carrying different orbital angular momenta, ranging from 1ℏ to 9ℏ were achieved by dynamically adjusting the driving voltage of the DM.

Single-atom Fe-N4 site for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene: theoretical and experimental studies.

The hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline is an important process in the industry of fine chemicals, but developing inexpensive catalysts with expected activity and selectivity still remains a challenge. By using density functional theory calculations, we demonstrated that the isolated Fe atom not only can weaken the adsorption of reactants and reaction intermediates as compared to Fe nanoparticles, but also remarkably decrease the reaction barrier for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline. Thus, the Fe single-atom (Fe SA) catalyst is considered as an ideal catalyst for this reaction. This theoretical prediction has been subsequently confirmed by experimental results obtained for the Fe SAs loaded on N-doped hollow carbon spheres (Fe SAs/NHCSs) which achieved a conversion of 99% with a selectivity of 99% for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene. The results significantly outperformed the Fe nanoparticles for this reaction. This work provides theoretical insight for the rational design of new catalytic systems with excellent catalytic properties.

Risk factors for cholesterol polyp formation in the gallbladder are closely related to lipid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the risk factors for cholesterol polyp formation in the gallbladder. METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective study based on pathology. From January 2016 to December 2019, patients who underwent cholecystectomy and non-polyp participants confirmed by continuous ultrasound follow-ups were reviewed. Patients in the cholesterol polyp group were recruited from three high-volume centers with a diagnosis of pathologically confirmed cholesterol polyps larger than 10 mm. Population characteristics and medical data were collected within 24 h of admission before surgery. The non-polyp group included participants from the hospital physical examination center database. They had at least two ultrasound examinations with an interval longer than 180 days. Data from the final follow-up of the non-polyp group were analyzed. The risk factors for cholesterol polyp formation were analyzed by comparing the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 4714 participants were recruited, including 376 cholesterol polyp patients and 4338 non-polyp participants. In univariate analysis, clinical risk factors for cholesterol polyps were age, male sex, higher body mass index (BMI), higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL), lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. In multivariate logistic analysis, independent risk factors were age > 50 years (odds ratio [OR] = 3.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.33-3.91, P < 0.001], LDL > 2.89 mmol/L (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.08-1.78, P = 0.011), lower HDL (OR = 1.78 95% CI 1.32-2.44, P < 0.001), AST > 40 IU/L (OR = 3.55, 95% CI 2.07-6.07, P < 0.001), and BMI > 25 kg/m 2 (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.01-1.72, P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Age, LDL, HDL, AST, and BMI are strong risk factors for cholesterol polyp formation. Older overweight patients with polyps, accompanied by abnormal lipid levels, are at high risk for cholesterol polyps.