<i>In Vitro</i> Model To Assess Arsenic Bioaccessibility and Speciation in Cooked Shrimp

Shrimp, a popular and readily consumed seafood, contains high concentrations of arsenic. However, few studies have focused on whether arsenic in the shrimp could be transformed during the cooking process and gastrointestinal digestion. In this study, a combined <i>in vitro</i> model [Unified Bioaccessibility Research Group of Europe (BARGE) Method–Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (UBM–SHIME)] was used to investigate arsenic bioaccessibility and its speciation in raw and cooked shrimps. The results showed that the cooking practices had little effect on the arsenic content and speciation. Bioaccessibility of arsenic in raw shrimp was at a high level, averaging 76.9 ± 4.28 and 86.7 ± 3.74% in gastric and small intestinal phases, respectively. Arsenic speciation was stable in all of the shrimp digestions, with nontoxic arsenobetaine (AsB) being the dominated speciation. The cooking practice significantly increased the bioaccessibility of arsenate (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in shrimp digests, indicating the increase of the potential health risks

Ultra Water Repellent Polypropylene Surfaces with Tunable Water Adhesion

Polypropylene (PP), including isotactic PP (i-PP) and atactic PP (a-PP) with distinct tacticity, is one of the most widely used general plastics. Herein, ultra water repellent PP coatings with tunable adhesion to water were prepared via a simple casting method. The pure i-PP coating shows a hierarchical morphology with micro/nanobinary structures, exhibiting a water contact angle (CA) larger than 150° and a sliding angle less than 5° (for 5 μL water droplet). In contrast, the pure a-PP coating has a less rough morphology with a water contact angle of about 130°, and the water droplets stick on the coating at any tilted angles. For the composite i-PP/a-PP coatings, however, ultra water repellency with CA > 150° but water adhesion tailorable from slippery to sticky can be realized, depending on the contents of a-PP and i-PP. The different wetting behaviors are due to the various microstructures of the composite coatings resulting from the distinct crystallization ability of a-PP and i-PP. Furthermore, the existence of a-PP in the composite coatings enhances the mechanical properties compared to the i-PP coating. The proposed method is feasible to modify various substrates and potential applications in no-loss liquid transportation, slippery surfaces, and patterned superhydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated

Ultra Water Repellent Polypropylene Surfaces with Tunable Water Adhesion

Polypropylene (PP), including isotactic PP (i-PP) and atactic PP (a-PP) with distinct tacticity, is one of the most widely used general plastics. Herein, ultra water repellent PP coatings with tunable adhesion to water were prepared via a simple casting method. The pure i-PP coating shows a hierarchical morphology with micro/nanobinary structures, exhibiting a water contact angle (CA) larger than 150° and a sliding angle less than 5° (for 5 μL water droplet). In contrast, the pure a-PP coating has a less rough morphology with a water contact angle of about 130°, and the water droplets stick on the coating at any tilted angles. For the composite i-PP/a-PP coatings, however, ultra water repellency with CA > 150° but water adhesion tailorable from slippery to sticky can be realized, depending on the contents of a-PP and i-PP. The different wetting behaviors are due to the various microstructures of the composite coatings resulting from the distinct crystallization ability of a-PP and i-PP. Furthermore, the existence of a-PP in the composite coatings enhances the mechanical properties compared to the i-PP coating. The proposed method is feasible to modify various substrates and potential applications in no-loss liquid transportation, slippery surfaces, and patterned superhydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated

Ultra Water Repellent Polypropylene Surfaces with Tunable Water Adhesion

Polypropylene (PP), including isotactic PP (i-PP) and atactic PP (a-PP) with distinct tacticity, is one of the most widely used general plastics. Herein, ultra water repellent PP coatings with tunable adhesion to water were prepared via a simple casting method. The pure i-PP coating shows a hierarchical morphology with micro/nanobinary structures, exhibiting a water contact angle (CA) larger than 150° and a sliding angle less than 5° (for 5 μL water droplet). In contrast, the pure a-PP coating has a less rough morphology with a water contact angle of about 130°, and the water droplets stick on the coating at any tilted angles. For the composite i-PP/a-PP coatings, however, ultra water repellency with CA > 150° but water adhesion tailorable from slippery to sticky can be realized, depending on the contents of a-PP and i-PP. The different wetting behaviors are due to the various microstructures of the composite coatings resulting from the distinct crystallization ability of a-PP and i-PP. Furthermore, the existence of a-PP in the composite coatings enhances the mechanical properties compared to the i-PP coating. The proposed method is feasible to modify various substrates and potential applications in no-loss liquid transportation, slippery surfaces, and patterned superhydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated

Multivariate analysis of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) predictors using cox proportional hazard model.

<p>Multivariate analysis of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) predictors using cox proportional hazard model.</p

DataSheet_1_Predictive machine learning model for microvascular invasion identification in hepatocellular carcinoma based on the LI-RADS system.zip

PurposesThis study aimed to establish a predictive model of microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), which relied on a combination of machine learning approach and imaging features covering Liver Imaging and Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) features.MethodsThe retrospective study included 279 patients with surgery who underwent preoperative enhanced CT. They were randomly allocated to training set, validation set, and test set (167 patients vs. 56 patients vs. 56 patients, respectively). Significant imaging findings for predicting MVI were identified through the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) logistic regression method. Predictive models were performed by machine learning algorithm, support vector machine (SVM), in the training set and validation set, and evaluated in the test set. Further, a combined model adding clinical findings to the radiologic model was developed. Based on the LI-RADS category, subgroup analyses were conducted.ResultsWe included 116 patients with MVI which were diagnosed through pathological confirmation. Six imaging features were selected about MVI prediction: four LI-RADS features (corona enhancement, enhancing capsule, non-rim aterial phase hyperehancement, tumor size) and two non-LI-RADS features (internal arteries, non-smooth tumor margin). The radiological feature with the best accuracy was corona enhancement followed by internal arteries and tumor size. The accuracies of the radiological model and combined model were 0.725–0.714 and 0.802–0.732 in the training set, validation set, and test set, respectively. In the LR-4/5 subgroup, a sensitivity of 100% and an NPV of 100% were obtained by the high-sensitivity threshold. A specificity of 100% and a PPV of 100% were acquired through the high specificity threshold in the LR-M subgroup.ConclusionA combination of LI-RADS features and non-LI-RADS features and serum alpha-fetoprotein value could be applied as a preoperative biomarker for predicting MVI by the machine learning approach. Furthermore, its good performance in the subgroup by LI-RADS category may help optimize the management of HCC patients.</p

Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrating patients’ overall survivals(OS), and cancer-specific survivals (CSS) according to patients’ nephrectomy modalities (partial versus radical) before and after propensity matching.

<p>Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrating patients’ overall survivals(OS), and cancer-specific survivals (CSS) according to patients’ nephrectomy modalities (partial versus radical) before and after propensity matching.</p

Forest plot of hazard ratios (HRs) for partial (PN) versus radical (RN) nephrectomy in the subgroup analysis.

<p>The diamond on the X-axis indicates the HR and the 95% confident interval (CI) of each subgroup.</p

Efficient Organic Light-Emitting Diode through Triplet Exciton Reharvesting by Employing Blended Electron Donor and Acceptor as the Emissive Layer

A blended bimolecular exciplex formation was demonstrated between two individual donor and acceptor molecules, which are tris­(4-carbazoyl-9-ylphenyl)­amine (TCTA) and 2,4,6-tris­(3′-(pyridin-3-yl)­biphenyl-3-yl)-1,3,5-triazine (Tm3PyBPZ). The photoluminescence spectrum of the exciplex in the solid state showed an emission with a peak around 514 nm (∼2.49 eV). By applying this exciplex as an emitting layer, a highly efficient all-fluorescent organic lighting emitting diode with maximum efficiencies of 13.1% and 53.4 lm/W can be realized under an extremely low turn-on voltage of only 2.4 V. The thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) process is believed to be responsible for the excellent device performance

Fabrication of Conductive Silver Microtubes Using Natural Catkin as a Template

Catkin, a natural hollow fiber, is used as a template to fabricate light, flexible, and electrically conductive silver microtubes with a high aspect ratio. The template is functionalized with tannic acid (TA)–Fe coordination complexes. Because of the metal ion chelating ability and reducibility of TA, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) can be formed in situ on the fiber’s surface. The as-formed Ag NPs can act as nucleation sites in subsequent electroless silver plating, leading to the formation of a compact and uniform silver coating on the microtube. The coating is constructed by densely packed Ag NPs of only 15 ± 5 nm in diameter. Because of the tight accumulation and small size of the Ag NPs, the resulting silver-coated microtubes, without any post-treatment, show an electrical resistivity of 1500 mΩ·cm at a bulk density of 0.6 g·cm^–3. We find that the in situ formed nucleation sites and the stirring speed in the electroless plating play important roles in the formation of a silver coating with a high electrical conductivity. This method may be extended to fabricate conductive nanocoatings on other substrates