Comparison of outcomes between immediate implant-based and autologous reconstruction: 15-year, single-center experience in a propensity score-matched Chinese cohort

Objective: The number of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) procedures has been increasing in China. This study aimed to investigate the oncological safety of IBR, and to compare the survival and surgical outcomes between implant-based and autologous reconstruction. Methods: Data from patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who underwent immediate total breast reconstruction between 2001 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Long-term breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) were evaluated. Patient satisfaction with the breast was compared between the implant-based and autologous groups. BCSS, DFS, and LRFS were compared between groups after propensity score matching (PSM). Results: A total of 784 IBR procedures were identified, of which 584 were performed on patients with invasive breast cancer (implant-based, n = 288; autologous, n = 296). With a median follow-up of 71.3 months, the 10-year estimates of BCSS, DFS, and LRFS were 88.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) (85.1%–93.0%)], 79.6% [95% CI (74.7%–84.8%)], and 94.0% [95% CI (90.3%–97.8%)], respectively. A total of 124 patients completed the Breast-Q questionnaire, and no statistically significant differences were noted between groups (P = 0.823). After PSM with 27 variables, no statistically significant differences in BCSS, DFS, and LRFS were found between the implant-based (n = 177) and autologous (n = 177) groups. Further stratification according to staging, histological grade, lymph node status, and lymph-venous invasion status revealed no significant survival differences between groups. Conclusions: Both immediate implant-based and autologous reconstruction were reasonable choices with similar long-term oncological outcomes and patient-reported satisfaction among patients with invasive breast cancer in China

Ultra-small topological spin textures with size of 1.3nm at above room temperature in Fe78Si9B13 amorphous alloy

Topologically protected spin textures, such as skyrmions1,2 and vortices3,4, are robust against perturbations, serving as the building blocks for a range of topological devices5-9. In order to implement these topological devices, it is necessary to find ultra-small topological spin textures at room temperature, because small size implies the higher topological charge density, stronger signal of topological transport10,11 and the higher memory density or integration for topological quantum devices5-9. However, finding ultra-small topological spin textures at high temperatures is still a great challenge up to now. Here we find ultra-small topological spin textures in Fe78Si9B13 amorphous alloy. We measured a large topological Hall effect (THE) up to above room temperature, indicating the existence of highly densed and ultra-small topological spin textures in the samples. Further measurements by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) reveal that the average size of ultra-small magnetic texture is around 1.3nm. Our Monte Carlo simulations show that such ultra-small spin texture is topologically equivalent to skyrmions, which originate from competing frustration and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction12,13 coming from amorphous structure14-17. Taking a single topological spin texture as one bit and ignoring the distance between them, we evaluated the ideal memory density of Fe78Si9B13, which reaches up to 4.44*104 gigabits (43.4 TB) per in2 and is 2 times of the value of GdRu2Si218 at 5K. More important, such high memory density can be obtained at above room temperature, which is 4 orders of magnitude larger than the value of other materials at the same temperature. These findings provide a unique candidate for magnetic memory devices with ultra-high density.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figure

A Rapid Synchronous Determination Method for Soil Inorganic Carbon Content and its Carbon Isotope Ratio

The accumulation and leaching of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) play crucial roles in the global carbon balance and represent a key research focus in carbon cycling studies. Accurate quantification of SIC content and its stable isotope ratio is critical for identifying the current "missing" carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems. This study developed a rapid，high-throughput method for synchronous measurement of soil inorganic carbon (IC) content and its carbon isotope ratios using cavity ring-down spectroscopy(CRDS) combined with an automated small-volume gas sampler. A synchronous analysis method for inorganic carbon content and isotope ratios in different types of soils was established by analyzing certified reference materials. Results demonstrated that this method has a measurement range of 0.050−0.500 mg (as carbonate)，with a correlation coefficient ≥0.999. The accuracy of SIC analysis was better than 1 g/kg，and the accuracy of carbon isotope analysis was better than 0.5 ‰，with no observed isotope fractionation. The newly developed method was applied to determine inorganic carbon content and isotope ratios in soils with different types and SIC contents. The results showed that all samples achieved good repeatability，and the results were consistent with those measured using the original method. Moreover，the accuracy of SIC content and isotope ratios in soils of 100 mesh is better than that in soils of 60 mesh. The optimized method is simple to operate，offers a low detection limit，requires minimal processing time，and exhibits excellent repeatability，making it highly suitable for rapid and batch analysis of SIC content and its stable carbon isotope ratio

Magneto-electronic phase separation in doped cobaltites.

University of Minnesota. Ph.D.dissertation. September 2009. Major: Physics. Advisor: Chris Leighton. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 180 pages.This thesis work mainly focuses on magneto-electronic phase separation (MEPS), an effect where chemically homogeneous materials display inhomogeneous magnetic and electronic properties. A model system La1-xSrxCoO3 (LSCO) is chosen for the study of MEPS. The doping evolution of MEPS in LSCO single crystals is extensively studied through complementary experimental techniques including heat capacity, small angle neutron scattering, magnetometry, and transport. It is found that there exists a finite doping range over which MEPS occurs. The doping range determined from different experimental techniques is found to be in good agreement. Also, this same doping range is reproduced by statistical simulations incorporating local compositional fluctuations. The excellent agreement between experimental data and statistical simulations leads to the conclusion that the MEPS in LSCO is driven solely by inevitable local compositional fluctuations at nanoscopic length scales. Such a conclusion indicates that nanoscopic MEPS is doping fluctuation-driven rather than electronically-driven in LSCO. The effect of microscopic magneto-electronic phase separation on electrical transport in LSCO is also examined. It is demonstrated (i) that the T = 0 metal-insulator transition can be understood within double exchange-modified percolation framework, and, (ii) that the onset of a phase-pure low T ferromagnetic state at high x has a profound effect on the high T transport. In addition, a new origin for finite spin Co ions in LaCoO3 is revealed via a Schottky Anomaly in the heat capacity, which was not previously known. Such a discovery casts a new understanding of the spin state at low temperature. Via small-angle neutron scattering and d.c. susceptibility, it is revealed that short-range ordered FM clusters exist below a well-defined temperature (T*) in highly doped LSCO. It is demonstrated that the characteristics of this clustered state appear quite unlike those of a Griffiths phase. Finally, through magenetometry and SANS, the magneto-crystalline anisotropy of highly doped LSCO is studied and the easy and hard magnetization axes are determined

Synthesis of nanostructured clean surface molybdenum carbides on graphene sheets as efficient and stable hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts

Small size molybdenum carbides (2.5 nm for MoC and 5.0 nm for Mo2C) with clean surface on graphene were prepared for efficient and stable hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts.</p