The effectiveness of chemotherapy for patients with pT3N0M0 renal pelvic urothelial carcinomas: An inverse probability of treatment weighting comparison using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data

Abstract Introduction Unlike the established evidence to use chemotherapy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, presently there are insufficient data to inform a recommendation on upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma treatment. The prognosis for patients with stage T4 and positive lymph nodes is poor; however, primary tumors in the renal pelvis are associated with favorable prognoses compared to those located in the ureter. Our study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with pT3N0M0 renal pelvic urothelial carcinomas (RPUC) who have relative favorable prognosis. Methods Patients with pT3N0M0 tumors who underwent radical nephroureterectomy combined with bladder cuff excision between 2005 and 2014 and registered in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database were eligible for inclusion (n = 939). Baseline characteristics between the chemotherapy and observation groups were controlled for with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)‐adjusted analysis. Results After the IPTW‐adjusted analysis, the 5‐year IPTW‐adjusted rates of overall survival (OS) for the chemotherapy and observation groups were 53.1% and 44.9%, respectively. The IPTW‐adjusted Kaplan‐Meier curves suggested that chemotherapy was associated with increased OS compared with observation (P = .028). In the IPTW‐adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression model, chemotherapy was associated with favorable survival benefits compared with observation (hazard ratio [HR] 0.71, 95% CI 0.52‐0.92, P = .031), and this was maintained after bootstrapping (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.49‐0.93). Chemotherapy had a protective effect on OS benefits, which were found in a majority of the results of the subgroup analysis and were consistent with the main results (all P‐interactions > 0.05). Conclusion Chemotherapy may provide significant OS benefits for patients with pT3N0M0 RPUC. The results of our study could strengthen the evidence for using adjuvant chemotherapy in this rare group of patients

Surface and structure engineering of MXenes for rechargeable batteries beyond lithium

With the rapid growth in renewable energy, researchers worldwide are trying to expand energy storage technologies. The development of beyond-lithium battery technologies has accelerated in recent years, amid concerns regarding the sustainability of battery materials. However, the absence of suitable high-performance materials has hampered the development of the next-generation battery systems. MXenes, a family of 2D transition metal carbides and/or nitrides, have drawn significant attention recently for electrochemical energy storage, owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. The extraordinary electronic conductivity, compositional diversity, expandable crystal structure, superior hydrophilicity, and rich surface chemistries make MXenes promising materials for electrode and other components in rechargeable batteries. This report especially focuses on the recent MXene applications as novel electrode materials and functional separator modifiers in rechargeable batteries beyond lithium. In particular, we highlight the recent advances of surface and structure engineering strategies for improving the electrochemical performance of the MXene-based materials, including surface termination modifications, heteroatom doping strategies, surface coating, interlayer space changes, nanostructure engineering, and heterostructures and secondary materials engineering. Finally, perspectives for building future sustainable rechargeable batteries with MXenes and MXene-based composite materials are presented based upon material design and a fundamental understanding of the reaction mechanisms

Electrochemical coupling in subnanometer pores/channels for rechargeable batteries

Subnanometer pores/channels (SNPCs) play crucial roles in regulating electrochemical redox reactions for rechargeable batteries. The delicately designed and tailored porous structure of SNPCs not only provides ample space for ion storage but also facilitates efficient ion diffusion within the electrodes in batteries, which can greatly improve the electrochemical performance. However, due to current technological limitations, it is challenging to synthesize and control the quality, storage, and transport of nanopores at the subnanometer scale, as well as to understand the relationship between SNPCs and performances. In this review, we systematically classify and summarize materials with SNPCs from a structural perspective, dividing them into one-dimensional (1D) SNPCs, two-dimensional (2D) SNPCs, and three-dimensional (3D) SNPCs. We also unveil the unique physicochemical properties of SNPCs and analyse electrochemical couplings in SNPCs for rechargeable batteries, including cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and functional materials. Finally, we discuss the challenges that SNPCs may face in electrochemical reactions in batteries and propose future research directions

A Hierarchical Hybrid MXenes Interlayer with Triple Function for Room-Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries

Room temperature sodium sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries with high theoretical energy density and low cost have recently gained extensive attention for potential large-scale energy storage applications. However, the shuttle effect of sodium polysulfides is still the main challenge that leads to poor cycling stability, which hinders the practical application of RT Na-S batteries. Herein, a multifunctional hybrid MXene interlayer is designed to stabilize the cycling performance of RT Na-S batteries. The hybrid MXene interlayer comprises a large-sized Ti3C2Tx nanosheets inner layer followed by a small-sized Mo2Ti2C3Tx nanoflake outer layer on the surface of the glass fiber (GF) separator. The large-sized Ti3C2Tx nanosheet inner layer provides an effective physical block and chemical confinement for the soluble polysulfides. The small-sized Mo2Ti2C3Tx outer layer offers an excellent polysulfide trapping capability and accelerates the reaction kinetics of polysulfide conversion, due to its superior electronic conductivity, large specific surface area, and Mo-rich catalytic surfaces. As a result, RT Na-S batteries with this hybrid MXene interlayer modified glass fiber separator deliver a stable cycling performance over 200 cycles at 1 C with an enhanced capacity retention of 71%. This unique structure design provides a novel strategy to develop 2D material-based functional interlayer for high-performance metal-sulfur batteries

Boosting the Electrochemical Performance of Lithium-Rich Cathodes by Oxygen Vacancy Engineering

The challenges of voltage decay and irreversible oxygen release for lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials have hindered their commercial application despite their high energy density and low cost. Herein, a facile post-annealing strategy is developed to pre-introduce oxygen vacancies (OVs) into Li1.2Mn0.457Ni0.229Co0.114O2 cathode materials. The induced OVs modify the local Mn coordination environments, enhance structural stability, and suppress oxygen release. The modified cathode exhibits a discharge capacity of 224.1 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C after 100 cycles with 97.7 % capacity retention. Even at 2 C, excellent capacity retention of 93.3 % after 300 cycles can be achieved. In situ and ex situ X-ray diffraction are used to elucidate the reaction mechanisms and crystal structure during cycling tests. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the suppressed oxygen release, enhanced oxygen vacancies and reduced cathode-electrolyte interfacial layer after cycling for the post-annealed cathode. Our results show that the presence of oxygen vacancies through thermal expansion diminishes the phase transitions in cathode materials during the heating process. These findings contribute to developing next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs) by oxygen vacancy engineering for new cathode materials with improved electrochemical performances

Marker-assisted breeding of Indonesia local rice variety Siputeh for semi-dwarf phonetype, good grain quality and disease resistance to bacterial blight

BACKGROUND: Rice is one of the most important staple food crops in Asia. Since the first green revolution beginning in 1960s, high-yield semidwarf modern rice varieties have been widely planted; however, traditional rice varieties with tall plant type are still grown in many countries due to their good grain quality and adaptation to local climate and environment. Siputeh, a local rice variety mainly planted in Java and Sumatra islands of Indonesia, produces long grain rice with good cooking and eating quality. However, the variety has low yield with tall plant type and long growth duration and is highly susceptible to biotic and abiotic stress. RESULTS: Siputeh as the recurrent female was crossed with the donor line WH421, an elite paternal line of hybrid rice containing the sd1, Wx(b), Xa4 and Xa21 genes, followed by backcrossing and self-pollination. TS4, a BC3F4 line derived from the breeding program, was obtained through marker-assisted selection for the sd1, Wx(b), Xa4 and Xa21 loci. TS4 has semi-dwarf phenotype and short growth duration. TS4 conferred disease resistance to multiple Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strains collected from different countries around the world. TS4 achieved higher grain yield than Siputeh in two field trials conducted in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and Lingshui, China, respectively. Finally, TS4 has better grain quality than Siputeh in terms of degree of chalkiness and amylose content. CONCLUSION: An improved rice line, designed as TS4, has been developed to contain semi-dwarf gene sd1, low amylase content gene Wx(b) and bacterial light resistance genes Xa4 and Xa21 through marker-assisted selection. TS4 has semi-dwarf phenotype with reduced growth duration, produces high yield with good grain quality and provides broad-spectrum resistance to Xoo strains. The development of TS4 enriches the diversity of local rice varieties with high yield potential and good grain quality. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12284-014-0033-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users