The Coupling and Competition of Crystallization and Phase Separation, Correlating Thermodynamics and Kinetics In OPV Morphology and Performances

The active layer morphology transition of organic photovoltaics under non-equilibrium conditions are of vital importance in determining the device power conversion efficiency and stability; however, a general and unified picture on this issue has not been well addressed. Using combined in situ and ex situ morphology characterizations, morphological parameters relating to kinetics and thermodynamics of morphology evolution are extracted and studied in model systems under thermal annealing. The coupling and competition of crystallization and demixing are found to be critical in morphology evolution, phase purification and interfacial orientation. A unified model summarizing different phase diagrams and all possible kinetic routes is proposed. The current observations address the fundamental issues underlying the formation of the complex multi-length scale morphology in bulk heterojunction blends and provide useful morphology optimization guidelines for processing devices with higher efficiency and stability

Diagnostic Performance of Des- γ

Background. There have been many reports on des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) as a promising serum marker in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the results are inconsistent and even conflicting. Methods. This meta-analysis was performed to investigate the performance of DCP in the diagnosis of HCC. Following a systematic review of relevant studies, Meta-DiSc 1.4 software was used to extract data and to calculate the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Data are presented as forest plots and summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) analysis was used to summarize the overall test performance. Results. Twelve studies were included in our meta-analysis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PLR, and NLR of DCP for the detection of HCC in the studies included were 71% (95%CI: 68%–73%), 84% (95%CI: 83%–86%), 6.48 (95%CI: 4.22–9.93), and 0.33 (95%CI: 0.25–0.43), respectively. The area under the SROC curve was 0.8930 and the Q index was 0.8238. Significant heterogeneity was found. Conclusion. This meta-analysis indicated that DCP had moderate diagnostic accuracy in HCC. Further studies with rigorous design, large sample size, and mmultiregional cooperation are needed in the future

15-Deoxy- γ

Objective. 15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) reduces inflammation and has been identified as an anti-inflammatory prostaglandin in numerous animal models. In this study, we investigated both effects of 15d-PGJ2 and its protection mechanism in concanavalin A- (ConA-) induced autoimmune hepatitis in mice. Materials and Methods. In vivo, Balb/C mice were injected with ConA (25 mg/kg) to induce acute autoimmune hepatitis, and 15d-PGJ2 (10 μg or 25 μg) was administered 1 h before the ConA injection. The histological grade, proinflammatory cytokine levels, and NF-κB and PPARγ activity were determined 6, 12, and 24 h after the ConA injection. In vitro, LO2 cells and RAW264.7 cells were pretreated with 15d-PGJ2 (2 μM) 1 h before the stimulation with ConA (30 μg/mL). The NF-κB and PPARγ activity were determined 30 min after the ConA administration. Results. Pretreatment with 15d-PGJ2 reduced the pathological effects of ConA-induced autoimmune hepatitis and significantly reduced the levels of cytokines after injection. 15d-PGJ2 activated PPARγ, blocked the degradation of IκBα, and inhibited the translocation of NF-κB into the nucleus. Conclusion. These results indicate that 15d-PGJ2 protects against ConA-induced autoimmune hepatitis by reducing proinflammatory cytokines. This reduction in inflammation may correlate with the activation of PPARγ and the reduction in NF-κB activity

Effect of Frozen Periods on Volatile Flavor Compounds of Coconut Water Based on GC-IMS and Chemometrics Analysis

In this paper, gas chromatography-ion mobility spectroscopy (GC-IMS) and chemometrics were used to investigate the changes of volatile substances in mature coconut water after freezing at −18 ℃ for 0, 1, 2 and 3 months (CW0, CW1, CW2 and CW3). Results showed that GC-IMS could identify 29 volatile substances from four kinds of coconut water, including 13 alcohols, 6 esters, 6 aldehydes, 2 ketones and 2 acids. And the total amount (peak volume) of volatile substances decreased significantly with the extension of freezing periods. As the extension of freezing periods, the peak volume of acid compounds gradually increased and reached a maximum value in the coconut water freezing for two month (CW2) and then decreases. The peak volume of alcohols, esters, and aldehydes gradually increased and reached a maximum value in the coconut water freezing for three month (CW3), while the peak volume of ketones gradually decreased and reached a minimum value in the freezing coconut water for two month (CW2). Both principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) could distinguish four kinds of coconut water without over-fitting. Furthermore, 9 key markers were selected from the identified volatile substances based on the variable importance projection (VIP) value>1, which could achieve the respective clustering and effective differentiation of four coconut water in the cluster heat map analysis. Among them, ethyl acetate (D, M), isobutyral, acetaldehyde, ethyl caproate, 2-butanone, acetic acid (M) were the characteristic volatile substance of coconut water of different freezing periods. These results would provide support for the rapid identification of coconut water by GC-IMS at different freezing periods

Ruthenium Poly(ethylenimine)/Gold Nanoparticles Immobilized on Dendritic Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for a CA15‑3 Electrochemiluminescence Immunosensor via Cu₂O@PDA Dual Quenching

The development of a specifically sensitive approach for CA15-3 detection is of great significance for the early diagnosis and treatment monitoring of breast cancer. In the present work, an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor was constructed for the sensitive and selective detection of CA15-3 based on a dual-quenching strategy. Ru­(dcbpy)32+, poly­(ethylenimine) (PEI), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were immobilized on dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) (Ru-PEI/AuNPs@DMSNs) with high ECL efficiency due to the high loading amounts of Ru­(dcbpy)32+, the shortened electron-transfer path between the luminophore and coreactant, and the excellent conductivity and localized surface plasmon resonance effect of AuNPs. In the presence of CA15-3, a Cu2O nanoparticles coated with poly­(dopamine) (Cu2O@PDA) nanocomposite was introduced to the synthesized Ru-PEI/AuNPs@DMSNs through antigen–antibody interaction, resulting in a remarkable ECL quenching due to the dual quenchers of Cu2O and PDA. Under the optimal conditions, the fabricated sensor was used to detect CA15-3 in a wide linear range of 5.0 × 10–5–6.0 × 102 U mL–1 with a low limit of detection of 2.4 × 10–6 U mL–1. The dual-quenching ECL immunosensor was successfully applied for the determination of CA15-3 in patient serum, indicating the potential applicability of the present immuosensor for the clinical determination of CA15-3 and other cancer biomarkers

Table2_Comparison of seven cyclosporine A formulations for dry eye disease: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.DOCX

Background: Dry eye disease is a common ocular surface disease affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by an unstable tear film and increasing prevalence. Different commercial formulations of cyclosporine A for dry eye have been approved, however, it is still unclear whether the differences in formulations of these products will make a difference in clinical efficacy and safety.Methods: Randomized controlled trials of commercial cyclosporine A formulation for dry eye disease were searched in Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane controlled trials registries and Web of Science from inception till 1 December 2021. Independent literature screening, data extraction, quality evaluation, and the study in line with quality standards were analyzed by using Stata16.0 software. The study is registered with PROSPERO under the number CRD42022301423. Code and data for this study is publicly available (https://github.com/DongYangGao/Dongyang.github.io.git).Results: 21 randomized clinical trials with a total of 4,107 participants were included in this study. Restasis® (OR-4.82, 95% CI-6.18 to 3.45, SUCRA 77.2%) was the most effective commercial formulation for reducing OSDI, Zirun® (SUCRA 73.9%) performed better in improving Schirmer’s test. TJ Cyporin® (SUCRA 65.3%) ranked first in terms of improving tear film break-up time. For treatment-emergent adverse events incidence, Clacier® was close to placebo. The risk of reporting bias is considered low.Conclusion: In the comparison of outcomes included in this study, the optimal order of various commercial cyclosporine A formulations is different, so it is difficult to select the optimal formula. Appropriate commercial formulations should be selected according to patients’ conditions in clinical practice.</p

Table1_Comparison of seven cyclosporine A formulations for dry eye disease: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.DOCX

Background: Dry eye disease is a common ocular surface disease affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by an unstable tear film and increasing prevalence. Different commercial formulations of cyclosporine A for dry eye have been approved, however, it is still unclear whether the differences in formulations of these products will make a difference in clinical efficacy and safety.Methods: Randomized controlled trials of commercial cyclosporine A formulation for dry eye disease were searched in Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane controlled trials registries and Web of Science from inception till 1 December 2021. Independent literature screening, data extraction, quality evaluation, and the study in line with quality standards were analyzed by using Stata16.0 software. The study is registered with PROSPERO under the number CRD42022301423. Code and data for this study is publicly available (https://github.com/DongYangGao/Dongyang.github.io.git).Results: 21 randomized clinical trials with a total of 4,107 participants were included in this study. Restasis® (OR-4.82, 95% CI-6.18 to 3.45, SUCRA 77.2%) was the most effective commercial formulation for reducing OSDI, Zirun® (SUCRA 73.9%) performed better in improving Schirmer’s test. TJ Cyporin® (SUCRA 65.3%) ranked first in terms of improving tear film break-up time. For treatment-emergent adverse events incidence, Clacier® was close to placebo. The risk of reporting bias is considered low.Conclusion: In the comparison of outcomes included in this study, the optimal order of various commercial cyclosporine A formulations is different, so it is difficult to select the optimal formula. Appropriate commercial formulations should be selected according to patients’ conditions in clinical practice.</p