Enhanced control of self-doping in halide perovskites for improved thermoelectric performance

Metal halide perovskites have emerged as promising photovoltaic materials, but, despite ultralow thermal conductivity, progress on developing them for thermoelectrics has been limited. Here, we report the thermoelectric properties of all-inorganic tin based perovskites with enhanced air stability. Fine tuning the thermoelectric properties of the films is achieved by self-doping through the oxidation of tin (ΙΙ) to tin (ΙV) in a thin surface-layer that transfers charge to the bulk. This separates the doping defects from the transport region, enabling enhanced electrical conductivity. We show that this arises due to a chlorine-rich surface layer that acts simultaneously as the source of free charges and a sacrificial layer protecting the bulk from oxidation. Moreover, we achieve a figure-of-merit (ZT) of 0.14 ± 0.01 when chlorine-doping and degree of the oxidation are optimised in tandem

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Energy storage characteristics of (Pb,La)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O-3 antiferroelectric ceramics with high Sn content

201809 bcrcVersion of RecordPublishe

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Jianfeng Huang,1,* Qinzhou Zou,1,* Danqi Qian,1 Leyuan Zhou,1 Bo Yang,1 Jianjun Chu,1 Qingfeng Pang,2 Kewei Wang,2 Fuzheng Zhang1 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, 2Department of Epidemiology, Wuxi Medical School of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT) for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). Patients and methods: A total of 50 newly diagnosed patients with LA-NPC treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University between November 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received the combined treatment modality of nimotuzumab plus IMRT. Nimotuzumab was administered concurrently with IMRT at a weekly dose of 200 mg. Neoadjuvant, concurrent or adjuvant chemotherapy with the doublet regimen of taxanes (docetaxel or paclitaxel) plus platinum (cisplatin or nedaplatin) were administered. Among the 50 patients, 43 (86.0%) received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab (median 7 cycles, range 2–14 cycles) and 29 (58.0%) received two cycles of CCT with docetaxel plus nedaplatin. Results: With a median follow-up of 28.0 months, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 83.29% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.93%–91.72%) and 97.67% (95% CI: 84.62%–99.67%), respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that cycles of nimotuzumab were significantly associated with PFS. Patients who received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab showed a better PFS than those receiving <6 cycles (P=0.006), whereas the addition of CCT failed to improve PFS. Oral mucositis was the most common adverse event, which was recorded as grade 3–4 in 18 (36.0%) patients. Besides, two (4.0%) patients experienced nimotuzumab-related anaphylaxis, and no skin rash was found in any patient. Subgroup analysis revealed that the patients who received CCT had more grade 3–4 adverse events as compared to those who did not receive CCT (62.1% vs 33.3%, P=0.045). Conclusion: The regime of nimotuzumab plus IMRT for the treatment of LA-NPC was well tolerated, with encouraging survival data, and it could be an effective treatment alternative for patients with LA-NPC. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, nimotuzumab, concurrent chemoradiotherapy, treatment outcome&nbsp

Prevalence and Risk Factors Underlying Occupational Stress and Depression Among Clinical Nurses in Secondary and Tertiary Hospitals of China During COVID-19 Setting

Xiao-kun Liu,1,* Dan-ling Huang,1,2,* Li-ping Meng,1 Wei Cheng,1 Yi-yi Li,1 Lu-lu Qin,3 Ao Yang,4 Fan Zeng,5 Qin Zou,1 Qi-fu Li6 1Clinical Psychology Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou City, Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Neurology Department, Graduate School of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin City, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Medicine, Hunan Normal University, Changsha City, Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China; 4Health Management Department, School of Management of Hainan Medical University, Haikou City, Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China; 5Graduate School of Hainan Medical University, Haikou City, Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China; 6Neurology Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou City, Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiao-kun Liu; Qi-fu Li, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: This study was designed to develop an effective measurement tool for occupational stress among medical staff and to identify the underlying risk factors among clinical nurses in China under depression during and after COVID-19.Methods: In the first stage, an occupational stress scale was developed for medical staff based on qualitative and quantitative methods. The dimensions of the scale were based on childhood stress and seven other parameters of working stress. In the second stage, a provincial survey was conducted among clinical nurses in Hainan. The structure of Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale was tested in secondary and tertiary hospitals. The socio-demographic information, occupational stress (measured using the developed scale), and current depression symptoms (assessed with the nine‐item Patient Health Questionnaire) were evaluated. The risk factors for occupational stress-induced depression were tested using multivariate logistic regression.Results: The Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale consisted of 42 items under eight dimensions with strong reliability and validity. Almost 80% of the clinical nurses reported obvious symptoms of depression. Based on multivariate logistical regression analysis, the significant risk factors for depression in nurses at secondary hospitals and tertiary hospitals were childhood stress, teaching stress, relationship with patient stress, and administration stress.Conclusion: The Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale utilized in nursing population is based on strong psychometric features. Childhood stress contributes to occupational stress in nurses. The selection of nurses for clinical work may require evaluation of past history for childhood stress to prevent occupational depression. Teaching stress, relationship with patient stress and administration stress play significant roles in the prevention of depression among clinical nurses.Keywords: occupational stress, depression, teaching stress, relationship with patient stress, nurse

Induction of systemic and mucosal immunity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection by a novel nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine

HongWu Sun,1,* Chao Wei,1,* BaoShuai Liu,1 HaiMing Jing,1 Qiang Feng,2 YaNan Tong,1 Yun Yang,1 LiuYang Yang,1 QianFei Zuo,1 Yi Zhang,1 QuanMing Zou,1 Hao Zeng1 1National Engineering Research Center of Immunological Products, Department of Microbiology and Biochemical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Third Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, 2Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: The Gram-positive bacterial pathogen methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can cause infections in the bloodstream, endocardial tissue, respiratory tract, culture-confirmed skin, or soft tissue. There are currently no effective vaccines, and none are expected to become available in the near future. An effective vaccine capable of eliciting both systemic and mucosal immune responses is also urgently needed. Here, we reported a novel oil-in-water nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine containing an MRSA recombination protein antigen, Cremophor EL-35® as a surfactant, and propylene glycol as a co-surfactant. This nanoemulsion vaccine, whose average diameter was 31.34±0.49 nm, demonstrated good protein structure integrity, protein specificity, and good stability at room temperature for 1 year. The intramuscular systemic and nasal mucosal immune responses demonstrated that this nanoemulsion vaccine could improve the specific immune responses of immunoglobulin (Ig)G and related subclasses, such as IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b, as well as IgA, in the serum after Balb/c mice intramuscular immunization and C57 mice nasal immunization. Furthermore, this nanoemulsion vaccine also markedly enhanced the interferon-γ and interleukin-17A cytokine cell immune response, improved the survival ratio, and reduced bacterial colonization. Taken together, our results show that this novel nanoemulsion vaccine has great potential and is a robust generator of an effective intramuscular systemic and nasal mucosal immune response without the need for an additional adjuvant. Thus, the present study serves as a sound scientific foundation for future strategies in the development of this novel nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine to enhance both the intramuscular systemic and nasal mucosal immune responses. Keywords: nanotechnology, adjuvant, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, recombination protein, immune response