Advances in the research, diagnosis and treatment of renal cell carcinoma in 2022

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the three major urinary system tumors. With the changes of lifestyle and the rise of obesity, hypertension and other diseases, the incidence of RCC is increasing. The onset of RCC is hidden, and RCC has strong heterogeneity. Most RCC patients are found accidentally by imaging examination, so many patients were diagnosed in the advanced stage. Although the emergence of targeted therapy and immunotherapy has greatly prolonged the survival time of patients with advanced RCC, due to many pathological types of RCC, it is still difficult for many patients to benefit from the systematic treatment. Many basic and clinical studies are devoted to the development of new targets or drugs to prolong the survival time of patients. This article reviewed the advances in the research, diagnosis and treatment of RCC in 2022

Enhancing the Interfacial Shear Strength and Tensile Strength of Carbon Fibers through Chemical Grafting of Chitosan and Carbon Nanotubes

Multi-scale “rigid-soft” material coating has been an effective strategy for enhancing the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of carbon fibers (CFs), which is one of the key themes in composite research. In this study, a soft material, chitosan (CS), and a rigid material, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), were sequentially grafted onto the CFs surface by a two-step amination reaction. The construction of the “rigid-soft” structure significantly increased the roughness and activity of the CFs surface, which improved the mechanical interlocking and chemical bonding between the CFs and resin. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of the CS- and CNT-modified CFs composites increased by 186.9% to 123.65 MPa compared to the desized fibers. In addition, the tensile strength of the modified CFs was also enhanced by 26.79% after coating with CS and CNTs. This strategy of establishing a “rigid-soft” gradient modulus interfacial layer with simple and non-destructive operation provides a valuable reference for obtaining high-performance CFs composites

Noncovalent Functionalization of Graphene Attaching [6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric Acid Methyl Ester (PCBM) and Application as Electron Extraction Layer of Polymer Solar Cells

A new graphene–fullerene composite (<b>rGO-pyrene-PCBM</b>), in which [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was attached onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO) <i>via</i> the noncovalent functionalization approach, was reported. The <b>pyrene-PCBM</b> moiety was synthesized <i>via</i> a facile esterification reaction, and pyrene was used as an anchoring bridge to link rGO and PCBM components. FTIR, UV–vis, and XPS spectroscopic characterizations were carried out to confirm the hybrid structure of <b>rGO-pyrene-PCBM</b>, and the composite formation is found to improve greatly the dispersity of rGO in DMF. The geometric configuration of <b>rGO-pyrene-PCBM</b> was studied by Raman, SEM, and AFM analyses, suggesting that the C₆₀ moiety is far from the graphene sheet and is bridged with the graphene sheet <i>via</i> the pyrene anchor. Finally <b>rGO-pyrene-PCBM</b> was successfully applied as electron extraction layer for P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction polymer solar cell (BHJ-PSC) devices, affording a PCE of 3.89%, which is enhanced by <i>ca.</i> 15% compared to that of the reference device without electron extraction layer (3.39%). Contrarily, the comparative devices incorporating the rGO or <b>pyrene-PCBM</b> component as electron extraction layer showed dramatically decreased PCE, indicating the importance of composite formation between rGO and <b>pyrene-PCBM</b> components for its electron extraction property