Bright blue fluorescent glutathione-functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs@GSH) were prepared by a one-step pyrolysis method with a fluorescence quantum yield as high as 33.6%. Futhermore, the obtained GQDs@GSH can be used as a probe to estimate the ATP level in cell lysates and human blood serum.

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Heteroepitaxy of high-quality AlN film is the key to advance the prosperity of deep-ultraviolet (DUV) devices when a large-size and low-cost native substrate is unavailable. Here, we proposed a strategy to obtain high-quality AlN film by combining growth-mode modification with sputtered AlN buffer using metal− organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Compared with the MOCVD AlN buffer, the sputtered AlN buffer consists of smaller and more uniform grains with better c-axis orientation, leading to a better growth-mode modification in the subsequent growth process. On one hand, the better c-axis orientation is inherited by the upper AlN epilayer, resulting in a lower screw dislocation density. On the other hand, the better growth-mode modification significantly suppresses edge dislocations by producing high-density nanoscale voids and many 90°bent dislocations. Therefore, the total threading dislocation density of the AlN film grown on the sputtered AlN buffer is dramatically reduced to an extremely low value of 4.7 × 10 7 cm −2 , which is 81.2% less than that of the AlN film grown on the MOCVD AlN buffer. This very simple yet effective technique demonstrates great potential for the massfabrication of low-cost and high-performance DUV devices.

To assess the psychological effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on medical staff and the general public. During the outbreak of COVID-19, an internet-based questionnaire included The Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the impact of the pandemic situation on the mental health of medical staff and general population in Wuhan and its surrounding areas. Among the 1493 questionnaires completed, 827 (55.39%) of these were men, and 422 (28.27%) of these were medical personnel. The results suggest that the outbreak of COVID-19 has affected individuals significantly, the degree of which is related to age, sex, occupation and mental illness. There was a significant difference in PSS-10 and IES-R scores between the medical staff and the general population. The medical staff showed higher PSS-10 scores (16.813 ± 4.87) and IES-R scores (22.40 ± 12.12) compared to members of the general population PSS-10 (14.80 ± 5.60) and IES-R scores (17.89 ± 13.08). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the SDS scores of medical staff (44.52 ± 12.36) and the general public (43.08 ± 11.42). In terms of the need for psychological assistance, 50.97% of interviewees responded that they needed psychological counseling, of which medical staff accounted for 65.87% and non-medical staff accounted for 45.10%. During the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, great attention should be paid to the mental health of the population, especially medical staff, and measures such as psychological intervention should be actively carried out for reducing the psychosocial effects.

MTA1 protein overexpression is common in early-stage NSCLC and is significantly associated with tumor angiogenesis and poor survival. These findings suggest that MTA1 may have clinical potential as a promising predictor to identify individuals with poor prognostic potential and as a possible novel target molecule of antiangiogenic therapy for patients with early-stage NSCLC.

AIMTo determine the association of circulating miR-125a/b expression with the risk and disease severity of Crohn’s disease (CD), and with inflammatory cytokines.METHODSPlasma samples were collected from patients with active CD (A-CD), or CD in remission (R-CD) and from healthy controls (HCs). The levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-17 (IL-17), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of miR-125a/b was assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).RESULTSTwenty-nine A-CD patients, 37 R-CD patients, and 37 HCs were included in the study. Plasma miR-125a expression was decreased in A-CD patients compared with that in R-CD patients (P < 0.001) and HCs (P < 0.001). miR-125a expression levels enabled the differentiation of A-CD from R-CD patients [area under curve (AUC) = 0.854] and from HCs (AUC = 0.780), whereas miR-125b expression did not. miR-125a was negatively correlated with C-reaction protein (CRP) (P = 0.017), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (P = 0.026), Crohn’s disease activity index (CDAI) (P = 0.003), IL-17 (P = 0.015), and TNF-α (P = 0.004) in A-CD patients. Furthermore, miR-125a was negatively associated with CRP (P = 0.038) and CDAI (P = 0.021) in R-CD patients. Regarding miR-125b, no association with CRP, CDAI, IL-17, TNF-α, or IFN-γ was found in A-CD or in R-CD patients. miR-125a levels gradually increased in A-CD patients who achieved clinical remission (P = 0.009) after 3-mo treatment, whereas they remained unchanged among patients who failed to achieve remission. No changes in miR-125b expression were detected in remission or non-remission patients after treatment.CONCLUSIONCirculating miR-125a but not miR-125b is decreased in patients with active disease status and negatively correlates with disease severity and inflammatory cytokines in patients with CD.

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Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is an effective option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and end-stage liver cirrhosis. However, organ shortage and tumor recurrence are the main obstacles limiting its popularization and application in HCC patients. Testing for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) would be a valuable strategy to predict the recurrence and metastasis of HCC after LT. Various CTCs detection methods have different advantages and disadvantages. This study aims to investigate the predictive value of testing for CTCs based on immunofluorescence in situ hybridization of peripheral blood cells in patients with HCC after LT.Methods: A total of 50 patients who received testing for CTCs and then underwent LT were enrolled in this study. Negative enrichment and immunofluorescence in situ hybridization (imFISH) methods were introduced to detect CTCs.Results: Twenty-six (52%) patients were CTC-positive, and 24 (48%) patients were CTC-negative.The results showed that CTCs result was correlated with tumor size (ꭓ 2 =5.773, P=0.016), AFP level (ꭓ 2 =5.454, P=0.020) , tumor grade (ꭓ 2 =6.478, P=0.039) and Recurrence(ꭓ 2 =6.211, P=0.013).Twelve patients had recurrence after LT within one year. The results showed that the CTCs result (P=0.034) was the only independent factor impacting long-term survival. The 1-year disease-free survival rates of CTC-negative and CTC-positive patients were 91.6% and 61.5%, respectively (P=0.020). The 1-year overall survival of CTCpositive patients and CTC-negative was 88.5% and 91.7%, respectively (P=0.751).Conclusions: CTCs result was closely related to the early recurrence of patients with HCC after LT. CTC-positive patients had a worse prognosis after LT than the CTC-negative group.