Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers Based on the Heterogeneous Nucleation Process

By introducing the heterogeneous nucleation concept to directed self-assembly of block copolymers, the ordering of dynamical process and defect pattern design in thin films of binary blend, AB diblock/C homopolymer (AB/C), are investigated by the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory and simulated by the cell dynamics simulations. The detailed annealing process of a few isolated defects occurring in AB/C blend under triangular and hexagonal confinements is presented, and it indicates that angle-matched confinement of triangular and hexagonal potential well is favorable conditions for generating defect-free ordered structures. Meanwhile, we gave a model which composed of many double-spot potentials with controllable position and orientation to investigate the relationship between defect spacing and mismatched angle, and we found the relationship is similar to hard crystals. Additionally, as an example, the design of defect pattern of “NXU” for abbreviation of Ningxia University is proposed and tested. In this chapter, the feasibility of directed self-assembly of block copolymers based on the heterogeneous nucleation process is systematically confirmed

A Preliminary Experimental Study on the Performance of a Membrane-based Air Dehumidifier Using Ionic Liquid

Liquid desiccant air dehumidification (LDAD) is a promising alternative to the dehumidification systems that use mechanical cooling. However, its use in the market is still very limited due to its high installation cost, intensive carryover, and maintenance issues associated with the corrosion resulting from conventional liquid desiccants. The research reported in this paper aimed at addressing these challenges by applying membrane technology and ionic liquids in LDAD. This paper introduces a design of a membrane-based ionic liquid desiccant air dehumidification (MILDAD). A small-scale prototype of the MILDAD was built and tested in controlled conditions to characterize its performance. The preliminary experimental results indicate that the MILDAD can effectively dehumidify the air and the ionic liquid desiccant can be regenerated at 40ºC temperature. However, the latent effectiveness is relatively small compared with conventional LDAD systems and the current design is prone to leakage, especially when the flow rate of air and/or ionic liquid is high

Probability of Premature Mortality Caused by Major Non-communicable Diseases in Pudong New Area of Shanghai，2002—2020

BackgroundNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) pose a major threat to population health. Probability of premature mortality is an index recommended by WHO for the evaluation of the threat of NCDs.ObjectiveTo explore the mortality and probability of premature mortality caused by four major NCDs (cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease) in Pudong New Area of Shanghai from 2002 to 2020, providing a reference for the development of measures to the target of reducing the probability of premature mortality due to these four major NCDs in the Health China 2030 plan.MethodsThis analysis was conducted in May 2021 based on data collected from Pudong New Area's Residents Death Surveillance Database, involving registered residents of Pudong New Area who died of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease between 2002-01-01 and 2020-12-31. Crude mortality, age-standardized mortality and probability of premature mortality were used for analyzing deaths due to the four above-mentioned NCDs. The annual percent change (APC) was adopted to analyze the temporal trend of mortality and probability of premature mortality.ResultsThe crude mortality of four major NCDs ascended from 526.82/100 000 in 2002 to 678.84/100 000 in 2020 (APC=1.56%, Z=13.715, P<0.001) . The age-standardized mortality of four major NCDs decreased from 404.05/100 000 in 2002 to 260.87/100 000 in 2020 (APC=-2.09%, Z=-12.428, P<0.001) . The probability of premature mortality caused by four major NCDs decreased from 13.09% in 2002 to 8.45% in 2020 (APC=-2.31%, Z=-15.847, P<0.001) . The probability of premature mortality caused by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases was declined from 3.57% in 2002 to 2.38% in 2020 (APC=-2.21%, Z=-9.739, P<0.001) , and that caused by cancer decreased from 8.36% to 5.49% (APC=-2.24%, Z=-19.476, P<0.001) , and that by chronic respiratory disease reduced from 1.08% to 0.24% (APC=-7.23%, Z=-13.326, P<0.001) . No significant temporal trend for the probability of premature mortality caused by diabetes was found (Z=-0.395, P=0.698) . The probability of premature mortality caused by four major NCDs in males was higher than that in females. According to the annual increase rates during 2015 to 2020, it is estimated that the probability of premature mortality caused by these four major NCDs would be 6.67%.ConclusionThe crude mortality of the four major NCDs in Pudong New Area ascended during 2002—2020, and both the age-standardized mortality and the probability of premature mortality showed a downward tendency in the same period. Pudong New Area had achieved the goal in the Health China 2020 plan of reducing the probability of premature mortality of four NCDs in 2020. However, according to the present annual increase rates, the task of achieving the Health China 2030 target of the decent of the probability of premature mortality caused by four major NCDs would be daunting. Thus, more measures should be taken to strengthen the containment of such NCDs. Moreover, males should be treated as the key group, and more attention should be paid to the premature death caused by diabetes in males

Application of deep learning convolutional neural networks to identify gastric squamous cell carcinoma in mice

ObjectiveIn non-clinical safety evaluation of drugs, pathological result is one of the gold standards for determining toxic effects. However, pathological diagnosis might be challenging and affected by pathologist expertise. In carcinogenicity studies, drug-induced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the mouse stomach represents a diagnostic challenge for toxicopathologists. This study aims to establish a detection model for mouse gastric squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC) using deep learning algorithms, to improve the accuracy and consistency of pathological diagnoses.MethodsA total of 93 cases of drug-induced mouse GSCC and 56 cases of normal mouse stomach tissue from carcinogenicity studies were collected. After scanning into digital slides, semi-automated data annotation was performed. All images underwent preprocessing, including tissue extraction, artifact removal, and exclusion of normal epithelial regions. The images were then randomly divided into training, validation, and test sets in an 8:1:1 ratio. Five different convolutional neural networks (CNNs)-FCN, LR-ASPP, DeepLabv3+, U-Net, and DenseNet were applied to identify GSCC and non-GSCC regions. Tumor prediction images (algorithm results shown as overlays) derived from the slide images were compared, and the performance of the constructed models was evaluated using Precision, Recall, and F1-score.ResultsThe Precision, Recall, and F1-scores of DenseNet, U-Net, and DeepLabv3 + algorithms were all above 90%. Specifically, the DenseNet model achieved an overall Precision of 0.9044, Recall of 0.9291, and F1-score of 0.9157 in the test set. Compared to the other algorithms, DenseNet exhibited the highest F1-score and Recall, demonstrating superior generalization ability.ConclusionThe DenseNet algorithm model developed in this study shown promising application potential for assisting in the diagnosis of mouse GSCC. As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance in non-clinical safety evaluation of drugs, CNN-based toxicological pathology detection models will become essential tools to assist pathologists in precise diagnosis and consistency evaluation

National Brain Tumour Registry of China (NBTRC) statistical report of primary brain tumours diagnosed in China in years 2019-2020

BACKGROUND: The lack of a well-designed brain tumour registry with standardized pathological diagnoses in underdeveloped countries hinders the ability to compare epidemiologic data across the globe. The National Brain Tumour Registry of China (NBTRC), created in January 2018, is the first multi-hospital-based brain tumour registry in China. Patient data reported to the NBTRC in years 2019-2020 were assessed. METHODS: Tumour pathology was based on the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumours of the central nervous system and ICD-O-3. The anatomical site was coded per the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) solid tumour module (version of July 2019). The cases were tabulated by histology and anatomical site. Categorical variables were reported as numbers (percentages). The distribution of tumours by age (0-14, 15-19, 20-39, 40-64, and 65+ years) was analysed. FINDINGS: There were a total of 25,537 brain tumours, foremost among them meningioma (23.63%), followed by tumours of the pituitary (23.42%), and nerve sheath tumours (9.09%). Glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of primary brain cancer in adults, represented 8.56% of all cases. Of note, 6.48% of the malignant tumours were located in the brain stem. The percentage of malignant brain tumours decreased with increasing age, 24.08% in adults (40+ years), 30.25% in young adults (20-39 years), 35.27% in adolescents (15-19 years), and 49.83% in children (0-14 years). Among the 2107 paediatric patients, the most common sites were ventricle (17.19%), brainstem (14.03%), pituitary and craniopharyngeal duct (13.4%), and cerebellum (12.3%), a distribution that differed from that of the entire cohort. The histology distribution was also unique in children, with glioblastoma much less incident compared to the whole cohort (3% vs. 8.47%, INTERPRETATION: The histological and anatomical site distribution of brain tumours in the NBTRC was statistically different in the subgroup of children (0-14 years). Patient choice of pursuing trans-provincial treatment was common and the in-hospital LOS was longer compared to that reported in similar European and American patient populations, which merits further attention. FUNDING: The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2015BAI12B04, 2013BAI09B03, 2014BAI04B01, and 2021YFF1201104) and Chinese National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971668)