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Lithium–sulfur electrochemical cells have emerged as a promising next-generation energy-storage solution, offering high energy density, lightweight construction, and cost-effectiveness. This review explores innovative strategies to enhance their performance, systematically categorizing key research areas, critical materials, and their proportional focus in current studies. According to the analytical results, particular emphasis is placed on novel metal-based composite sulfur cathodes, which significantly improve conductivity, mitigate polysulfide loss, and stabilize the cathode for effectively addressing challenges such as capacity degradation and cycling instability. By integrating advanced materials and fabrication techniques, this review highlights the progress made, identifies remaining hurdles, and outlines the pathways toward the practical implementation of lithium–sulfur batteries in real-world applications. Lithium–sulfur electrochemical cells are of substantial interest for energy storage applications. This Review discusses strategies to enhance their performance, with a focus on new metal-based composite sulfur cathodes.

Three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) technologies have been receiving much attention recently due to the near-ending of Moore’s law of minimization in 2D IC. However, the reliability of 3D IC, which is greatly influenced by voids and failure in interconnects during the fabrication processes, typically requires slow testing and relies on human’s judgement. Thus, the growing demand for 3D IC has generated considerable attention on the importance of reliability analysis and failure prediction. This research conducts 3D X-ray tomographic images combining with AI deep learning based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) for non-destructive analysis of solder interconnects. By training the AI machine using a reliable database of collected images, the AI can quickly detect and predict the interconnect operational faults of solder joints with an accuracy of up to 89.9% based on non-destructive 3D X-ray tomographic images. The important features which determine the “Good” or “Failure” condition for a reflowed microbump, such as area loss percentage at the middle cross-section, are also revealed.

In Western countries, breast cancer tends to occur in older postmenopausal women. However, in Asian countries, the proportion of younger premenopausal breast cancer patients is increasing. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota plays a critical role in breast cancer. However, studies on the gut microbiota in the context of breast cancer have mainly focused on postmenopausal breast cancer. Little is known about the gut microbiota in the context of premenopausal breast cancer. This study aimed to comprehensively explore the gut microbial profiles, diagnostic value, and functional pathways in premenopausal breast cancer patients. Here, we analyzed 267 breast cancer patients with different menopausal statuses and age-matched female controls. The α-diversity was significantly reduced in premenopausal breast cancer patients, and the β-diversity differed significantly between breast cancer patients and controls. By performing multiple analyses and classification, 14 microbial markers were identified in the different menopausal statuses of breast cancer. Bacteroides fragilis was specifically found in young women of premenopausal statuses and Klebsiella pneumoniae in older women of postmenopausal statuses. In addition, menopausal-specific microbial markers could exhibit excellent discriminatory ability in distinguishing breast cancer patients from controls. Finally, the functional pathways differed between breast cancer patients and controls. Our findings provide the first evidence that the gut microbiota in premenopausal breast cancer patients differs from that in postmenopausal breast cancer patients and shed light on menopausal-specific microbial markers for diagnosis and investigation, ultimately providing a noninvasive approach for breast cancer detection and a novel strategy for preventing premenopausal breast cancer. Breast cancer: gut microbes before and after menopause Women developing breast cancer before the menopause have less diverse gut microbe populations than their healthy peers, and significantly different gut microbial profiles than postmenopausal breast cancer patients. There is increasing evidence of a link between gut microbes and breast cancer, but most studies have focused on women after the menopause. The incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women is increasing, especially in Asia. Researchers in Taiwan led by Chih-Po Chiang at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital compared gut microbial populations in 267 breast cancer patients at different menopausal stages to matched controls. The results suggest that gut microbe profiling might offer a novel and noninvasive method for diagnosing and monitoring breast cancer. It may also lead to new strategies for prevention and treatment, as evidence emerges of a link between gut microbes and cancer.

Autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy (GFAP-A) is a recently identified autoimmune encephalitis. We reported a case of a male in his 50s with autoimmune GFAP-A complicated with Sjogren’s syndrome and recurrent respiratory failure. The patient presented with acute and disabling encephalitis and myelitis, with symptoms including respiratory failure, swallowing dysfunction and limbs weakness. Autoimmune tests showed elevated GFAP and positive antinuclear antibody, anti-Ro and anti-Smith antibodies. MRI revealed longitudinal hypersignal from the anterior medulla to the C1 spinal cord. The clinical symptoms were favorably improved by steroid treatment and rehabilitation training. This case highlighted the spectrum of clinical manifestations associated with GFAP-A. Our findings also supported the effectiveness of rehabilitation training in treating this disease. Further investigation regarding diagnostic criteria, imaging characteristics, and the role of rehabilitation training in treating GFAP-A is necessary. This case was presented herein to shed more light on various aspects of this disease.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a significant clinical challenge because of its high vascularity and metastatic and recurrent rates. Tumor angiogenesis is considered an important mediator in the regulation of tumor cell survival and metastasis in TNBC. Angiogenesis is induced by the binding of vascular endothelial growth factor to vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) plays an important role in regulating various cell functions in normal and cancer cells. Previous studies have focused on investigating the function of endothelial FAK in tumor cell angiogenesis. However, the association between tumor FAK and VEGFR2 in tumor angiogenesis and the possible mechanisms of this remain unclear. In this study, we used a public database and human specimens to examine the association between FAK and VEGFR2. At the same time, we verified the association between FAK and VEGFR2 through several experimental methods, such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and next-generation sequencing. In addition, we used the endothelial cell model, zebrafish, and xenograft animal models to investigate the role of FAK in TNBC angiogenesis. We found that FAK and VEGFR2 were positively correlated in patients with TNBC. VEGFR2 and several other angiogenesis-related genes were regulated by FAK. In addition, FAK regulated VEGFR2 and VEGF protein expression in TNBC cells. Functional assays showed that FAK knockdown inhibited endothelial tube formation and zebrafish angiogenesis. An animal model showed that FAK inhibitors could suppress tumor growth and tumor vascular formation. FAK promotes angiogenesis in TNBC cells by regulating VEGFR2 expression. Therefore, targeting FAK could be another antiangiogenic strategy for TNBC treatment.

There is insufficient evidence to prove the effect of the Post-acute Care (PAC) program on post-stroke recovery. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the PAC versus traditional inpatient rehabilitation (non-PAC) for middle- and old-aged stroke survivors. This multicenter cohort study enrolled 334 stroke patients admitted for post-stroke rehabilitation. The outcome variables included the Barthel Index (BI), Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D), Lawton–Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Scale, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The inverse-probability-of-treatment-weighting method was used to analyze the differences in outcomes between the PAC and non-PAC groups. The PAC group showed better improvements in BI, MNA-SF, EQ-5D, Instrumental ADL, and MMSE compared to the non-PAC group, with differences in effect sizes of 0.54 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.38–0.71), 0.26 (95% CI 0.10–0.42), 0.50 (95% CI 0.33–0.66), 0.44 (95% CI 0.28–0.60) and 0.34 (95% CI 0.17–0.50), respectively. The PAC project showed more improvement in basic and instrumental ADL and status of swallowing, nutrition, and cognition than those of non-PAC, which had less length of stay restricted by the National Health Insurance. More studies are warranted to investigate the influence of hospital stay and duration from stroke onset on the PAC’s effectiveness.

Lithium–sulfur batteries represent a promising class of next-generation rechargeable energy storage technologies, primarily because of their high-capacity sulfur cathode, reversible battery chemistry, low toxicity, and cost-effectiveness. However, they lack a tailored cell material and configuration for enhancing their high electrochemical utilization and stability. This study introduces a cross-disciplinary concept involving cost-efficient cement and sulfur to prepare a cement/sulfur energy storage material. Although cement has low conductivity and porosity, our findings demonstrate that its robust polysulfide adsorption capability is beneficial in the design of a cathode composite. The cathode composite attains enhanced cell fabrication parameters, featuring a high sulfur content and loading of 80 wt% and 6.4 mg cm−2, respectively. The resulting cell with the cement/sulfur cathode composite exhibits high active-material retention and utilization, resulting in a high charge storage capacity of 1189 mA∙h g−1, high rate performance across C/20 to C/3 rates, and an extended lifespan of 200 cycles. These attributes contribute to excellent cell performance values, demonstrating areal capacities ranging from 4.59 to 7.61 mA∙h cm−2, an energy density spanning 9.63 to 15.98 mW∙h cm−2, and gravimetric capacities between 573 and 951 mA∙h g−1 per electrode. Therefore, this study pioneers a new approach in lithium–sulfur battery research, opting for a nonporous material with robust polysulfide adsorption capabilities, namely cement. It effectively showcases the potential of the resulting cement/sulfur cathode composite to enhance fabrication feasibility, cell fabrication parameters, and cell performance values.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer in different age groups and evaluate the impact of age group on survival outcome according to different treatment responses. Data were retrospectively collected from the cancer registry database of Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in Taiwan under an approved protocol. Overall, 96 elder patients (aged >50 years) and 96 younger controls (aged ≤50 years) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and breast surgical treatment were examined after 1:1 matching. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the effectiveness of treatment response in patients of different age groups. Additionally, the Kaplan–Meier estimator and log‐rank test were performed to evaluate the effect of age group and treatment response on disease‐free and overall survival (OS). Although no direct significant association was found between age group and treatment response, several significant results were found in treatment response stratification analysis. Among 16 pathological complete response (pCR) patients, elder patients showed significantly greater 5‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) than younger patients (DFS rate, 85.7% vs. 0%, p = 0.041). However, in 176 non‐pCR patients, elder patients showed poor DFS compared to younger patients (DFS rate, 16.6% vs. 32.3%; log‐rank test, p = 0.031). With limited sample size and study design, our study results demonstrate that patients aged >50 years who achieved pCR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy could obtain better survival outcome than younger patients. However, the younger patients showed no survival benefits regardless of pCR status.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a special subtype of breast cancer in which several common diagnostic biomarkers are lost. Due to the loss of expression of receptors, treatment options for TNBC are limited. Therefore, finding safe and effective treatments for patients with TNBC is a major objective for clinicians. Previous studies suggested that cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells may be beneficial for patients with a variety of tumor types. However, CIK therapy is not effective for all patients. In this study, we found that focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase that regulates several cellular functions in different cells, has the potential to regulate tumor cells sensitized to CIK cells. Knockdown of FAK expression in TNBC cells or the treatment of TNBC cells with a FAK inhibitor followed by coculture with CIK cells increases death of TNBC cells, suggesting that FAK plays important roles in sensitizing tumor cells to CIK cells. This phenomenon could be regulated by a FAK-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-related mechanism. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the cytotoxic effect of CIK cell therapy in TNBC treatment, and show that CIK cell therapy combined with FAK inhibitors may be a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with TNBC.

Cutaneous metastatic breast cancer (CMBC) exhibits aggressive behavior driven by tumor adaptation to the skin microenvironment, yet research specifically addressing breast cancer metastasis to the skin remains limited, representing a significant unmet clinical need. In this study, transcriptomic profiling, functional assays, and mouse models revealed that CMBC is associated with poor prognosis and upregulation of angiogenesis, inflammatory signaling, and lipid metabolism, particularly arachidonic and linoleic acid pathways. Adipocyte-derived signals enhanced cutaneous metastasis through STAT3 activation, leading to increased Angpt2 , Vegfc , and Ptgis expression. Pharmacologic inhibition of STAT3 suppressed metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Elevated STAT3, ANGPT2, and PTGIS levels correlated with reduced progression-free and disease-free survival. These findings highlight STAT3-mediated signaling and metabolic reprogramming as key drivers of CMBC progression and suggest a promising therapeutic target for this understudied and clinically challenging condition.