Plasmons Enhancing Sub-Bandgap Photoconductivity in TiO Nanoparticles Film.

The coupling between sub-bandgap defect states and surface plasmon resonances in Au nanoparticles and its effects on the photoconductivity performance of TiO are investigated in both the ultraviolet (UV) and visible spectrum. Incorporating a 2 nm gold nanoparticle layer in the photodetector device architecture creates additional trapping pathways, resulting in a faster current decay under UV illumination and a significant enhancement in the visible photocurrent of TiO, with an 8-fold enhancement of the defects-related photocurrent. We show that hot electron injection (HEI) and plasmonic resonance energy transfer (PRET) jointly contribute to the observed photoconductivity enhancement.

Long-Range and High-Efficiency Plasmon-Assisted Förster Resonance Energy Transfer.

The development of a long-range and efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) process is essential for its application in key enabling optoelectronic and sensing technologies. Via controlling the delocalization of the donor's electric field and Purcell enhancements, we experimentally demonstrate long-range and high-efficiency Förster resonance energy transfer using a plasmonic nanogap formed between a silver nanoparticle and an extended silver film. Our measurements show that the FRET range can be extended to over 200 nm while keeping the FRET efficiency over 0.

Impact of Surface Ligand on the Biocompatibility of InP/ZnS Quantum Dots with Platelets.

InP/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) have received a large focus in recent years as a safer alternative to heavy metal-based QDs. Given their intrinsic fluorescent imaging capabilities, these QDs can be potentially relevant for in vivo platelet imaging. The InP/ZnS QDs are synthesized and their biocompatibility investigated through the use of different phase transfer agents.

Optimizing Antihypertensive Management for Hypertensive Patients With Secondary Complications: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis in Primary Care Settings.

Despite significant pharmacological advancements, hypertension management remains challenging, with varying quality of primary care. Digital tools and other non-pharmacological interventions hold promise in addressing this challenge. Consequently, a thorough examination of these interventions is recommended.

Magnetic Mode Coupling in Hyperbolic Bowtie Meta-Antennas.

Hyperbolic metaparticles have emerged as the next step in metamaterial applications, providing tunable electromagnetic properties on demand. However, coupling of optical modes in hyperbolic meta-antennas has not been explored. Here, we present in detail the magnetic and electric dipolar modes supported by a hyperbolic bowtie meta-antenna and clearly demonstrate the existence of two magnetic coupling regimes in such hyperbolic systems.

The Mediating Role of Resilience and Electronic Health Literacy in the Relationship Between Pandemic Fatigue and Adherence to Preventive Behaviours Against COVID-19.

Introduction: There is emerging literature on the decline in adherence to preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, a phenomenon of pandemic fatigue (PF). However, academics and policymakers have debated its existence and consequences. We conducted this study to explore this phenomenon, its existence, determinants, and relation to adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures, and the mediating role of resilience, fear of COVID-19, and electronic health literacy about COVID-19 in this relationship.

Comparison of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Devices in Aortic Stenosis: A Network Meta-Analysis of 42,105 Patients.

In recent years, trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as an excellent alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Currently, there are several approved devices on the market, yet comparisons among them are scarce. We aimed to compare the various devices via a network meta-analysis.

A Prospective Study to Assess Patients' Understanding and Retention of Postoperative Instructions following a Fixed Partial Denture, Using Different Information Delivery Techniques.

Objective:  This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of using different modes of at-home maintenance information delivery on patients' understanding and the level of information retention.

Materials And Methods:  Sixty patients were asked to answer a questionnaire while undergoing mouth preparations for receiving a fixed partial denture. The questionnaire includes questions related to at-home maintenance procedures and recall visits.

Development of saline loaded mask materials, evaluation of the antimicrobial efficacy and survivability of selected bacteria on these mask materials.

Objective: Surgical face masks have been recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nowadays wearing masks have become a norm and lifestyle around the globe. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of developing masks loaded with analytical grade sodium chloride (NaCl), Iodized salts (IS) and Omani sea salt (OSS) with or without sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO).

Using adsorption kinetics to assemble vertically aligned nanorods at liquid interfaces for metamaterial applications.

Vertically aligned monolayers of metallic nanorods have a wide range of applications as metamaterials or in surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. However the fabrication of such structures using current top-down methods or through assembly on solid substrates is either difficult to scale up or have limited possibilities for further modification after assembly. The aim of this paper is to use the adsorption kinetics of cylindrical nanorods at a liquid interface as a novel route for assembling vertically aligned nanorod arrays that overcomes these problems.

Knowledge of and attitude towards epilepsy among university students in Saudi Arabia: Misconceptions of the next generation.

•We examined knowledge of and attitudes toward epilepsy among university students in Saudi Arabia.•Knowledge of and attitudes towards epilepsy were more favorable among students of health specialties.•One fifth linked epilepsy to spirits possession and mental disorders, but almost half prefer spiritual ritual treatment.

Adsorption trajectories of nonspherical particles at liquid interfaces.

The adsorption of colloidal particles at liquid interfaces is of great importance scientifically and industrially, but the dynamics of the adsorption process is still poorly understood. In this paper we use a Langevin model to study the adsorption dynamics of ellipsoidal colloids at a liquid interface. Interfacial deformations are included by coupling our Langevin dynamics to a finite element model while transient contact line pinning due to nanoscale defects on the particle surface is encoded into our model by renormalizing particle friction coefficients and using dynamic contact angles relevant to the adsorption timescale.

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer and the Local Optical Density of States in Plasmonic Nanogaps.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a fundamental phenomenon in photosynthesis and is of increasing importance for the development and enhancement of a wide range of optoelectronic devices, including color-tuning LEDs and lasers, light harvesting, sensing systems, and quantum computing. Despite its importance, fundamental questions remain unanswered on the FRET rate dependency on the local density of optical states (LDOS). In this work, we investigate this directly, both theoretically and experimentally, using 30 nm plasmonic nanogaps formed between a silver nanoparticle and an extended silver film, in which the LDOS can be controlled using the size of the silver nanoparticle.

Women-Only Cardiac Rehabilitation Delivery Around the World.

Background: Women utilise cardiac rehabilitation (CR) significantly less than men. Gender-tailored CR improves adherence and mental health outcomes when compared to traditional programs. This study ascertained the availability of women-only (W-O) CR classes globally.

Long-term ambient air-stable cubic CsPbBr perovskite quantum dots using molecular bromine.

We report unprecedented phase stability of cubic CsPbBr quantum dots in ambient air obtained by using Br as halide precursor. Mechanistic investigation reveals the decisive role of temperature-controlled generated, oleylammonium halide species from molecular halogen and amine for the long term stability and emission tunability of CsPbX (X = Br, I) nanocrystals.

Dynamic Electric Field Alignment of Metal-Organic Framework Microrods.

Alignment of metal-organic framework (MOF) crystals has previously been performed via careful control of oriented MOF growth on substrates, as well as by dynamic magnetic alignment. We show here that bromobenzene-suspended microrod crystals of the MOF NU-1000 can also be dynamically aligned via electric fields, giving rise to rapid electrooptical responses. This method of dynamic MOF alignment opens up new avenues of MOF control which are important for integration of MOFs into switchable electronic devices as well as in other applications such as reconfigurable sensors or optical systems.

A label-free aptamer-based nanogap capacitive biosensor with greatly diminished electrode polarization effects.

A significant impediment to the use of impedance spectroscopy in bio-sensing is the electrode polarization effect that arises from the movement of free ions to the electrode-solution interface, forming an electrical double layer (EDL). The EDL screens the dielectric response of the bulk and its large capacitance dominates the signal response at low frequency, masking information particularly relevant for biological samples, such as molecular conformation changes and DNA hybridization. The fabrication of nanogap capacitors with electrode separation less than the EDL thickness can significantly reduce electrode polarization effects and provide enormous improvement in sensitivity due to better matching of the sensing volume with the size of the target entities.

Refractive Error among Male Primary School Students in Jazan, Saudi Arabia: Prevalence and Associated Factors.

Background: Refractive error is a common and serious eye disorder that affects more than 153 million people globally. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and pattern of refractive error among male primary school children in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a randomly selected group of 395 students (aged 6-14 years) in Jazan region, Southwest Saudi Arabia.

Density functional theory for the crystallization of two-dimensional dipolar colloidal alloys.

Two-dimensional mixtures of dipolar colloidal particles with different dipole moments exhibit extremely rich self-assembly behaviour and are relevant to a wide range of experimental systems, including charged and super-paramagnetic colloids at liquid interfaces. However, there is a gap in our understanding of the crystallization of these systems because existing theories such as integral equation theory and lattice sum methods can only be used to study the high temperature fluid phase and the zero-temperature crystal phase, respectively. In this paper we bridge this gap by developing a density functional theory (DFT), valid at intermediate temperatures, in order to study the crystallization of one and two-component dipolar colloidal monolayers.

Capturing antibacterial natural products with in silico techniques.

The aim of the present study was to index natural products in order to facilitate the discovery of less expensive antibacterial therapeutic drugs. Thus, for modeling purposes, the present study utilized a set of 628 antibacterial drugs, representing the active domain, and 2,892 natural products, representing the inactive domain. In addition, using the iterative stochastic elimination algorithm, 36 unique filters were identified, which were then used to construct a highly discriminative and robust model tailored to index natural products for their antibacterial bioactivity.

Detection of Ureaplasma Species by a Semi-Quantitative PCR Test in Urine Samples: Can It Predict Clinical Significance?

Background: Ureaplasma species (Usp) are the most prevalent genital Mycoplasma isolated from the urogenital tract of both men and women. Usp may be commensals in the genital tract but may also be contributors to a number of pathological conditions of the genital tract. Because they can also just colonize the genital tract of healthy people, their pathogenic role can be difficult to prove.

Searching the Internet for psychiatric disorders among Arab and Jewish Israelis: insights from a comprehensive infodemiological survey.

Israel represents a complex and pluralistic society comprising two major ethno-national groups, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, which differ in terms of religious and cultural values as well as social constructs. According to the so-called "diversification hypothesis", within the framework of e-health and in the era of new information and communication technologies, seeking online health information could be a channel to increase health literacy, especially among disadvantaged groups. However, little is known concerning digital seeking behavior and, in particular, digital mental health literacy.