Elemental Characterization of Ambient Particulate Matter for a Globally Distributed Monitoring Network: Methodology and Implications.

Global ground-level measurements of elements in ambient particulate matter (PM) can provide valuable information to understand the distribution of dust and trace elements, assess health impacts, and investigate emission sources. We use X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize the elemental composition of PM samples collected from 27 globally distributed sites in the Surface PARTiculate mAtter Network (SPARTAN) over 2019-2023. Consistent protocols are applied to collect all samples and analyze them at one central laboratory, which facilitates comparison across different sites.

Changes in Posttraumatic Growth After a Virtual Contemplative Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the effects of an intervention called "Compassion & Growth Workshops" on reported posttraumatic growth (PTG) using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Expanded (PTGI-X).

Background: Few studies measure the impact of interventions, such as contemplative practices, on nurse PTG.

Methods: We delivered a series of three 2-hour microretreats to nurses and advanced practice nurses and measured their impact on PTG scores.

Ambulatory Care Simulation: A Collaboration Between MSN and BSN Students.

Background: A university school of nursing initiated a pilot project to include Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) students in two existing Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) student scenarios. The result was a valuable collaboration among the student learners.

Method: Using a Zoom platform, students were introduced to their patient in a telehealth scenario.

Development of a Quantitative Immunoassay for Tear Lacritin Proteoforms.

Purpose: Lacritin is a tear glycoprotein with pro-tearing and pro-ocular surface homeostasis activities that is selectively deficient in most dry eye tears. Proteoforms include an active monomer, inactive polymers, and a splice variant termed lacritin-c. Quantitation of the different proteoforms of tear lacritin may provide a diagnostic tool for ocular diseases.

High-Fidelity Simulation in an Undergraduate Ambulatory Care Nursing Course.

For a new ambulatory care nursing course in an undergraduate baccalaureate program, a standardized patient simulation was created to support the clinical component of the course. The goals were for students to enhance their critical thinking skills, apply the nursing process to an ambulatory setting, apply learned skills to the non-acute care setting, and increase their confidence. The simulation format included three stations: skills refresher, telehealth, and clinic.

Intrinsically stable organic solar cells under high-intensity illumination.

Organic photovoltaic cells are now approaching commercially viable efficiencies, particularly for applications that make use of their unique potential for flexibility and semitransparency. However, their reliability remains a major concern, as even the most stable devices reported so far degrade within only a few years. This has led to the belief that short operational lifetimes are an intrinsic disadvantage of devices that are fabricated using weakly bonded organic materials-an idea that persists despite the rapid growth and acceptance of organic light-emitting devices, which can achieve lifetimes of several million hours.

Highly Efficient Photo- and Electroluminescence from Two-Coordinate Cu(I) Complexes Featuring Nonconventional N-Heterocyclic Carbenes.

A series of six luminescent two-coordinate Cu(I) complexes were investigated bearing nonconventional N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, monoamido-aminocarbene (MAC*) and diamidocarbene (DAC*), along with carbazolyl (Cz) as well as mono- and dicyano-substituted Cz derivatives. The emission color can be systematically varied over 270 nm, from violet to red, through proper choice of the acceptor (carbene) and donor (carbazolyl) groups. The compounds exhibit photoluminescent quantum efficiencies up to 100% in fluid solution and polystyrene films with short decay lifetimes (τ ≈ 1 μs).

From 2D to 3D: Strain- and elongation-free topological transformations of optoelectronic circuits.

Optoelectronic circuits in 3D shapes with large deformations can offer additional functionalities inaccessible to conventional planar electronics based on 2D geometries constrained by conventional photolithographic patterning processes. A light-sensing focal plane array (FPA) used in imagers is one example of a system that can benefit from fabrication on curved surfaces. By mimicking the hemispherical shape of the retina in the human eye, a hemispherical FPA provides a low-aberration image with a wide field of view.

Ambulatory care education: Preparing nurses for the future of healthcare.

In the current healthcare environment, ambulatory care nursing is increasingly recognized as an efficient and effective way of collaborating with clients to improve health outcomes and to focus on prevention. Nursing skills in ambulatory care are both valuable and necessary. However, few undergraduate nursing programs provide content on ambulatory care or significant clinical experience outside the context of an acute care setting.

Centimetre-scale electron diffusion in photoactive organic heterostructures.

The unique properties of organic semiconductors, such as flexibility and lightness, are increasingly important for information displays, lighting and energy generation. But organics suffer from both static and dynamic disorder, and this can lead to variable-range carrier hopping, which results in notoriously poor electrical properties, with low electron and hole mobilities and correspondingly short charge-diffusion lengths of less than a micrometre. Here we demonstrate a photoactive (light-responsive) organic heterostructure comprising a thin fullerene channel sandwiched between an electron-blocking layer and a blended donor:C fullerene heterojunction that generates charges by dissociating excitons.

Perceived discrimination and mental health among older African Americans: the role of psychological well-being.

Objectives: Examine the effect of perceived discrimination (both racial and non-racial) on the mental health of older African Americans and explore the buffering role of psychological well-being (purpose in life and self-acceptance).

Methods: Using an older African American subsample from the National Health Measurement Study (n = 397), multiple regression model by gender was used to estimate the effects of two types of discrimination (every day and lifetime) on SF-36 mental component and mediating role of two concepts of psychological well-being.

Results: With no gender difference on the everyday discrimination, older men experienced more lifetime discrimination than older women.

Functional TASK-3-Like Channels in Mitochondria of Aldosterone-Producing Zona Glomerulosa Cells.

Ca drives aldosterone synthesis in the cytosolic and mitochondrial compartments of the adrenal zona glomerulosa cell. Membrane potential across each of these compartments regulates the amplitude of the Ca signal; yet, only plasma membrane ion channels and their role in regulating cell membrane potential have garnered investigative attention as pathological causes of human hyperaldosteronism. Previously, we reported that genetic deletion of TASK-3 channels (tandem pore domain acid-sensitive K channels) from mice produces aldosterone excess in the absence of a change in the cell membrane potential of zona glomerulosa cells.

Hot excited state management for long-lived blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes.

Since their introduction over 15 years ago, the operational lifetime of blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) has remained insufficient for their practical use in displays and lighting. Their short lifetime results from annihilation between high-energy excited states, producing energetically hot states (>6.0 eV) that lead to molecular dissociation.