Engineering the Ratios of Nanoparticles Dispersed in Triphasic Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications.

Polymer/ceramic nanocomposites integrated the advantages of both polymers and ceramics for a wide range of biomedical applications, such as bone tissue repair. Here, we reported triphasic poly(lactic--glycolic acid) (PLGA, LA/GA = 90:10) nanocomposites with improved dispersion of hydroxyapatite (HA) and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles using a process that integrated the benefits of ultrasonic energy and dual asymmetric centrifugal mixing. We characterized the microstructure and composition of the nanocomposites and evaluated the effects of the HA/MgO ratios on degradation behavior and cell-material interactions.

Reduced durability of hybrid immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in immunocompromised children.

Background: In endemic COVID-19, immunocompromised children are vulnerable until vaccinated but the optimal primary vaccination regime and need for booster doses remains uncertain.

Methods: We recruited 19 immunocompromised children (post-solid organ transplantation, have autoimmune disease or were on current or recent chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and followed them from the start of primary vaccination with BNT162b2 mRNA SARS-CoV-2 until 1-year post-vaccination. We investigated the quality of vaccine immunogenicity, and longevity of hybrid immunity, in comparison to healthy children.

Epidemiology of late-onset sepsis in Malaysian neonatal intensive care units, 2015-2020.

Introduction: To determine the epidemiology of blood culture-positive late-onset sepsis (LOS, >72 hours of age) in 44 Malaysian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

Materials And Methods: Study Design: Multicentre retrospective observational study using data from the Malaysian National Neonatal Registry.

Participants: 739486 neonates (birthweight ≥500g, gestation ≥22 weeks) born and admitted in 2015-2020.

Harnessing Janus structures: enhanced internal electric fields in CN for improved H photocatalysis.

Homojunction engineering holds promise for creating high-performance photocatalysts, yet significant challenges persist in establishing and modulating an effective junction interface. To tackle this, we designed and constructed a novel Janus homojunction photocatalyst by integrating two different forms of triazole-based carbon nitride (CN). In this design, super-sized, ultrathin nanosheets of carbon-rich CN grow epitaxially on a nitrogen-rich honeycomb network of CN, creating a tightly bound and extensive interfacial contact area.

Decoding the entropy-stabilized matrix of high-entropy layered double hydroxides: Harnessing strain dynamics for peroxymonosulfate activation and tetracycline degradation.

The current understanding of the mechanism of high-entropy layered double hydroxide (LDH) on enhancing the efficiency of activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) remains limited. This work reveals that a strong strain effect, driven by high entropy, modulates the structure of FeCoNiCuZn-LDH (HE-LDH) as evidenced by geometric phase analysis (GPA) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Compared to FeCoNiZn-LDH and FeCoNi-LDH with weaker strain effects, the high entropy-driven strain effect in HE-LDH shortens metal-oxygen-hydrogen (MOH) bond lengths, allows system to be in a constant steady state during catalysis, reduces the leaching of active M-OH sites, and enhances the adsorption capacity of these sites and the excess strain strength of the interfacial stretches the I of the PMS, facilitates reactive oxygen species (·OH, SO·, O and O·) generation, and thereby improving the efficiency of PMS in degrading tetracycline (TC).