The utility and feasibility of incorporating death cafes in undergraduate education: A qualitative exploration of medical and nursing students' perspectives.

Background: The current medical and nursing curricula place little emphasis on palliative and end-of-life care. Consequently, students are less comfortable in communicating about topics related to death and dying when providing palliative and end-of-life care. Death cafés utilizes a facilitator-led small group to encourage conversations about death and dying to take place alongside food and beverages in a safe environment.

Personal and Workplace Characteristics as Predictors of Intent-To-Stay Among Registered Nurses: An Exploratory Quantitative Multicentre Study.

Aim: This study aims to describe and examine the factors associated with registered nurses' intent-to-stay and subsequently identify predictors of nurses' intent-to-stay.

Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design was used.

Methods: A convenience sample of 270 registered nurses completed the questionnaire and was included in this study.

In Situ Characterization Techniques for Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to produce ammonia is pivotal in modern society due to its environmental friendliness and the substantial influence that ammonia has on food, chemicals, and energy. However, the current electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) mechanism is still imperfect, which seriously impedes the development of NRR. In situ characterization techniques offer insight into the alterations taking place at the electrode/electrolyte interface throughout the NRR process, thereby helping us to explore the NRR mechanism in-depth and ultimately promote the development of efficient catalytic systems for NRR.

Cyclotriphosphazene: A Versatile Building Block for Diverse Functional Materials.

Cyclotriphosphazene (CP) is a cyclic inorganic compound with the chemical formula NP. This unique molecule consists of a six-membered ring composed of alternating nitrogen and phosphorus atoms, each bonded to two chlorine atoms. CP exhibits remarkable versatility and significance in the realm of materials chemistry due to its easy functionalization via facile nucleophilic substitution reactions in mild conditions as well as intriguing properties of resultant final CP-based molecules or polymers.

Electrofluorochromic Switching of Heat-Induced Cross-Linkable Multi-Styryl-Terminated Triphenylamine and Tetraphenylethylene Derivatives.

High-performance electrochromic (EC) and electrofluorochromic (EFC) materials have garnered considerable interest due to their diverse applications in smart windows, optoelectronics, optical displays, military camouflage, etc. While many different EC and EFC polymers have been reported, their preparation often requires multiple steps, and their polymer molecular weights are subjected to batch variation. In this work, we prepared two triphenylamine (TPA)-based and two tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based derivatives functionalized with terminal styryl groups via direct Suzuki coupling with (4-vinylphenyl)boronic acid and vinylboronic acid pinacol ester.

Strategies to Enhance the Electrochromic Properties of Conjugated Polymers Bearing Pyromellitic Diimide Acceptors.

A series of conjugated polymers bearing thiophene-based donors and pyromellitic diimide (PMDI) acceptor were prepared, and their electrochromic (EC) properties were studied via using fabricated thin-film EC devices. It was observed that structurally regular alternating polymers with fewer (1 and 2) thiophene donors do not exhibit any EC properties while increasing the number of donors eventually led to the emergence of orange-red-to-green colour switching. On this basis, two more random co-polymers containing higher donor-to-acceptor ratios were synthesized to further improve EC switching properties.

Enhancing the photocatalytic upcycling of polystyrene to benzoic acid: a combined computational-experimental approach for acridinium catalyst design.

Converting polystyrene into value-added oxygenated aromatic compounds is an attractive end-of-life upcycling strategy. However, identification of appropriate catalysts often involves laborious and time-consuming empirical screening. Herein, after demonstrating the feasibility of using acridinium salts for upcycling polystyrene into benzoic acid by photoredox catalysis for the first time, we applied low-cost descriptor-based combinatorial screening to predict the photocatalytic performance of a family of potential candidates.

Hydrolytic degradation and biodegradation of polylactic acid electrospun fibers.

Increased use of bioplastics, such as polylactic acid (PLA), helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, decreases energy consumption and lowers pollution, but its degradation efficiency has much room for improvement. The degradation rate of electrospun PLA fibers of varying diameters ranging from 0.15 to 1.

A Completely Portable and Concealable, Lightweight Assistive Exosuit for Upper Limbs.

Exosuits are a relatively new trend in wearable robotics to answer the flaws of their exoskeleton counterparts, but they remain impractical as the lack of rigidity in their frames makes the integration of crucial components into a single unit a challenge. While some simple solutions exist, almost all current research focuses on the output performance of exosuits rather than the needs of potential beneficiaries of this technology. To address this, a novel mechanism of complete portability for exosuits was developed and tested to improve exosuit practicality and adoption.

Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Nanostructures: Beyond Biomedical Applications.

The discovery of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon in 2001 has had a significant impact on materials development across different research disciplines. AIE-active materials have been widely exploited for various applications in optoelectronics, sensing, biomedical, and stimuli-responsive systems, etc. This is made possible by integrating AIE features with other fields of science and engineering, such as nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Risk of Liver Fibrosis Is Associated with More Severe Strokes, Increased Complications with Thrombolysis, and Mortality.

The Fibrosis (FIB)-4 index is an established non-invasive test to detect liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis is postulated to be one of the predictors of the risk of symptomatic Intracranial Haemorrhage (SICH) after intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) therapy, the mainstay of treatment following acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, SICH is a feared complication of thrombolytic therapy.

Impact of Traditional and Non-Traditional Lipid Parameters on Outcomes after Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Contradicting evidence exists regarding the role of lipids in outcomes following intravenous (IV) thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Restricted cubic spline curves and adjusted logistic regression were used to evaluate associations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio with poor functional outcome, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) and 90-day mortality, among 1004 acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients who received IV tPA in a comprehensive stroke center. Quartile (Q) 1, Q2 and Q3 of HDL-C were associated with increased odds of poor functional outcome (adjusted odds ratio (adjOR) 1.

Thioxanthylium Cations: Highly Reversible Hydrochromic Mate-rials with Tunable Color and Moisture Sensitivity.

Hydrochromic materials, which change color in response to moisture, are highly sought-after due to some unique applications such as moisture detection, humidity monitoring, anti-counterfeiting, and sweat-pore mapping. We herein report a new thioxanthene-9-ols/thioxanthylium cations hydrochromic system. The hydrochromic thioxanthylium cations can be generated/regenerated by exposing a chemically stable thioxanthene-9-ol to trifluoroacetic acid (TFA).

Association of triglyceride-glucose index with clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving intravenous thrombolysis.

Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) remains the cornerstone of recanalization therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), albeit with varying degrees of response. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a novel marker of insulin resistance, but association with outcomes among AIS patients who have received tPA has not been well elucidated. We studied 698 patients with AIS who received tPA from 2006 to 2018 in a comprehensive stroke centre.

QSAR Classification Models for Prediction of Hydroxamate Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Activity against Malaria Parasites.

Malaria, caused by parasites, results in >400,000 deaths annually. There is no effective vaccine, and new drugs with novel modes of action are needed because of increasing parasite resistance to current antimalarials. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are epigenetic regulatory enzymes that catalyze post-translational protein deacetylation and are promising malaria drug targets.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor AR-42 and achiral analogues kill malaria parasites in vitro and in mice.

Malaria is caused by infection with Plasmodium parasites and results in significant health and economic impacts. Malaria eradication is hampered by parasite resistance to current drugs and the lack of a widely effective vaccine. Compounds that target epigenetic regulatory proteins, such as histone deacetylases (HDACs), may lead to new therapeutic agents with a different mechanism of action, thereby avoiding resistance mechanisms to current antimalarial drugs.

Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers via Transition Metal Catalysed C-H Bond Activation.

Transition metal catalysed C-H bond activation chemistry has emerged as an exciting and promising approach in organic synthesis. This allows us to synthesize a wider range of functional molecules and conjugated polymers in a more convenient and more atom economical way. The formation of C-C bonds in the construction of pi-conjugated systems, particularly for conjugated polymers, has benefited much from the advances in C-H bond activation chemistry.

Bottom-Up Engineering Strategies for High-Performance Thermoelectric Materials.

The recent advancements in thermoelectric materials are largely credited to two factors, namely established physical theories and advanced materials engineering methods. The developments in the physical theories have come a long way from the "phonon glass electron crystal" paradigm to the more recent band convergence and nanostructuring, which consequently results in drastic improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit value. On the other hand, the progresses in materials fabrication methods and processing technologies have enabled the discovery of new physical mechanisms, hence further facilitating the emergence of high-performance thermoelectric materials.

Face Masks in the New COVID-19 Normal: Materials, Testing, and Perspectives.

The increasing prevalence of infectious diseases in recent decades has posed a serious threat to public health. Routes of transmission differ, but the respiratory droplet or airborne route has the greatest potential to disrupt social intercourse, while being amenable to prevention by the humble face mask. Different types of masks give different levels of protection to the user.

Solution-Processable Copolymers Based on Triphenylamine and 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene: Facile Synthesis and Multielectrochromism.

In comparison with traditional inorganic electrochromic materials, organic polymers offer advantages such as fast switching speed, flexibility, lightweightness, low cost and nontoxicity, solution-processability, and color tunability. Herein, a series of hyper-branched copolymers are synthesized from triphenylamine and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene with different feed ratios via iron(III) chloride (FeCl )-mediated oxidative polymerization. The resultant organic-soluble polymers are easily processable and their corresponding electrochromic devices are found to be stable with limited degradation upon 2500 cycles.

Recent Advances in Aggregation-Induced Emission Chemosensors for Anion Sensing.

The discovery of the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon in the early 2000s not only has overcome persistent challenges caused by traditional aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ), but also has brought about new opportunities for the development of useful functional molecules. Through the years, AIE luminogens (AIEgens) have been widely studied for applications in the areas of biomedical and biological sensing, chemosensing, optoelectronics, and stimuli responsive materials. Particularly in the application of chemosensing, a myriad of novel AIE-based sensors has been developed to detect different neutral molecular, cationic and anionic species, with a rapid detection time, high sensitivity and high selectivity by monitoring fluorescence changes.

Electroluminochromic Materials: From Molecules to Polymers.

Electroluminochromism is an interesting property found in certain classes of molecules and polymers whose photoluminescence can be modulated through the application of an external electrical bias. Unlike electrochromic materials, electroluminochromic counterparts and their applications are comparatively fewer in quantity and are less established. Nonetheless, there prevails an increasing interest in this class of electro-active materials due to their potential applications in optoelectronics, such as smart-displays, and chemical and biological sensing.

Identification of novel quinazoline derivatives as potent antiplasmodial agents.

Despite the recent reductions in the global burden of malaria, this disease remains a devastating cause of death in tropical and subtropical regions. As there is no broadly effective vaccine for malaria, prevention and treatment still rely on chemotherapy. Unfortunately, emerging resistance to the gold standard artemisinin combination therapies means that new drugs with novel modes of action are urgently needed.

An Outbreak of Streptococcus pyogenes in a Mental Health Facility: Advantage of Well-Timed Whole-Genome Sequencing Over emm Typing.

OBJECTIVEWe report the utility of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) conducted in a clinically relevant time frame (ie, sufficient for guiding management decision), in managing a Streptococcus pyogenes outbreak, and present a comparison of its performance with emm typing.SETTINGA 2,000-bed tertiary-care psychiatric hospital.METHODSActive surveillance was conducted to identify new cases of S.