Easy Access to Bright Oxygen Defects in Biocompatible Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes via a Fenton-like Reaction.

The covalent functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with luminescent oxygen defects increases their brightness and enables their application as optical biosensors or fluorescent probes for in vivo imaging in the second-biological window (NIR-II). However, obtaining luminescent defects with high brightness is challenging with the current functionalization methods due to a restricted window of reaction conditions or the necessity for controlled irradiation with ultraviolet light. Here, we report a method for introducing luminescent oxygen defects via a Fenton-like reaction that uses benign and inexpensive chemicals without light irradiation.

Perceptions of Use of Names, Recognition of Roles, and Teamwork After Labeling Surgical Caps.

Importance: Communication failures in perioperative areas are common and have negative outcomes for both patients and clinicians. Names and roles of teammates are difficult to remember or discern contributing to suboptimal communication, yet the utility of labeled surgical caps with names and roles for enhancing perceived teamwork and connection is not well studied.

Objective: To evaluate the use of labeled surgical caps in name use and role recognition, as well as teamwork and connection, among interprofessional perioperative teammates.

Coined quantum walks on the line: Disorder, entanglement, and localization.

Disorder in coined quantum walks generally leads to localization. We investigate the influence of the localization on the entanglement properties of coined quantum walks. Specifically, we consider quantum walks on the line and explore the effects of quenched disorder in the coin operations.

Mathematical Characterization of Private and Public Immune Receptor Sequences.

Diverse T and B cell repertoires play an important role in mounting effective immune responses against a wide range of pathogens and malignant cells. The number of unique T and B cell clones is characterized by T and B cell receptors (TCRs and BCRs), respectively. Although receptor sequences are generated probabilistically by recombination processes, clinical studies found a high degree of sharing of TCRs and BCRs among different individuals.

Improving Operating Room Efficiency Through Reducing First Start Delays in an Academic Center.

Background: Delays in operating room (OR) first-case start times can cause additional costs for hospitals, healthcare team frustration and delay in patient care. Here, a novel process improvement strategy to improving first-case start times is presented.

Methods: First case in room start times were recorded for ORs at an academic medical center.