Ultrasensitive quantification of neonicotinoid thiamethoxam in environment using MOF-derived CuCoO/3D rGO based electrochemical sensor integrated with optimized neural network.

Accurate quantification of neonicotinoid insecticides is pivotal to ensure environmental safety by examining and mitigating their potential harmful effects on pollinators and aquatic ecosystems. In this scenario, detection of neonicotinoid insecticide, thiamethoxam (TMX), is significant for safeguarding ecological balance and human health. Hence, we developed a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for detection of TMX in environmental samples, utilizing a novel nanocomposite with superior electrocatalytic properties and integrating an optimized neural network for accurate data analysis.

Antiferroelectric Order in Nematic Liquids: Flexoelectricity Versus Electrostatics.

The recent discovery of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystalline phases marks a major breakthrough in soft matter research. An intermediate phase, often observed between the nonpolar and the ferroelectric nematic phase, shows a distinct antiferroelectric response to electric fields. However, its structure and formation mechanisms remain debated, with flexoelectric and electrostatics effects proposed as competing mechanisms.

Impact of androgen deprivation therapy in patients with unfavorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer receiving brachytherapy-based dose-escalated radiation therapy.

Purpose: While the benefit of short-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been established for patients with intermediate-risk (IR) prostate cancer (PCa) receiving dose-escalated external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), the role of ADT for patients treated with brachytherapy (BT) with or without supplemental EBRT (sEBRT) is less clear.

Material And Methods: We conducted a single-institution retrospective analysis of men with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) unfavorable IR (UIR) PCa. All patients received BT with or without sEBRT, and were stratified by the receipt of 4-6 months of ADT.

Cuprospinel decorated biopolymer functionalized CNFs based electrocatalytic platform integrated with grid search optimized neural network for detection of vital amino acid in beverages.

An electrocatalytic platform based on a novel nanocomposite integrated with a grid search-optimized neural network (GSNN) was proposed for intelligent sensing of tryptophan. The cuprospinel-decorated chitosan-functionalized carbon nanofibers (CuFeO/Chit-CNFs) fabricated on a disposable electrode revealed exceptional electrocatalytic activity with a low detection limit (2 nM) and good sensitivity (79.18 μAμM cm) over a broad linear range (0.

The association of azole antifungals with overall survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Preclinical data suggest antifungal azole derivatives have antitumor efficacy that may modulate response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We aimed to evaluate the association of azole drugs with overall survival (OS) in a population of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with ICI within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Methods: In this retrospective study, the VA Corporate Data Warehouse was queried for patients diagnosed with NSCLC and treated with ICI from 2010 to 2018.

The Effect of a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention on Shift Workers With Acid Peptic Disease: A Quasi-experimental Study in Karaikal, South India.

Acid peptic disease (APD) is the most common health issue among rotational shift workers, including night shifts. Alterations in diet patterns from the routines of life play a key role in the development of APD in this population. This study aims to determine food habits and evaluate the effect of a healthy lifestyle intervention on reducing the frequency of the occurrence of APD among rotational shift workers.

Steepness-fragility insights from the temperature derivative analysis of dielectric data of a highly nonsymmetric liquid crystal dimer.

A comprehensive dynamic analysis of the dielectric relaxation-time data across a broad temperature range for both isotropic and nematic phases has been conducted on the CBO3O.Py liquid crystal dimer, the shorter chain-length compound within the highly nonsymmetric pyrene-based series of liquid crystal dimers (CBOnO.Py, with n ranging from 3 to 11).

Impact of Rectal Spacer on Toxicity Reduction in Men Treated With Proton Versus Photon Therapy.

Purpose: Rectal toxicity after prostate cancer (PCa) radiation therapy (RT) may be greater with protons compared with photon intensity-modulated RT, perhaps due to lateral penumbra and end-of-range uncertainty. Rectal spacers (RSs) have been shown to mitigate RT-associated acute/late rectal toxicity in men treated with photons. The relative benefit of RS in men treated with protons versus photons is unknown.

Biochemical Relapse-Free Survival in Postprostatectomy Patients Receiving 18F-Fluciclovine-Guided Prostate Bed-Only Radiation: Post Hoc Analysis of a Prospective Randomized Trial.

Purpose: Whole-pelvis (WP) radiation therapy (radiation) improved biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) compared with prostate bed (PB)-only radiation in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0534, but was performed in an era prior to positron emission tomography (PET) staging. Separately, 18F-fluciclovine PET/CT-guided postprostatectomy radiation improved 3-year bRFS versus radiation guided by conventional imaging alone. We hypothesized that patients who were changed from WP to PB-only radiation after PET would have bRFS that was: (a) no higher than patients initially planned for PB-only radiation; and (b) lower than patients planned for WP radiation without PET guidance.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in polar fluids.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking and emergent polar order are each of fundamental importance to a range of scientific disciplines, as well as generating rich phase behaviour in liquid crystals (LCs). Here, we show the union of these phenomena to lead to two previously undiscovered polar liquid states of matter. Both phases have a lamellar structure with an inherent polar ordering of their constituent molecules.

Tunable entangled photon-pair generation in a liquid crystal.

Liquid crystals, with their ability to self-assemble, strong response to an electric field and integrability into complex systems, are key materials in light-beam manipulation. The recently discovered ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals also have considerable second-order optical nonlinearity, making them a potential material for nonlinear optics. Their use as sources of quantum light could considerably extend the boundaries of photonic quantum technologies.

Lung Cancer Survival Trends in the Veterans Health Administration.

Introduction: Lung cancer survival is improving in the United States. We investigated whether there was a similar trend within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States.

Materials And Methods: Data from the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry were analyzed for temporal survival trends using Kaplan-Meier estimates and linear regression.

Interplay between desiccation and oxidative stress responses in iron-oxidizing acidophilic bacteria.

Variations in water availability represent a foremost stress factor affecting the growth and survival of microorganisms. Acidophilic bioleaching bacteria are industrially applied for releasing metals from mineral sulphides, and they are considered extremely tolerant to oxidative conditions prevailing in acidic bioleaching environments. Such processes usually are performed in heaps and thus these microorganisms are also exposed to intermittent desiccations or high osmolarity periods that reduce the water availability.

On Complex Matrix-Variate Dirichlet Averages and Its Applications in Various Sub-Domains.

This paper is about Dirichlet averages in the matrix-variate case or averages of functions over the Dirichlet measure in the complex domain. The classical power mean contains the harmonic mean, arithmetic mean and geometric mean (Hardy, Littlewood and Polya), which is generalized to the -mean by de Finetti and hypergeometric mean by Carlson; see the references herein. Carlson's hypergeometric mean averages a scalar function over a real scalar variable type-1 Dirichlet measure, which is known in the current literature as the Dirichlet average of that function.

Ultrasensitive detection and photocatalytic degradation of polyketide drug tetracycline in environment and food samples using dual-functional Ag doped zinc ferrite embedded functionalized carbon nanofibers.

The efficient degradation and accurate quantification of tetracycline in environment and food samples is pivotal for ensuring public health and safety by monitoring potential contamination and maintaining regulatory standards. Hence, in this study, photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline and its electrochemical detection in environment and food samples based on dual-functional silver-doped zinc ferrite nanoparticles embedded chitosan-functionalized carbon nanofibers fabricated on a screen-printed carbon electrode (AgZFO/CHIT-CNF/SPCE) is presented. A hydrothermal method was used in the synthesis of Ag-doped ZFO, and chitosan was functionalized on the CNF surface using a swift and cost-effective chemical modification process of carboxyl groups.

Collective and non-collective molecular dynamics in a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy.

A great deal of effort has been recently devoted to the study of dielectric relaxation processes in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals, yet their interpretation remains unclear. In this work, we present the results of broadband dielectric spectroscopy experiments of a prototypical ferroelectric nematogen in the frequency range 10 Hz-110 MHz at different electrode separations and under the application of DC bias fields. The results evidence a complex behavior in all phases due to the magnitude of polar correlations in these systems.

Nanomolar electrochemical detection of feed additive ractopamine in meat samples using spinel zinc ferrite decorated 3-dimensional graphene nanosheets to combat food fraud in livestock industries.

Accurate detection of feed additive is significant for food safety monitoring, warding off its illegal use in livestock production, safeguarding public health, and regulatory compliance. Hence, this paper presents a cost-effective and ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor for detecting commonly used animal feed additive, ractopamine to combat food frauds in meat samples. The sensor was created by embedding spinel zinc ferrite nanospheres (ZnFeO) on three-dimensional graphene (3DG) nanosheets using sonochemical method.

A PI3K gene expression signature predicts for recurrence in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Introduction: Increasingly, early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Although treatment is generally effective, a small subset of tumors will recur because of radioresistance. Preclinical studies suggested PI3K-AKT-mTOR activation mediates radioresistance.

Radiation Facility Volume and Survival for Men With Very High-Risk Prostate Cancer Treated with Radiation and Androgen Deprivation Therapy.

Importance: Very high-risk (VHR) prostate cancer is an aggressive substratum of high-risk prostate cancer, characterized by high prostate-specific antigen levels, high Gleason score, and/or advanced T category. Contemporary management paradigms involve advanced molecular imaging and multimodal treatment with intensified prostate-directed or systemic treatment-resources more readily available at high-volume centers.

Objective: To examine radiation facility case volume and overall survival (OS) in men with VHR prostate cancer.

Polarization patterning in ferroelectric nematic liquids via flexoelectric coupling.

The recently discovered ferroelectric nematic liquids incorporate to the functional combination of fluidity, processability and anisotropic optical properties of nematic liquids, an astonishing range of physical properties derived from the phase polarity. Among them, the remarkably large values of second order optical susceptibility encourage to exploit these new materials for non-linear photonic applications. Here we show that photopatterning of the alignment layer can be used to structure polarization patterns.

Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection Secondary to Streptococcus constellatus, Actinomyces odontolyticus, and Gemella morbillorum in an Intravenous Drug User: A Case Report and Literature Review.

A 53-year-old male with active IV heroin use presented with left upper extremity pain, erythema, swelling, and purulent foul-smelling drainage. Rapid diagnosis of necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) was made based on clinical and radiologic findings. He was taken to the operating room for wound washouts and surgical debridements.

The Association of Improved Overall Survival with NSAIDs in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are commonly used in the management of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but response is suboptimal. Preclinical data suggest ICI efficacy may be enhanced with concomitant nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective study, the Veterans Health Administration Corporate Data Warehouse was queried for patients diagnosed with NSCLC and treated with ICI from 2010 to 2018.

Probing electron-phonon and phonon-phonon coupling in type-II Dirac semi-metal NiTevia temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy.

We report the temperature-dependent structural characterization of type-II Dirac semimetal NiTein the form of a bulk single crystal and a nanoflake (200 nm thick). Detailed x-ray diffraction study along with Rietveld refinement analysis reveals superior crystallinity and linear thermal expansion coefficient () of 5.56 × 10and 22.

Electrocatalytic Platform Based on Silver-Doped Sugar Apple-like Cupric Oxide Embedded Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes for Nanomolar Detection of Acetaminophen (APAP).

Economical and nanomolar-level determination of the analgesic drug, acetaminophen (APAP), is reported in this work. A novel ternary nanocomposite based on silver-doped sugar apple-like cupric oxide (CuO)-decorated amine-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (fCNTs) was sonochemically prepared. CuO nanoparticles were synthesized based on the ascorbic acid-mediated low-temperature method, and sidewall functionalization of CNTs was carried out.

DNMR measurements of an asymmetric odd liquid crystal dimer: determination of the intramolecular angle and the degree of order of the two rigid cores.

In this work, we present a Deuteron Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (DNMR) study of the non-symmetric odd liquid crystal dimer -(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)--(1-pyrenimine-benzylidene-4'-oxy) heptane (CBO7O.Py), formed by a pro-mesogenic cyanobiphenyl unit and a bulky pyrene-containing unit, linked alkoxy flexible chain. We have synthesized two partially deuterated samples: one with the deuterium atoms in the cyanobiphenyl moiety (dCBO7O.