The symptom of macroscopic or 'visible' haematuria can cause significant patient distress, largely due to its' potential association with urinary tract malignancy, infection or glomerular disease. This lesson from practice describes the case of a 19-year-old female patient for whom the cause of red/brown urinary discolouration was found to relate to a reaction between renally excreted mesalazine and domestic bleach in the toilet bowel. Recognition of this phenomenon in patients taking mesalazine for inflammatory colitis is important to minimise patient distress and unnecessary investigation for a urinary tract cause.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of efficient electron-collecting monolayer materials is desired to lower manufacturing costs and improve the performance of regular (negative-intrinsic-positive, n-i-p) type perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we designed and synthesized four electron-collecting monolayer materials based on thiazolidinone skeletons, with different lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels (rhodanine or thiazolidinedione) and different anchoring groups to the transparent electrode (phosphonic acid or carboxylic acid). These molecules, when adsorbed on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates, lower the work function of ITO, decreasing the energy barrier for electron extraction at the ITO/perovskite interface and improving the device performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-performance and cost-effective hole-collecting materials (HCMs) are indispensable for commercially viable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we report an anchorable HCM composed of a triazatruxene core connected with three alkyl carboxylic acid groups (). In contrast to the phosphonic acid-containing tripodal analog (), molecules can form a hydrophilic monolayer on a transparent conducting oxide surface, which is beneficial for subsequent perovskite film deposition in the traditional layer-by-layer fabrication process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough fullerene bisadducts are promising electron-transporting materials for tin halide perovskite solar cells, they are generally synthesized as a mixture of isomeric products that require a complicated separation process. Here, we introduce a phenylene-bridged bis(pyrrolidino)fullerene, Bis-PC, which forms only a single isomer due to geometrical restriction. When used in a tin perovskite solar cell with a PEAFASnI (PEA: phenylethylammonium and FA: formamidinium) light absorption layer, the resulting open-circuit voltage ( ) was 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultijunction photovoltaics (PVs) are gaining prominence owing to their superior capability of achieving power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) beyond the radiative limit of single-junction cells, where improving narrow bandgap tin-lead perovskites is critical for thin-film devices. With a focus on understanding the chemistry of tin-lead perovskite precursor solutions, we herein find that Sn(II) species dominate interactions with precursors and additives and uncover the exclusive role of carboxylic acid in regulating solution colloidal properties and film crystallisation, and ammonium in improving film optoelectronic properties. Materials that combine these two function groups, amino acid salts, considerably improve the semiconducting quality and homogeneity of perovskite films, surpassing the effect of the individual functional groups when introduced as part of separate molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To date, HIV molecular epidemiology (HIV ME) has been primarily used to identify clusters of related infections (cluster detection and response [CDR]) and then address interventions to these clusters. Community groups have raised concern regarding CDR regarding privacy and ethical concerns. Here we demonstrate how an alternative approach to HIV ME can provide public health benefit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: In this study, the impacts of various processing parameters on the quality and consumer satisfaction of dragon fruit beverages were investigated in order to establish an informative framework for the manufacturing of commercial dragon fruit beverages, focusing on health benefits and safety for consumers, and sensory appeal of the products.
Methods: This study employed various analytical methods to quantify some important phytochemical compounds in dragon fruit juice such as total and reducing sugars, vitamin C, betacyanins, anthocyanins, polyphenol, and so forth. This study also employed the Box-Behnken response surface experimental design to optimize various processing parameters for quality and consumer satisfaction, which include enzymatic pectin hydrolysis parameters and formulation for dragon fruit energy drink.
South Asia is a global hotspot of air pollution gaining attention due to its severe implications, in which atmospheric mercury (Hg) could cause detrimental health effects in metropolitan areas. In this study, first-time year-round (January - December 2019) mean total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentration at Kathmandu, Nepal - a sub-tropical city in South Asia was reported at 9.9 ± 10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Management of patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) when cisplatin is contraindicated is controversial. We aimed to assess whether radiotherapy with concurrent and adjuvant durvalumab would improve outcomes compared with radiotherapy with cetuximab.
Methods: NRG-HN004 was designed as an open-label, multicentre, parallel-group, randomised, phase 2/3 trial with safety lead-in conducted at 89 academic and community medical centres in North America.
Lung cancer continues to be the primary cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Precise staging is imperative for the development of successful treatment approaches and improvement of patient outcomes. Traditionally, lung cancer staging has depended on the TNM staging system, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has recently recommended modifications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The optimal delivery schedule for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in treating stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unknown. This study used the National Cancer Database to examine daily versus every other day (QOD) SBRT scheduling, including trends over time and association with survival.
Methods And Materials: The National Cancer Database was used to retrospectively identify patients with stage I NSCLC treated with 3-, 4-, or 5-fraction of SBRT between 2004 and 2016.
Lytic cell death culminates in plasma membrane rupture, which releases large intracellular molecules to augment the inflammatory response. Plasma membrane rupture is mediated by the effector membrane protein ninjurin-1 (NINJ1), which polymerizes and ruptures the membrane via its hydrophilic face. How NINJ1 is restrained under steady-state conditions to ensure cell survival remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) affects about 60% of men with azoospermia, representing a severe form of male infertility. The current approach to manage NOA primarily involves testicular sperm retrieval methods such as conventional testicular sperm extraction (c-TESE) and microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE). While combining testicular sperm retrieval with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) offers hope for patients, the overall sperm retrieval rate (SRR) stands at around 50%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo decades ago, Gaston and O'Neill (2004) deliberated on why automated species identification had not become widely employed. We no longer have to wonder: This AI-based technology is here, embedded in numerous web and mobile apps used by large audiences interested in nature. Now that automated species identification tools are available, popular, and efficient, it is time to look at how the apps are developed, what they promise, and how users appraise them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
January 2025
Importance: The benefit of adenoidectomy on otologic outcomes after tympanostomy tube (TT) insertion is unclear. Results from prior work are challenging to interpret due to small sample sizes, heterogeneous study designs, and varying outcome measures.
Objective: To evaluate the association between adenoidectomy and otologic outcomes using a US population-level sample of children who received TTs, producing generalizable results for widespread clinical application.
Background: Uterine fibroids are the most common indication for benign hysterectomy in the United States, but data regarding the association between hysterectomy type and outcomes for this indication are lacking.
Objective: This study aimed to describe the rate and odds of short-term (30 days) postoperative complications between patients who underwent minimally invasive total laparoscopic hysterectomy and those who underwent laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy for uterine fibroids.
Study Design: This was a cohort study of prospectively collected data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2012 to 2020.
Prostate cancer, the most common malignancy in men, has a relatively favourable prognosis. However, when it spreads to the bone, the survival rate drops dramatically. The development of bone metastases leaves patients with aggressive prostate cancer, the leading cause of death in men.
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