Dual phosphorescent emissions from conformers of iridium complex rotors.

The chiral iridium rotors Ir(ppy)(pyX)Cl (X = CC-SiR, R = alkyl) remarkably contain two distinct rotational conformers in the ground (S) and excited (T) states that can be detected by NMR and emission measurements respectively at variable temperatures. The observed phosphorescent emissions, vibronic (involving L = ppy) and broad (L = pyX), arise from different triplet ligand to metal charge transfers from the two rotational conformers at distinct MLCT excited states. Both conformers exist in these Ir(ppy)(pyX)Cl rotors due to the electron-withdrawing, conjugated substituent X.

Light Activated Release of Nitrile Ligands from -Ru(L)(PPh)(nitrile) Complexes.

A series of -RuL(PPh)(nitrile) and {RuL(PPh)}.-μ-(nitrile)-based complexes [where L = 2,2'-(3,4-diphenyl-pyrrole-2,5-diyl)dipyridine (dpp), di(pyridin-2-yl)isoindoline-1,3-diimine (bpi), or 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-phenyl-2,2'-bipyridine (Pbpy); and nitrile = 1,4-dibenzontirile, 4-ethynylbenzonitrile, or dicyanamide] were synthesized and characterized, and their electrochemical and photochemical behaviors were investigated. Those complexes that contained a significant nitrile contribution to their MLLCT show a release of their nitrile ligand (when L = dpp or Pbpy and the nitrile ligand = 4-dibenzontirile, or 4-ethynylbenzonitrile) with dissociation constants up to 8.

A Clinical Breathomics Dataset.

This study entailed a comprehensive GC‒MS analysis conducted on 121 patient samples to generate a clinical breathomics dataset. Breath molecules, indicative of diverse conditions such as psychological and pathological states and the microbiome, were of particular interest due to their non-invasive nature. The highlighted noninvasive approach for detecting these breath molecules significantly enhances diagnostic and monitoring capacities.

Association of Possible Sarcopenia or Sarcopenia with Body Composition, Nutritional Intakes, Serum Vitamin D Levels, and Physical Activity among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Taiwan.

This study estimates the association between sarcopenia and blood biochemical parameters, nutritional intake, anthropometric measurements, physical performance, and physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Participants were recruited from a primary care clinic in Kaohsiung City. According to the diagnosis criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) in 2019, 110 patients with T2DM (aged 50-80 years) were divided into three groups: non-sarcopenia ( = 38), possible sarcopenia ( = 31), and sarcopenia ( = 41).

ruminal fermentation and cow-to-mouse fecal transplantations verify the inter-relationship of microbiome and metabolome biomarkers: potential to promote health in dairy cows.

Introduction: There are differences in the gut microbiome and metabolome when the host undergoes different physical or pathological conditions. However, the inter-relationship of microbiome and metabolome biomarkers to potentially promote the health of dairy cows needs to be studied. Further, the development of next-generation probiotics for dairy cattle health promotion has not been demonstrated.

Reward influences the allocation but not the availability of resources in visual working memory.

Visual working memory possesses capacity constraints limiting the availability of resources for encoding and maintaining information. Studies have shown that prospective rewards improve performance on visual working memory tasks, but it remains unclear whether rewards increase total resource availability or simply influence the allocation of resources. Participants performed a continuous report visual working memory task with oriented grating stimuli.

Tuning Emission Lifetimes of Ir(C^N)(acac) Complexes with Oligo(phenyleneethynylene) Groups.

Emissive compounds with long emission lifetimes (μs to ms) in the visible region are of interest for a range of applications, from oxygen sensing to cellular imaging. The emission behavior of Ir(ppy)(acac) complexes (where ppy is the 2-phenylpyridyl chelate and acac is the acetylacetonate chelate) with an oligo(-phenyleneethynylene) (OPE3) motif containing three para-rings and two ethynyl bridges attached to acac or ppy is examined here due to the accessibility of the long-lived OPE3 triplet states. Nine Ir(ppy)(acac) complexes with OPE3 units are synthesized where the OPE3 motif is at the acac moiety (aOPE3), incorporated in the ppy chelate (pOPE3) or attached to ppy via a durylene link (dOPE3).

Transcriptomic Analysis of Genes Associated with Oxidative Stress in Chronic Rhinosinusitis Patients with Nasal Polyps: Identifying Novel Genes Involved in Nasal Polyposis.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a complicated inflammatory disease, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. While some reactive oxygen/nitrogen species-related gene products are reported to participate in CRSwNP, a systemic and full analysis of oxidative-stress-associated genes in CRSwNP has not been extensively studied. Therefore, this study sought to catalog the gene-expression patterns related to oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in control and CRSwNP patients.

Divergent Approach for -Heteroleptic Cyclometalated Iridium Complexes Using Triisopropylsilylethynyl-Substituted Synthons.

-heteroleptic cyclometalated iridium complexes of the form Ir(L)(acac), where L is a substituted 2-phenylpyridine derivative and acac is an acetylacetonato ligand, are a useful class of luminescent organometallic complexes for a range of applications. Related -heteroleptic complexes of the form Ir(L)(L)(acac) offer the potential advantage of greater functionality through the use of two different cyclometalated ligands but are, in general, more difficult to obtain. We report the synthesis of divergent - and -heteroleptic triisopropylsilylethynyl-substituted intermediate complexes that can be diversified using a "chemistry-on-the-complex" approach.

Typhoid toxin sorting and exocytic transport from Typhi-infected cells.

Typhoid toxin is an essential virulence factor for Typhi, the cause of typhoid fever in humans. This toxin has an unusual biology in that it is produced by Typhi only when located within host cells. Once synthesized, the toxin is secreted to the lumen of the -containing vacuole from where it is transported to the extracellular space by vesicle carrier intermediates.

Autonomic nervous system dysregulation in response to postural change in patients with pectus excavatum in Taiwan: a pilot study.

Background: Pectus excavatum (PE) negatively impacts psychological function, but its effect on autonomic nervous system (ANS) function has not been investigated. We evaluated ANS function following postural changes in patients with PE.

Methods: The participants were 14 healthy men (control group) and 20 men with PE (study group).

Oxidative Stress-Induced Alterations of Cellular Localization and Expression of Aquaporin 1 Lead to Defected Water Transport upon Peritoneal Fibrosis.

Being one of the renal replacement therapies, peritoneal dialysis (PD) maintains around 15% of end-stage kidney disease patients' lives; however, complications such as peritoneal fibrosis and ultrafiltration failure during long-term PD compromise its application. Previously, we established a sodium hypochlorite (NaClO)-induced peritoneal fibrosis porcine model, which helped to bridge the rodent model toward pre-clinical human peritoneal fibrosis research. In this study, the peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was established to evaluate instant functional changes in the peritoneum in the pig model.

The successful rehabilitation of a 75-year-old female with debilitating long COVID: A case report.

A 75-year-old previously healthy female became severely ill, functionally dependent, and required long-term home oxygen therapy, after recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with acute respiratory failure and extensive pulmonary fibrosis. After two months of respiratory muscle training and a comprehensive cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program, her dyspnea, physical performance, pulmonary function parameters, and activities of daily living rapidly improved. This Case highlights the importance of a timely active rehabilitation program for COVID-19 survivors experiencing the long-term effects of coronavirus (long COVID).

Assessment of the binding interactions of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein variants.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus 2 is a major global health issue and is driving the need for new therapeutics. The surface spike protein, which plays a central role in virus infection, is currently the target for vaccines and neutralizing treatments. The emergence of novel variants with multiple mutations in the spike protein may reduce the effectiveness of neutralizing antibodies by altering the binding activity of the protein with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

Characterization of Airborne Particulates and Worker Exposures in Electro-static Powder Coating Operations.

This study was to examine the airborne particulates/dusts and worker exposures in electro-static powder coating operations. Temporal variation and size distribution of dusts were assessed using direct-reading instrument, while the worker task-specific dust exposures (n = 41) were measured in three factories using conventional filter method. Additionally, toxic metal levels in the coating powder (n = 27) were analyzed to assess hazard potentials.

Mandibular advancement devices shorten desaturation duration in patients at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome during intravenous propofol sedation in the decubitus position.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a mandibular advancement device (MAD) for increasing patient safety during sedated total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip replacement (THR).

Methods: Forty patients undergoing TKA or THR surgery in the supine or lateral recumbent positions under spinal anesthesia were enrolled. Sedation and oxygenation were administered.

Hypochlorite-induced porcine model of peritoneal fibrosis through the activation of IL1β-CX3CL1-TGFβ1 signal axis.

Patients with kidney failure rely on life-saving peritoneal dialysis to facilitate waste exchange and maintain homeostasis of physical conditions. However, peritoneal dialysis often results in peritoneal fibrosis and organ adhesion that subsequently compromise the efficiency of peritoneal dialysis and normal functions of visceral organs. Despite rodent models provide clues on the pathogenesis of peritoneal fibrosis, no current large animal model which shares high degree of physiological and anatomical similarities to human is available, limiting their applications on the evaluation of pre-clinical therapeutic efficacy.

Anti-Adhesion Behavior from Ring-Strain Amine Cyclic Monolayers Grafted on Silicon (111) Surfaces.

In this manuscript, a series of amine tagged short cyclic molecules (cyclopropylamine, cyclobutylamine, cyclopentylamine and cyclohexylamine) were thermally grafted onto p-type silicon (111) hydride surfaces via nucleophilic addition. The chemistries of these grafting were verified via XPS, AFM and sessile droplet measurements. Confocal microscopy and cell viability assay was performed on these surfaces incubated for 24 hours with triple negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB 231), gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) endometrial adenocarcinoma (Hec1A).

Low-Intensity Electrical Stimulation to Improve the Neurological Aspect of Weakness in Individuals with Chronic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Lesion.

Purpose: This study is aimed at investigating the effect of low-intensity electrical stimulation on the voluntary activation level (VA) and the cortical facilitation/inhibition of quadriceps in people with chronic anterior cruciate ligament lesion.

Methods: Twenty former athletes with unilateral ACL deficiencies (ACL group) and 20 healthy subjects (healthy control group) participated in the study. The quadriceps VA level, motor-evoked potential (MEP), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation were tested before and after 30 minutes of low-intensity electrical stimulation (ES).

Administrative and Claims Data Help Predict Patient Mortality in Intensive Care Units by Logistic Regression: A Nationwide Database Study.

Background: Increasing attention has been paid to the predictive power of different prognostic scoring systems for decades. In this study, we compared the abilities of three commonly used scoring systems to predict short-term and long-term mortalities, with the intention of building a better prediction model for critically ill patients. We used the data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan, which included information on patient age, comorbidities, and presence of organ failure to build a new prediction model for short-term and long-term mortalities.

Nanoparticulated Honokiol Mitigates Cisplatin-Induced Chronic Kidney Injury by Maintaining Mitochondria Antioxidant Capacity and Reducing Caspase 3-Associated Cellular Apoptosis.

Cisplatin is a potent anti-cancer drug, however, its accompanied organ-toxicity hampers its clinical applications. Cisplatin-associated kidney injury is known to result from its accumulation in the renal tubule with excessive generation of reactive oxygen species. In this study, we encapsulated honokiol, a natural lipophilic polyphenol constituent extracted from into nano-sized liposomes (nanosome honokiol) and examined the in vivo countering effects on cisplatin-induced renal injury.

Enterobius vermicularis infection: prevalence and risk factors among preschool children in kindergarten in the capital area, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Background: Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) is one of the most common human parasitic helminths, and children are the most susceptible group. Some behavioral and environmental factors may facilitate pinworm infection. In the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), the status of pinworm infections among children remains unknown.

Improved Dynamics of Thoracic Cage and Exercise Capacity after Nuss Repair for Pectus Excavatum.

Background: Pectus excavatum (PE) reduces the dynamics of the thoracic cage, with a negative impact on exercise capacity. We aimed to evaluate the effects of Nuss repair for PE on the dynamics of the thoracic cage and exercise capacity in adults.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of 46 adults (mean age, 26.

Highly Linearized Twisted Iridium(III) Complexes.

Improving the spatial alignment of emitting molecules has long been a goal of organic-light-emitting-diode development to improve device efficiencies and to generate polarized emission. Herein we describe a simple approach employing Sonogashira coupling with alkyne iridium(phenylpyridine)(acetylacetone) synthons (2-5) to generate eight linear iridium complexes (6-13) with crystallographically determined lengths of up to 5 nm. By embedding these "long" complexes into a polymer matrix and stretching it, an improvement of the polarization ratio of unstretched and stretched films of up to 7.