Using a Bodily Weight-Fat Scale for Cuffless Blood Pressure Measurement Based on the Edge Computing System.

Blood pressure (BP) measurement is a major physiological information for people with cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, and atherosclerosis. Moreover, elders and patients with kidney disease and diabetes mellitus also are suggested to measure their BP every day. The cuffless BP measurement has been developed in the past 10 years, which is comfortable to users.

A High-Sensitivity Fiber Optic Soil Moisture Sensor Based on D-Shaped Fiber and Tin Oxide Thin Film Coatings.

We present a high-sensitivity fiber optic soil moisture sensor based on side-polished multimode fibers and lossy mode resonance (LMR). The multimode fibers (MMFs), after side-polishing to form a D-shaped structure, are coated with a single-layer SnO thin film by electron beam evaporation with ion-assisted deposition technology. The LMR effect can be obtained when the refractive index of the thin film is positive and greater than its extinction coefficient and the real part of the external medium permittivity.

Suppressing Interface Defects in Perovskite Solar Cells via Introducing a Plant-Derived Ergothioneine Self-Assembled Monolayer.

Perovskite solar cells are among the most promising renewable energy devices, and enhancing their stability is crucial for commercialization. This research presents the use of L-Ergothioneine (L-EGT) as a passivation material in perovskite solar cells, strategically placed between the electron transport layer and the perovskite absorber layer to mitigate defect states at the heterojunction interface. Surface analysis reveals that introducing L-EGT passivation material significantly improves the quality of the perovskite film.

Benefits and drawbacks of radiofrequency ablation percutaneous or minimally invasive surgery for treating hepatocellular carcinoma.

The management of early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presents significant challenges. While radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has shown safety and effectiveness in treating HCC, with lower mortality rates and shorter hospital stays, its high recurrence rate remains a significant impediment. Consequently, achieving improved survival solely through RFA is challenging, particularly in retrospective studies with inherent biases.

Enrichment of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Microplastics from Coastal Waters.

Despite the adsorption of microplastics (MPs), the precise quantification of their concentrating effect on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remains uncertain. Therefore, in this study, POPs in MPs, POPs in suspended particulate matter (SPM), and dissolved POPs in seawater were distinguished to quantify the enrichment factor (EF) for characterizing the concentrating effects of MPs and SPM on POPs. The results showed that the logarithm of EF (log EF) for POPs in MPs was 5.

Deposition of VS2/MoS2 bilayer layers of 2D material on nickel inverse opal structural substrates by SILAR and ECD processes as supercapacitor electrodes.

The composition, microstructure, and electrochemical properties of the two kinds of thin film electrode materials, namely VS2/MoS2/Ni-IOS and VS2/MoS2/ Ni-foam, were analyzed. The research results indicate that the self-assembled photonic crystal templates with adjusted EPSA processing parameters (100 V/cm; 7 min) would lead to an FCC closest-packed structure. Metallic nickel inverse opal structure (IOS) photonic crystals whose thickness can be freely regulated simply by electrochemical deposition time.

Utilization of Optical OFDM Modulation on Blue LED VLC Datacom Without Equalization for 4 m Wireless Link.

To achieve higher visible light communication (VLC) traffic capacity, using the wide bandwidth light-emitting diode (LED) and spectral efficiency modulation signal, is currently the most commonly used method. In this demonstration, we apply the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing quadrature amplitude modulation (OFDM-QAM) with bit- and power-loading algorithm on single blue LED to achieve >1 Gbit/s VLC capacity, when a 400 MHz bandwidth avalanche photodiode (APD)-based receiver (Rx) is exploited for decoding. Here, the higher sensitivity APD can be applied to compensate for the wireless VLC link length in the proposed LED VLC system, and due to the lower LED illumination (255 to 40 lux), is used for the indoor access network after passing the wireless link length of 1 to 4 m.

The Modern Epidemic of Autoimmunity.

Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body, but the presence of autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANAs), does not always lead to autoimmune diseases. Globally, autoimmunity is on the rise, influenced by socioeconomic factors, environmental exposure, diet, and stress. Climate change and pollution further exacerbate risks.

Electrochemical sensing of sodium ions present in bovine serum using 4--butylcalix[4]arene as a receptor.

The concentration of sodium ions can cause severe imbalances (high pressure on blood vessels, swelling of the muscular tissues, and misfunctioning of the whole nervous system) to the human body when its limits are uncontrolled. Thus, it is necessary to determine the amount of sodium ions present in the blood. Electrochemical sensing is an efficient methodology for detecting lower concentrations of ions even with fewer samples.

The impact of job stress on job satisfaction and turnover intentions among bank employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The main objective of this study is to explore the relationships among job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions among bank employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on variations across different demographic characteristics.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed, and data were collected from 501 bank employees using the Job Stress Questionnaire (JSQ), the Simplified Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), and the Intention to Leave Scale (ILS). Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analyses were used to test the research hypotheses.

Precise Methylation Detection of Tumor Suppressor Gene Promoters by Magnetic Enrichment and Nano Silver Adduct-Promoted Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

Noninvasive liquid biopsies can be used for early tumor diagnosis by identifying the methylation level of the tumor suppressor genes (TSGs)-a reliable index for cancer evaluation. However, identifying trace circulating genes from specimens remains challenging. This work introduces a novel method that combines magnetic isolation and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to concentrate and detect the methylated TSG promotors.

A New Type of Dynamic Vibration Fiber Sensor.

A new-type vibration sensor based on a fiber Bragg grating combined with a special structure-packaged design is proposed for monitoring the mechanical vibration signals. Three different sensing structures, including the film squeeze type, new film squeeze type, and elastic tape squeeze type are proposed for measuring the vibration signals with the frequency range from tens to thousands of Hz. In the comparison to experimental results, the new film squeeze structure has a nice sensing performance in the range from 100 to 1000 Hz with a sensitivity of 0.

Enhancing Situational Awareness with VAS-Compass Net for the Recognition of Directional Vehicle Alert Sounds.

People with hearing impairments often face increased risks related to traffic accidents due to their reduced ability to perceive surrounding sounds. Given the cost and usage limitations of traditional hearing aids and cochlear implants, this study aims to develop a sound alert assistance system (SAAS) to enhance situational awareness and improve travel safety for people with hearing impairments. We proposed the VAS-Compass Net (Vehicle Alert Sound-Compass Net), which integrates three lightweight convolutional neural networks: EfficientNet-lite0, MobileNetV3-Small, and GhostNet.

Estimating monthly NO, O, and SO concentrations via an ensemble three-stage procedure with downscaled satellite remote sensing data and ground measurements.

The gaseous air pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O), and sulfur dioxide (SO), in addition to particulate matter (PM), are known to be associated with many adverse health effects. However, exposure estimates may not be available in rural or mountainous areas without monitoring stations. In this study, we retrieved satellite remote sensing data for NO, O, and SO from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) L3 products.

Fabrication and Characterization of Flexible CuI-Based Photodetectors on Mica Substrates by a Low-Temperature Solution Process.

Both CuI and CuI:Zn semiconductor thin films, along with MSM-structured UV photodetectors, were prepared on flexible mica substrates at low temperature (150 °C) by a wet chemical method. The two CuI-based films exhibited a polycrystalline phase with an optical bandgap energy close to 3.0 eV.

Minimally Invasive Plate Osteosynthesis with Mini-Open Technique and Supraclavicular Nerve Preservation Reduces Postoperative Numbness in Acute Displaced Midshaft Clavicle Fracture.

Minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) for clavicular shaft fracture yields favorable functional outcomes and results in less surgery-related soft tissue injury than other techniques. Anterior chest and shoulder skin numbness, a common complication after open reduction and plate fixation, is related to injury to the supraclavicular nerves. We propose MIPO combined with a mini-open approach without fluoroscopy for nerve preservation to minimize the risk of postoperative numbness compared with traditional open plating without nerve preservation.

Design and Manufacture of 30-Degree Projection Lens for Augmented Reality Waveguide.

A projection lens with a 30-degree field of view is developed for use in augmented reality (AR) glasses, including a waveguide combiner designed for a 0.35-inch LCoS panel. The entrance pupil diameter of the lens is 14 mm and the lens has an effective focal length of 16.

The attract-kill inhibition mechanism in Ag/chitosan hydrogel for long-acting control of .

In this study, we developed an innovative eco-friendly antiseptic nanocomposite, specifically a silver nanoparticle (Ag NP)-immobilized chitosan hydrogel (Ag@Cs/Cs gel), synthesized through a cross-linking reaction involving polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). This nanocomposite was designed to combat () infections, particularly in Solanaceae plants. Chitosan of varying molecular weights (50-190 kDa for Cs and 300-375 kDa for Cs) was used to control the swelling efficacy and regulate the release of Ag NPs.

The relationship between cardiovagal baroreflex and cerebral autoregulation in postural orthostatic tachycardia disorder using advanced cross-correlation function.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) presents excessive orthostatic tachycardia and orthostatic intolerance. POTS is a common and therapeutically challenging condition affecting numerous people worldwide. As many disease entities can be confused with POTS, it becomes critical to identify this syndrome.

Synergistic sodium alginate- and biochar-immobilized cells for enhancing fermentative hydrogen production from food waste.

An immobilized hydrogen-producing consortium investigated biohydrogen production from food waste using a combination of sodium alginate and cassava rhizome biochar. We investigated the effect of varying the biochar concentration from 0 to 3% and the size of immobilized cells from 1 to 7 mm. Immobilized cells were prepared using 50% (v/v) enriched hydrogen-producing consortium, 2% (w/v) sodium alginate, and 0 to 3% (w/v) cassava rhizome biochar.