Long-term exposure to PM and its constituents and visual impairment in schoolchildren: A population-based survey in Guangdong province, China.

Background: Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) has been linked to visual impairment. Nevertheless, evidence associating PM constituents with visual impairment in schoolchildren is sparse.

Objectives: To explore the effects of long-term exposure to PM and its constituents on visual impairment.

Caregiver acceptability of seasonal malaria chemoprevention in two districts in the Upper West region, Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Acceptability of malaria chemoprevention interventions by caregivers is crucial for overall programme success. This study assessed coverage and acceptability of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in selected communities in the Northern part of Ghana.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional design was conducted from "July 23rd to August 4th, 2020-a 12-day period that covered 5 days of the first SMC implementation cycle and 7 days post-implementation.

Association between traffic-related air pollution and risk of outpatient visits for dry eye disease in a megacity along the subtropical coast in South China.

Background: Traffic-related air pollution especially in highly socioeconomically developed megacity is usually considered as a severe problem leading to inevitable adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the associations between traffic-related air pollutants with risk of dry eye disease (DED) outpatient visits in a megacity (Guangzhou) along the subtropical coast in South China.

Methods: Daily data on DED outpatient visits and environmental variables from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 in Guangzhou were obtained.

Experimental arrangement to study the impact of atmospheric turbulence on user-defined beams.

In the present work, we propose an experimental setup to investigate the effect of atmospheric turbulence on user-defined beams. The user-defined beams were formed by writing reconfigurable patterns on a spatial light modulator, allowing the impact of atmospheric turbulence to be investigated simultaneously and in real time. The programmable controllability provides several flexibilities to the system, such as the ability to create different beam types simultaneously, control the separation between different beams, compensate for aberrations, and easily switch between different beam types.

Enhanced ammonia-sensitive intelligent films based on a metal-organic framework for accurate shrimp freshness monitoring.

Sensitive intelligent films can be used to accurately monitor food freshness. In this study, a cellulose acetate curcumin-loaded cyclodextrin (CD)-based metal-organic framework intelligent film (CA-Cur@CD-MOF) was developed to monitor shrimp freshness at different spoilage stages in real time. The mechanical, barrier, optical, and ammonia-sensitive properties of this film were studied.

Realizing Antithermal Quenching Red Emission in Mn-Activated RbNaVF for Optical Thermometry Sensor Application.

Currently, the development of red Mn-activated fluoride luminescent materials attracts a lot of attention in optical thermometry sensors, solid lighting, display, and plant growth areas. Nevertheless, the thermal stability of Mn-activated fluoride luminescent materials is still a crucial issue. Herein, a new red RbNaVF:Mn luminescent material with outstanding thermal stability was successfully synthesized through the facial coprecipitation method.

End-to-End Multi-Scale Adaptive Remote Sensing Image Dehazing Network.

Satellites frequently encounter atmospheric haze during imaging, leading to the loss of detailed information in remote sensing images and significantly compromising image quality. This detailed information is crucial for applications such as Earth observation and environmental monitoring. In response to the above issues, this paper proposes an end-to-end multi-scale adaptive feature extraction method for remote sensing image dehazing (MSD-Net).

Mimicking Axon Growth and Pruning by Photocatalytic Growth and Chemical Dissolution of Gold on Titanium Dioxide Patterns.

Biological neural circuits are based on the interplay of excitatory and inhibitory events to achieve functionality. Axons form long-range information highways in neural circuits. Axon pruning, i.

The 1831 CE mystery eruption identified as Zavaritskii caldera, Simushir Island (Kurils).

Polar ice cores and historical records evidence a large-magnitude volcanic eruption in 1831 CE. This event was estimated to have injected ~13 Tg of sulfur (S) into the stratosphere which produced various atmospheric optical phenomena and led to Northern Hemisphere climate cooling of ~1 °C. The source of this volcanic event remains enigmatic, though one hypothesis has linked it to a modest phreatomagmatic eruption of Ferdinandea in the Strait of Sicily, which may have emitted additional S through magma-crust interactions with evaporite rocks.

Pre-Melting-Assisted Impurity Control of β-GaO Single Crystals in Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth.

This study reveals the significant role of the pre-melting process in growing high-quality (100) β-GaO single crystals from 4N powder (99.995% purity) using the edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method. Among various bulk melt growth methods, the EFG method boasts a fast growth rate and the capability of growing multiple crystals simultaneously, thus offering high productivity.

Near-infrared fluorescent probe for visualization of nitroxyl in the plant response to stress.

Background: Nitroxyl (HNO) is an emerging signaling molecule that plays a significant regulatory role in various aspects of plant biology, including stress responses and developmental processes. However, understanding the precise actions of HNO in plants has been challenging due to the absence of highly sensitive and real-time in situ monitoring tools. Consequently, it is crucial to develop effective and accurate detection methods for HNO.

Fast response solid electrolyte oxygen sensors with porous thin film electrodes.

A novel solid electrolyte sensor with considerably improved response times is presented. The new so-called eFIPEX [etched flux (Φ) probe experiment] is based on the FIPEX [flux (Φ) probe experiment] sensor applied for the measurement of molecular and atomic oxygen concentrations. A main application is the measurement of atmospheric atomic oxygen aboard sounding rockets up to altitudes of 250 km.

Impact of PM, relative humidity, and temperature on sleep quality: a cross-sectional study in Taipei.

Introduction: TWe investigated impacts of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM), relative humidity (RH), and temperature on sleep stages and arousal.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional analysis involving 8,611 participants was conducted at a sleep center in Taipei.

Morphological Features Influence the Drug Loading and Delivery Efficacy of Photoactivatable Gold Nanocarriers for Antitumor Photo/Chemotherapy.

Photoactivatable gold nanocarriers are transforming antitumor therapies by leveraging their distinctive physicochemical properties, enabling targeted drug delivery and enhanced therapeutic efficacy in cancer treatment. This study systematically investigates how surface topography and morphology of gold nanocarriers influence drug loading capacity, light-to-heat conversion efficiency, and overall therapeutic performance in photo/chemotherapy. We synthesized four distinct morphologies of gold nanoparticles: porous gold nanocups (PAuNCs), porous gold nanospheres (PAuNSs), solid gold nanocups (SAuNCs), and solid gold nanospheres (SAuNSs).

Low-temperature vacuum evaporation as a novel dehydration process for the long-term preservation of transplantable human corneal tissue.

Globally there is a shortage of available donor corneas with only 1 cornea available for every 70 needed. A large limitation to corneal transplant surgery is access to quality donor tissue due to inadequate eye donation services and infrastructure in many countries, compounded by the fact that there are few available long-term storage solutions for effectively preserving spare donor corneas collected in countries with a surplus. In this study, we describe a novel technology termed low-temperature vacuum evaporation (LTVE) that can effectively dry-preserve surplus donor corneal tissue, allowing it to be stored for approximately 5 years, shipped at room temperature, and stored on hospital shelves before rehydration prior to ophthalmic surgery.

Effectiveness of a Multifaceted Intervention (TEMP) for Prevention of Occupational Heat-Related Illness among Outdoor Workers in the Power Grid Industry: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Occupational heat-related illness (OHI) is a health threat to workers that can be fatal in severe cases. Effective and feasible measures are urgently needed to prevent OHI.

Objectives: We evaluated the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention, TEMP, in reducing the OHI risk among outdoor workers in the power grid industry.

Nitrogen-Doped Diamond-like Coatings for Long-Term Enhanced Cell Adhesion on Electrospun Poly(ε-caprolactone) Scaffold Surfaces.

Electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based scaffolds are widely used in tissue engineering. However, low cell adhesion remains the key drawback of PCL scaffolds. It is well known that nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon (N-DLC) coatings deposited on the surface of various implants are able to enhance their biocompatibility and functional properties.

Designing a 2D van der Waals oxide with lone-pair electrons as chemical scissor.

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials are known for their intriguing physical properties, but their rational design and synthesis remain a great challenge for chemists. In this work, we successfully synthesized a new non-centrosymmetric oxide, i.e.

21 century surface UV radiation changes deduced from CMIP6 models: part I-evolution of major influencing factors.

For a given solar elevation, the levels of solar ultraviolet radiation at the Earth's surface are determined by the amounts of ozone, aerosols, and clouds, as well as by the reflectivity of the surface. Here, we study the evolution of these factors for three selected decades in the period 1950-2100 using results from simulations with Earth-System models (ESMs) participating in the 6 phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The simulations for the future are based on three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways: SSP1-2.

Selenocysteine-Activatable Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Screening of Anti-inflammatory Components in Herbs.

Inflammation, a central process in numerous diseases, plays a crucial role in hepatic disorders, arthritis, cardiac conditions, and neurodegenerative ailments. Given the lack of effective anti-inflammatory drugs, it is imperative to assess inflammation severity and explore novel therapeutics. Selenocysteine (Sec), a key mediator of selenium's biological function, is closely involved in anti-inflammatory responses.

Intramolecular Repulsive Interactions Enable High Efficiency of NIR-II Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogens for High-Contrast Glioblastoma Imaging.

Strategies to acquire high-efficiency luminogens that emit in the second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) range are still rare due to the impediment of the energy gap law. Herein, a feasible strategy is pioneered by installing large-volume encumbrances in a confined space to intensify the repulsive interactions arising from overlapping electron densities. The experimental results, including smaller coordinate displacement, reduced reorganization energy, and suppressed internal conversion, demonstrate that the repulsive interactions assist in the inhibition of radiationless deactivation.

NIR-II-excited off-on-off fluorescent nanoprobes for sensitive molecular imaging in vivo.

Strong background interference signals from normal tissues have significantly compromised the sensitive fluorescence imaging of early disease tissues with exogenous probes in vivo, particularly for sensitive fluorescence imaging of early liver disease due to the liver's significant uptake and accumulation of exogenous nanoprobes, coupled with high tissue autofluorescence and deep tissue depth. As a proof-of-concept study, we herein report a near-infrared-II (NIR-II, 1.0-1.

A stable and biocompatible shortwave infrared nanoribbon for dual-channel in vivo imaging.

The shortwave infrared (SWIR) region is an ideal spectral window for next-generation bioimaging to harness improved penetration and reduced phototoxicity. SWIR spectral activity may also be accessed via supramolecular dye aggregation. Unfortunately, development of dye aggregation remains challenging.

Rigid, α-Helical Polypeptide Nanoprobes with Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence for Time-Resolved, High-Contrast Bioimaging.

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-based nanoprobes are promising candidates as bioimaging agents, yet the fine-tuning of their photophysical properties through the modulation of the surrounding matrices remains largely unexplored. Herein, we report the development of polypeptide-TADF nanoprobes, where the rigid, α-helical polypeptide scaffold plays a critical role in enhancing the emission intensity and lifetime of the TADF fluorophore for bioimaging. The α-helical scaffolds not only spatially separated TADF molecules to avoid self-quenching but also anchored the dyes with minimized rotation and vibration.