An evaluation of the scapular osseous free flap in maxillary reconstruction using the FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer Module for patient-reported outcome measures.

Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) outcomes following maxillary reconstruction with the scapular osseous free flap (SOFF) are lacking.  Material and Methods: To determine these outcomes, a study of patients who completed maxillary reconstruction with flap survival of the SOFF between 2016 and 2023 was conducted, using Face-Q Head and Neck Cancer Module (FACE-Q).

Results: Eligible patients had at least six months of follow-up.

Assessing sign language comprehension in adults with intellectual disability and deafness.

Language comprehension is an essential component of human development that is associated not only with expressive language development and knowledge acquisition, but also with social inclusion, mental health, and quality of life. For deaf and hard-of-hearing adults with intellectual disability, there is a paucity of measures of receptive sign language skills, although these are a prerequisite for individualized planning and evaluation of intervention. Assessments require materials and procedures that are accurate, feasible, and suitable for low levels of functioning.

Photochemistry of Microsolvated Nitrous Acid: Observation of the Water-Separated Complex of Nitric Oxide and Hydroxyl Radical.

The photochemistry of nitrous acid (HONO) plays a crucial role in atmospheric chemistry as it serves as a key source of hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the atmosphere; however, our comprehension of the underlying mechanism for the photochemistry of HONO especially in the presence of water is far from being complete as the transient intermediates in the photoreactions have not been observed. Herein, we report the photochemistry of microsolvated HONO by water in a cryogenic N matrix. Specifically, the 1:1 hydrogen-bonded water complex of HONO was facially prepared in the matrix through stepwise photolytic O oxidation of the water complex of imidogen (NH-HO) via the intermediacy of the elusive water complex of peroxyl isomer HNOO.

Enhancing cognitive accessibility in assessments for children with neurodisability: development and implementation of an adaptation tracking questionnaire.

Purpose: The range of impairments in children with neurodisability (ND) complicates data collection, yet individualising materials and procedures could enable more children to self-report. This study introduces the Cognitive Accessibility Tracking Questionnaire (CATQ), designed to monitor changes enhancing accessibility ("adaptations") in interview-administered patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). The CATQ is used in a longitudinal study of mental health and participation in children with ND investigating adaptation use and its utility in assessing the risk of bias introduced by these adaptations.

Unravelling the origin of strong non-reciprocal chiroptical features in thin films of a chiral diketopyrrolo[3,4-]pyrrole dye.

The development of chiral organic materials with strong non-reciprocal chiroptical features may have major implications for cutting-edge technological applications. In this work, a new synthesized chiral 1,4-diketo-3,6-dithienylpyrrolo[3,4-]pyrrole dye, bearing two ()-3,7-dimethyl-1-octyl alkyl chains on the lactam moieties and functionalized with two lateral 9-anthracenyl π-conjugated units, exhibited strong non-reciprocal chiroptical properties in thin films, with some important differences between samples prepared by drop casting and spin coating. A detailed study was performed to unravel the intimate structure-property relationship, involving computational analysis, different microscopy techniques and synchrotron radiation Mueller matrix polarimetry imaging (SR-MMP) investigation.

Evaluation of AUTION EYE AI-4510 flow cell morphology analyzer for counting particles in urine.

Objectives: We evaluated the performance of a novel flow cell morphology analyzer AUTION EYE AI-4510 for counting particles in urine.

Methods: Analytical performance was assessed according to the EFLM European Urinalysis Guideline 2023. Trueness was compared by analyzing 1.

Metasurface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor Enhanced with Dual Gold Nanoparticles for the Ultrasensitive Quantitative Detection of C-Reactive Protein.

The pursuit of cutting-edge diagnostic systems capable of detecting biomarkers with exceptional sensitivity and precision is crucial for the timely and accurate monitoring of inflammatory responses. In this study, we introduce a dual gold nanoparticle-enhanced metasurface plasmon resonance (Bi-MSPR) biosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of C-reactive protein (CRP). The Bi-MSPR sensor is constructed upon a nanocup array chip with gradient-free electron density, where an innovative metasurface structure is built using a PEI-immobilized dual-gold nanoparticle amplification system.

Electrocatalysis: From Planar Surfaces to Nanostructured Interfaces.

The reactions critical for the energy transition center on the chemistry of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and the heterogeneous catalyst surfaces that make up electrochemical energy conversion systems. Together, the surface-adsorbate interactions constitute the electrochemical interphase and define reaction kinetics of many clean energy technologies. Practical devices introduce high levels of complexity where surface roughness, structure, composition, and morphology combine with electrolyte, pH, diffusion, and system level limitations to challenge our ability to deconvolute underlying phenomena.

Arthroscopic-assisted total wrist arthrodesis: surgical design and clinical outcomes.

Introduction: This study presents an innovative arthroscopy-assisted total wrist arthrodesis technique utilising three hollow screws, aimed at improving clinical outcomes for patients with severe wrist arthritis.

Materials And Methods: The technique involved the placement of three hollow screws to facilitate wrist bone fusion. Between August 2019 and August 2023, four patients diagnosed with severe wrist arthritis underwent the arthroscopy-assisted procedure.

Impact of Caudate Lobe Resection on Overall Survival and Liver Disease-Free Survival in Colorectal Liver Metastases: A Pilot Study.

Background/Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the resected caudate lobe on survival, particularly in the context of anatomical resection of liver metastases in colorectal cancers without metastases in the caudate lobe. Materials and Methods: Patient data were extracted from the dataset titled "Preoperative CT and Survival Data for Patients Undergoing Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases (CRLM)." The analysis specifically concentrated on individuals who underwent complete cau- date lobe resection in the absence of radiological signs of metastasis within the caudate lobe itself.

Tuning Colloidal Gel Properties: The Influence of Central and Noncentral Forces.

Colloidal gels, ubiquitous in industrial applications, can undergo reversible solid-to-liquid transitions. Recent work demonstrates that adding surface roughness to primary particles enhances the toughness and influences the self-healing properties of colloidal gels. In the present work, we first use colloidal probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) to assess the quantitative changes in adhesive and frictional forces between thermoresponsive particles as a function of their roughness.

Bioaerosol Characterization with Vibrational Spectroscopy: Overcoming Fluorescence with Photothermal Infrared (PTIR) Spectroscopy.

Aerosols containing biological material (i.e., bioaerosols) impact public health by transporting toxins, allergens, and diseases and impact the climate by nucleating ice crystals and cloud droplets.

Synergistic Pd/Ag-Catalyzed Domino Reaction: Access to Tetrahydropyrano[4,3-]pyran and Hexahydrofuro[2,3-]pyran.

We report the Pd-catalyzed and Ag-mediated temperature-dependent divergent synthesis of tetrahydropyrano[4,3-]pyran and hexahydrofuro[2,3-]pyran derivatives from a single substrate, alkynols. The reaction involves homocoupling of alkynols to form two C-O bonds and one C-C bond, resulting in tetrahydropyrano[4,3-]pyran cores at a high temperature (110 °C). Exposing tetrahydropyrano[4,3-]pyrans to a 200 W tungsten filament bulb yields tetrahydrofuro[2,3-]pyrans.

Solar-Driven High-Rate Ammonia Production from Wastewater Coupled with Plastic Waste Reforming.

Solar-powered electrochemical NH synthesis offers the benefits of sustainability and absence of CO emissions but suffers from a poor solar-to-ammonia yield rate (SAY) due to a low NH selectivity, large bias caused by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction, and low photocurrent in the corresponding photovoltaics. Herein, a highly efficient photovoltaic-electrocatalytic system enabling high-rate solar-driven NH synthesis was developed. A high-performance Ru-doped Co nanotube catalyst was used to selectively promote the nitrite reduction reaction (NORR), exhibiting a faradaic efficiency of 99.

Engineering Oxygen Intermediates Adsorption on Amorphous NiFe Alloys for Highly Active and Selective Electrochemical Biomass Conversion.

Electrochemical 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation reaction (HMFOR) offers a promising route to transform biomass into value-added chemicals. However, the competing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) greatly limits the HMFOR selectivity. Herein, we report a facile doping strategy to engineer oxygen intermediates adsorption on amorphous NiFe alloys to boost highly selective electrochemical HMF oxidation to produce 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), among which, amorphous Mn-doped NiFeB alloy displays a low HMFOR onset potential of 1.

Density Functional Theory Study on Reconstruction and Reversible Transformation Processes of the ZZ57 Edge Structure in Carbon Materials: Effect of Na, K, and Ca.

The edge structures of carbonaceous materials exhibit temperature-dependent behavior on the atomic scale, with variations in the relative ratios of zigzag, reconstructed 5-7 zigzag (ZZ57), and armchair edges observed at different temperatures. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the interconversion of these edge structures and the influence of the surrounding metals remain unclear. This study investigates the reconstruction and reversible transformation processes of ZZ57 edge structures in carbon materials and examines the effects of different metal atoms (Na, K, and Ca) by using density functional theory.

Characterisation of sleep in a mouse model of CLN3 disease revealed sex-specific sleep disturbances.

The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are a group of recessively inherited neurodegenerative diseases characterizsed by lysosomal storage of fluorescent materials. CLN3 disease, or juvenile Batten disease, is the most common NCL that is caused by mutations in the Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, Neuronal 3 (CLN3) gene. Sleep disturbances are among the most common symptoms associated with CLN3 disease that deteriorate the patients' life quality, yet this is understudied and has not been delineated in animal models of the disease.

Implant stability quotient and osteogenic process in dental implant sites prepared using piezoelectric technique: A study in minipigs.

Purpose: Few studies have explored the bone response in dental implant sites prepared using a piezoelectric device, indicating moderate effectiveness in enhancing secondary stability and osteogenesis. This study seeks to expand our understanding of the changes in biological, clinical, and radiographic parameters, during the initial phases of osseointegration in sites prepared with piezoelectric surgery.

Materials And Methods: Two implant sites were prepared in the tibia of four minipigs.

Preparation and Adsorption Properties of Sodium Trimetaphosphate Crosslinked Porous Corn Starch.

The crosslinked porous corn starch was prepared by two steps: the native corn starch was hydrolyzed by α-amylase and glucoamylase, then the porous corn was crosslinked by sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). The morphology and size of granules, spherulites, crystal type, molecular structure, swelling properties, thermal stability and adsorption properties of the crosslinked porous starch were investigated. The results indicated that a lot of holes formed in the porous starch, and the particle size of starch granules decreased.

The optimised model of predicting protein-metal ion ligand binding residues.

Metal ions are significant ligands that bind to proteins and play crucial roles in cell metabolism, material transport, and signal transduction. Predicting the protein-metal ion ligand binding residues (PMILBRs) accurately is a challenging task in theoretical calculations. In this study, the authors employed fused amino acids and their derived information as feature parameters to predict PMILBRs using three classical machine learning algorithms, yielding favourable prediction results.

Ultrafast Charge Carrier Dynamics in Vanadium Dioxide, VO: Nonequilibrium Contributions to the Photoinduced Phase Transitions.

Vanadium oxide (VO) is an exotic phase-change material with diverse applications ranging from thermochromic smart windows to thermal sensors, neuromorphic computing, and tunable metasurfaces. Nonetheless, the mechanism responsible for its metal-insulator phase transition remains a subject of vigorous debate. Here, we investigate the ultrafast dynamics of the photoinduced phase transition in VO under low perturbation conditions.

Evaluation of Right and Left Ventricular Deformation Analysis in İdiopathic Right Bundle Branch Block by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography.

Background: Idiopathic right bundle branch block (RBBB) is often seen as harmless and common. However, many studies show it might be linked to negative health outcomes. So, it is crucial to fully understand how RBBB affects the heart's ventricles.

Blood culture isolates and antimicrobial sensitivities from 1621 critically ill neonatal foals (2005-2022).

Introduction: Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal foals. Administration of appropriate antimicrobials and early aggressive supportive treatment is central to the efficacious treatment of neonatal sepsis and has proven to positively influence outcomes. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate microorganism results and antimicrobial sensitivities of neonatal foals with a positive blood culture submitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) during 2005-2022.

Nanoclay-Mediated Crystal-Phase Engineering in Biofunctions to Balance Antibacteriality and Cytotoxicity.

The crystalline phase of metal oxides is a key determinant of the properties and functions of the nanomaterials. Traditional approaches have focused on replicating bulk-phase structures, with limited exploration of phase diversity due to challenges in controlling the crystal morphology. Here, we introduce a nanoclay-mediated strategy for crystal-phase engineering, using talc to modulate the morphology and phase of manganese oxide (MnOx) nanoparticles.

Tumour size is associated with growth rates of >0.5 cm/year and delayed intervention in small renal masses in patients on active surveillance.

Objective: To evaluate the association between tumour size and the growth rate (GR) of small renal masses (SRMs) in patients managed by active surveillance (AS).

Materials And Methods: We queried the prospective, multi-institutional Delayed Intervention and Surveillance for Small Renal Masses (DISSRM) registry for patients on AS with an imaging interval of ≥6 months, identifying 456 patients. We tracked tumour size over time; a GR >0.