Enhancing catalytic activity in MoC nanodots via nitrogen doping and graphene integration for efficient hydrogen evolution under alkaline conditions.

Due to its exceptional electronic properties and catalytic activity, MoC has garnered significant attention for its application in electrocatalysis, particularly for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, several critical challenges continue to impede its widespread use, especially under strongly alkaline conditions. A primary obstacle is the enhancement of its intrinsic activity through further modification strategies, which remains a key limitation for its broader utilization.

Validation of the 9th edition of the TNM staging system for limited-stage small cell lung cancer after Resection: A multicenter study.

Objectives: The 9th edition of the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system for lung cancer was proposed at the 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Singapore. This study aimed to externally validate and compare the latest staging of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Methods: Four hundred and eight patients with limited-stage SCLC were collected after lung resection from four centers.

Current Concepts of the Management of Painful Traumatic Peripheral Nerve Neuromas.

Painful neuromas are a complex clinical condition that results in notable disability and functional impairment after injury to a peripheral nerve. When regenerating axons lack a distal target, they form a stump neuroma. Up to 60% of neuromas are painful because of mechanical sensitivity and crosstalk between nerve fibers.

Metallic Electro-optic Effect in Gapped Bilayer Graphene.

Electro-optic (EO) modulation is a critical device action in photonics. Recently, the non-Drude dynamics induced by the Berry curvature dipole (BCD) in metals have attracted attention as a potential candidate for terahertz EO modulation. However, such BCD-induced EO effects can be challenging to realize, often requiring flat bands and complex materials such as a strained magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene on hexagonal boron nitride.

Enhancing Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution by Regulating H and OH Binding Strength through Strong Metal-Support Interactions.

Establishing optimized metal-support interaction (MSI) between active sites and the substrate is essential for modulating the adsorption properties of key reaction intermediates during catalysis, thereby enhancing the catalytic performance. In this study, catalyst composites with varying degrees of MSI are constructed using ruthenium (Ru) and different carbon nanotubes, and their performance for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is systematically investigated. Detailed kinetic assessments reveal that catalysts with a strong MSI exhibit superior HER activity.

Outcomes of mechanical thrombectomy for medium vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke patients with ASPECTS 4-5 vs. 6-7: a retrospective, multicenter, and multinational study.

Introduction: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) efficacy in medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) stroke, particularly in patients with low Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS), remains less explored.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 443 AIS patients treated with MT for MeVO and low ASPECTS (4-7) at 37 centers across North America, Asia, and Europe, from September 2017 to July 2021. Patients were categorized into ASPECTS of 4-5 and 6-7.

Aptamer-Driven Multifunctional Nanoplatform for Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging and Rapid Inactivation of .

() is a prominent pathogen responsible for intestinal infections, primarily transmitted through contaminated food and water. This underscores the critical need for precise and biocompatible technologies enabling early detection and intervention of bacterial colonization . Herein, a multifunctional nanoplatform (IR808-Au@ZIF-90-Apt) was designed, utilizing an -specific aptamer to initiate cascade responses triggered by intracellular ATP and GSH.

Simultaneous Toughening and Strengthening of Ductile Polymer by Rigid Polymeric Fillers: The Role of Interfacial Entanglement.

The modification of thermoplastic polymers is frequently impeded by the inherent contradiction between their toughness and strength. In this study, an effective strategy to significantly improve the mechanical properties of ductile polymers by simply adding a complimentary rigid polymer is introduced. This work uses a semi-crystalline polymer aliphatic polyketone (POK) as the matrix material and a small quantity of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as the rigid polymer, through establishing molecular chain entanglements at the interface to produce POK/PMMA blends with exceptional mechanical property.

Interfacial Water Orientation in Neutral Oxygen Catalysis for Reversible Ampere-scale Zinc-air Batteries.

The neutral oxygen catalysis is an electrochemical reaction of the utmost importance in energy generation, storage application, and chemical synthesis. However, the restricted availability of protons poses a challenge to achieving kinetically favorable oxygen catalytic reactions. Here, we alter the interfacial water orientation by adjusting the Brønsted acidity at the catalyst surface, to break the proton transfer limitation of neutral oxygen electrocatalysis.

The Impact of Sinus Surgery for Chronic Rhinosinusitis on Concomitant Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Both anxiety and depression are prevalent among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and associated with poorer outcomes following treatment for CRS. However, the impact of treatment on CRS on mental health remains uncertain. Therefore, this study seeks to evaluate if surgical intervention for CRS may alleviate comorbid depression and anxiety.

Utilizing deep learning to predict Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment with optical coherence tomography.

Introduction: Diagnostic performance of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains limited. We aimed to develop a deep-learning algorithm using OCT to detect AD and MCI.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study involving 228 Asian participants (173 cases/55 controls) for model development and testing on 68 Asian (52 cases/16 controls) and 85 White (39 cases/46 controls) participants.

Emerging trends in the optimization of organic synthesis through high-throughput tools and machine learning.

The discovery of the optimal conditions for chemical reactions is a labor-intensive, time-consuming task that requires exploring a high-dimensional parametric space. Historically, the optimization of chemical reactions has been performed by manual experimentation guided by human intuition and through the design of experiments where reaction variables are modified one at a time to find the optimal conditions for a specific reaction outcome. Recently, a paradigm change in chemical reaction optimization has been enabled by advances in lab automation and the introduction of machine learning algorithms.

Robustness of machine learning predictions for Fe-Co-Ni alloys prepared by various synthesis methods.

Developing high-performance alloys is essential for applications in advanced electromagnetic energy conversion devices. In this study, we assess Fe-Co-Ni alloy compositions identified in our previous work through a machine learning (ML) framework, which used both multi-property ML models and multi-objective Bayesian optimization to design compositions with predicted high values of saturation magnetization, Curie temperature, and Vickers hardness. Experimental validation was conducted on two promising compositions synthesized using three different methods: arc melting, ball milling followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and chemical synthesis followed by SPS.

Roles for the long non-coding RNA / in pancreatic beta cell function.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as crucial regulators of beta cell function. Here, we show that an lncRNA-transcribed antisense to Pax6, annotated as Pax6os1/PAX6-AS1, was upregulated by high glucose concentrations in human as well as murine beta cell lines and islets. Elevated expression was also observed in islets from mice on a high-fat diet and patients with type 2 diabetes.

Carbon nanotubes at bilayer in-plane graphene/hBN with interlayer twist angles abnormally enhance its interlayer stress transfer.

A possibility of unprecedented architecture may be opened up by combining both vertical and in-plane heterostructures. It is fascinating to discover that the interlayer stress transfer, interlayer binding energy, and interlayer shear stress of bi-layer Gr/hBN with CNTs heterostructures greatly increase (more than 2 times) with increase the numbers of CNTs and both saturate at the numbers of CNTs = 3, but it causes only 10.92% decrease in failure strain.

Vedolizumab serum trough concentrations with and without thiopurines in ulcerative colitis: The prospective VIEWS pharmacokinetics study.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory condition requiring continuous treatment and monitoring. There is limited pharmacokinetic data on vedolizumab during maintenance therapy and the effect of thiopurines on vedolizumab trough concentrations is unknown.

Aim: To investigate the exposure-response relationship of vedolizumab and the impact of thiopurine withdrawal in UC patients who have achieved sustained clinical and endoscopic remission during maintenance therapy.

Struggling with memory: anguish and hope in selected pandemic poems by migrant workers in Singapore.

The pandemic has tested the fortitude and resilience of a huge swath of humanity. Even measures undertaken to address the pandemic, primarily the massive vaccination campaigns, revealed a glaring disparity between and within societies. The collective grief, anxiety, and desire for survival have led to creative ways to contend with the crisis.

Viscous damping of tremor using a wearable robot with an optimized mechanical metamaterial.

Pathological tremors can often be debilitating to activities of daily living and significantly affect the quality of life. Such tremulous movements are commonly observed in wrist flexion-extension (FE). To suppress this tremor we present a wearable robot (WR) with a customized mechanical metamaterial (MM) as the physical human-robot interface (pHRI).

NIR-II photo-accelerated polymer nanoparticles boost tumor immunotherapy via PD-L1 silencing and immunogenic cell death.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy is a widely favored anti-tumor treatment, but it shows limited response to non-immunogenic "cold" tumors and suffers from drug resistance. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a powerful localized treatment approach, can convert a "cold tumor" into a "hot tumor" by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, thereby enhancing tumor immunogenicity and promoting tumor immunotherapy. However, the effectiveness of PDT is largely hindered by the limited penetration depth into tumor tissues.

Correlation of the Radiographic Grading of Knee Osteoarthritis With Physical Function but Not Emotional Quality of Life Scores.

Background Multiple studies have shown that symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA) weakly correlate with the radiographic severity of the disease. Our objective was to determine possible correlations between the radiographic severity of knee OA and clinical manifestations such as disability, pain scores, and emotional health. Methods A retrospective review of registry data of 305 patients with knee OA was collected.

Continuous reference intervals for plasma cystatin C and creatinine in Vietnamese children.

Background: Serum (plasma) creatinine and cystatin C are widely used in pediatric clinical practice to assess glomerular filtration rate. Both markers have limitations due to the low index of individuality, which affects the clinical sensitivity of population-based reference intervals, especially when wide age ranges are considered. This study aimed to establish age-related reference intervals for plasma cystatin C and creatinine in Vietnamese children.

Study Design and Baseline Characteristics of ALIGN, a Randomized Controlled Study of Atrasentan in Patients With IgA Nephropathy.

Introduction: Endothelin A (ETA) receptor activation is a driver of proteinuria, kidney inflammation, and fibrosis in IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Atrasentan, a selective ETA receptor antagonist, has potential to reduce proteinuria and preserve kidney function in IgAN. ALIGN (NCT04573478) is a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of atrasentan in patients with IgAN at high risk of kidney function loss.

All-Optical Generation and Detection of Coherent Acoustic Vibrations in Single Gallium Phosphide Nanoantennas Probed near the Anapole Excitation.

Nanostructured high-index dielectrics have shown great promise as low-loss photonic platforms for wavefront control and enhancing optical nonlinearities. However, their potential as optomechanical resonators has remained unexplored. In this work, we investigate the generation and detection of coherent acoustic phonons in individual crystalline gallium phosphide nanodisks on silica in a pump-probe configuration.