ESG assessment methodology for emerging technologies: plasma conventional technology for ammonia production.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria demand that enterprises should not be assessed solely on their financial performance, but also on their environmental, social, and governance performance. This numerical assessment of ESG criteria enables them to be evaluated with the consideration of other financial issues of enterprises' performance and thereby guides financial investments into environmentally and socially responsible firms. ESG, however, solidifies the continuance of conventional technologies but can potentially disadvantage emerging technologies.

pH-Responsive nanotubes from asymmetric cyclic peptide-polymer conjugates.

Self-assembling cyclic peptide nanotubes are fascinating supramolecular systems with promising potential for various applications, such as drug delivery, transmembrane ionic channels, and artificial light-harvesting systems. In this study, we present novel pH-responsive nanotubes based on asymmetric cyclic peptide-polymer conjugates. The pH response is introduced by a tertiary amine-based polymer, poly(dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate) (pDMAEMA) or poly(diethylamino ethyl methacrylate) (pDEAEMA) which is protonated at low pH.

What Would Have Helped People With Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities in the UK During COVID-19?

People with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities can be excluded from research and relatively little is known about the experiences of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and their carers during COVID-19. This paper aims to further explore the impact on this group via information provided by paid and family carers. It focuses on key areas such as access to social and health services in addition to questions about health and well-being.

Correction: Cu(i) diimine complexes as immobilised antibacterial photosensitisers operating in water under visible light.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D0MA00642D.].

Integrated computational and experimental design of fluorescent heteroatom-functionalised maleimide derivatives.

The bottom-up design and synthesis of organic molecular species with tailored photophysical properties stands as an important challenge to both computational and experimental chemical science. Overcoming this challenge presents the potential to usher in new tools and approaches to improve our ability to develop new technologies, such as molecular sensors and attuned molecular switches. Here, we report the bottom-up design and characterisation of new fluorescent maleimide derivatives using coupled computational and experimental insights.

Central Pulse Wave Velocity and Augmentation Index Are Repeatable and Reproducible Measures of Arterial Function.

Background And Aims: Arterial function (specifically arterial stiffness) is an important cardiovascular risk factor. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (Al ) are established indicators of arterial function. The present study aimed to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of PWV and Al in healthy individuals.

Quantification of finger grasps during activities of daily life using convolutional neural networks: A pilot study.

Quantifying finger kinematics can improve the authors' understanding of finger function and facilitate the design of efficient prosthetic devices while also identifying movement disorders and assessing the impact of rehabilitation interventions. Here, the authors present a study that quantifies grasps depicted in taxonomies during selected Activities of Daily Living (ADL). A single participant held a series of standard objects using specific grasps which were used to train Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for each of the four fingers individually.

Acidic polymers reversibly deactivate phages due to pH changes.

Bacteriophages are promising as therapeutics and biotechnological tools, but they also present a problem for routine and commercial bacterial cultures, where contamination must be avoided. Poly(carboxylic acids) have been reported to inhibit phages' ability to infect their bacterial hosts and hence offer an exciting route to discover additives to prevent infection. Their mechanism and limitations have not been explored.

Sodium compensation: a critical technology for transforming batteries from sodium-starved to sodium-rich systems.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted wide attention from academia and industry due to the low cost and abundant sodium resources. Despite the rapid industrialization development of SIBs, it still faces problems such as a low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) leading to a significant decrease in battery energy density (., 20%).

Small molecule organic eutectics as candidates to replace plastics.

Legislative change and shifting consumer sentiment drive a need to replace polymers in certain products. Herein, we highlight that eutectic molecular glasses and liquids are promising but underutilized candidate materials. We formulate a series of hydrophobic eutectic molecular liquids and glasses by mixing their crystalline components.

Coordination-cage binding and catalysed hydrolysis of organophosphorus chemical warfare agent simulants.

The use of organophosphorus chemical warfare agents still remains an ongoing global threat. Here we investigate the binding of small-molecule organic guests including phosphate esters, sulfonate esters, carbonate esters and a sulfite ester - some of which act as simulants for organophosphorus chemical warfare agents - in the cavity of a water-soluble coordination cage. For several of these guest species, binding constants in the range 10 to 10 M were determined in water/DMSO (98 : 2 v/v) solution, through a combination of fluorescence and H NMR spectroscopy, and subsequent fitting of titration data to a 1 : 1 binding isotherm model.

Fluorinated trehalose analogues for cell surface engineering and imaging of .

The sensitive, rapid and accurate diagnosis of () infection is a central challenge in controlling the global tuberculosis (TB) pandemic. Yet the detection of mycobacteria is often made difficult by the low sensitivity of current diagnostic tools, with over 3.6 million TB cases missed each year.

Unlocking flavin photoacid catalysis through electrophotochemistry.

Molecular flavins are one of the most versatile photocatalysts. They can coordinate single and multiple electron transfer processes, gift hydrogen atoms, form reversible covalent linkages that support group transfer mechanisms, and impart photonic energy to ground state molecules, priming them for downstream reactions. But one mechanism that has not featured extensively is the ability of flavins to act as photoacids.

Dicobalt(ii) helices kill colon cancer cells enantiomer-specific mechanisms; DNA damage or microtubule disruption.

Highly diastereoselective self-assembly reactions give both enantiomers (Λ and Δ) of anti-parallel triple-stranded bimetallic Co(ii) and Co(iii) cationic helices, without the need for resolution; the first such reaction for Co. The complexes are water soluble and stable, even in the case of Co(ii). Studies in a range of cancer and healthy cell lines indicate high activity and selectivity, and substantial differences between enantiomers.

Patient Experiences of Patient-Clinician Communication Among Cancer Multidisciplinary Healthcare Professionals During "Breaking Bad News": A Qualitative Systematic Review.

Purpose: To explore patient experiences of patient-clinician communication during the critical moments of "breaking bad news" in cancer care.

Methods: A qualitative systematic review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and has been reported according to PRISMA guidelines. Databases, including APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Scopus, were searched from the beginning of their date range coverage to April 2023.

A non-inferiority clinical trial comparing probiotics and oral corticosteroids for the management of acute exacerbation of atopic dermatitis patients.

A prospective controlled pilot study on the feasibility of utilization of a probiotic mixture for management of acute exacerbation of atopic dermatitis (AD). Patients were allocated to either standard of care (SOC) therapy with tapering dose of steroids or a probiotic mixture over 3 weeks. After the 3-week intervention, patients on steroids achieved significantly higher clinical response rates and significantly deeper response as measured by the change in SCORAD score.

Photoswitching of Co(ii)-based coordination cages containing azobenzene backbones.

Inclusion of photoswitchable azobenzene units as spacers into ditopic bridging ligands L and L, containing two chelating pyrazolyl-pyridine termini, allows formation of metal complex assemblies with Co(ii) that undergo a range of light-induced structural transformations. One notable result is the light-induced conversion of a Co(L) dinuclear triple helicate (based on the ligand isomer) to a -symmetric Co(L) assembly, assumed to be an edge-bridged tetrahedral cage, based on the ligand isomer. Another is the preparation of a series of Co(L) complexes, of which Co(-L) was crystallographically characterised and consists of a pair of Co(L) double helicates connected by an additional two bridging ligands which span the pair of helicate units, giving a cyclic Co array in which one and then two bridging ligands alternate around the periphery.

Enhancing photocatalytic tetracycline degradation through the fabrication of high surface area CeO from a cerium-organic framework.

Water pollution is a global environmental issue, and the presence of pharmaceutical compounds, such as tetracyclines (TCs), in aquatic ecosystems has raised growing concerns due to the potential risks to both the environment and human health. A high surface area CeO was prepared atmospheric thermal treatment of a metal-organic framework of cerium and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate. The effects of calcination temperature on the morphology, structure, light absorption properties and tetracycline removal efficiency were studied.

Overcoming copper-induced conversion reactions in nickel disulphide anodes for sodium-ion batteries.

Employing copper (Cu) as an anode current collector for metal sulphides is perceived as a general strategy to achieve stable cycle performance in sodium-ion batteries, despite the compatibility of the aluminium current collector with sodium at low voltages. The capacity retention is attributed to the formation of copper sulphide with the slow corrosion of the current collector during cycling which is not ideal. Conventional reports on metal sulphides demonstrate excellent electrochemical performances using excessive carbon coatings/additives, reducing the overall energy density of the cells and making it difficult to understand the underlying side reaction with Cu.

Block copolymer synthesis in ionic liquid polymerisation-induced self-assembly: a convenient route to gel electrolytes.

We report for the first time a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation-induced self-assembly (RAFT-PISA) formulation in ionic liquid (IL) that yields worm gels. A series of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)--poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PHEMA--PBzMA) block copolymer nanoparticles were synthesised RAFT dispersion polymerisation of benzyl methacrylate in the hydrophilic IL 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium dicyanamide, [EMIM][DCA]. This RAFT-PISA formulation can be controlled to afford spherical, worm-like and vesicular nano-objects, with free-standing gels being obtained over a broad range of PBzMA core-forming degrees of polymerisation (DPs).

Site-directed cation ordering in chabazite-type AlGaPO-34 frameworks revealed by NMR crystallography.

We report the first synthesis of the mixed-metal chabazite-type AlGaPO-34(mim) solid solution, containing 1-methylimidazolium, mim, as structure directing agent (SDA), from the parent mixed-metal oxide solid solution, γ-(AlGa)O. This hitherto unreported family of materials exhibits complex disorder, arising from the possible distributions of cations over available sites, the orientation of the SDA and the presence of variable amounts of water, which provides a prototype for understanding structural subtleties in nanoporous materials. In the as-made forms of the phosphate frameworks, there are three crystallographically distinct metal sites: two tetrahedral MO and one octahedral MOF (M = Al, Ga).

A flavour perspective of Tiepishihu () - an emerging food ingredient from popular traditional Chinese medicinal plants: a review.

Many Dendrobium orchid stems are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The most popular and premium species is and its stem in TCM is called Tiepishihu. Tiepishihu has a sweet flavour and is an ingredient in Chinese tea and desserts.

Tuning the photoactivated anticancer activity of Pt(iv) compounds distant ferrocene conjugation.

Photoactive prodrugs offer potential for spatially-selective antitumour activity with minimal effects on normal tissues. Excited-state chemistry can induce novel effects on biochemical pathways and combat resistance to conventional drugs. Photoactive metal complexes in particular, have a rich and relatively unexplored photochemistry, especially an ability to undergo facile intersystem crossing and populate triplet states.

Parameter estimation of a model describing the human fingers.

The goal of this paper is twofold: firstly, to provide a novel mathematical model that describes the kinematic chain of motion of the human fingers based on Lagrangian mechanics with four degrees of freedom and secondly, to estimate the model parameters using data from able-bodied individuals. In the literature there are a variety of mathematical models that have been developed to describe the motion of the human finger. These models offer little to no information on the underlying mechanisms or corresponding equations of motion.

[Guidelines for clinical trial protocols for interventions involving artificial intelligence: the SPIRIT-AI extensionDiretrizes para protocolos de ensaios clínicos com intervenções que utilizam inteligência artificial: a extensão SPIRIT-AI].

Objective.: To determine if there was an association between intrapartum stillbirths and both traveled distance for delivery and delivery care accessibility, assessing periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods.