Clarifying the degradation process of luminescent inorganic perovskite nanocrystals.

Metal halide perovskites have emerged as highly promising materials for a range of optoelectronic applications. However, their sensitivity to environmental factors, particularly air moisture, presents significant challenges for both reliable research and commercialization. Moisture-induced degradation is a major issue due to the ionic nature of perovskites, which significantly impacts their luminescent properties.

A photoelectrocatalytic system as a reaction platform for selective radical-radical coupling.

The selection of electrode material is a critical factor that determines the selectivity of electrochemical organic reactions. However, the fundamental principles governing this relationship are still largely unexplored. Herein, we demonstrate a photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) system as a promising reaction platform for the selective radical-radical coupling reaction owing to the inherent charge-transfer properties of photoelectrocatalysis.

Evaluating layer contributions and salt coating effects on mask performance.

The impact of respiratory diseases is vast and multifaceted, affecting individuals, healthcare systems, and global economies. In response to the spread of respiratory pathogens, masks and respirators have become pivotal, demonstrating their capability to mitigate transmission. However, the limitations of conventional face masks or respirators, such as their single-use nature, environmental impact, and the risk of contact-based transmission, have accelerated the development of antimicrobial masks.

Sihler's staining of the anterior belly of digastric muscle for botulinum toxin injection.

Purpose: The anterior belly of the digastric muscle (ABDM) is the target of botulinum toxin injection; however, anatomical considerations related to the injection point are absent. This study used Sihler's staining to analyze the intramuscular nerve distribution of ABDM to identify the most effective botulinum toxin injection points.

Methods: We used 12 specimens from 6 embalmed cadavers in this study.

Comparative Analysis of Balloon Angioplasty Alone versus Carotid Artery Stenting for Severe Extracranial Carotid Artery Stenosis: A 4-Year Retrospective Study.

Background: This retrospective study aimed to compare the efficacy of balloon angioplasty alone (BAA) with carotid artery stenting (CAS) for severe extracranial carotid artery stenosis. The primary outcomes assessed were restenosis requiring retreatment and symptomatic stroke occurrence within a 4-year follow-up period.

Methods: A total of 77 patients with 89 carotid artery stenoses undergoing endovascular carotid revascularization between January 2015 and December 2019 were included.

Postpartum depression: The prevalence and associated factors among women attending postnatal clinics in the Bawku municipality, Upper East Region of Ghana.

Introduction: This study examined postpartum depression (PPD) among mothers in the Bawku municipality of Ghana, aiming to assess its prevalence and associated risk factors.

Methods: A total of 242 women, 2-12 weeks postpartum, were randomly recruited for this cross-sectional analytical study. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used for depression screening, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the factors associated with PPD.

Postoperative Long-Term Monitoring of Mechanical Characteristics in Reconstructed Soft Tissues Using Biocompatible, Immune-Tolerant, and Wireless Electronic Sutures.

Accurate postoperative assessment of varying mechanical properties is crucial for customizing patient-specific treatments and optimizing rehabilitation strategies following Achilles tendon (AT) rupture and reconstruction surgery. This study introduces a wireless, chip-less, and immune-tolerant in vivo strain-sensing suture designed to continuously monitor mechanical stiffness variations in the reconstructed AT throughout the healing process. This innovative sensing suture integrates a standard medical suturing thread with a wireless fiber strain-sensing system, which incorporates a fiber strain sensor and a double-layered inductive coil for wireless readout.

Two-dimensional radial-π-stacks in solution.

Highly organized π-aggregate architectures can strongly affect electronic couplings, leading to important photophysical behaviors. With the escalating interest in two-dimensional (2D) materials attributed to their exceptional electronic and optical characteristics, there is growing anticipation that 2D radial-π-stacks built upon radial π-conjugation nanorings, incorporating intra- and inter-ring electronic couplings within the confines of a 2D plane, will exhibit superior topological attributes and distinct properties. Despite their immense potential, the design and synthesis of 2D π-stacks have proven to be a formidable challenge due to the insufficient π-π interactions necessary for stable stacking.

Sunlight-driven and gram-scale vanillin production Mn-defected γ-MnO catalyst in aqueous environment.

The production of vanillin from biomass offers a sustainable route for synthesizing daily-use chemicals. However, achieving sunlight-driven vanillin synthesis through HO activation in an aqueous environment poses challenges due to the high barrier of HO dissociation. In this study, we have successfully developed an efficient approach for gram-scale vanillin synthesis in an aqueous reaction, employing Mn-defected γ-MnO as a photocatalyst at room temperature.

First-principles evaluation of transition metal dichalcogenide-graphene pairs functionalized with oxygen-containing groups for sodium-ion battery anodes.

Composites of reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) with transition metal dichalcogenides have garnered considerable attention as promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of their superior theoretical capacity and long-term stability compared with pure graphene. However, the underlying mechanism of how the oxygen functional groups improve the functionality of rGO remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the roles of functional groups in rGO-based heterogeneous bilayers using first-principles density functional theory calculations.

Enhanced Multitask Learning for Hash Code Generation of Palmprint Biometrics.

This paper presents a novel multitask learning framework for palmprint biometrics, which optimizes classification and hashing branches jointly. The classification branch within our framework facilitates the concurrent execution of three distinct tasks: identity recognition and classification of soft biometrics, encompassing gender and chirality. On the other hand, the hashing branch enables the generation of palmprint hash codes, optimizing for minimal storage as templates and efficient matching.

Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation Health Insurance Coverage on Cardiac Rehabilitation Use in Korea Using an Interrupted Time Series.

Background: Since 2017, the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program in Korea has been included in the coverage provided by the National Health Insurance to alleviate financial burden. Our study aimed to identify changes in the CR program use according to the implementation of CR coverage.

Methods And Results: We obtained data from the electronic medical records of a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea from January 2014 to February 2020.

Parent-Offspring Associations of Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics: Findings From the 2014 to 2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Studies have reported the strength of cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics in parent-offspring relationships. This study aimed to describe the sex-specific associations between CVH in parents and adult offspring.

Methods And Results: This study was conducted on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data set, which analyzed trios of mother-father-child, with the child's age from 20 to 39 years.

Engineering of cell-surface receptors for analysis of receptor internalization and detection of receptor-specific glycosylation.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a cell-surface glycoprotein that is involved mainly in cell proliferation. Overexpression of this receptor is intimately related to the development of a broad spectrum of tumors. In addition, glycans linked to the EGFR are known to affect its EGF-induced activation.

Deep learning-based multimodal fusion network for segmentation and classification of breast cancers using B-mode and elastography ultrasound images.

Ultrasonography is one of the key medical imaging modalities for evaluating breast lesions. For differentiating benign from malignant lesions, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have greatly assisted radiologists by automatically segmenting and identifying features of lesions. Here, we present deep learning (DL)-based methods to segment the lesions and then classify benign from malignant, utilizing both B-mode and strain elastography (SE-mode) images.

Pushing ML Predictions Into DBMSs.

In the past decade, many approaches have been suggested to execute ML workloads on a DBMS. However, most of them have looked at in-DBMS ML from a training perspective, whereas ML inference has been largely overlooked. We think that this is an important gap to fill for two main reasons: (1) in the near future, every application will be infused with some sort of ML capability; (2) behind every web page, application, and enterprise there is a DBMS, whereby in-DBMS inference is an appealing solution both for efficiency (e.

Direct characterization of intrinsic defects in monolayer ReSe on graphene.

Understanding the characteristics of intrinsic defects in crystals is of great interest in many fields, from fundamental physics to applied materials science. Combined investigations of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) and density functional theory (DFT) are conducted to understand the nature of Se vacancy defects in monolayer (ML) ReSe grown on a graphene substrate. Among four possible Se vacancy sites, we identify the Se4 vacancy close to the Re layer by registry between STM topography and DFT simulated images.

Modulating the folding and binding of peptides using a stimuli-responsive molecular tweezer.

This study presents the development of a β-hairpin (tryptophan zipper, Trpzip)-based molecular tweezer (MT) that can control the folding and binding of α-helical peptides. When an α-helix isolated from the p53 protein was conjugated with Trpzip in an optimized macrocyclic structure, the folded β-hairpin stabilized the helix conformation through the side chain-to-side chain stapling strategy, which notably enhanced target (hDM2) affinity of the peptide. On the other hand, the helicity and binding affinity were significantly reduced when the hairpin was unfolded by a redox stimulus.

Synthesis and Prospects of Holey Two-dimensional Platinum-group Metals in Electrocatalysis.

Advanced electrocatalysts can enable the widespread implementation of clean energy technologies. This paper reviews an emerging class of electrocatalytic materials comprising holey two-dimensional free-standing Pt-group metal (h-2D-PGM) nanosheets, which are categorically challenging to synthesize but inherently rich in all the qualities necessary to counter the kinetic and thermodynamic challenges of an electrochemical conversion process with high catalytic efficiency and stability. Although the 2D anisotropic growth of typical nonlayered metal crystals has succeeded and partly improved their atom-utilization efficiency, regularly distributed in-planar porosity can further optimize three critical factors that govern efficient electrocatalysis process: mass diffusion, electron transfer, and surface reactivity.

Cu(triNHC)-catalyzed polymerization of glycidol to produce ultralow-branched polyglycerol.

We have successfully synthesized a novel form of polyglycerol with an unprecedentedly low degree of branching (DB = 0.08-0.18), eliminating the need for glycidol protection.

Endoscopically injectable and self-crosslinkable hydrogel-mediated stem cell transplantation for alleviating esophageal stricture after endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Esophageal stricture after extensive endoscopic submucosal dissection impairs the quality of life of patients with superficial esophageal carcinoma. Beyond the limitations of conventional treatments including endoscopic balloon dilatation and the application of oral/topical corticosteroids, several cell therapies have been recently attempted. However, such methods are still limited in clinical situations and existing setups, and the efficacies are less in some cases since the transplanted cells hardly remain at the resection site for a long time due to swallowing and peristalsis of the esophagus.

Psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Palliative Care Nursing Self-Competence scale for infant use.

Background: Despite the significant advances in neonatal treatment and care over the past 30 years, palliative care in the neonatal intensive care unit has not been fully provided in South Korea. Neonatal nurses are essential professionals in palliative care as they are directly involved in the care, but there is little information on their palliative care competency because no assessment instrument is available in Korea.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Palliative Care Nursing Self-Competence scale for neonatal palliative care.

Enhancing adoptive T-cell therapy with fucoidan-based IL-2 delivery microcapsules.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with antigen-specific T cells is a promising treatment approach for solid cancers. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been utilized in boosting the efficacy of ACT. However, the clinical applications of IL-2 in combination with ACT is greatly limited by short exposure and high toxicities.