Delayed Swelling and Dissolution of Hydrophobically Associated Hydrogel Coatings by Dilute Aqueous Surfactants

Noncovalently cross-linked hydrogels can exhibit toughness and mechanical adaptability typically associated with biological tissues, which make them promising for a variety of applications. However, molecules in the environment can interact to significantly alter the properties of these hydrogels, which could adversely impact their performance. Here, we illustrate how two common ionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), influence the swelling and rheological properties of hydrogel films cross-linked by hydrophobic associations based on a random copolymer of poly­(N,N-dimethylacryalmide-co-2-(N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamido)­ethyl acrylate (DMA–FOSA) using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). The effect of the surfactants on the swelling and dissolution of these physically crosslinked hydrogels is contrasted with the effect of aqueous 2-propanol (IPA), which can dissolve the copolymer readily. The addition of IPA, SDS, and CTAB at low concentrations increases the swelling of the hydrogel film, decreases the elastic modulus, and increases the rheological phase angle (more fluidlike). A transition from swelling to (partial) dissolution occurs at higher concentrations with a threshold of approximately 7 wt % IPA, 0.1·cmc for SDS, and 0.5·cmc for CTAB to promote partial dissolution. With IPA, initial swelling is always observed immediately after the solvent is added, whereas the initial swelling can be significantly delayed with long incubation times to dissolution, on the order of hours, at low concentrations of surfactant. These results illustrate that simple ionic surfactants can dissolve these hydrophobically cross-linked hydrogels, but identification of the maximum concentration of surfactant that will not dissolve the hydrogels may be challenged by the long incubation times that increase as the concentration decreases. The long times to dissolve these thin films (initial thickness <200 nm for copolymer) suggest that stability of bulk physically cross-linked hydrogels in complex aqueous environments may be challenging to accurately assess if surfactant diffusion is the limiting factor

Microwave-Enabled Size Control of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphene Oxide

Nanoparticle-functionalized 2D material networks are promising for a wide range of applications, but in situ formation of nanoparticles is commonly challenged by rapid growth. Here, we demonstrate controlled synthesis of small and dispersed iron oxide nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) networks through rapid localized heating with microwaves with low-cost iron nitrate as the precursor. The strong coupling of the microwave radiation with the rGO network rapidly heats the network locally to decompose the iron nitrate and generate iron oxide nanoparticles, while cessation of microwaves leads to rapid cooling to minimize crystal growth. Small changes in the microwave reaction time (<1 min) led to very large changes in the iron oxide morphology. The solid-state microwave syntheses produced narrower nanoparticle size distribution than conventional heating. These results illustrate the potential of solid-state microwave syntheses to control the nanoparticle size on 2D materials through rapid localized heating under the microwave process conditions, which should be extendable to a variety of transition metal oxide–rGO systems

Data_Sheet_1_Association of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease With Arrhythmia Risks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.DOCX

Background: A large number of studies have shown that the arrhythmia risks may be the potential causes of death among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, the association of COPD with risks of arrhythmias has never been systematically reviewed. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between COPD and arrhythmia risks.Methods: An updated systematic retrieval was carried out within the databases of Embase and PubMed until June 27, 2021.The random-effects model was used to pool studies due to the potential heterogeneity across the included studies. The risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were regarded as effect estimates.Results: A total of 21 studies were included in our meta-analysis. In the pooled analysis by the random-effects model, the results showed that COPD was significantly related to the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) (RR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.46–2.70), ventricular arrhythmias (VA) (RR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.42–2.85), and sudden cardiac death (SCD) (RR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.28–2.21). The corresponding results were not changed after exclusion one study at a time. The pooled results were also stable when we re-performed the analysis using the fixed-effects model.Conclusions: Our current data suggested that COPD was associated with increased risks of AF, VA, and SCD.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation with prior gastrointestinal bleeding: A systematic review and meta-analysis.docx

BackgroundGastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) commonly complicates anticoagulant therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, AF patients with prior GIB were excluded from most randomized controlled trials on anticoagulation therapy. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy in this specific population.MethodsRandomized trials and observational studies reporting the data about the resumption of OAC therapy among AF patients with prior GIB were included. The search was performed in the PubMed and Embase databasesup to March 2022. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled by a random-effects model with an inverse variance method.ResultsA total of 7 studies involving 57,623 patients were included. Compared with no anticoagulant therapy, OAC therapy was associated with decreased risks of stroke or systemic embolism (HR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59–0.84) and all-cause death (HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.60–0.72), but there was no significant difference in the risk of recurrent GIB (HR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.94–1.59). Compared with vitamin K antagonists, non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) were associated with reduced risks of stroke or systemic embolism (HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.54–0.68), all-cause mortality (HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75–0.99), major bleeding (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.66–0.84), and GIB recurrence (HR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.72–0.96).ConclusionsIn AF patients with prior GIB, OAC therapy (especially NOACs) demonstrated superior effectiveness compared with no anticoagulant therapy.</p

Local Structure Regulation in Near-Infrared Persistent Phosphor of ZnGa₂O₄:Cr³⁺ to Fabricate Natural-Light Rechargeable Optical Thermometer

Modern engineering fields put forward requirements for optical temperature sensors, which need natural-light excitation/storage and near-infrared (NIR) afterglow emission for some special conditions. Here, NIR persistent luminescent phosphors of ZnGa2–x(Mg/Ge)xO4:Cr3+ (x = 0–1.25) have been synthesized. The incorporation of Mg2+/Ge4+ ions in ZnGa2O4:Cr3+ resulted in more defect clusters of “MgGa′–GeGa•” and “ZnGa′–GeGa•” and interstitial oxygens (OInt). Increasing the calcination temperature and Mg2+/Ge4+ doping both contributed to the generation of OInt. Higher efficiency of visible light excitation was observed, mainly due to the defect clusters and OInt. The samples exhibited a bright NIR emission at 695 nm by exposure to UV or visible light, and the NIR signal can last longer than 1 h after the stoppage of excitation. Incorporation of Mg2+/Ge4+ and increasing the calcination temperature both resulted in a deeper trap depth. However, the density of trapped charge carriers takes the dominant role in the persistent luminescence. Therefore, the x = 0.25 sample, having the most trapped charge carriers, exhibits the best afterglow performance. The prepared phosphor exhibited a temperature-dependent persistent luminescence behavior, which can charge natural light and release NIR light repeatedly many times, indicating that they are the potential natural-light rechargeable materials for temperature sensing

N‑Doped Graphene: An Alternative Carbon-Based Matrix for Highly Efficient Detection of Small Molecules by Negative Ion MALDI-TOF MS

Gas-phase N-doped graphene (gNG) was synthesized by a modified thermal annealing method using gaseous melamine as nitrogen source and then for the first time applied as a matrix in negative ion matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for small molecule analysis. Unlike the complicated adducts produced in positive ion mode, MS spectra obtained on gNG matrix in negative ion mode was only featured by deprotonated molecule ion peaks without matrix interference. By the gNG assisted desorption/ionization (D/I) process, some applications were carried out on a wide range of low-molecular weight (MW) analytes including amino acids, fatty acids, peptides, anabolic androgenic steroids as well as anticancer drugs, with an extraordinary laser desorption/ionization (LDI) efficiency over traditional α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) and other carbon-based materials in the negative ion detection mode. By comparison of a series of graphene-based matrixes, two main factors of matrix gNG were unveiled to play a decisive role in assisting negative ion D/I process: a well-ordered π-conjugated system for laser absorption and energy transfer; pyridinic-doped nitrogen species functioning as deprotonation sites for proton capture on negative ionization. The good salt tolerance and high sensitivity allowed further therapeutic monitoring of anticancer drug nilotinib in the spiked human serum, a real case of biology. Signal response was definitely obtained between 1 mM and 1 μM, meeting the demand of assessing drug level in the patient serum. This work creates a new application branch for nitrogen-doped graphene and provides an alternative solution for small molecule analysis

Enhanced Response Speed in 2D Perovskite Oxides-Based Photodetectors for UV Imaging through Surface/Interface Carrier-Transport Modulation

The long-time decay process induced by the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) in metal oxides-based photodetectors (PDs) impedes our demands for high-speed photodetectors. 2D perovskite oxides, emerging candidates for future high-performance PDs, also suffer from the PPC effect. Here, by integrating 2D perovskite Sr2Nb3O10 (SNO) nanosheets and nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs), a unique nanoscale heterojunction is designed to modulate surface/interface carrier transport for enhanced response speed. Notably, the decay time is reduced from hundreds of seconds to a few seconds. The 4%NGQDs-SNO PD exhibits excellent performance with a photocurrent of 0.47 μA, a high on–off ratio of 2.2 × 104, and a fast pulse response speed (τdecay = 67.3 ms), making it promising for UV imaging. The trap-involved decay process plays a dominant role in determining the decay time, resulting in the PPC effect in SNO PD, and the trap states mainly originate from oxygen vacancies and chemisorbed oxygen molecules. A significantly enhanced photoresponse speed in NGQDs-SNO PDs can be ascribed to the modulated surface/interface trap states and the efficient carrier pathway provided by the nanoscale heterojunction. This work provides an effective way to enhance the response speed in 2D perovskite oxides constrained by PPC via surface/interface engineering, promoting their applications in optoelectronics

Effect of Bromine Substitution on the Ion Migration and Optical Absorption in MAPbI₃ Perovskite Solar Cells: The First-Principles Study

In the past few years, the remarkable energy conversion efficiency of lead-halide-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has drawn extraordinary attention. However, some exposed problems in PSCs such as the low chemical stability and so forth are tough to eliminate. A fundamental understanding of ionic transport at the nanoscale is essential for developing high-performance PSCs based on the anomalous hysteresis current–voltage (<i>I</i>–<i>V</i>) curves and the poor stability. Our work is to understand the ionic transport mechanism by introducing suitable halogen substitution with insignificant impact on light absorption to hinder ion diffusion and thereby to seek a method to improve the stability. Herein, we used first-principles density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the band gaps and the optical absorption coefficients, and the interstitial and the vacancy defect diffusion barriers of halide in the orthogonal phase MAPbX₃ (MA = CH₃NH₃, X = I, Br, I_0.5Br_0.5) perovskite, respectively. The research results show that a half bromine substitution not only prevents ion migration in perovskite, but also maintains a favorable light absorption capacity. It may be helpful to maintain the PSC’s property of light absorption with a similar atomic substitution. Furthermore, smaller atomic substitution for the halogen atoms may be essential for increasing the diffusion barrier

Additional file 2 of ARHGAP39 is a prognostic biomarker involved in immune infiltration in breast cancer

Additional file 2: Supplementary Table S1. The GO functionalenrichments of ARHGAP39 and its interacting proteins. Supplementary Table S2. Biological Processes. Supplementary Table S3. Cellular Components. Supplementary Table S4. Molecular Functions. Supplementary Table S5. KEGG Pathways. Supplementary Table S6. GSEA Analysis