1,1'-Carbonyldiimidazole-copper nanoflower enhanced collapsible laser scribed graphene engraved microgap capacitive aptasensor for the detection of milk allergen

The bovine milk allergenic protein, ‘β-lactoglobulin’ is one of the leading causes of milk allergic reaction. In this research, a novel label-free non-faradaic capacitive aptasensor was designed to detect β-lactoglobulin using a Laser Scribed Graphene (LSG) electrode. The graphene was directly engraved into a microgapped (~ 95 µm) capacitor-electrode pattern on a flexible polyimide (PI) film via a simple one-step CO2 laser irradiation. The novel hybrid nanoflower (NF) was synthesized using 1,1′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) as the organic molecule and copper (Cu) as the inorganic molecule via one-pot biomineralization by tuning the reaction time and concentration. NF was fixed on the pre-modified PI film at the triangular junction of the LSG microgap specifically for bio-capturing β-lactoglobulin. The fine-tuned CDI-Cu NF revealed the flower-like structures was viewed through field emission scanning electron microscopy. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed the interactions with PI film, CDI-Cu NF, oligoaptamer and β-lactoglobulin. The non-faradaic sensing of milk allergen β-lactoglobulin corresponds to a higher loading of oligoaptamer on 3D-structured CDI-Cu NF, with a linear range detection from 1 ag/ml to 100 fg/ml and attomolar (1 ag/ml) detection limit (S/N = 3:1). This novel CDI-Cu NF/LSG microgap aptasensor has a great potential for the detection of milk allergen with high-specificity and sensitivity

Extensive impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pelvic floor dysfunctions care: A nationwide interdisciplinary survey

Aims: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health-care provision to patients suffering from pelvic floor dysfunctions in Italy. Methods: A retrospective web-based interdisciplinary survey was mailed by the Italian Society of Urodynamics to members involved in pelvic floor dysfunctions management from June 22, 2020 to July 17, 2020. The 84-item questionnaire investigated the period March–June 2020 (first epidemic wave) and showed high content validity. The primary outcome was the mean rate of cancellation for health-care services. Secondary outcomes included estimation of the accumulated surgeries backload until return to baseline activity and of the recovery pattern, using linear regression and scenario-based forecasting. Results: A total of 85 participants provided complete responses. Respondents were mostly urologists (47%), followed by gynecologists (29.5%) and physiatrists (17.6%). On average, 78.4% of outpatient services and 82.7% of functional surgeries were canceled, without significant differences by geographical distribution. An impact on patients' quality of life was anticipated by most of the respondents (87%) and 48.2% also reported potentially serious health risks for patients. Thirty-three percent of the respondents reported the use of telemedicine. If the nation-wide surgical activity increases by 20% postpandemic, it would take 37 months to clear the backlog of functional surgeries. We acknowledge the inherent limitations of the survey methodology and retrospective design. Conclusions: Access to care for patients suffering from pelvic floor dysfunctions has been dramatically affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The indirect effects of this unprecedented disruption on pelvic floor dysfunctions care may last for several months

Is NiCo₂S₄ Really a Semiconductor?

NiCo₂S₄ is a technologically important electrode material that has recently achieved remarkable performance in pseudocapacitor, catalysis, and dye-synthesized solar cell applications.− Essentially, all reports on this material have presumed it to be semiconducting, like many of the chalcogenides, with a reported band gap in the range of 1.2–1.7 eV., In this report, we have conducted detailed experimental and theoretical studies, most of which done for the first time, which overwhelmingly show that NiCo₂S₄ is in fact a metal. We have also calculated the Raman spectrum of this material and experimentally verified it for the first time, hence clarifying inconsistent Raman spectra reports. Some of the key results that support our conclusions include: (1) the measured carrier density in NiCo₂S₄ is 3.18 × 10²² cm^–3, (2) NiCo₂S₄ has a room temperature resistivity of around 10³ μΩ cm which increases with temperature, (3) NiCo₂S₄ exhibits a quadratic dependence of the magnetoresistance on magnetic field, (4) thermopower measurements show an extremely low Seebeck coefficient of 5 μV K^–1, (5) first-principles calculations confirm that NiCo₂S₄ is a metal. These results suggest that it is time to rethink the presumed semiconducting nature of this promising material. They also suggest that the metallic conductivity is another reason (besides the known significant redox activity) behind the excellent performance reported for this material

Extensive impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pelvic floor dysfunctions care: A nationwide interdisciplinary survey

Aims: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health-care provision to patients suffering from pelvic floor dysfunctions in Italy. Methods: A retrospective web-based interdisciplinary survey was mailed by the Italian Society of Urodynamics to members involved in pelvic floor dysfunctions management from June 22, 2020 to July 17, 2020. The 84-item questionnaire investigated the period March\u2013June 2020 (first epidemic wave) and showed high content validity. The primary outcome was the mean rate of cancellation for health-care services. Secondary outcomes included estimation of the accumulated surgeries backload until return to baseline activity and of the recovery pattern, using linear regression and scenario-based forecasting. Results: A total of 85 participants provided complete responses. Respondents were mostly urologists (47%), followed by gynecologists (29.5%) and physiatrists (17.6%). On average, 78.4% of outpatient services and 82.7% of functional surgeries were canceled, without significant differences by geographical distribution. An impact on patients' quality of life was anticipated by most of the respondents (87%) and 48.2% also reported potentially serious health risks for patients. Thirty-three percent of the respondents reported the use of telemedicine. If the nation-wide surgical activity increases by 20% postpandemic, it would take 37 months to clear the backlog of functional surgeries. We acknowledge the inherent limitations of the survey methodology and retrospective design. Conclusions: Access to care for patients suffering from pelvic floor dysfunctions has been dramatically affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The indirect effects of this unprecedented disruption on pelvic floor dysfunctions care may last for several months