A High Precision and Multifunctional Electro‐Optical Conversion Efficiency Measurement System for Metamaterial‐Based Thermal Emitters

In this study, a multifunctional high-vacuum system was established to measure the electro-optical conversion efficiency of metamaterial-based thermal emitters with built-in heaters. The system is composed of an environmental control module, an electro-optical conversion measurement module, and a system control module. The system can provide air, argon, high vacuum, and other conventional testing environments, combined with humidity control. The test chamber and sample holder are carefully designed to minimize heat transfer through thermal conduction and convection. The optical power measurements are realized using the combination of a water-cooled KBr flange, an integrating sphere, and thermopile detectors. This structure is very stable and can detect light emission at the μW level. The system can synchronously detect the heating voltage, heating current, optical power, sample temperatures (both top and bottom), ambient pressure, humidity, and other environmental parameters. The comprehensive parameter detection capability enables the system to monitor subtle sample changes and perform failure mechanism analysis with the aid of offline material analysis using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the system can be used for fatigue and high-low temperature impact tests

Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE), Life and Health

Light has profoundly impacted modern medicine and healthcare, with numerous luminescent agents and imaging techniques currently being used to assess health and treat diseases. As an emerging concept in luminescence, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has shown great potential in biological applications due to its advantages in terms of brightness, biocompatibility, photostability, and positive correlation with concentration. This review provides a comprehensive summary of AIE luminogens applied in imaging of biological structure and dynamic physiological processes, disease diagnosis and treatment, and detection and monitoring of specific analytes, followed by representative works. Discussions on critical issues and perspectives on future directions are also included. This review aims to stimulate the interest of researchers from different fields, including chemistry, biology, materials science, medicine, etc., thus promoting the development of AIE in the fields of life and health

Predictive accuracy of the Braden Q Scale in risk assessment for paediatric pressure ulcer: A meta-analysis

Aims: Paediatric pressure ulcers are a serious problem to healthcare service. Thus, effective and early identification of the risk of developing pressure ulcer is essential. The Braden Q scale is a widely used tool in the risk assessment of paediatric pressure ulcer, but its predictive power is controversial. Hence, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the predictive power of the Braden Q scale for pressure ulcer in hospitalised children and offer recommendations for clinical decision. Methods: Studies that evaluated the predictive power of the Braden Q scale were searched through databases in English and Chinese, including Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, SinoMed, CNKI, Wangfang and VIP. The studies were screened by two independent reviewers. QUADAS-2 was used to assess the risk of bias of eligible studies. Demographic data and predictive value indices were extracted. The pooled sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were calculated by MetaDiSc 1.4 using random-effects models. Results: Cochran Q = 26.13 (P = 0.0036) indicated the existence of heterogeneity; the I2 for pooled DOR was 61.7%, suggesting significant heterogeneity among the included studies. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.73 (95% CI: 0.67–0.78) and 0.61 (95% CI: 0. 59–0.63), respectively, yielding a combined DOR of 3.47 (95% CI: 2–6.01). The area under the ROC curve was 0.7078 ± 0.0421, and the overall diagnostic accuracy (Q*) was 0.6591 ± 0.0337. Sensitivity analysis showed the results were robust. Conclusion: The Braden Q scale has moderate predictive validity with medium sensitivity and low specificity for pressure ulcers in hospitalised children. Further development and modification of this tool for use in paediatric population are warranted. Keywords: Braden Q scale, Child, Pressure injury, Pressure ulcer, Risk assessment, Sensitivity and specificit

Synthesis and interface structures of zinc sulfide sheathed zinc-cadmium nanowire heterojunctions

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) sheathed zinc (Zn)-cadmium (Cd) nanowire heterojunctions have been prepared by thermal evaporating of ZnS and CdS powders in a vertical induction furnace at 1200 °C. Studies found that both the Zn and Cd subnanowires, within a single nanoheterojunction, are single-crystallines with the growth directions perpendicular to the [2110] plane, whereas the sheathed ZnS is polycrystalline with a thickness of ca. 5 nm. The Zn/Cd interface structure in the ZnS sheathed Zn-Cd nanowire heterojunctions was thoroughly experimentally studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and theoretically studied using a near-coincidence site lattice (NCSL) concept. The results show that the Cd and Zn have a crystalline orientation relationship as [0001]Zn//[0001]Cd, (101̄0)zn// (101̄0)cd, (011̄0)zn//(11̄00)Cd, and (1̄100)Zn//(1̄100)Cd.</p

Burden among caregivers for children with asthma: A mixed-method study in Guangzhou, China

Objective: Research suggests that caregivers of children with asthma experience a substantial amount of stress, though no comprehensive study examines this problem. Here we both quantitatively and qualitatively examined the burden on caregivers of children with asthma. Methods: Surveys were administered to 138 caregivers of asthmatic children by convenience sampling. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) was used to assess the degree of caregiver burden. In addition, 13 qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out via purposive sampling and were used to explore the perception of caregivers. SPSS and content analysis were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Results: We found that caregiver burden (mean = 31.56 ± 14.19) ranged from 24% with no or mild burden, 52% with mild to moderate burden, 22% with moderate to severe burden and 2% with very severe burden. Caregiver burden was also assessed as 5 different dimensions. Self-criticism ranked most burdensome (2.09 ± 1.05), followed by sacrifice (1.57 ± 0.94), embarrassment/anger (1.30 ± 0.80), dependency (1.21 ± 0.77), and lastly, loss of control (1.20 ± 0.84). The highest individually scored item on the ZBI was “fear of the future of the relative” (mean = 3.04). Interviews of caregiver burden were summarized into three main themes, namely: 1) life is too chaotic; 2) negative emotions; and 3) gaps in the medical support system. Conclusions: These findings expand our understanding about the burden caregivers of children with asthma face, and may help to propose targeted strategies to help caregivers adapt to their roles, and maintain and promote the health of themselves and their families

Genetic evidence for partial redundancy between the arginine methyltransferases CARM1 and PRMT6

CARM1 is a protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) that acts as a coactivator in a number of transcriptional programs. CARM1 orchestrates this coactivator activity in part by depositing the H3R17me2a histone mark in the vicinity of gene promoters that it regulates. However, the gross levels of H3R17me2a in CARM1 KO mice did not significantly decrease, indicating that other PRMT(s) may compensate for this loss. We thus performed a screen of type I PRMTs, which revealed that PRMT6 can also deposit the H3R17me2a mark in vitro CARM1 knockout mice are perinatally lethal and display a reduced fetal size, whereas PRMT6 null mice are viable, which permits the generation of double knockouts. Embryos that are null for both CARM1 and PRMT6 are noticeably smaller than CARM1 null embryos, providing in vivo evidence of redundancy. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from the double knockout embryos display an absence of the H3R17me2a mark during mitosis and increased signs of DNA damage. Moreover, using the combination of CARM1 and PRMT6 inhibitors suppresses the cell proliferation of WT MEFs, suggesting a synergistic effect between CARM1 and PRMT6 inhibitions. These studies provide direct evidence that PRMT6 also deposits the H3R17me2a mark and acts redundantly with CARM1

Promoting Intersystem Crossing of Fluorescent Molecule via Single Functional Group Modification

International audiencePure light-atoms organic phosphorescent molecules have been under scientific scrutiny because they are inexpensive, flexible, and environment friendly. The development of such materials, however, faces a bottleneck problem of intrinsically small spin-orbit couplings (SOC), which can be addressed by seeking a proper balance between intersystem crossing (ISC) and fluorescence rates. Using N-substituted naphthalimides (NNI) as the prototype molecule, we applied chemical modifications with several electrophilic and nucleophilic functional groups, to approach the goal. The selected electron donating groups actively restrain the fluorescence, enabling an efficient ISC to the triplet manifold. Electron withdrawing groups do not change the luminescent properties of the parent species. The changes in ISC and fluorescence rates are related to the nature of the lowest singlet state, which changes from localized excitation into charge-transfer excitation. This finding opens an alternative strategy for designing pure light-atoms organic phosphorescent molecules for emerging luminescent materials applications

Cardiac rehabilitation engagement and associated factors among heart failure patients: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) still affects millions of people worldwide despite great advances in therapeutic approaches in the cardiovascular field. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is known to improve disease-related symptoms, quality of life and clinical outcomes, yet implementation is suboptimal, a frequently low engagement in rehabilitation programs has been found globally. Objective To quantify diverse CR-engaged processes and elucidate associated factors of the various levels of CR engagement in CHF patients. Methods Discharged patients admitted from cardiology departments between May 2022 to July 2022 were enrolled by mobile phone text messaging, CHF patients from same department between August 2022 to December 2022 were enrolled by face-to-face. Individuals who met the inclusion criteria filled the questionnaires, including the generalized anxiety disorders scale, patient health questionnaire, cardiac rehabilitation inventory, patient activation measure, Tampa scale for kinesiophobia heart, social frailty, Patient Health Engagement Scale (PHE-s®). We obtained sociodemographic characteristics and clinical data from medical records. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the factors associated with CR engagement phases. Results A total of 684 patients were included in the study. 52.49% patients were in the Adhesion phase. At the multivariate level, compared with the blackout phase process anxiety, monthly income (RMB yuan) equal to or more than 5,000 were the most important factor impacting CHF patients CR engagement. Compared with the Blackout phase, regular exercise or not, severe depression, previous cardiac-related hospitalizations 1 or 2 times, Age influenced patient CR engagement in the Arousal phase. Besides, compared with the Blackout phase, outcome anxiety and activation level were independent factors in the Eudaimonic Project phase. Conclusion This study characterized CR engagement, and explored demographic, medical, and psychological factors—with the most important being process anxiety, monthly income, patient activation, severe depression, and previous cardiac-related hospitalizations. The associated factors of CR engagement were not identical among different phases. Our findings suggested that factors could potentially be targeted in clinical practice to identify low CR engagement patients, and strategies implemented to strengthen or overcome these associations to address low CR engagement in CHF patients