Treatment of Hepatitis B in Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis

Chronic hepatitis B infection progresses from an asymptomatic persistently infected state to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease, and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. About 3% of patients with chronic hepatitis develop cirrhosis yearly, and about 5% of individuals with hepatitis B cirrhosis become decompensated annually. The outcome for patients with decompensated cirrhosis is bleak. Lamivudine, the first oral antiviral agent available for hepatitis B treatment is safe and effective and can improve or stabilize liver disease in patients with advanced cirrhosis and viraemia. Viral resistance restricts its prolonged use. Entecavir and tenofovir are newer agents with excellent resistance profile to date. These and some other antiviral agents are being investigated for optimal use in this rather challenging patient group

Printable magnesium ion quasi-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors for flexible solar-charging integrated units.

Wearable and portable self-powered units have stimulated considerable attention in both the scientific and technological realms. However, their innovative development is still limited by inefficient bulky connections between functional modules, incompatible energy storage systems with poor cycling stability, and real safety concerns. Herein, we demonstrate a flexible solar-charging integrated unit based on the design of printed magnesium ion aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors. This power unit exhibits excellent mechanical robustness, high photo-charging cycling stability (98.7% capacitance retention after 100 cycles), excellent overall energy conversion and storage efficiency (ηoverall = 17.57%), and outstanding input current tolerance. In addition, the Mg ion quasi-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors show high energy density up to 13.1 mWh cm-3 via pseudocapacitive ion storage as investigated by an operando X-ray diffraction technique. The findings pave a practical route toward the design of future self-powered systems affording favorable safety, long life, and high energy

Digital Literacies and Sustainable Development: Narratives From A Tale of Two Cities

This article is a status report of the on-going efforts of the DiLiterati Group (funded by Singapore’s Ministry of Education and led by Ravi Sharma) to investigate the role of digital literacies in fostering sustainable development. In this research, we are trying to investigate how the knowledge disparities could be bridged with digital literacy and whether the resultant “level playing field” will generate greater contributions of national wealth and a more equitable sharing of it. This culminated in the synthesis of a Digital Literacy Maturity Model. A quantitative approach to sense-making did not reveal much support for the model we had anticipated. Therefore a procedure to delve deeper into the qualitative and contextual was formulated to frame “narratives” that suggest “lessons learnt” and “best practices” from economies that have demonstrated successful sustainable growth and development. To test the efficacy of the procedure, Singapore and Hong Kong were selected as pilot subjects of interest