Design Principle of Telluride-Based Nanowire Heterostructures for Potential Thermoelectric Applications

We present a design principle to develop new categories of telluride-based thermoelectric nanowire heterostructures through rational solution-phase reactions. The catalyst-free synthesis yields Te-Bi2Te3 barbell nanowire heterostructures with a narrow diameter and length distribution as well as a rough control over the density of the hexagonal Bi2Te3 plates on the Te nanowire bodies, which can be further converted to other telluride-based compositional-modulated nanowire heterostructures such as PbTe-Bi2Te3. Initial characterizations of the hot-pressed nanostructured bulk pellets of the Te-Bi2Te3 heterostructure show a largely enhanced Seebeck coefficient and greatly reduced thermal conductivity, which lead to an improved thermoelectric figure of merit. This approach opens up new platforms to investigate the phonon scattering and energy filtering

Presentation, management, and outcomes of older compared to younger adults with hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in the intensive care unit: a multicenter cohort study

Purpose: Older adults admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) usually have fair baseline functional capacity, yet their age and frailty may compromise their management. We compared the characteristics and management of older (≥ 75 years) versus younger adults hospitalized in ICU with hospital-acquired bloodstream infection (HA-BSI). Methods: Nested cohort study within the EUROBACT-2 database, a multinational prospective cohort study including adults (≥ 18 years) hospitalized in the ICU during 2019-2021. We compared older versus younger adults in terms of infection characteristics (clinical signs and symptoms, source, and microbiological data), management (imaging, source control, antimicrobial therapy), and outcomes (28-day mortality and hospital discharge). Results: Among 2111 individuals hospitalized in 219 ICUs with HA-BSI, 563 (27%) were ≥ 75 years old. Compared to younger patients, these individuals had higher comorbidity score and lower functional capacity; presented more often with a pulmonary, urinary, or unknown HA-BSI source; and had lower heart rate, blood pressure and temperature at presentation. Pathogens and resistance rates were similar in both groups. Differences in management included mainly lower rates of effective source control achievement among aged individuals. Older adults also had significantly higher day-28 mortality (50% versus 34%, p < 0.001), and lower rates of discharge from hospital (12% versus 20%, p < 0.001) by this time. Conclusions: Older adults with HA-BSI hospitalized in ICU have different baseline characteristics and source of infection compared to younger patients. Management of older adults differs mainly by lower probability to achieve source control. This should be targeted to improve outcomes among older ICU patients