High-efficiency and air-stable P3HT-based polymer solar cells with a new non-fullerene acceptor

We thank BASF for partial financial support, as well as EPSRC Projects EP/G037515/1 and EP/M023532/1, EC FP7 Project SC2 (610115), EC FP7 Project ArtESun (604397), EC FP7 Project POLYMED (612538), Project Synthetic carbon allotropes project SFB 953 and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Rabies molecular virology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment

Rabies is an avertable viral disease caused by the rabid animal to the warm blooded animals (zoonotic) especially human. Rabies occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. According to an estimation by WHO, almost 55,000 people die because of rabies every year. The Dogs are the major reason behind this, approximately 99% human deaths caused by dog's bites. Developing and under developing countries, both are the victims of rabies. With the post-exposure preventive regimes, 327,000 people can prevent this disease annually

Collateral damage: the impact on outcomes from cancer surgery of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Cancer diagnostics and surgery have been disrupted by the response of health care services to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Progression of cancers during delay will impact on patients' long-term survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We generated per-day hazard ratios of cancer progression from observational studies and applied these to age-specific, stage-specific cancer survival for England 2013-2017. We modelled per-patient delay of 3 and 6 months and periods of disruption of 1 and 2 years. Using health care resource costing, we contextualise attributable lives saved and life-years gained (LYGs) from cancer surgery to equivalent volumes of COVID-19 hospitalisations. RESULTS: Per year, 94 912 resections for major cancers result in 80 406 long-term survivors and 1 717 051 LYGs. Per-patient delay of 3/6 months would cause attributable death of 4755/10 760 of these individuals with loss of 92 214/208 275 life-years, respectively. For cancer surgery, average LYGs per patient are 18.1 under standard conditions and 17.1/15.9 with a delay of 3/6 months (an average loss of 0.97/2.19 LYGs per patient), respectively. Taking into account health care resource units (HCRUs), surgery results on average per patient in 2.25 resource-adjusted life-years gained (RALYGs) under standard conditions and 2.12/1.97 RALYGs following delay of 3/6 months. For 94 912 hospital COVID-19 admissions, there are 482 022 LYGs requiring 1 052 949 HCRUs. Hospitalisation of community-acquired COVID-19 patients yields on average per patient 5.08 LYG and 0.46 RALYGs. CONCLUSIONS: Modest delays in surgery for cancer incur significant impact on survival. Delay of 3/6 months in surgery for incident cancers would mitigate 19%/43% of LYGs, respectively, by hospitalisation of an equivalent volume of admissions for community-acquired COVID-19. This rises to 26%/59%, respectively, when considering RALYGs. To avoid a downstream public health crisis of avoidable cancer deaths, cancer diagnostic and surgical pathways must be maintained at normal throughput, with rapid attention to any backlog already accrued

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Evaluating the health risks of potentially toxic elementsthrough wheat consumption in multi-industrial metropolisof Faisalabad, Pakistan

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution is the fastest growing concern around the entire globe especially in developing countries. Rapid industrialization and urbanization are the dominant sources of anthropogenic soil-food chain contamination with PTEs. The intent of current study was to investigate the interactive levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in soil and their accumulation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) samples collected from 96 sites including industrial, urban, and peri-urban areas of a leading multi-industrialized center (Faisalabad) of Pakistan. According to results obtained from present study, non-carcinogenic (HQ) and life-time carcinogenic risks (CR) of the PTEs to the local inhabitants were estimated following the risk assessment modals proposed by the US-EPA. With respect to estimated HQ for chronic non-carcinogenic risk of Mn, Ni, and Pb, higher potential hazards were observed as compared to Cu, Fe, and Zn. Meanwhile, the carcinogenic risk of Ni marginally exceeded the limit described by US-EPA for adults. Overall, the health risks of PTEs with the consumption of wheat were lower than the limits described by US-EPA except for Ni. However, continuous consumption of this PTEs contaminated food may result the potential buildup of poisonousness and various disorders in humans. Therefore, long-term monitoring and gastrointestinal bio-accessibility studies are requisite for the safety of humans under such conditions

The impact of COVID-19 on globalization

Globalization has altered the way we live and earn a livelihood. Consequently, trade and travel have been recognized as significant determinants of the spread of disease. Additionally, the rise in urbanization and the closer integration of the world economy have facilitated global interconnectedness. Therefore, globalization has emerged as an essential mechanism of disease transmission. This paper aims to examine the potential impact of COVID-19 on globalization and global health in terms of mobility, trade, travel, and countries most impacted. The effect of globalization were operationalized in terms of mobility, economy, and healthcare systems. The mobility of individuals and its magnitude was assessed using airline and seaport trade data and travel information. The economic impact was measured based on the workforce, event cancellations, food and agriculture, academic institutions, and supply chain. The healthcare capacity was assessed by considering healthcare system indicators and preparedness of countries. Utilizing a technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), we calculated a pandemic vulnerability index (PVI) by creating a quantitative measure of the potential global health. The pandemic has placed an unprecedented burden on the world economy, healthcare, and globalization through travel, events cancellation, employment workforce, food chain, academia, and healthcare capacity. Based on PVI results, certain countries were more vulnerable than others. In Africa, more vulnerable countries included South Africa and Egypt; in Europe, they were Russia, Germany, and Italy; in Asia and Oceania, they were India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey; and for the Americas, they were Brazil, USA, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. The impact on mobility, economy, and healthcare systems has only started to manifest. The findings of this study may help in the planning and implementation of strategies at the country level to help ease this emerging burden.Applied Science, Faculty ofNon UBCEngineering, School of (Okanagan)ReviewedFacultyResearcherGraduat

Indolo-naphthyridine-6,13-dione thiophene building block for conjugated polymer electronics: Molecular origin of ultrahigh n-type mobility

Herein, we present the synthesis and characterization of four conjugated polymers containing a novel chromophore for organic electronics based on an indigoid structure. These polymers exhibit extremely small band gaps of ∼1.2 eV, impressive crystallinity, and extremely high n-type mobility exceeding 3 cm2 V s–1. The n-type charge carrier mobility can be correlated with the remarkably high crystallinity along the polymer backbone having a correlation length in excess of 20 nm. Theoretical analysis reveals that the novel polymers have highly rigid nonplanar geometries demonstrating that backbone planarity is not a prerequisite for either narrow band gap materials or ultrahigh mobilities. Furthermore, the variation in backbone crystallinity is dependent on the choice of comonomer. OPV device efficiencies up to 4.1% and charge photogeneration up to 1000 nm are demonstrated, highlighting the potential of this novel chromophore class in high-performance organic electronics