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Objectives: Vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor of tinnitus has not been well known. We tried to evaluate the association between the serum 25-(OH) vitamin D levels and tinnitus among the Korean population to propose the possible role of serum vitamin D in patients with tinnitus.Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the potential risk factors of tinnitus in relation to serum 25(OH)D levels within the Korean population. It encompassed a health interview, nutrition assessment, and a health examination. Data was sourced from the KNHANES V (2010-2012), conducted by the Division of Health and Nutritional Survey under the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCP). Participants were chosen from various sampling units categorized by geography, gender, and age group. The selection was facilitated through household registries using a stratified, multistage, clustered probability sampling approach.Results: Data of 16 408 subjects were collected in this study. There were significant differences in gender, economic status, educational level, and sun exposure duration between the tinnitus and non-tinnitus groups. Serum 25(OH) vitamin D level between hearing loss and normal hearing was also significantly different. The logistic regression models with serum 25(OH) vitamin D quartile and tinnitus as the dependent variable, which were controlled for age, sex, smoking status, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, sun exposure, regular exercise, income, and education, eventually demonstrated that serum vitamin D deficiency and low sun exposure duration significantly increased the risk of tinnitus development.Conclusion: This study demonstrated a significant association between serum vitamin D levels and tinnitus, driven by large epidemiological data. The results of our study provide baseline data for further research to investigate the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis and management of tinnitus.

Free-standing and film-type moisture-driven energy generators (MEGs) that harness the preferential interaction of ionized moisture with hydrophilic materials are interesting because of their wearability and portability without needing a water container. However, most such MEGs work in limited humidity conditions, which provide a substantial moisture gradient. Herein, we present a high-performance MEG with sustainable power-production capability in a wide range of environments. The bilayer-based device comprises a negatively surface-charged, hydrophilic MXene (Ti3C2Tx) aerogel and polyacrylamide (PAM) ionic hydrogel. The preferential selection on the MXene aerogel of positive charges supplied from the salts and water in the hydrogel is predicted by the first-principle simulation, which results in a high electric output in a wide relative humidity range from 20% to 95%. Furthermore, by replacing the hydrogel with an organohydrogel of PAM that has excellent water retention and structural stability, a device with long-term electricity generation is realized for more than 15 days in a broad temperature range (from −20 to 80 °C). Our MXene aerogel MEGs connected in series supply sufficient power for commercial electronic components in various outdoor environments. Moreover, an MXene aerogel MEG works as a self-powered sensor for recognizing finger bending and facial expression.

5‐Aryl‐substituted (piperdin‐4‐yl)pyrimidine‐2,4‐diamine derivatives were synthesized and their inhibitory activities were evaluated against TAM kinase (Tyro3, Axl, Mer), respectively. Detailed SAR studies on the fifth position of pyrimidine could lead to the discovery of potent and selective TAM kinase inhibitor. Compounds 6f, 7b, and 7fexhibited potent inhibitory activity and excellent selectivity toward Axl, Tyro3 and Mer kinases. Molecular docking studies corroborated that slight changes of substituents induced dramatic structural change of Met596, 623, 674 backbone carbonyl and amide in the hinge region of Axl, Tyro3, Mer, and resulted in different binding poses of 6f, 7b, and 7f, respectively. It was identified as a strong possibility to control selectivity by structural modification of phenyl substituents of pyrimidine as a new class of TAM kinase inhibitors. Mer kinase inhibitor

Anyone can make and use influenza vaccines instantly within 1 day just by mixing His 6 -hemagglutinin and Ni2+-NTA-functionalized polymeric particle. Resource and time consuming difficult procedures involving the preparation of antigen surface functionalized nanoparticles mimicking viruses for optimum immunogenicity have been the challenges for their actual application. In this context, we developed stable polymeric particles functionalized with Ni2+-NTA via the combination of RAFT emulsion polymerization and polymerization-induced self-assembly (RAFT-PISA), and mixed with recombinant H1 tagged with hexa-histidine (His 6 -H1) for one day to prepare the influenza-mimetic polymeric particles. The RAFT-PISA based polymer particles exhibited good structural stability while the Ni2+-NTA-functionality provided a perfect docking site for the controlled orientation of His 6 -H1. The His 6 -H1 protein immobilization with Ni2+-NTA of the particle was studied with time. In addition, we investigated the immune response of the synthesized vaccine against influenza with varying the mixing time. We expect our system would open new avenues for preparation of influenza-mimetic vaccines like by mixing of a ready-made surface-functionalized particle and recombinant hemagglutinin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic thermoelectric supercapacitors (ITESCs) produce orders of magnitude higher voltages than those of conventional thermoelectrics (TEs) based on the thermo-diffusion of electrons/holes and are therefore attractive for converting low-grade heat into electricity. The stretchability and stability of the whole ITESC are important for wearable heat harvesting applications. Recent studies on ITESC have focused on stretchable ionic TE electrolytes with a giant Seebeck coefficient, but there are no reports of fully stretchable ITESCs for wearable heat harvesting devices due to the lack of stretchable electrodes and stretchable ionic TE electrolytes with stability. Herein, we present a fully stretchable ITESC composed of stable high-performance ionic thermoelectric elastomer (ITE) electrolyte and stretchable gold nanowire (AuNW) electrodes. The ITE shows excellent air stability (> 60 d) in comparison to hydrogel-based electrolytes that are susceptible to dehydration in ambient conditions. Furthermore, the ITE exhibits an apparent thermopower up to 38.9 mV K–1and ionic conductivity of 3.76 × 10–1mS cm–1, which both are maintained up to a tensile strain of 250%. Finally, a fully stretchable ITESC with AuNW electrodes is developed which can harvest energy from thermal gradients during deformations.

Self-powered user-interactive displays that facilitate the visualization of human information acquired by sensors are of great interest in emerging human–machine interface technology with efficient energy consumption. Herein, a self-powered motion-sensing display capable of simultaneously detecting and visualizing finger motions is presented. Our device is based on a one-dimensional photonic crystal of an interpenetrated hydrogel network block copolymer (IHN-BCP) consisting of alternating water-absorbable and non-absorbable lamellae. Triboelectrification is achieved as a function of relative humidity from 30% to 80%. The direct visualization of the humidity is also achieved through the humidity-dependent structural color of the photonic crystal in the full visible range. Furthermore, the humidity-responsive triboelectrification and structural color of our IHN-BCP photonic crystal facilitates the development of a self-powered finger motion-sensing display where diverse gestures of a finger with natural humidity are quantitatively recognized, such as vertical and sliding motion of the finger with simultaneous visualization of the motions in both contact and non-contact modes.

A vinyl-containing macroinimer was prepared in situ by utilizing sulfoxide chemistry in an unprecedented manner and allowed for the one-pot synthesis of hyperbranched polymers. Sulfoxide-protected haloalkanes were prepared, and their transformation into vinyl-functionalized haloalkanes through sulfoxide elimination under various reaction conditions was investigated. The protected haloalkanes were employed as an initiator for supplemental activator and reducing agent atom transfer radical polymerization (SARA ATRP) in a diluted catalytic system to prepare polymers with a high chain-end functionality at a relatively low temperature. Subsequent thermal treatment yielded the macroinimers while preserving the high chain-end functionalities. When the temperature was elevated during the linear polymerization, hyperbranched polymers were afforded in a one-pot process via the in situ generations of the macroinimers. A detailed investigation revealed that the sulfoxide-modified ATRP initiator to protect the vinyl functionality on the polymer chain was successfully utilized for the synthesis of the hyperbranched polymer. This strategy is expected to aid in the synthesis of hyperbranched polymers with a tunable distance between the branch points.