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Background Although the role of the vascular component in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease is widely accepted and retinal vascular abnormalities are commonly observed in Parkinson's disease patients, evidence connecting retinal vascular disorders with the risk of developing Parkinson's disease is limited. We aimed to investigate the association between retinal vascular occlusion (RVO) and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease in people over 60 years using a nationwide cohort. Methods From the 14-year South Korean National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort, 11 210 incident RVO patients and 11 210 propensity scores, risk-matched controls were included. The incidence of Parkinson's disease was estimated with a Poisson regression. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to investigate the associations between RVO and the risk of Parkinson's disease. Results The incidence of Parkinson's disease was 664.4 cases per 100 000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 599.7–736.0) in the RVO cohort. Individuals with RVO had an increased incidence of Parkinson's disease (hazard ratio [HR], 1.28; 95% CI: 1.10–1.49). Increased PD risk was predominantly observed in retinal artery occlusion patients (HR, 1.53; 95% CI: 1.11–2.12), male patients (HR, 1.67; 95% CI: 1.29–2.17), and 5 years after diagnosis (HR, 1.46; 95% CI: 1.10–1.93). Conclusions Our findings suggest that a common pathophysiological pathway, such as vasculature changes, may exist between RVO and Parkinson's disease. RVO may be one of the risk factors associated with future development of Parkinson's disease. The nature of this association warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study investigated the association between sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and the risk of cardio‐cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) among older adults in South Korea. Methods: Data from 38,426 patients in the Korean National Health Insurance Service‐Senior Cohort from 2002 to 2019 were collected. The risk of CCVD includes both stroke and acute myocardial infarction. Propensity score matching (1:1) was used to identify pairs of individuals with and without SSNHL (n = 19,213 for cases and controls). Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze the associations between variables. Results: Patients with SSNHL had a higher risk of CCVD (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11–1.24) compared to those without. The risk of CCVD was higher among those who experienced a stroke than those who did not (HR = 1.17 95% CI = 1.10–1.25). Compared to their matched controls, patients with SSNHL were 1.69 times (HR = 1.69 CI = 1.46–1.94) more likely to have CCVD during the first 12 months of the follow‐up period. Conclusion: Older patients with SSNHL are at an increased risk of CCVD. Hence, a more attentive approach featuring aggressive monitoring of patients with SSNHL is required to lessen their risk of CCVD. Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 134:2372–2376, 2024 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Among the older adults, hearing impairment is a common problem and may contribute to dementia. Objective: Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between hearing impairment and the risk of dementia among older adults in South Korea. Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort from 2005 to 2019, we collected data of 44,728 patients. Hearing impairment was determined using the national disability registry. Propensity score matching (1:1) was performed to match patients with and without hearing impairment (case: 22,364, control: 22,364). A Cox proportional hazards regression model was built to analyze the association between hearing impairment and dementia. Results: Patients with hearing impairment had a higher risk of dementia than those without hearing impairment (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.23–1.34). Assessing the degree of disability, both severe (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.16–1.35) and mild conditions (HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.23–1.35) had an increased risk of dementia, respectively. Conclusions: Older patients with hearing impairment exhibit an increased risk of dementia, thereby warranting a new approach to dementia care among these patients regardless of the degree of hearing impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Downsizing a catalyst nanoparticle (NP) to a single atom (SA) has proven to be highly effective in increasing catalytic activity and decreasing the amount of catalyst required for various electrochemical reactions. However, insufficient stability of the single‐atom site catalysts (SACs) is still a significant challenge for their practical application. Here, SACs firmly bound to stable metal oxide NPs are proposed to dramatically increase the electrochemical activity and stability of SA‐based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Starting from a Ru‐infiltrated, Zr‐based metal‐organic framework (MOF), the tetragonal zirconium oxide (ZrO2‐x) NPs‐embedded carbon matrix is fabricated as support through facile pyrolysis. Simultaneously, Ru SAs as active sites are well dispersed on the surface of ZrO2‐x NPs due to the generation of oxygen vacancies in the tetragonal ZrO2‐x. The Ru‐ZrO2‐x SAC exhibits a 4–5 times higher mass activity than commercial Pt and Ru catalysts and superior durability due to strong metal‐support interaction (SMSI) between Ru atoms and ZrO2‐x substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in electrocatalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) have led to several promising results, including the large‐scale production of low‐carbon fuels. One of the next steps in this route is the generation of economically and scientifically valuable multicarbon (e.g., C4) chemicals. However, this process has rarely been reported to‐date and has generally suffered from a low production rate (jpartial ≤ 0.097 mA cm−2) and Faradaic efficiency (FE) of ≤ 1%. This is largely due to the lack of efficient electrocatalysts for the complicated and interconnected reaction pathway of C4 generation. Herein, CuxIr1–x alloy nanoparticles (NPs) are shown to convert CO2 into (CH3)3COH (t‐BuOH) with a jpartial of 0.207 mA cm–2 at a FE of 14.8%, which is the best performance toward C4 production demonstrated so far. Furthermore, this study proposes a probable mechanism of C4 formation based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The findings suggest that the C4 production is facilitated by the strong electronic interaction between Cu and Ir and the high oxophilicity of the Ir‐rich surface, which enhances the binding strength of oxygen‐bound intermediates. This work opens the potential of Ir‐based alloys for the CO2RR and highlights the production of C4 chemicals beyond the currently available C1–C3 products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their remarkable electrochemical activities, 1T phase transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials have attracted considerable interest in recent decades. However, metastable 1T phases are difficult to prepare and readily change phases. Therefore, for the first time, a monolayer nanotubular 1T Ru dichalcogenide comprising 92% of the 1T phase is synthesized, which is the highest value ever obtained using solvothermal methods. In the tubular geometry, the 1T phase exhibits superior durability against various external stimuli and electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction. According to density‐functional‐theory‐based and molecular dynamics calculations, sufficiently curved architectures can change their bond identities to safely maintain 1T phases, hence providing a strategy for stabilizing metastable phases. The study results form a basis for extensively applying 1T phases and will stimulate interest for applying tubular structures for stabilizing metastable materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress in neurological research has experienced bottlenecks owing to the limited availability of purified primary neurons. Since neuronal cells are non-proliferative, it is necessary to obtain purified neurons from animal models or human patients for experimental work. However, currently available methods for purifying primary neurons are time-consuming (taking approximately 1 week), and suffer from insufficient viability and purity. Here, we report a method for rapid enrichment of neurons from the mouse embryonic dorsal root ganglion (DRG), using a fully-automated continuous centrifugal microfluidics (CCM) based neuron purification disc (NPD). Non-neuronal cells were removed via negative depletion by combining density gradient centrifugation and immunomagnetic separation. The CCM-NPD platform enables effective isolation of intact neurons within 13 min, which is approximately 800 times faster than the conventional chemical purification method. Furthermore, the neurons purified using the CCM-NPD platform showed better neurite growth, along with higher viability (93.5%) and purity (97.0%) after 1 week of culture, compared to the chemical purification method. Therefore, the proposed automated and rapid system yields purified DRG neurons with high viability and purity, while avoiding the use of harsh chemicals. We believe this system will significantly mitigate the shortage of purified primary neurons and advance neurological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In recent years, the aqueous phase reforming (APR) reaction using heterogeneous catalysts has been highlighted as one of possible approaches for converting nonedible biomass into hydrogen for fuel cell application. In this study, we have synthesized the rhenium (Re)‐doped Pt/SiO2 (Pt3Rex/SiO2) (based on weight; x = 1, 3, 5) catalysts for enhancing the APR of organic liquid C5 sugar xylose. Our study showed that the activity of bimetallic Pt‐Re catalysts toward the APR of xylose strongly depends on the level of Re dopant. In particular, the Pt3‐Re1/SiO2 catalyst exhibited the higher H2 selectivity compared to the catalysts having the higher amount of Re dopant (Pt3‐Re2/SiO2 and Pt3‐Re3/SiO2). Furthermore, the oxygen state of ReOx could be modified by changing reduction temperature. The measured hydrogen selectivity and reaction rate could be enhanced when the catalyst was reduced at higher temperature. Especially, the Pt3‐Re1/SiO2 catalyst reduced at 500°C under 10 vol% H2 flow exhibited high catalytic performances close to the theoretical values in the initial stage of the reaction, but its activity was gradually reduced by re‐oxidation of ReOx. From the various analysis results, we can figure out that the presence of metallic state Pt and Re in Pt3Re alloy phase and low oxidation state Re (Re3+) element is responsible for the improved H2 selectivity in Pt3‐Re1/SiO2 catalyst reduced at 500°C. In addition, the density functional theory calculation also predicted that the surface exposure of Pt and Re atoms (rather than oxidized ReOx) can boost the first dehydrogenation of xylose, which is in a good agreement with the experimental observation. This study can provide the optimal oxidation level of Re and Pt in the bimetallic Pt‐Re catalyst to efficiently obtain hydrogen from xylose via APR reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A microfabricated cell-based testing device for electrochemotherapy (ECT) has been developed; it mimics a clinical electroporator with a circular needle array and maintains a similar electric field strength distribution. Until now, the performance between electroporators having two-and six-needle circular array electrodes, which are the general needle-type clinical electroporators for ECT, has not been evaluated systemically, although many studies have investigated the efficacy of ECT on cancer cells. In this study, the cell-based performance on the newly developed ECT testing device was analyzed in two-and six-electrode modes using propidium iodide and bleomycin, and the electroporation characteristics were characterized. With on-chip fluorescence-based assays, the proposed device offers time-and cost-effective experimental procedures compared with conventional assays, and the results can reflect the electric characteristics of clinical electroporators.

Background: Smoking or weight loss is a risk of tuberculosis (TB) development. However, the impact of weight change after smoking cessation on the occurrence of TB remains elusive. We aimed to determine the relationship between weight change after smoking cessation and the risk of TB development. Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study using the national database in Republic of Korea. Of the 10,490,491 subjects who underwent health check-up in 2009, we enrolled 9,953,124 subjects without a previous TB history and followed them until 2017. We divided all study participants into the following three groups: never, former, and current smokers. The primary endpoint was newly developed TB. Results: Among 9,953,124 subjects analyzed, 5,922,845 (59.5%) were never smokers, 1,428,209 (14.4%) were former smokers, and 2,602,080 (26.1%) were current smokers. The risk of TB development was significantly higher in current smokers than in never smokers (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.158; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.131–1.186). Among current smokers, individuals who stopped smoking and maintained weight after baseline evaluation had a significantly lower risk of TB development compared with those who continued to smoke (aHR 0.771; 95% CI 0.741–0.892). However, even after smoking cessation, individuals who lost weight were at a significantly higher risk of TB development compared with those who continued to smoke (aHR 1.327; 95% CI 1.119–1.715). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that smoking is a risk factor for TB and weight maintenance (neither gaining or losing) after quitting smoking might reduce the risk of TB development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we examined electrochemical N2 reduction (N2RR) toward NH3 production on hetero-RuM (M = 3d transition metals) double atom catalysts supported on defective graphene by means of analysis on the geometric ensemble structure, the N2RR mechanism, the decoupling of strain, dopant and configurational effects and the d-orbital resolved density of states (ORDOS) (dz2, dxz, dyz, dxy, and dx2–y2) on the hetero-double atoms. In addition, we computationally screened novel catalysts by exploring 4d, 5d and p block metals as the hetero-M metals in the RuM system. First, we found the significantly enhanced N2RR activity of inclined pentagon M (Fe, Mn, and Sc) double atom catalysts (RuFe has the highest activity) compared to the homo-Ru2 double atom catalyst. Our DFT calculations on the interplay of strain, dopant and configurational effects in the inclined pentagon M (Fe, Mn, and Sc) double atom catalysts predicted that (1) the dopant effect was the promoter to improve the N2RR activity of RuSc and RuMn, (2) the tensile strain (RuSc) tended to reduce the NH3 productivity via the N2RR, while the effect of compressive strain (RuFe and RuMn) was insignificant, and (3) the dopant-support interaction induced a unique inclined pentagon M double atom ensemble structure, which leads to the large reduction of the N2RR activity of the hetero-RuSc double atom but the activity increases for the hetero-RuFe and RuMn cases. Finally, our DFT calculation on the analysis of the p–d (dz2, dxz, dyz, dxy, and dx2–y2) orbital overlap identified the key d orbitals in determining the descriptor (NH2 adsorption energy) for representing the N2RR. That is, the orbitals (dz2, dxz, and dyz) having an orientation toward the z direction in the horizontal Ru2 double atom played an important role in determining the NH2 adsorption process, while for the inclined pentagon M double atoms (RuFe, RuSc, and RuMn), the dxz and dxy orbitals were found to be essential for the modification of NH2 adsorption energy. Finally, a descriptor based DFT search additionally discovered promising hetero-RuOs and RuIr double atom catalysts. This study highlights that the dopant engineering of hetero-double atom catalysts supported on defective graphene can significantly modify the electrochemical reactivity, particularly by the dopant type and geometric ensemble structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]