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Objective: To examine whether patient flow factors in the ED such as prolonged length of stay are associated with hand hygiene (HH) compliance. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study at an urban district hospital utilising available data from January 2018 to December 2021. Compliance to the World Health Organization five moments of HH expressed as percentage of total moments observed were collated every 2 months. Patient flow measures including proportion of patients referred or discharged within 4 h (LOS4), proportion of patients with ED length of stay >24 h (LOS24) and total number of patient presentations, were obtained for each 2‐month periods. The association between these patient flow measures and HH compliance was examined using Pearson's correlation (P < 0.05). Results: The results showed a moderate and significant association between rates of HH compliance and LOS24 (r = −0.48, P = 0.025). That is, lower proportion of patients with ED length of stay >24 h was associated with improved HH compliance. There was no significant correlation between HH compliance and LOS4 (r = 0.38, P = 0.085) or total number of ED presentations (r = −0.30, P = 0.17). Conclusions: The findings show that prolonged ED length of stay may explain, at least partly, lower rates of HH compliance. Improvements in ED HH compliance should also include strategies that enhance patient flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent advances in flexible piezoelectric technologies have sparked a great interest in developing multifunctional next‐generation transducers, which are in high demand for various challenging applications. Here, novel quasi 1–3 piezoelectric films with record‐high piezoelectric voltage coefficients (g33), reaching up to 0.709 Vm N−1, ≈20% greater than the recently reported highest g33 value in the literature, are reported. These composites are constructed via dielectrophoretic alignment of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) particles enhanced by graphene nanoplatelets, leading to densely structured cone‐shaped nanocolumn forests in the thickness direction. To demonstrate its potential applications, both structured and randomly dispersed samples are characterized and used in various applications ranging from energy harvesting to structural and personal health monitoring. Furthermore, when placed on the sensor surface, the oriented piezoelectric films are shown to detect even the slight movements of a small‐sized insect, demonstrating the ultrasensitivity of the system. Finally, to show the scalability of the dielectrophoretic process, a large area sample (12 ft long and 6‐in.‐wide) is also produced continuously via a novel multifunctional custom designed roll‐to‐roll manufacturing line. To the best of the knowledge, this is the largest single piece of piezoelectric film ever reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dedicated bioenergy crops, such as perennial grass and short rotation trees, qualify as cellulosic biofuel feedstocks to meet the requirements for advanced biofuel according to the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard. The utilization of dedicated energy crops for cellulosic biofuels is still in the early stage, at pilot scale, and the existing cellulosic biorefineries are yet to be commercialized. This study develops an agent‐based model to simulate the spatial diffusion of switchgrass (Panicum virgatumL.) adoption in Indiana cropland from 2015 to 2027 under various biofuel market scenarios. Results indicate that it would be economically viable to produce 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 billion liters) cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass annually in Indiana until 2023, given an average annual farm‐gate price of $123.93 t−1 for the feedstock. This study also finds that the high productivity of switchgrass can increase the adoption rates of farmers and secure a stable feedstock supply. It also reveals that the high equipment costs required for scaling up production capacity and the high variable operating cost of cellulosic biofuel production will inhibit the viability of commercializing cellulosic biofuels with a stable supply of feedstock. Financial incentives for cellulosic biofuel production have a significant impact on promoting the adoption of dedicated energy crops in Indiana. This paper provides useful insights for biorefinery development and policy making to facilitate the commercialization of cellulosic biofuels by explaining the effects of the decisions of farmers on the adoption of dedicated energy crops. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorescence detection typically enhances sensitivity and selectivity for fluorescent analytes. The potential for combining fluorescence detection with flow orientation of the sample in the normal configuration of linear dichroism experiments is explored in this work by measuring the fluorescence emitted from flow-orientated DNA-bound ligands and M13 bacteriophage. Data for ethidium bromide, Hoechst 33258, and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenyindole are presented. The theoretical basis of the technique is also presented for instruments running in both the fixed direct-current mode, which is the normal operation mode of circular dichroism spectropolarimeters, and also in fixed high-tension voltage mode. The role of the stray light reaching the detector that results in a spectral shape in fixed direct current mode that resembles the shape of a linear dichroism spectrum, rather than the expected reduced linear dichroism, is also explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-enzymatic oligomerization of activated ribonucleotides leads to ribonucleic acids that contain a mixture of 2′,5′- and 3′,5′-linkages, and overcoming this backbone heterogeneity has long been considered a major limitation to the prebiotic emergence of RNA. Herein, we demonstrate non-enzymatic chemistry that progressively converts 2′,5′-linkages into 3′,5′-linkages through iterative degradation and repair. The energetic costs of this proofreading are met by the hydrolytic turnover of a phosphate activating agent and an acylating agent. With multiple rounds of this energy-dissipative recycling, we show that all-3′,5′-linked duplex RNA can emerge from a backbone heterogeneous mixture, thereby delineating a route that could have driven RNA evolution on the early earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5(4 H)-Oxazolones can be formed through the activation of acylated α-amino acids or of peptide C termini. They constitute potentially activated intermediates in the abiotic chemistry of peptides that preceded the origin of life or early stages of biology and are capable of yielding mixed carboxylic-phosphoric anhydrides upon reaction with phosphate esters and nucleotides. Here, we present the results of a study aimed at investigating the chemistry that can be built through this interaction. As a matter of fact, the formation of mixed anhydrides with mononucleotides and nucleic acid models is shown to take place at positions involving a mono-substituted phosphate group at the 3'- or 5'-terminus but not at the internal phosphodiester linkages. In addition to the formation of mixed anhydrides, the subsequent intramolecular acyl or phosphoryl transfers taking place at the 3'-terminus are considered to be particularly relevant to the common prebiotic chemistry of α-amino acids and nucleotides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Either to sustain autotrophy, or as a prelude to heterotrophy, organic synthesis from an environmentally available C1 feedstock molecule is crucial to the origin of life. Recent findings augment key literature results and suggest that hydrogen cyanide--"Blausäure"--was that feedstock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organische Synthesen aus einer in der Umwelt verfügbaren C1-Quelle, ob nun zur Aufrechterhaltung von Autotrophie oder als Auftakt von Heterotrophie, sind ein zentraler Aspekt in der Frage nach dem Ursprung des Lebens. Neuere Befunde ergänzen Schlüsselergebnisse aus der Literatur und legen nahe, dass Blaus.ure (HCN) dieses Ausgangsmolekül war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of prebiotic chemistry, one of the characteristics of mixed nitrogenous-oxygenous chemistry is its propensity to give rise to highly complex reaction mixtures. There is therefore an urgent need to develop improved spectroscopic techniques if onerous chromatographic separations are to be avoided. One potential avenue is the combination of pure shift methodology, in which NMR spectra are measured with greatly improved resolution by suppressing multiplet structure, with diffusion-ordered spectroscopy, in which NMR signals from different species are distinguished through their different rates of diffusion. Such a combination has the added advantage of working with intact mixtures, allowing analyses to be carried out without perturbing mixtures in which chemical entities are part of a network of reactions in equilibrium. As part of a systems chemistry approach towards investigating the self-assembly of potentially prebiotic small molecules, we have analysed the complex mixture arising from mixing glycolaldehyde and cyanamide, in a first application of pure shift DOSY NMR to the characterisation of a partially unknown reaction composition. The work presented illustrates the potential of pure shift DOSY to be applied to chemistries that give rise to mixtures of compounds in which the NMR signal resolution is poor. The direct formation of potential RNA and TNA nucleoside precursors, amongst other adducts, was observed. These preliminary observations may have implications for the potentially prebiotic assembly chemistry of pyrimidine threonucleotides, and therefore of TNA, by using recently reported chemistries that yield the activated pyridimidine ribonucleotides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A single-beam spectrometer equipped with a photoelastic modulator can be configured to measure a number of different parameters useful in characterizing chemical and biochemical materials including natural and magnetic circular dichroism, linear dichroism, natural and magnetic fluorescence-detected circular dichroism, and fluorescence polarization anisotropy as well as total absorption and fluorescence. The derivations of the mathematical expressions used to extract these parameters from ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light-induced electronic signals in a dichrometer assume that the dichroic signals are sufficiently small that certain mathematical approximations will not introduce significant errors. This article quantifies errors resulting from these assumptions as a function of the magnitude of the dichroic signals. In the case of linear dichroism, improper modulator programming can result in errors greater than those resulting from the assumption of small signal size, whereas for fluorescence polarization anisotropy, improper modulator phase alone gives incorrect results. Modulator phase can also impact the values of total absorbance recorded simultaneously with linear dichroism and total fluorescence. Chirality 24:706-717, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.† [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultures of Mycobacterium vanbaalenii strain PYR-1 in a liquid medium were exposed to the toxic environmental contaminant acridine (260 μM). After incubation for 7 d, the cultures were extracted with ethyl acetate. Metabolites were purified using high-performance liquid chromatography and analyzed by mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Four metabolites, 9,10-dihydroacridine, 4-hydroxyacridine, acridine cis-1,2-dihydrodiol, and acridin-9(10H)-one, were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of the "sexy cover" on trade books of the late 1950s and early 1960s in the evolution of the modern British paperback novel. Topics addressed include the significance of the evolution of jacket artwork in the postwar period, the ways in which the jacket apparatus can play a leading interpretive role for the story, and the differences in the commercial and cultural origins of British and American paperbacks.