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Common bean is one of the widely consumed food security crop in Africa, Asia and South America. It is a rich source of protein, minerals and micronutrients. High genotype by environment interaction is one of the main challenge in breeding for high grain micronutrient concentration. The objective of this study was to estimate SNP markers associated with grain Fe and Zn concentration using 289 common bean genotypes and 11,480 SNP markers. The study revealed that 43 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were associated with grain Fe and Zn concentration. Five quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs), that is, QTN Fe_1.1, QTN Fe_6.3, QTN Fe_6.5, QTN Fe_10.3 and QTN Fe_11.6 were detected both at Haramaya and Melkassa locations. Two of the markers, that is, QTN Fe_6.3 and QTN Fe_6.5, were located on chromosome 06 while QTN Fe_1.1, QTN Fe_10.3 and QTN Fe_ 11.6 were residing on chromosomes 01, 10 and 11, respectively. Among these, QTN Fe_11.6 had a large and positive consistent effect across locations. The five stable QTNs along with the potential candidate genes could be used for Fe biofortification through marker assisted selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐detectivity and stable photodetectors (PDs) have been intensively concerned in the field of wireless optical communication, among which perovskite material has become a prospective candidate owing to its outstanding photoelectric properties. However, the defects and mismatched energy levels of perovskite material can significantly reduce the detectivity and stability of PDs. Herein, the CsPbBr2I quantum dots (CQDs) with the surface modulation via potassium trifluoroacetate (KTFA) are utilized to deserve high‐detectivity and stable PDs. The surface modulation for CQDs not only passivates defects by inhibiting vacancies, but also enhances hole transport capacity by modulating energy level mismatch. As a result, the assembled CsPbBr2I PDs show a responsivity of 0.375 A W−1, a detectivity of 1.12 × 1013 Jones and an on/off ratio of 104. More importantly, the CsPbBr2I PDs exhibit excellent long‐term stability for 12 weeks and can withstand 1000 bending cycles. This work provides a guideline for the development of perovskite in wireless optical communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A standing X-ray is recommended for decision-making relative to the therapy for a traumatic thoracolumbar fracture (TLF). However, standing X-ray management can be demanding in elderly patients because of pain. The goal of this study was to determine whether supine radiograph is sufficient for proper therapeutic decision-making in patients older than 65 years with acute stable traumatic TLF. Methods Patients older than 65 years who came to the emergency department diagnosed with an acute and stable traumatic vertebral fracture between T10 and L3 (both included) were included in the study. Initially, all the patients were studied with a supine radiograph and computed tomography (CT) scan. If the TLF was stable, a standing radiograph was performed. Segmental kyphosis (SK) and visual analog scale (VAS) score were collected and compared in both the supine and standing X-ray projections. Results Twenty-seven patients with a mean age of 76.39 (range: 65–93) years were included; most were females. The mean supine SK was 10.14degrees (SD±7.22degrees). It increased to 12.97 (SD±8.61degrees) in the standing projection (p <0.001). In 37.1% of the patients, the SK increased from 13.22degrees (SD±7.21degrees) in supine X-ray to 19.96degrees (SD±5.34degrees) in the standing position in this group. When the initial supine projection showed an SK of ≥10degrees, the mean SK observed in the standing X-ray increased to 20.5degrees (SD±5.30, p =0.321). Conclusion Stable traumatic TLF in patients older than 65 years showing ≥10degrees of SK in supine radiography may benefit from a standing radiography to make a proper therapeutic decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains common in endemic regions, causing significant healthcare burden. Patients with CHB may need to be adherent to nucleoside analogue (NA) for a long period of time to prevent complications. This study aims to investigate the safety, efficacy and patient experience of a virtual monitoring clinic (VMC) in monitoring stable patients taking NA for CHB. Methods: Patients on NA and regular follow-up were randomised to either VMC alternating with doctors' clinic visit or to a control group in which they continued standard follow-up by doctors. Therapy adherence was measured by medication possession ratio (MPR) for NA therapy, incidence of virological breakthrough and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development at two years of follow-up. Patient acceptance was measured on a Likert scale of 1–10. Results: A total 192 patients completed follow-up: 94 and 98 patients in the VMC and control groups, respectively. Mean age was 60.6 ± 10.8 years, with 95.3% Chinese ethnicity and 64.1% males. Age, gender, race, educational, employment and financial status were similar in both groups. Upon study completion, the majority of patients – 76 (80.9%) in VMC group and 74 (75.5%) in control group – had MPR ≥0.8; 88.8% were satisfied and rated VMC better than a traditional follow-up clinic with doctors only. More than 85% of patients rated ≥8/10 on the Likert scale for VMC, and preferred VMC over traditional clinic visits. Clinical outcomes observed were HCC development in one (1.1%) in the VMC group and four (4.1%) in the control group (p = 0.369). Two (2.1%) and one (1.0%) virological breakthroughs were observed in the VMC and control groups, respectively (p = 0.615). No incidence of HCC or abnormal blood tests were missed in the VMC arm. Discussion: VMC is a viable and safe clinical model for monitoring stable CHB patients on NA therapy without compromising patients' adherence to medications and is preferred by patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Vitiligo is a chronic acquired disorder resulting from the destruction of epidermal melanocytes owing to multifactorial causes. Various cytokines play a central role in its pathogenesis. Interleukin (IL)-33 has an essential role in different autoimmune diseases; however, scarce data are available about its role in vitiligo as an activity marker. Objective To evaluate serum IL-33 levels in patients with active and stable vitiligo. Patients and methods A case-control study was conducted on 75 participants: 25 patients with active nonsegmental vitiligo (NSV), 25 with stable NSV, and 25 age-matched and sexmatched controls. The disease characteristics of vitiligo were reported regarding activity, duration, type, and extent. The vitiligo disease activity (VIDA) score was used to evaluate the disease activity. The serum level of IL-33 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in all groups. Results The serum IL-33 levels showed no significant difference (P=0.996) between active cases (mean=1378±1102.66 ng/l) and stable NSV cases (mean=1397±948.97 ng/l); however, a highly significant difference (P<0.001) was found between active/stable cases and controls (mean=230.00±55.90 ng/l). No relation was found between IL-33 levels and the patient's age (P=0.288), duration of vitiligo (P=0.67), duration of last activity (P=0.149), VIDA score (P=0.377), vitiligo extent (P=0.377), sex (P=0.217), or vitiligo types (P=0.383). Conclusion IL-33 may have a pivotal role in the immune dysregulation of NSV vitiligo. However, it cannot be used as a discriminating serum marker between active and stable cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of treatment effects is one of the crucial mainstays in economics and sociology studies. The problem will become more serious and complicated if the treatment variable is endogenous for the presence of unobserved confounding. The estimation and conclusion are likely to be biased and misleading if the endogeny of treatment variable is ignored. In this article, we propose the pseudo maximum likelihood method to estimate treatment effects in nonlinear models. The proposed method allows the unobserved confounding and random error terms to exist in an arbitrary relationship (such as, add or multiply), and the unobserved confounding have different influence directions on treatment variables and outcome variables. The proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. Simulation studies show that the proposed estimator performs better than the special regression estimator, and the proposed method is stable for various distribution of error terms. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the real data that studies the influence of individuals have health insurance on an individual's decision to visit a doctor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that flexible temperature sensors, which can be mechanically deformed, are used for the fabrication of next‐generation smart electronics over the past few years, the improvement in their sensitivity and stability remains a major challenge. Along these lines, in this work, an all‐inorganic flexible temperature sensor consisting of MnCoNiO (MCNO) spinel structural ceramics film and a flexible 40 µm‐thick mica substrate is fabricated. By precisely controlling the production process, the pure spinel phase MCNO/mica films with low defect density can be obtained. In addition, the activation energy of the proposed flexible ceramic temperature sensor film remains stable in the natural bending state and at radii of curvature of 10, 15, and 20 mm, respectively, accordingly, B25/50 is relatively stable around the range of 3450–3550 K. Meanwhile, its sensitivity temperature coefficient of resistance value reaches −3.9% °C−1. More specifically, ΔB25/50 is less than 1.83%, 1.57%, and 1.32% after thermal shock, application of the bending cycle, and vibration, respectively. The superior performance of this all‐inorganic ceramic film is due to the excellent bonding between the film and the substrate. This work provides an alternative approach to exploit the development of the next‐generation high‐sensitivity flexible electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this manuscript is to review recent trends in the management of acute type B aortic dissection. Due to its efficacy and low morbidity, thoracic endografting has rapidly been adopted as the treatment of choice for most patients with malperfusion or rupture as a consequence of acute aortic dissection. This technology is increasingly applied to patients without rupture or malperfusion, so-called "uncomplicated" dissections, to reduce the incidence of late aneurysmal degeneration in the ungrafted segments of the thoracoabdominal aorta. A variety of techniques have been proposed, including intentional rupture of the dissection membrane to obliterate the false lumen as well as the candy-plug technique to eliminate retrograde flow in the false lumen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, we introduce the notion of free boundary constant p-mean curvature (CPMC) surface in a 3-dimensional pseudohermitian manifold N with boundary M. It arises as the critical point of p-area among surfaces which divides N into two subsets of preassigned volumes and whose boundary is free to move in M. We introduce a stability criterion for free boundary CPMC surfaces. When M is the Pansu sphere S 1 in the Heisenberg group H 1 and N is the interior of M, we find examples of free boundary CPMC surfaces which are rotationally symmetric about the t-axis of H 1 . Besides the stable p-minimal disk { t = 0 } ∩ N , there exist Pansu spherical caps which are stable free boundary CPMC surfaces intersecting S 1 . We conclude the paper by two analogous problems as those for free boundary CMC surfaces intersecting with the Euclidean 2-sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Heston–Hull–White three-dimensional time-dependent partial differential equation (PDE) is one of the important models in mathematical finance, at which not only the volatility is modeled based on a stochastic process but also the rate of interest is assumed to follow a stochastic dynamic. Hence, an efficient method is derived in this paper based on the methodology of the localized radial basis function generated finite difference (RBF-FD) scheme. The proposed solver uses the RBF-FD approximations on graded meshes along all three spatial variables and a high order time-stepping scheme. Stability is also studied in detail to show under what conditions the proposed method is stable. Computational simulations are given to support the theoretical discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For open-loop stable processes, the internal model control (IMC) provides a simple and effective parameterisation of stabilising controllers. However, for unstable processes, it cannot be directly used for control system implementation. In this paper, a new unified approach for the IMC design is proposed for stable, unstable and integrating processes, using the modified IMC (m-IMC) structure in which an additional controller K (s) is introduced along with the basic IMC. Also, the partial IMC (PIMC) concept is utilised, wherein we write the plant as the summation of stable and unstable parts and consider only the stable part as the internal model. The combined approach is thereby referred to as modified partial IMC (m-PIMC). This paper presents a graphical method to obtain controller parameters for the proposed m-PIMC to satisfy the given gain margin ( A m ) and phase margin ( ϕ m ) specifications. Further, stability boundary and robust boundary for the controller parameters are obtained which respectively give a set of all controller parameters stabilising the close loop and a set of all controller parameters ensuring robust stability. Seven different well-known standard stable, unstable and integrating process models are considered for the proposed m-PIMC design, and simulation examples are given for four selected plant models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study an optimally accurate second-order time-stepping algorithm for nonstationary magneto-hydrodynamics equations. The algorithm deals with a linear treatment for the nonlinear terms in both momentum equations and magnetic equations, and adds some stabilization terms of the discrete solutions for the velocity, the pressure and the magnetic. We derive that this algorithm satisfies unconditionally stable and optimally accurate error estimate. Numerical tests are given to validate the predicted convergence rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is widely used in the diagnostic work-up of patients with stable chest pain. CCTA has an excellent negative predictive value, but a moderate positive predictive value for detecting coronary stenosis. Computed tomography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFRct) is a non-invasive, well-validated technique that provides functional assessment of coronary stenosis, improving the positive predictive value of CCTA. However, to determine the value of FFRct in routine clinical practice, a pragmatic randomised, controlled trial (RCT) is required. We will conduct an RCT to investigate the impact of adding FFRct analysis in the diagnostic pathway of patients with a coronary stenosis on CCTA on the rate of unnecessary invasive coronary angiography, cost-effectiveness, quality of life and clinical outcome. Methods: The FUSION trial is a prospective, multicentre RCT that will randomise 528 patients with stable chest pain and anatomical stenosis of ≥ 50% but < 90% in at least one coronary artery of ≥ 2 mm on CCTA, to FFRct-guided care or usual care in a 1:1 ratio. Follow-up will be 1 year. The primary endpoint is the rate of unnecessary invasive coronary angiography within 90 days. Conclusion: The FUSION trial will evaluate the use of FFRct in stable chest pain patients from the Dutch perspective. The trial is funded by the Dutch National Health Care Institute as part of the research programme 'Potentially Promising Care' and the results will be used to assess if FFRct reimbursement should be included in the standard health care package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of COPD by interfering with the protease/antiprotease and oxidant/antioxidant balance. There is no adequate data about the relationship between oxidative stress biomarkers and FEV1 values in stable COPD patients. Prospective cohort study, designed in tertiary care chest disease hospitals' outpatient clinic. COPD patients were approved informed consent were included in the study. The total antioxidant status (TAS,), total oxidant status (TOS), total thiol (TT), native thiol (NT), IL1 IL6, and TNFα levels were measured. The mean age of 33 COPD patients who joined the study was 61±9,32 years, while their average body mass index (BMI) was 27±4,31 kg/m2. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of age, gender, weight, smoking status and comorbidities. According to the results of the analysis, there was a statistically significant difference in TOS, TAS, oxidative stress index (OSI), TT, NT, DIS, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα between the control and COPD patient groups (p [Med-Science 2022; 11(2.000): 770-74]

Abstract Despite the fact that flexible temperature sensors, which can be mechanically deformed, are used for the fabrication of next‐generation smart electronics over the past few years, the improvement in their sensitivity and stability remains a major challenge. Along these lines, in this work, an all‐inorganic flexible temperature sensor consisting of MnCoNiO (MCNO) spinel structural ceramics film and a flexible 40 µm‐thick mica substrate is fabricated. By precisely controlling the production process, the pure spinel phase MCNO/mica films with low defect density can be obtained. In addition, the activation energy of the proposed flexible ceramic temperature sensor film remains stable in the natural bending state and at radii of curvature of 10, 15, and 20 mm, respectively, accordingly, B25/50 is relatively stable around the range of 3450–3550 K. Meanwhile, its sensitivity temperature coefficient of resistance value reaches −3.9% °C−1. More specifically, ΔB25/50 is less than 1.83%, 1.57%, and 1.32% after thermal shock, application of the bending cycle, and vibration, respectively. The superior performance of this all‐inorganic ceramic film is due to the excellent bonding between the film and the substrate. This work provides an alternative approach to exploit the development of the next‐generation high‐sensitivity flexible electronic devices.

Titanium-oxo-clusters (TOCs), due to its precise, tunable structure and rich properties, have been widely used in many fields. However, application of TOCs is greatly limited in biomedical area owing to the impact of its own performances, for example, unstable structure, lack of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties required as biomedical materials. In this work, we developed a novel stable, excellent antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties Ag-Titanium-oxo-cluster (Ag-TOC, Ag9Ti4) with active site Ag and salicylic acid by one-step solvothermal method, through introducing silver and salicylic acid. Then, the Ag9Ti4 cluster was introduced into the dopamine-containing hydrogel system, the results in vitro indicated this Ag9Ti4 cluster hydrogel system possesses good antibacterial and photothermal properties. Moreover, the results in vivo indicated the Ag9Ti4 hydrogel system showed better anti-inflammatory and wound healing ability under NIR condition. Combined with its excellent properties, we believed that the construction of antibacterial, photothermal and stable Ag-TOC hydrogel system can provide a new strategy for the expanding biomedical applications of TOCs.

Advection schemes with time step restrictions are widely used in weather and climate models. This can lead to instability in the presence of high flow speeds (relative to mesh spacing) such as occurs in convective updraughts, regions of mesh convergence, or where the winds are unusually high. An adaptively implicit advection scheme is proposed that treats advection implicitly only where the Courant number is high. Flux correction to ensure monotonicity is adapted to work with implicit time stepping. A version of the multidimensional positive‐definite advection transport algorithm MPDATA is derived with an anti‐diffusive flux compensating truncation errors of off‐centred implicit time stepping. The anti‐diffusive flux is gradually reduced as Courant numbers increase above 2 in order to maintain stability at the expense of second‐order accuracy at high Courant numbers. Results of two‐dimensional advection by deformational flow are presented on various meshes of the sphere. Stability and second‐order accuracy are maintained when the Courant number is over 100 in a small region, when strong wind crosses the poles of a rotated latitude–longitude mesh. Good solutions are also obtained on a skipped latitude–longitude mesh, a cubed sphere, and hexagonal meshes. Accuracy reverts to first order when Courant numbers are large over a large fraction of the domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set S ⊆ V (G) of an undirected graph G is a locating-dominating set of G if for each v ∈ V (G) \ S, there exists w ∈ S such tha vw ∈ E(G) and NG(x) ∩ S ̸= NG(y) ∩ S for any two distinct vertices x and y in V (G) \ S. S is a stable locating-dominating set of G if it is a locating-dominating set of G and S \ {v} is a locating-dominating set of G for each v ∈ S. The minimum cardinality of a stable locating-dominating set of G, denoted by γSLD(G), is called the stable locating-domination number of G. In this paper, we investigate this concept and the corresponding parameter for edge corona and lexicographic product of graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The goal of this paper is to reveal numerically the generalized Henon-Heiles system, that is, in the seventh-degree potential function where the smallest body mass varies. Utilizing the seventh degree potential function, we determine the equations of motion for the variable mass generalized Henon-Heiles system. Then we perform the graphical works such as locations of parking points, allowed regions of motion, and attracting domain basins. Lastly, using the Meshcherskii space transformations, we investigate stability states for these parking points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials continue to attract significant interest due to their optoelectronic application. However, the degradation phenomenon associated with hybrid structures remains a challenging aspect of commercialization. To overcome the stability issue, we have assembled the methylammonium lead bromide nano islands (MNIs) on the backbone of poly-3-dodecyl-thiophene (PDT) for the first time. The structural and morphological properties of the MNI-PDT composite were confirmed with the aid of X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optical properties, namely absorption studies, were carried out by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The fluorescent behavior is determined by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The emission peak for the MNI-PDT was observed at 536 nm. The morphology studies supported by FESEM indicated that the nano islands are completely covered on the surface of the polymer backbone, making the hybrid (MNI-PDT) stable under environmental conditions for three months. The interfacial interaction strategy developed in the present work will provide a new approach for the stabilization of hybrids for a longer time duration.

Idiopathic slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) is a known disorder in pre/adolescent children with vague hip/knee pain. We wished to study the demographic differences between stable varus, unstable varus, and valgus idiopathic SCFEs using a retrospective review over a 10-year period of SCFE children seen at a tertiary children’s hospital. Standard demographic data was collected, and radiographs were measured to determine the Southwick angle and status of the tri-radiate cartilage. There were 190 patients; 138 had stable varus SCFEs, 45 unstable varus SCFEs, and 7 valgus SCFEs. All unstable SCFEs were varus, and all valgus SCFEs were stable. There were significant differences between the three groups by age at diagnosis, sex, race, SCFE severity, weight percentile, and duration of symptoms. The average age at diagnosis was 11.0 ± 1.2, 11.8 ± 1.8, and 12.3 ± 1.7 years for the valgus, unstable varus, and stable varus groups (p = 0.019), and similarly, SCFE severity was 25° ± 15°, 48° ± 18°, and 35° ± 19° (p = 0.0002) for the three same groups. Patients with valgus SCFEs were mostly female (86%) compared to the stable varus (39.9%) and unstable (47%) groups (p = 0.05) and mostly non-White (86%) (0.011). The duration of symptoms was 4.1 ± 4.1, 2.3 ± 5.0, and 4.5 ± 5.0 months for the valgus, unstable varus, and stable varus groups (p = 0.00005). These three types of idiopathic SCFEs demonstrated differences by age at diagnosis, sex, race, weight percentile, and duration of symptoms.

Background: Intertrochanteric fractures of femur are one of the most common fractures encountered in the elderly population. Dynamic hip screw (DHS) with a side plate is the standard modality of treatment especially in the case of stable fractures because it creates a controlled collapse at fracture site, leading to union. A comparative study between minimally invasive surgical technique with the conventional surgical technique for the fixation of intertrochanteric fractures with the DHS device was done. Methods: Thirty patients with stable intertrochanteric fractures (31A1.1, 31A1.2, and 31A1.3) were treated with the conventional open technique and another thirty with a new minimally invasive technique. Patients in both groups were followed up for at least 9 months. Results: There was less preoperative and postoperative blood loss, less soft-tissue destruction, less pain postoperatively, shorter hospital stays, and early mobilization and faster union with the minimally invasive technique. Conclusion: The study concludes that minimally invasive technique is superior to conventional (open) DHS in stable fractures.

The clinical concept of coronary artery disease (CAD) has seen a paradigm shift over the last decade. CAD is mostly a progressive disease, and patients with CAD can develop acute coronary syndromes at any point in disease progression. In this clinical context, a new term, “chronic coronary syndrome,” was published in the 2019 European Society of Cardiology guidelines, reflecting the importance of early diagnosis and active management. Recent advances have been made in the evaluation of CAD using coronary CT angiography (CCTA). The clinical usefulness of CCTA in patients with stable angina or chronic coronary syndrome begins with the detection of early asymptomatic CAD. The characterization of atherosclerotic plaque and its role in determining treatment strategies for CAD have been demonstrated for all stages of the disease. This review describes the pathophysiology of stable angina to aid in the understanding of the clinical applications of CCTA.

Background: Peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and macular ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer thinning are markers of neuroaxonal degeneration in multiple sclerosis. Objective: We aimed to investigate the value of peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer thinning for prediction of long-term disability. Methods: This is a 6-year prospective longitudinal study on 93 multiple sclerosis patients. Optical coherence tomography scans were performed at baseline, after 1, 2 and 6 years. Primary endpoint was disability progression after 6 years, defined as expanded disability status scale worsening and/or cognitive deterioration. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to investigate the value of peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer to predict the primary endpoint. Results: A total of 57 (61.3%) patients had disability worsening, 40 (43.0%) expanded disability status scale worsening and 34 (36.6%) cognitive deterioration. Mean peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer baseline thickness were 93.0 and 75.2 µm, and mean annualised peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer thinning rates over 6 years were 1.3 and 1.6 µm, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed lower peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer baseline thickness and higher annualised thinning rates in patients with disability progression after 6 years. Effects were more pronounced for ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer and expanded disability status scale worsening than for peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer models and cognitive deterioration. Conclusion: Ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer measurements depict neurodegeneration and predict disability progression in multiple sclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The all‐inorganic CsPbX3 (X—Cl, Br, I) perovskite has the potential to solve the practical issues of environmental instability due to the presence of hygroscopic organic cations in the hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites. The promising CsPbX3 perovskite exists in different crystallographic phases depending upon the composition and processing conditions which potentially impact the film morphology, device efficiency, and stability. Stabilizing the black metastable phase at room temperature has substantially solved the problem of high crystallization temperature, which is the main roadblock in managing the control over morphology and also the choice of the underlying charge transporting layers. Despite this progress, most of the works have not mentioned all the signatures of the metastable lower temperature black phase. In this focused review, the difference between the processing conditions to achieve different phases of not only the CsPbI3 but also the other halogen counterparts is analyzed. Additionally, progress done for each combination of halides is presented and the best processing conditions for each combination of halides are summarized. Finally, their photophysical properties are analyzed and the current state of inorganic perovskites in solar cell applications is presented, and a roadmap is put forward for all inorganic CsPbX3 perovskite‐based commercial photovoltaics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The essential design concern of a sensor network is to balance energy consumption of sensor nodes (SNs) to prolong the network lifetime. Many research works cited that clustering techniques efficiently utilize the network's energy resource by organizing SNS into groups of clusters and benefits in reduced data transmission. An extensively used category of cluster‐based protocols is the probabilistic clustering technique in which a preset optimum likelihood is used to facilitate the selection procedure of cluster head (CH). These clustering techniques suffer from non‐uniform dissemination of CH, which leads to uneven load balance and uneven energy consumption of SNs during network activities like data transmitting and data receiving. This causes an energy‐hole problem and reduces network lifetime. In order to solve these issues, we have focused on to design a balanced cluster‐based data aggregation and formulate a method that increases the energy efficiency of probabilistic clustering techniques by optimizing the number of clusters and the dissemination of CHs in the sensor network. The simulation analysis proves that the proposed technique accomplishes significantly enhanced than the existing works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient microplasma chemistry method to synthesize highly stable Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) that can be stored for 2 months is presented. The sucrose, maltose, lactose, and glucose are applied to stablize the produced AgNPs, respectively, and the pH value of the solution is controlled by using NaHCO3 with different concentrations. It can be concluded that AgNPs with different sizes can be achieved by selecting different stabilizers and adjusting the pH value of solution. Finally, by checking the UV absorbance of AgNPs solution within 2 months, the stability of the AgNPs is investigated. It is found that the stability of AgNPs in water solution can also be improved by changing the pH of the solution and the kind of colloidal stabilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) is crucial for their applications in demanding environments. However, increasing the stability of COFs often comes with challenges such as higher synthesis difficulty, lower crystal quality, and reduced controllability during synthesis, making it difficult to regulate dimensions and morphology, thereby impacting the processing and shaping of stable COFs. Herein, the study presents a novel confined polymerization approach guided by hydrogen bonding preassembly to synthesize a soluble and stable COF featuring β-ketoenamine linkage. The presence of relatively weaker hydrogen bonds accelerates the orderly arrangement of monomers, ensuring appropriate spacing, and orientations among functional groups. This facilitates efficient covalent polymerization, leading to the creation of the framework while minimizing the "self-correction" mechanism during crystal growth, thereby enhancing the efficiency of COF synthesis. Furthermore, this method offers precise control over the size of the synthesized COF. The resulting crystalline COF can be toggled between dissolution and precipitation states, facilitating the fabrication of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) through leveraging the solubility properties of COF. Overall, this pioneering strategy yields valuable insights for advancing weak bond assembly-mediated confined polymerization approaches, the controlled synthesis of stable COFs, and the preparation and processing of soluble COFs in diverse applications., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

In this study, an individualized and stable passive-control lower-limb exoskeleton robot was developed. Users' joint angles and the center of pressure (CoP) of one of their soles were input into a convolutional neural network (CNN)-long short-term memory (LSTM) model to evaluate and adjust the exoskeleton control scheme. The CNN-LSTM model predicted the fitness of the control scheme and output the results to the exoskeleton robot, which modified its control parameters accordingly to enhance walking stability. The sole's CoP had similar trends during normal walking and passive walking with the developed exoskeleton; the y -coordinates of the CoPs with and without the exoskeleton had a correlation of 91%. Moreover, electromyography signals from the rectus femoris muscle revealed that it exerted 40% less force when walking with a stable stride length in the developed system than when walking with an unstable stride length. Therefore, the developed lower-limb exoskeleton can be used to assist users in achieving balanced and stable walking with reduced force application. In the future, this exoskeleton can be used by patients with stroke and lower-limb weakness to achieve stable walking., (© 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are one of the promising building blocks to realize next-generation bioelectronics. To date, however, the performance and signal processing capabilities of these devices remain limited by their stability and speed. Herein, the authors demonstrate stable and fast n-type organic electrochemical transistors based on a side-chain-free ladder polymer, poly(benzimidazoanthradiisoquinolinedione). The device demonstrated fast normalized transient speed of 0.56 ± 0.17 ms um -2 and excellent long-term stability in aqueous electrolytes, with no significant drop in its doping current after 50 000 successive doping/dedoping cycles and 2-month storage at ambient conditions. These unique characteristics make this polymer especially suitable for bioelectronics, such as being used as a pull-down channel in a complementary inverter for long-term stable detection of electrophysiological signals. Moreover, the developed device shows a reversible anti-ambipolar behavior, enabling reconfigurable electronics to be realized using a single material. These results go beyond the conventional OECT and demonstrate the potential of OECTs to exhibit dynamically configurable functionalities for next-generation reconfigurable electronics., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The energy demand generated by fossil fuels is increasing day by day, and it has drastically increased after the COVID-19 pandemic as industries and household utilities rejuvenate. Renewable sources are thus becoming more essential as easily available, alternative methods of low-cost energy generation. Among these renewables, solar energy, i.e., solar power, is a promising energy source and can be used for solar-based H2 evolution because H2 technology is a leading source of eco-friendly electricity generation, and most of the worldwide efforts to develop this method involve heterogeneous catalysis for H2 evolution via water splitting and its storage, i.e., using a fuel cell. In the current scenario, there is a need to develop a stable, recyclable, and reusable heterogeneous catalyst system, which is a great challenge. In the current study, we have focused on novel ferrite magnetic nanomaterials for recyclable and reusable robust photocatalysis. Moreover, discussions of the factors contributing to the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, low-cost synthesis techniques, and prospects for making them ideal photocatalysts are uncommon in the literature. The study will impart possible approaches for the design and development of novel ferrite nanomaterials and their nanocomposites for H2 generation in the forthcoming years.

Objective: To observe the effect of Bufei Huoxue Capsule combined with ambroxol hydrochloride on pulmonary function, sleep quality and immune function in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: A total of 120 patients with stable COPD who were admitted to our hospital from March 2018 to March 2021 were selected, and the patients were randomly divided into control group (treated with ambroxol hydrochloride, 60 cases) and study group (treated with ambroxol hydrochloride, 60 cases) according to computer-generated random data. Treated with Bufei Huoxue Capsules combined with ambroxol hydrochloride, 60 cases), both groups were treated for 3 months. The changes of curative effect, lung function, sleep quality and immune function in the two groups were observed, and the occurrence of adverse reactions in the two groups was observed. RESULTS: Comparing the total clinical effective rate between the two groups, the research group was higher than the control group (P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), maximum expiratory flow (PEF) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score in the study group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, CD8+ in the study group was lower than that in the control group, and CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the symptom and sign scores of the study group were lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Combined treatment of ambroxol hydrochloride and Bufei Huoxue capsule can improve lung function, immune function and sleep quality in patients with stable COPD, and the curative effect is reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound is a useful method to obtain the stable form for polymorph systems. The stable crystal form of glycine as a model compound in cooling crystallization using ultrasound is studied. The form of the crystal products is characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction. The influences of ultrasound process parameters, including the ultrasound treating timing, treating mode, power density and duration, on the γ‐glycine in cooling crystallization are conducted. The nucleation moment when a "critical size of cluster" is formed is the most effective moment for the ultrasound treatment, and at the same time produces more stable form. Pulse treating mode can effectively solve the ultrasound thermal effect problem. The total energy input and duration has a peak value in promoting the form transformation in practice. The mechanism of the ultrasound in promoting the stable form formation is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates have received more and more attention for their non‐invasive sample collection ability. However, majority of them have poor stability and reproducibility because noble metal is easily oxidized and led to lose SERS activity. Herein, SiO2‐TiO2‐Ag hybrids aerogel (STAHA) material is first applied as a flexible SERS substrate for explosives and dyes long‐term sensitive detection. The sensitive non‐invasive detection of 3‐nitro‐1, 2, 4‐triazol‐5‐one (NTO) residues can be achieved with a limit of 1 × 10−6 m by wiping sample collection method. Meanwhile, similar SERS sensitivity from long‐term (50 days) kept substrates is observed compared with fresh‐made substrates. This long‐term sensitivity is contributed to electronic transfer compensation from TiO2 aerogel. This proposed flexible STAHA enrich the type of SERS substrates, and their long‐term sensitivity can provide a prospective application for trace analyses of explosives and other hazardous residues in criminal forensic, military, and security check. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of COPD by interfering with the protease/antiprotease and oxidant/antioxidant balance. There is no adequate data about the relationship between oxidative stress biomarkers and FEV1 values in stable COPD patients. Prospective cohort study, designed in tertiary care chest disease hospitals' outpatient clinic. COPD patients were approved informed consent were included in the study. The total antioxidant status (TAS,), total oxidant status (TOS), total thiol (TT), native thiol (NT), IL1 IL6, and TNFα levels were measured. The mean age of 33 COPD patients who joined the study was 61±9,32 years, while their average body mass index (BMI) was 27±4,31 kg/m2. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of age, gender, weight, smoking status and comorbidities. According to the results of the analysis, there was a statistically significant difference in TOS, TAS, oxidative stress index (OSI), TT, NT, DIS, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα between the control and COPD patient groups (p<0.001 for all variables). Compared to healthy controls, COPD patients had greater TOS, OSI, disulfide (DIS), IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα levels. Healthy controls, had considerably higher TAS, TT, and NT values than the COPD group. No significant correlation was detected between the pulmonary function test results and oxidative stress markers. In conclusion, no significant correlation was detected between the pulmonary function test results and oxidative stress markers besides TOS was increased while TAS was decreased, in accordance with the pathophysiology of COPD, oxidative stress markers can also be utilized in COPD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous organic redox flow batteries are promising candidates for large‐scale energy storage. However, the design of stable and inexpensive electrolytes is challenging. Here, we report a highly stable, low redox potential, and potentially inexpensive negolyte species, sodium 3,3′,3′′,3′′′‐((9,10‐anthraquinone‐2,6‐diyl)bis(azanetriyl))tetrakis(propane‐1‐sulfonate) (2,6‐N‐TSAQ), which is synthesized in a single step from inexpensive precursors. Pairing 2,6‐N‐TSAQ with potassium ferrocyanide at pH=14 yielded a battery with the highest open‐circuit voltage, 1.14 V, of any anthraquinone‐based cell with a capacity fade rate <10 %/yr. When 2,6‐N‐TSAQ was cycled at neutral pH, it exhibited two orders of magnitude higher capacity fade rate. The great difference in anthraquinone cycling stability at different pH is interpreted in terms of the thermodynamics of the anthrone formation reaction. This work shows the great potential of organic synthetic chemistry for the development of viable flow battery electrolytes and demonstrates the remarkable performance improvements achievable with an understanding of decomposition mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The design of highly active and stable RuO2-based nanostructures for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is extremely important for the development of water electrolysis technology, yet remains great challenges. We here demonstrate that the incorporation of S into RuCuO nanorings (NRs) can significantly enhance the acidic OER performance. Experimental investigations show that the incorporation of S can optimize the interaction of Ru and O, and therefore significantly suppresses the dissolution of Ru in acidic condition. The optimized catalyst (SH-RuCuO NRs) displays superior OER performance to the commercial RuO2/C. Impressively, the SH-RuCuO NRs can exhibit significantly enhanced stability for 3,000 cycles of cyclic voltammetry test and more than 250 h chronopotentiometry test at 10 mA·cm−2 in 0.5 M H2SO4. This work highlights a potential strategy for designing active and stable RuO2-based electrocatalysts for acidic OER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal halide perovskites have recently been reported as excellent scintillators for X-ray detection. However, perovskite based scintillators are susceptible to moisture and oxygen atmosphere, such as the water solubility of CsPbBr3, and oxidation vulnerability of Sn2+, Cu+. The traditional metal halide scintillators (NaI: Tl, LaBr3, etc.) are also severely restricted by their high hygroscopicity. Here we report a new kind of lead free perovskite with excellent water and radiation stability, Rb2Sn1-x TexCl6. The equivalent doping of Te could break the in-phase bonding interaction between neighboring octahedra in Rb2SnCl6, and thus decrease the electron and hole dimensionality. The optimized Te content of 5% resulted in high photoluminescence quantum yield of 92.4%, and low X-ray detection limit of 0.7 µGyair s−1. The photoluminescence and radioluminescence could be maintained without any loss when immersing in water or after 480,000 Gy radiations, outperforming previous perovskite and traditional metal halides scintillators.

In this paper, we investigate the effect of dispersal and advection on the dynamics of a specialist predator–prey model. More precisely, we show that the linear stability of the semi-trivial steady state is determined by the dispersal rate, the mortality rate of the predator and the advection rate. We point out that compared to homogeneous intrinsic growth rate and carrying capacity, the case in this paper is more complicated. This work gives a investigation to an open problem proposed by Nie et al. in Nie et al. (2020) by considering a more general model, and then, can be seen as a further development of their work (Nie et al., 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superior opto-electronic properties of metal halide perovskites have uncovered great potential as light harvesters for thin-film photovoltaics, capturing the dominant research trend for over a decade now. While Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs) depict promising results of a successful photovoltaic technology, further replacement of conventional charge transporting layers (CTLs) with inorganic counterparts can impart sustainable device stability and cost-effectiveness. Here, we represent a theoretical study aimed to analyse the performance of Formamidinium Lead Iodide (FAPI) based PSCs using SCAPS-1D simulation tool (version 3.3.09). The solar cell is designed into a novel, and cost-effective inverted p-i-n architecture comprising of inorganic transporting layers. The introduction of a thin CuI buffer layer accompanied with the hole transporting layer (HTL) was found to boost the device performance greatly. Furthermore, a systematic analysis of the device parameters was carried out based on crucial factors like thickness of the absorber, CTLs, and buffer layer, interfacial defect densities (N it), series resistances (R S) and working temperature (T). In addition to this, we also conducted a study on the combined effect of absorber defect density (N t) and thickness on our simulated PSC. Our optimized device configuration ITO/CuI/Cu 2 O/FAPI/ZnO/Al, resulted in an ideal device efficiency of ≈ 26% and a reasonably high efficiency of 21.58% adopting a more realistic approach. This study therefore focuses on an economical architectural design strategy with an emphasis on device efficiency, and its long-term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing highly active and robust transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) electrocatalysts toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a challenge. Herein, we report an electron redistribution mechanism that involves the metal-sulfur (M-S) bond stabilization triggered by electron transfer from Ce to Ni and Co in CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 heterostructure, thereby effectively inhibiting the leaching of sulfur from CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 during the OER process. Moreover, the well-modulated heterogeneous interface enables optimal adsorption affinity for oxygen intermediates and reduces the energy barrier of OER. As a result, CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 exhibits superior OER activity with ultralow overpotentials of 146 and 271 mV at 10 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. More importantly, CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 possesses excellent durability for over 200 h at 500 mA cm−2, surpassing individual NiCo 2 S 4 and most of the reported TMCs-based electrocatalysts. This work provides new insights for achieving good compatibility of TMCs-based OER electrocatalysts in terms of high activity and stability. [Display omitted] A well-modulated CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 heterostructure was successfully constructed. The electron redistribution induced by CeO 2 not only enhanced the formation energy of S vacancies and hindered the reconstruction of NiCo 2 S 4 but also reduced the energy barrier of the OER, ultimately resulting in the CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 catalyst exhibiting excellent activity and stability during the OER process. • CeO 2 /NiCo 2 S 4 achieves with an ultralow overpotential of 146 mV at 10 mA cm−2. • NiCo 2 S 4 extracts electrons from CeO 2 and optimizes interfacial electronic structure. • The introduced CeO 2 reduces the rate-determining step barrier of OER. • The introduction of CeO 2 enhances the formation energy of S vacancy in NiCo 2 S 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]