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The II-IV-N2 class of heterovalent ternary nitrides has gained significant interest as alternatives to the III-nitrides for electronic and optoelectronic applications. In this study, we apply first-principles calculations based on density functional theory to systematically investigate the effects of structural distortions due to cation size mismatch on the configurational disorder of the cation sublattice and the valence band structure in this class of materials. We find that larger size mismatch between the group-II and the group-IV cations results in stronger lattice distortions from the ideal hexagonal ratio, which in turn inhibits the propensity of these materials toward octet-rule violating cation disorder. We also demonstrate that the formation energy of a single cation antisite pair, which is fast and simple to calculate, is a strong indicator of a material's propensity toward disorder. Furthermore, the breaking of in-plane symmetry leads to a splitting of the top three valence bands at Γ , which is also directly related to the magnitude of structural distortions. Our work demonstrates that the structural and functional properties of the II-IV-N2 materials can be finely tuned through controllable structural distortions that stem from the choice of cations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports a new methodology for naked-eye nanosensing of Hg2+ where the Tyndall effect of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) acts as a light scattering signalling readout. Its utility is demonstrated with ultrasensitive detection of the target with a limit down to 0.13 nM (∼5461-fold sensitivity improvement over conventional GNP-based methods with surface plasmon resonance signalling). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper initially describes a nanosensor for fluorescence detection of Al3+ ions by using graphene quantum dots (GQDs) that are synthesized via microwave-assisted single-step ring-closure condensation of glucose molecules. The one-pot synthesis strategy based on the microwave radiation could be finished in several minutes and no post-modification of the GQDs was required. In particular, the GQD nanoprobes showed a sensitive and specific fluorescence enhancement response to Al3+. The involved mechanism might be the Al3+-mediated aggregation of the GQDs leading to aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE). Under optimal conditions, this new fluorescent nanosensor was able to quantitatively detect Al3+ in a linear concentration range of 0.4–500 μM. The limit of detection was estimated to be ∼59.8 nM according to the 3σ rule, which made it be among the most sensitive systems currently available for sensing the target ion. Moreover, satisfactory recovery results (ranging from 96.8 to 109.7%) of analyzing a set of real water examples additionally validated its accuracy for practical applications. Considering its simplicity, high sensitivity and specificity, low cost, and good reliability, the developed fluorescent nanosensing system for Al3+ holds great promise for broad uses in water safety, environmental monitoring, and waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) has been proven to be associated with the prognosis of coronary artery disease and many other diseases. However, the relationship between SIRI and acute traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) has rarely been evaluated. The study aims to assess the prognostic value of SIRI for clinical outcomes in individuals with acute tSCI. A total of 190 patients admitted within eight hours after tSCI between January 2021 and April 2023 were enrolled in our study. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between SIRI and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade at admission and discharge, as well as neurological improvement in tSCI patients, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the discriminative ability of SIRI in predicting AIS grade at discharge. After adjusting for confounding factors, SIRI positively correlated with the AIS grade (A to C) at admission and discharge, and negatively correlated with neurological improvement. The area under the curve values in ROC analysis was 0.725 (95% CI 0.647, 0.803). The study suggests that SIRI is significantly associated with an increased risk of poor clinical outcome at discharge in tSCI patients and has a certain discriminative value., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introducing the exploration of stimulated CD4 + cells adenosine triphosphate (sATP CD4 ) levels for immune monitoring post non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) chemotherapy, the present study aimed to investigate its efficacy in gauging the potential risk of disease progression (PD) in patients with NSCLC. Therefore, a total of 89 patients with advanced NSCLC, who underwent chemotherapy between August 15 2022 and August 30 2023 at the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou, China), were retrospectively studied. Patients were divided into the PD (n=21) and disease stability (non-PD; n=68) groups and their clinical data were compared. The thresholds for predicting PD were identified using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to assess the association between peripheral blood markers and the incidence of PD. Therefore, post-chemotherapy, significant differences in white blood cell count, non-stimulated CD4 + cells ATP and sATP CD4 levels were obtained between patients in the PD and non-PD groups (P<0.05). In addition, sATP CD4 levels were notably decreased in the PD group compared with the non-PD group. Furthermore, ROC analysis revealed that the predictive threshold for PD was 224.5 ng/ml [area under the curve=0.887; 95% confidence interval, 0.811-0.963]. Additionally, patients with low immunity (ATP <224.5 ng/ml) exhibited a higher risk of PD compared with the high-immunity group (ATP >224.5 ng/ml; P<0.0001). Finally, multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that sATP CD4 could serve as an independent factor for predicting NSCLC progression. Overall, the current study predicted that immune function could be possibly associated with the risk of PD in patients with NSCLC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Ye et al.)

Schiff bases are a crucial component in various functional materials but often exhibit non-emissive behavior which significantly limits their potential applications as luminescent materials. However, traditional approaches to convert them into aggregate emitters often require intricate molecular design, tedious synthesis, and significant time and resource consumption. Herein, we present a cocrystallization-induced emission strategy that can transform non-emissive (hetero)aryl-substituted Schiff bases into green-yellow to yellow aggregate emitters via even simple grinding of a mixture of Schiff bases and 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene (TCB) mixtures. The combined experimental and theoretical analysis revealed that the cocrystallization inhibits the C=N isomerization and promotes face-to-face π-π interaction, which restricts access to both the dark state and canonical intersection to ultimately induce emission. Furthermore, the induced emission enables the observation of solid-state molecular diffusion through fluorescence signals, advancing white light emission diodes, and notably, solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes based on cocrystal for the first time. This study not only highlights the potential of developing new C=N structural motifs for AIEgens but also could boost advancements in related structure motifs like C=C and N=N., (© 2024 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: Lung cancer with the highest incidence and mortality in the world. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), can bring long-term survival benefits to patients, but also can bring immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in some patients during therapy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the predictive effect of peripheral blood WBC, NLR, sATP CD4 and nATP CD4 on irAEs in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Methods: Clinical data of 112 patients with advanced NSCLC who were treated with PD -1/PD -L1 inhibitor in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from December 15, 2019 to April 30, 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into the irAEs group (n = 27) and non-irAEs group (n = 85). The clinical data of the two groups were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to determine the threshold value of baseline peripheral blood parameters to predict the occurrence of irAEs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between peripheral blood markers and the incidence of irAEs., Results: The patient characteristics have no significant difference between irAEs and non-irAEs group. But the baseline peripheral blood WBC, sATP CD4 and nATP CD4 of patients in the irAEs group were higher than those in the non-irAEs group (p < 0.05), and the NLR in irAEs group was similar to in the non-irAEs group (p = 0.639).Univariate analysis showed that high WBC, sATP CD4 and nATP CD4 may the risk factors for the occurrence of irAEs (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high sATP CD4 and nATP CD4 were independent risk factors for the occurrence of irAEs (p < 0.05). The best critical values of WBC, sATP CD4 and nATP CD4 before treatment for predicting the occurrence of irAEs were 8.165 × 10 9 cells/L (AUC = 0.705) ,484.5 ng/mL (AUC = 0.777), and 156 ng/mL (AUC = 0.840), respectively., Conclusions: sATP CD4 and nATP CD4 were independent risk factors for the occurrence of irAEs in advanced NSCLC patients. This discovery provides a new method to predict the occurrence of irAEs in patients. Based on the prediction results, corresponding treatment measures can be taken to reduce the incidence of adverse events., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This work reports a new methodology for naked-eye nanosensing of Hg 2+ where the Tyndall effect of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) acts as a light scattering signalling readout. Its utility is demonstrated with ultrasensitive detection of the target with a limit down to 0.13 nM (∼5461-fold sensitivity improvement over conventional GNP-based methods with surface plasmon resonance signalling).

This paper initially describes a nanosensor for fluorescence detection of Al3+ ions by using graphene quantum dots (GQDs) that are synthesized via microwave-assisted single-step ring-closure condensation of glucose molecules. The one-pot synthesis strategy based on the microwave radiation could be finished in several minutes and no post-modification of the GQDs was required. In particular, the GQD nanoprobes showed a sensitive and specific fluorescence enhancement response to Al3+. The involved mechanism might be the Al3+-mediated aggregation of the GQDs leading to aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE). Under optimal conditions, this new fluorescent nanosensor was able to quantitatively detect Al3+ in a linear concentration range of 0.4-500 μM. The limit of detection was estimated to be ∼59.8 nM according to the 3σ rule, which made it be among the most sensitive systems currently available for sensing the target ion. Moreover, satisfactory recovery results (ranging from 96.8 to 109.7%) of analyzing a set of real water examples additionally validated its accuracy for practical applications. Considering its simplicity, high sensitivity and specificity, low cost, and good reliability, the developed fluorescent nanosensing system for Al3+ holds great promise for broad uses in water safety, environmental monitoring, and waste management.