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Gas sensors are of great interest to portable and miniaturized sensing technologies with applications ranging from air quality monitoring to explosive detection and medical diagnostics, but the existing chemiresistive NO2 sensors still suffer from issues such as poor sensitivity, high operating temperature, and slow recovery. Herein, a high‐performance NO2 sensors based on all‐inorganic perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) is reported, achieving room temperature operation with ultra‐fast response and recovery time. After tailoring the halide composition, superior sensitivity of ≈67 at 8 ppm NO2 is obtained in CsPbI2Br PNC sensors with a detection level down to 2 ppb, which outperforms other nanomaterial‐based NO2 sensors. Furthermore, the remarkable optoelectronic properties of such PNCs enable dual‐mode operation, i.e., chemiresistive and chemioptical sensing, presenting a new and versatile platform for advancing high‐performance, point‐of‐care NO2 detection technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol that is extracted from the rhizomes of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa), a member of the ginger family. It has been used for centuries in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine for its medicinal properties, including anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant and antitumor effects. SVCT2 (Solute Carrier Family 23 Member 2, also known as SLC23A2) is a protein that plays a role in the transport of Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) into cells. SVCT2 plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis, however, the molecular mechanisms of curcumin on SVCT2 have not been studied to date. Curcumin treatment inhibited proliferation and migration of cancer cells in a dose dependent manner. We found that curcumin reduced the expression of SVCT2 in cancer cells with a wild type p53, but not in those with a mutant type of p53. SVCT2 downregulation also reduced the MMP2 activity. Taken together, our results indicate that curcumin inhibited human cancer cell growth and migration by regulating SVCT2 through a downregulating p53. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of curcumin's anticancer effects and potential therapeutic strategies for the treatment of metastatic migration. Significance statement: SVCT2, a protein responsible for Vitamin C transport, plays a role in tumor progression and metastasis, and the molecular mechanisms of curcumin's effects on SVCT2 are unknown. However, curcumin treatment reduced SVCT2 expression in cancer cells with a wild type p53, inhibiting cancer cell growth and migration. Curcumin's ability to downregulate SVCT2 provides new insights into potential therapeutic strategies for metastatic migration treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to reveal the influence of Wŏnhyo's Kisillon so (Wŏnhyoso) on Chinese commentaries on the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna (AFM), which is regarded as important in East Asian Buddhism. Previous studies focused only on the influence on Fazang's Qixinlun shu (Fazangshu), but it should be noted that the Wŏnhyoso also had an effect on the understanding of the AFM in China. First, by comparing the usage of "shenjie" in the Fazangshu and in the Wŏnhyoso, one can identify Wŏnhyoso's unique interpretation. The Wŏnhyoso defines it as "mystical understanding as the nature of One Mind in the aspect of thusness and the nature of the mind of original enlightenment in the aspect of arising and ceasing", whereas the Fazangshu defines "shenjie" as "an excellent comprehension". Next, examining the usage of "shenjie" of the Wŏnhyoso in the later commentaries on the AFM after Fazang, such as the Shilun, the Zanxuanshu, the Puguanji, the Zongmishu, the Bixueji, the Shulue, and the Huiyue, has confirmed the influence of the Wŏnhyoso in Chinese Buddhism. In addition, the relationships between Chinese commentaries on the AFM were also clarified based on the commentaries' acceptance of "shenjie". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological developments of metal–organic framework (MOF) for selective adsorption and sensing have been achieved in recent years. Herein, we report two stilbene‐based MOFs, denoted as Zn3(SDC)3(bpy) (1) and Zn(SDC)(bpy)·2DMF (2). MOFs 1 and 2 were synthesized in pure form by controlling the organic linker ratio and were used for the adsorptive removal of dye molecules. Despite their low adsorption capacities, the MOFs were more selective toward cationic dye (methylene blue) than anionic dye (methyl orange). The unique fluorescent property of the MOFs was harnessed for the sensing of harmful organic molecules. Interestingly, the fluorescence of 1′ was quenched by aromatic analytes containing amine and nitro functional groups. However, 2′ only showed modest fluorescence quenching by nitrobenzene. The quenching efficiency of nitrobenzene had a low detection limit for 1′ and 2′ (14.28 and 25.42 μM, respectively). These MOFs can be used as adsorbents and highly sensitive chemical sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's spatial mapping starts out particularly sensitive to 3D wall‐like boundaries and develops over early childhood to flexibly include other boundary types. This study investigated whether spatial boundaries influence children's episodic memory, as in adults, and whether this effect is modulated by boundary type. Eighty‐one Korean children (34 girls, 36–84 months old) re‐enacted a sequence of three discrete hiding events within a space containing one of three boundaries: 3D wall, aligned objects, or 2D line. Children's memory of events occurring on one side of the boundary developed earlier than those that crossed the boundary. At first, this interaction only applied to the 3D wall and extended to other boundary types with age, suggesting that children's changing spatial representations influence their episodic memory development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reveals the mediating effect of musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) and the moderating effect of job resources on the relationship between job demands and presenteeism of workers in dependent self-employment (DSE). Recently, as the number of workers in DSE has increased, the importance of adjusting job demands to control presenteeism, address MSCs, and develop job resources has increased. Objectives: We tested the effects of job demands on presenteeism to investigate the mediation of musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) and the moderating effects of job resources among dependent self-employment (DSE) workers in Korea. Methods: Using data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey, we analyzed 2252 workers, and a two-step regression analysis was used to test the mediated effect of MSCs and moderated the effect of job resources on the relationship between job demand and presenteeism. Results: Musculoskeletal complaints mediate the relationship between job demands and presenteeism. Job control moderated the relationship between MSCs and presenteeism among the job resources. However, the conditional indirect effect of job demands on presenteeism through MSCs was independent of job resource levels among DSE workers. Conclusions: Various strategies are needed to address MSCs and enhance job resources for DSE workers, which might diminish the negative effect of job demands on presenteeism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Semi-supervised Video Object Segmentation (SVOS), there is a critical emphasis on enhancing the memory and readout mechanisms for frame matching, especially in relation to temporal dynamics. Current methods predominantly use 2D CNNs for encoding video frames, which unfortunately neglects the crucial aspect of addressing temporal variations in individual frames and their associated masks during the encoding process. One potential solution would be to implement temporal models such as 3D CNNs instead of 2D CNNs, but this significantly increases computational requirements, making it impractical for real-world SVOS applications. In this paper, we introduce the Grouped Temporal Recalibration with Attention for Convolutional Encoders (G-TRACE), a novel plug-and-play module that is compatible with various existing SVOS frameworks. G-TRACE uses hierarchical memory-centric attention and integrates effortlessly with 2D CNNs, offering a novel approach to temporal modeling that operates orthogonally to traditional frame matching methods. Extensive evaluations on four widely-used benchmarks demonstrate that our method consistently delivers significant performance improvements over various baseline models. • Captures Temporal Variations: Effectively handles previously overlooked time-based changes in frame encoding. • Innovates Frame Encoding: Improves spatial and temporal context capture, potentially replacing self-attention mechanisms. • Hierarchical Memory Grouping: Introduces a two-tier strategy for efficient feature capture and memory utilization. • Enhances Feature Quality: Provides a richer understanding of video sequences through advanced memory-based attention. • Empirical Superiority: Demonstrates consistent performance improvements across key SVOS benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer materials that provide a wide range of physicochemical properties as well as are highly biocompatible. Biomedical researchers are adapting these materials for the ever-increasing range of design options and potential applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. Along with innovative hydrogel polymer backbone developments, designing polymer additives for these backbones has been a major contributor to the field, especially for expanding the functionality spectrum of hydrogels. For the past decade, researchers invented numerous hydrogel functionalities that emerge from the rational incorporation of additives such as nucleic acids, proteins, cells, and inorganic nanomaterials. Cases of successful commercialization of such functional hydrogels are being reported, thus driving more translational research with hydrogels. Among the many hydrogels, here we reviewed recently reported functional hydrogels incorporated with polymer additives. We focused on those that have potential in translational medicine applications which range from diagnostic sensors as well as assay and drug screening to therapeutic actuators as well as drug delivery and implant. We discussed the growing trend of facile point-of-care diagnostics and integrated smart platforms. Additionally, special emphasis was given to emerging bioinformatics functionalities stemming from the information technology field, such as DNA data storage and anti-counterfeiting strategies. We anticipate that these translational purpose-driven polymer additive research studies will continue to advance the field of functional hydrogel engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • New electron donor–acceptor-type organic emitters exhibit a negative ΔE ST. • The negative ΔE ST is confirmed using PL, TCSPC, and eDFT calculations. • High external quantum efficiencies of around 30% are achieved. Emitters having a negative energy difference between their lowest singlet and triplet excited states are promising candidates for developing next-generation organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) because their inverted singlet and triplet (IST) excited states enable exothermic reverse intersystem crossing, which results in a fast rate constant for reverse intersystem crossing and facilitates the efficient harvesting of triplet excitons. This study reports the development of organic emitters comprising 5,9-dioxa-13b-boranaphtho[3,2,1- de ]anthracene as an electron acceptor and 10 H -spiro[acridine-9,9′-fluorene] as an electron donor that exhibit IST-excited states. We confirmed the presence of IST excited states in our emitters using photoluminescence spectroscopy, time-correlated single-photon counting, and excited-state density functional theory calculations. In addition, by varying the number of electron donors and the dihedral angles between the electron donor and acceptor, we identified the underlying reasons for the inversion of the singlet and triplet states. Furthermore, we achieved high external quantum efficiencies of up to 30 % by utilizing the IST emitters as emitting layers in OLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate what sources principally affect the chemical compositions in the catchment of the upper Nakdong River, South Korea where bedrock mostly consists of silicates as a natural factor. From October 7th to 9th, 2015, thirty-three water samples were collected, including samples from tributaries which run alongside mines. We analyzed the major anions, cations, trace elements and water isotopes of the samples and the analyzed data are divided into four groups by principle component analysis (PCA). We determined that most of the water samples are influenced by water-rock interactions when we consider the PCA results and the chemical weathering equation line. However, six samples have excess concentrations of sulfate and plot below the equation line. These samples were mostly from streams beside a zinc-cadmium smelter, which was also consistent with the PCA results. Samples near populated area could also be separated into a group via domestic pollution. Based on the PCA and chemical results, the chemical compositions of the river can be affected by two anthropogenic inputs: mine wastes and domestic contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been noted that the motion control of a hydraulic robotic excavator has some difficulties in excavator mechanical structure variations, disturbance, non-linearity of complex dynamics of the hydraulic manipulator, and so on. In this paper, a new discrete model-free robust controller is proposed for robotic excavator motion control based on the time delay control (TDC) combined with terminal sliding mode control (TSMC). The proposed controller formulation consists of TDC without acceleration information and TSMC with nonlinear desired error dynamics. Less computational effort and sensing signals are required with this controller, which can decrease the influence of noise by eliminating the acceleration information. Furthermore, the designed terminal sliding error dynamics provide robotic excavator motion control with high position tracking accuracy. The proposed controller was implemented on a 30 ton Volvo hydraulic robotic excavator, and its effectiveness was verified. The achieved end-effector position tracking accuracy was within 2 cm for a curved surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this work, the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) (with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in its outer membrane) and its modified ClearColi™ strain (lacking LPS) were used for the separation of anti-LPS antibodies from human serum by the following steps: (1) binding of the serum proteins to BL21(DE3); (2) dissociation of the bound proteins (including anti-LPS antibodies) from BL21(DE3) with acid; (3) filtering of the dissociated proteins using ClearColi to remove unwanted proteins; and (4) separation of the antibody fraction by protein-A column chromatography. The binding properties of the separated antibodies were analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting to confirm their selective binding to LPS on the outer membrane of BL21(DE3), and by thermophoretic immunoassay to estimate their dissociation constant. The in vitro applicability of the separated anti-LPS antibodies was demonstrated through a fluorescence assay of BL21(DE3), after immobilizing the antibodies onto a modified microplate surface. The electrochemical detection of BL21(DE3) was also achieved after immobilizing the anti-LPS antibodies onto a gold electrode. Highlights • Anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antibodies were separated from human serum. • The antibody was separated by using (1) BL21(DE3) and then (2) ClearColi without LPS. • Binding properties of the antibody was analyzed by using FACS and thermophoresis. • Fluorescent and electrochemical immunoassays were demonstrated by using the immobilized antibody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Nurses play crucial roles in cardiopulmonary resuscitation after perioperative cardiac arrest (PCA), and the level of nurse staffing is thought to influence the survival rate for cardiac arrest. However, no previous study has investigated the survival rate after PCA in Korea. In addition, nurse staffing levels in Korea are relatively low and their legal standard is not widely followed. Objectives This study investigated the relationships between nurse staffing level and survival after PCA in Korean hospitals using inpatient National Health Insurance (NHI) claim data. Methods The study used NHI claim data on patient and hospital characteristics for 2140 patients undergoing craniotomy or percutaneous angioplasty from January to December 2009. Because the information about nurse staffing in NHI claim data categorized nursing grade according to the nurse-to-bed ratio, the nurse staffing level was transformed from the nurse-to-patient ratio using the bed occupancy rate. The general ward and ICU nurse staffing levels were then categorized into major violation, violation, adherence, and major adherence according to the medical law standard. The association between nurse staffing level and survival after PCA was analyzed using logistic regression analyses with a generalized estimation model. Results The survival rate was higher for patients in hospitals with major adherence [odds ratio (OR) = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.13–2.07] ICUs nurse staffing than for those in hospitals with adherence nurse staffing, and lower for patients in hospitals with violation (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.26–0.93) or major violation (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.21–0.97) general ward nurse staffing than for those in hospitals with adherence nurse staffing. Policies to ensure adherence to the medical law standard for nurse staffing levels is necessary to enhance the safety of patients experiencing PCA in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper suggests a novel way of dramatically improving the Naïve Bayes text classifier with our semantic tensor space model for document representation. In our work, we intend to achieve a perfect text classification with the semantic Naïve Bayes learning that incorporates the semantic concept features into term feature statistics; for this, the Naïve Bayes learning is semantically augmented under the tensor space model where the ‘concept’ space is regarded as an independent space equated with the ‘term’ and ‘document’ spaces, and it is produced with concept-level informative Wikipedia pages associated with a given document corpus. Through extensive experiments using three popular document corpora including Reuters-21578, 20Newsgroups , and OHSUMED corpora, we prove that the proposed method not only has superiority over the recent deep learning-based classification methods but also shows nearly perfect classification performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important component of healthy aging. Elderly individuals living alone with health risks have rapidly increased in South Korea. Inadequate social support has been associated with poor HRQoL in elderly individuals who are currently living alone. Although studies of HRQoL in elderly subjects who live alone have been conducted, studies of the relationships between social support and HRQoL have rarely targeted the elderly individuals living alone. Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the factors that are related to HRQoL among the elderly individuals living alone in South Korea. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Five hundred seventeen elderly individuals who were living alone in community dwellings and aged 65 years or older were included. The structured questionnaires included the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, demographic characteristics, health status, and behavior factors. A descriptive analysis and hierarchical multivariate logistic regression were conducted to examine significant correlations between the variables. Results: The mean score of the Physical Component Summary was 43.00 (± 4.82), and the mean score of the Mental Component Summary (MCS) was 45.94 (± 7.21). After controlling for demographic characteristics, health status, and behavior factors, support from significant others was negatively associated with the Physical Component Summary scores, whereas support from significant others, family, and friends was positively associated with the MCS scores. Conclusions: Social support emerged as an important factor in the HRQoL domains of the MCS of the participants. Future interventions should focus more on implementing effective social support strategies to improve HRQoL in elderly individuals who live alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a pedagogical project aimed at helping second language (L2) learners of English develop the ability to detect and appropriately interpret spoken sarcasm. The study used a pre- and posttest procedure to assess the development of learners’ ability to both detect sarcasm and impute appropriate speaker intentions and attitudes conveyed through sarcastic utterances as result of a 10-week instructional program. The study also used interviews to gauge changes in learners’ conceptual understanding of English sarcasm. Beyond improving learners’ ability in the L2, a side effect of the project was that learners reported an enhanced awareness of the use and functions of sarcasm in their first language (L1), Korean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient and straightforward approach for the synthesis of spiroepoxy chroman-4-one derivatives was developed using a visible light-enabled tandem radical strategy. The reaction is initiated by the formation of an acyl radical that undergoes intramolecular radical cyclization and epoxidation. The optimal result was obtained with 1 mol% of Ru(bpy)3Cl2⋅6H2O, TBHP, and K2CO3 in i-PrOAc at room temperature with irradiation from a blue LED. This unprecedented tandem approach utilizes a broad range of substrates, and provides a convenient and powerful synthetic tool for accessing the synthetically useful spiroepoxy chroman-4-ones and their nitrogen-containing derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the introduction of oxygen vacancies on commercial ZnO by hydrogen reduction on the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue is investigated. Commercial ZnO was reduced at 500 °C by a 10% H 2 /Ar gas with a temperature programmed reduction method. Both pristine and reduced photocatalysts were characterized by TPR, FE-SEM, EDS, XPS, XRD, BET, and PL analyses. The bandgap of the photocatalysts was estimated by Tauc plot method. The characterization results indicated that the morphology and crystallinity of the nanoparticles remained unchanged after the reduction treatment, while the ratio of the oxygen vacancy to the lattice oxygen was increased. Furthermore, the maximum valence band of the photocatalyst experienced an upward shift from 2.43 to 2.67 eV which resulted in a decrease of the bandgap from 3.22 eV in commercial ZnO to 3.07 eV in the reduced photocatalyst. To investigate the effect of hydrogen reduction on the adsorption in the dark and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, experiments were performed using both commercial and reduced photocatalysts at a pH range between 3 and 11. Our recently developed kinetic model, taking into account non-equilibrium adsorption and photocatalytic degradation via radicals (in solution) and electron-holes (at the photocatalyst surface), was used to describe the experimental data. The results showed that the concentration of active sites of the photocatalyst increased by ∼ 20% after the hydrogen reduction, resulting in higher adsorption and photocatalytic degradation. The highest adsorption takes place at pH 3, while the degradation rate and quantum yield reach their maximal value at pH 11. Finally, the definition of quantum yield is revisited in terms of actual degradation, rather than liquid concentration differences. [Display omitted] • Introduction of oxygen vacancies by H 2 reduction on commercial ZnO. • Continuous kinetic modeling of adsorption in dark and photocatalytic degradation. • Effect of pH on adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. • Accurate quantum yield calculation by excluding the adsorptions from total removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors investigate the factors associated with misperception of breast cancer risk, including unrealistic optimism and unrealistic pessimism, among Korean-American women (KAW). Baseline data were collected between March 2010 and October 2011 from 421 KAW aged 40–65 years who participated in a community-based randomized intervention trial designed to promote breast and cervical cancer screening. Multivariate multinomial regression was performed to identify correlates of misperception of breast cancer risk among KAW. A total of 210 KAW (49.9%) had breast cancer risk perception consistent with their objective risk, whereas 50.1% of KAW in the study had some form of misperception of risk. Specifically, 167 participants (39.7%) were unrealistically optimistic about their own breast cancer risk; 44 (10.5%) were unrealistically pessimistic. In multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis, living with a partner and higher education were significantly associated with higher odds of having unrealistic optimism. High social support is associated with a lower likelihood of having a pessimistic risk perception. Higher worry is associated with a higher likelihood of having unrealistic pessimism. Misperception of breast cancer risk among KAW and related factors must be considered when developing behavioral interventions for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights: [•] Korean L2 learners draw upon certain features of L1 schema during the L2 sarcasm comprehension process. [•] Complex kinds of pragmatic assessments are required to understand the communicative purposes of sarcastic instances. [•] The results suggest pedagogical ideas for teaching the concept of English sarcasm to L2 learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between state financial aid policies and postsecondary enrollment for high school graduates (or equivalent diploma holders). Utilizing an event history modeling for a nationally representative sample from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) in addition to state-level policy variables, this study examined how state aid policies differentially affect students' postsecondary enrollment choices depending on their family income and race/ethnicity between the years 1992 through 2000. The findings demonstrate that there is a clear and consistent gap in college enrollment for students who are from different income and race/ethnic groups, and that changes in state financial aid policy are significantly related with the type of institutions a student attends across income and racial groups. The study findings have important implications for state aid policy as well as future research on the role of public financial aid policy in college choice of students from different income and racial/ethnic backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric microcomponents are widely used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and lab-on-a-chip devices, but they suffer from the lack of complex motion, effective addressability and precise shape control. To address these needs, we fabricated polymeric nanocomposite microactuators driven by programmable heterogeneous magnetic anisotropy. Spatially modulated photopatterning was applied in a shape-independent manner to microactuator components by successive confinement of self-assembled magnetic nanoparticles in a fixed polymer matrix. By freely programming the rotational axis of each component, we demonstrate that the polymeric microactuators can undergo predesigned, complex two- and three-dimensional motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the need for understanding the issue of health literacy among ethnic minority groups with limited English skills is rapidly increasing in the US, it is difficult to find valid and useful health literacy tools for certain linguistic minorities. This study was designed to validate the Korean translation of Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults-Short form (S-TOFHLA). Korean REALM and S-TOFHLA were administered to 98 Korean American women, together with REALM-English. Participants were first-generation immigrants who were educated in Korea. Both Korean REALM and S-TOFHLA resulted in a negatively-skewed distribution. REALM-English yielded well-distributed groups with significant correlations with Korean REALM and S-TOFHLA (Spearman's rho = 0.30, P = 0.003 and 0.22, P = 0.03, respectively). Educational level was significantly correlated with REALM-English and Korean S-TOFHLA (Spearman's rho = 0.39, P = 0.000 and 0.25, P = 0.014), but not with REALM-Korean. The translation of REALM and S-TOFHLA into the Korean language did not lead to a valid assessment of health literacy. A more systematic approach is needed to assess health literacy in immigrants with limited English skills, particularly those with a phonetic primary language. Meanwhile, REALM-English could be used as a crude health literacy test for individuals with some English skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although a variety of intervention methods have been used to promote Pap test screening among ethnic minority women in the US, the effectiveness of such interventions is unclear. We performed a meta-analysis to examine the overall effectiveness of these interventions in increasing Pap test use by ethnic minority women in the US. Methods: A search of databases (MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, and Science Citation Index-Expanded) and review articles for articles published between 1984 and April 2009 identified 18 randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. The primary study outcome was the difference in the proportion of Pap tests between the treatment and comparison groups. Results: The pooled mean weighted effect size ( d) for the 18 studies was 0.158 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.100, 0.215), indicating that the interventions were effective in improving Pap test use among ethnic minority women. Among the intervention types, access enhancement yielded the largest effect size (0.253 [95% CI=0.110, 0.397]), followed by community education (0.167 [95% CI=0.057, 0.278]) and individual counseling or letters (0.132 [95% CI=0.069, 0.195]). Combined intervention effects were significant for studies targeting Asian (0.177 [95% CI=0.098, 0.256]) and African American women (0.146 [95% CI=0.028, 0.265]), but not Hispanic women (0.116 [95% CI=−0.008, 0.240]). Conclusions: Pap test use among ethnic minority women is most likely to increase when access-enhancing strategies are combined. Further research is needed to determine whether more tightly controlled trials of such interventions might reveal an improved rate of cervical cancer screening in Hispanic women as well. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Nurse telephone counseling can improve the management of chronic conditions, but the effectiveness of this approach in underserved populations is unclear. This study evaluated the use of bilingual nurse-delivered telephone counseling in Korean Americans (KAs) participating in a community-based intervention trial to improve management of hypertension. Methods: KAs were randomized to receive 12 months of hypertension-related telephone counseling that was more intensive (bi-weekly) or less intensive (monthly). Counseling logs were kept for 360 KAs who completed the pre- and post-intervention evaluations. Results: The overall success rate for the intervention was 80.3%. The level of success was significantly influenced by the dose of counseling, employment status, and years of US residence. Over the 12-month counseling period, both groups showed improvement with regard to medication-taking, alcohol consumption, and exercise but not smoking, with no significant group differences. Conclusion: Bilingual telephone counseling could reach monolingual KAs and improve their hypertension management behavior. Practice implications: Bilingual nurse telephone counseling may have wide applicability, serving as an effective means of disseminating evidence-based chronic disease management guidelines to a linguistically isolated community with limited health resources and information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). The primary objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the level of compliance of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) and its relation to blood pressure (BP) control among hypertensive adults in a community setting. A total of 377 middle-aged Korean Americans with high BP participated in this study. Along with structured behavioral education, the participants were instructed to measure their BP 3 times in a row upon waking and thrice again at bedtime, at least 2 or more times a week for 48 weeks. Using multivariate logistic regression, the authors examined the patterns and factors affecting HBPM and its relation to BP control status. The analyses revealed that older participants were more compliant with the HBPM instruction than were younger participants (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 5.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.77–15.81) and those with more depressive symptoms were less compliant (OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04–0.88). Participants who were more compliant to HBPM instruction were 4 times more likely than those who were noncompliant to have controlled their BP by the end of the intervention period (OR, 4.28; 95% CI, 1.79–10.23). These results suggest that the participants who checked their BP regularly at home had a stronger tendency to achieve BP control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The mouse spinal cord is an important site for autoimmune and injury models. Skull thinning surgery provides a minimally invasive window for microscopy of the mouse cerebral cortex, but there are no parallel methods for the spinal cord. We introduce a novel, facile and inexpensive method for two-photon laser scanning microscopy of the intact spinal cord in the mouse by taking advantage of the naturally accessible intervertebral space. These are powerful methods when combined with gene-targeted mice in which endogenous immune cells are labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). We first demonstrate that generation of the intervertebral window does not elicit a reaction of GFP+ microglial cells in CX3CR1gfp/+ mice. We next demonstrate a distinct rostrocaudal migration of GFP+ immune cells in the spinal cord of CXCR6gfp/+ mice during active experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Interestingly, infiltration of the cerebral cortex by GFP+ cells in these mice required three conditions: EAE induction, cortical injury and expression of CXCR6 on immune cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigates how the expectations of different types of financial aid affect the student college choice process from application through enrollment. We find that students from different race and income groups respond differentially to aid packages in their application and enrollment decisions depending on their levels of aid expectations. In application behavior, Asians at all income levels increase their likelihood of application at a greater rate in response to an increase in their aid expectations than other racial groups. Simulations indicate that enrollment probabilities decline more for African American and Hispanic students than whites and Asians when they expect to receive financial aid but do not. The findings suggest the particular importance of financial aid packages in the college choice process for underrepresented minority students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection of the mouse central nervous system (CNS) elicits fatal immunopathology through blood–brain barrier breakdown and convulsive seizures. Although lymphocytic-choriomeningitis-virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are essential for disease, their mechanism of action is not known. To gain insights into disease pathogenesis, we observed the dynamics of immune cells in the meninges by two-photon microscopy. Here we report visualization of motile CTLs and massive secondary recruitment of pathogenic monocytes and neutrophils that were required for vascular leakage and acute lethality. CTLs expressed multiple chemoattractants capable of recruiting myelomonocytic cells. We conclude that a CD8+ T-cell-dependent disorder can proceed in the absence of direct T-cell effector mechanisms and rely instead on CTL-recruited myelomonocytic cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of immigrant women in Korea is rapidly increasing. Immigrant women in Korea experience a host of health problems associated with living in a new country. Community health workers (CHWs) may be effective at delivering health promotion programs to vulnerable groups such as recent immigrants. Purpose: Qualitative analysis was performed to identify the main themes characterizing the experiences of CHWs in recommending and guiding preventive screening tests for immigrant women. Methods: This focus-group study was designed to investigate the experiences and perceptions of CHWs. We conducted interviews with 15 Chinese immigrant women who served as CHWs in a cancer screening program. We asked questions about the attitudes and perceptions that CHWs had from their research experiences. Each interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Results: Three main themes emerged: (a) recognizing the need for preventive healthcare, (b) becoming the CHWs who help people to be healthy, and (c) challenges to overcome to make CHWs more active. The CHWs in this study were willing to help other Chinese immigrant women and to improve their competency to help more effectively. However, they recognized limitations on their ability to address problems when delivering a breast and cervical cancer screening program. Conclusions: When training CHWs for immigrants in Korea, frequent opportunities for consultation should be provided during program delivery to facilitate troubleshooting and help CHWs overcome challenges. A program that utilizes CHWs for various minority groups is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tilianin has been shown to down-regulate TNF-α induced expression of vascular cell adhesion molecules in endothelial cells. In this study, we examined the anti-atherogenic effects and molecular mechanism of tilianin in vitro and in vivo. Male low-density lipoprotein receptor null mice (Ldlr−/−) fed a high cholesterol diet showed significant increases in the size of atherosclerotic lesions, as well as increased plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β, when compared with Ldlr−/− mice fed a normal diet. Mice fed the high cholesterol diet supplemented with tilianin showed significantly reduced lesion sizes and reductions in cytokine levels, without significant changes in serum cholesterol levels. Primary cultured peritoneal macrophages from Ldlr−/− mice showed increased level of TNF-α andIL-1β mRNA in response to treatment with lipopolysaccharide; these increases were inhibited by co-treatment with tilianin. Moreover, tilianin inhibited NF-κB activation, as determined by electrophoretic mobility shift and NF-κB promoter assays. Upstream of NF-κB activation, tilianin inhibited IκB kinase activation and the subsequent phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα protein. These results suggest that tilianin ameliorates atherosclerosis by inhibiting the production of the NF-κB-dependent pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1β, via the inhibition of IκB kinase activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have proposed a novel deposition method of thin Pt catalysts onto Nafion membranes impregnated with polypyrrole (PPy) for unitized regenerative fuel cells (URFCs). We demonstrated that the polypyrrole impregnated into Nafion membrane not only offered electronic conduction pathways necessary to sink electrons generated from the chemical reduction of platinic chloride, but also enhanced the direct loading of Pt particles onto the Nafion surface.The distribution and thickness of Pt particles deposited on the PPy/Nafion composite membrane was observed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were implemented to investigate the morphology of PPy/Nafion composite membrane surface and the influence of Pt loading onto the Pt/PPy/Nafion electrode surface morphology, respectively. The performance of fuel cell and water electrolysis was discussed in the reference to an I–V curve. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Artificial antigen presentation aims to accelerate the establishment of therapeutic cellular immunity. Artificial antigen-presenting cells (AAPCs) and their cell-free substitutes are designed to stimulate the expansion and acquisition of optimal therapeutic features of T cells before therapeutic infusion, without the need for autologous antigen-presenting cells. Compelling recent advances include fibroblast AAPCs that process antigens, magnetic beads that are antigen specific, novel T-cell costimulatory combinations, the augmentation of therapeutic potency of adoptively transferred T lymphocytes by interleukin-15, and the safe use of dendritic cell-derived exosomes pulsed with tumor antigen. Whereas the safety and potency of the various systems warrant further preclinical and clinical studies, these emerging technologies are poised to have a major impact on adoptive T-cell therapy and the investigation of T cell-mediated immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRCA1 is a breast and ovarian cancer-related tumor suppressor and has a role in transcriptional activation. We show here that BRCA1 enhances human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV-18) E2-dependent transcription in vivo. Using biochemical approaches, we discovered that BRCA1 interacts with the carboxyl-terminus of HPV-18 E2 protein in vivo and in vitro. Point mutations in the C-terminus make BRCA1 defective in transcriptional activation in E2-dependent transcription. This finding suggests that the C-terminus of BRCA1 is important for E2-dependent transcription. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated that BRCA1 is recruited onto the E2-dependent promoter region though E2 tethered to E2 binding sites in vivo. These results implicate that BRCA1 plays a role in E2-dependent transcription. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We demonstrate a single-exposure in situ magnetic actuator fabrication technique using magnetic nanoparticles (MNs) containing UV curable polymer in a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel. Microstructures with a 3-D anchored cantilever as well as free-floating components are fabricated in a single step at a single site without the use of a sacrificial layer. By controlling the location of high oxygen concentration area through PDMS substrate patterning, we can create partially bound and free-floating movement-restricted structures. This allows us to create complex magnetic actuators, such as a 3-D anchored cantilever, motor type, and rail-guided magnetic actuators. The actuating performance of UV photopatterned magnetic microstructures depends on the MN concentration in photopolymer resin and magnetic field intensity. The measured translational velocity of magnetic microactuators with a 1 : 10 MN concentration is 140 \mu\m/s under 1400 G of magnetic field in poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate resin. Also, we demonstrate selective magnetic actuation of heterogeneous structures composed of magnetic and nonmagnetic parts self-assembled in railed microfluidic channels. Only magnetic parts from the assembly selectively actuated due to the magnetic field without response to the flow. Therefore, we have developed a versatile magnetic microstructure fabrication method that is very simple and fast, enabling rapid in situ fabrication and actuation. \hfill[2010-0182] [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nickel(II) dichloride complexes with a pyridine-chelated imidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-3-ylidene py-ImPy ligand were developed as novel catalyst precursors for acrylate synthesis reaction from ethylene and carbon dioxide (CO2), a highly promising sustainable process in terms of carbon capture and utilization (CCU). Two types of ImPy salts were prepared as new C,N-bidentate ligand precursors; py-ImPy salts (3, 4a–4e) having a pyridine group at C(5) on ImPy and a N-picolyl-ImPy salt (10) having a picolyl group at N atom on ImPy. Nickel(II) complexes such as py-ImPyNi(II)Cl2 (7, 8a–8e) and N-picolyl-ImPyNi(II)Cl2 (12) were synthesized via transmetalation protocol from silver(I) complexes, py-ImPyAgCl (5, 6a–6e) and N-picolyl-ImPyAgCl (11). X-ray diffraction analysis of nickel(II) complexes (7, 8b, 12) showed a monomeric distorted tetrahedral geometry and a six-membered chelate ring structure. py-ImPy ligands formed a more planar six-membered chelate with the nickel center than did N-picolyl-ImPy ligand. py-ImPyNi(II)Cl2 complexes (8a–8e) with tert-butyl substituents exhibited noticeable catalytic activity in acrylate synthesis from ethylene and CO2 (up to 108% acrylate). Interestingly, the use of additional additives including monodentate phosphines increased catalytic activity up to 845% acrylate (TON 8). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of mixed‐halide perovskites has established a versatile optoelectronic platform owing to their extraordinary physical properties, but there remain challenges toward achieving highly reliable synthesis and performance, in addition, post‐synthesis approaches for tuning their photoluminescence properties after device fabrication remain limited. In this work, an effective approach is reported to leveraging hot electrons generated from plasmonic nanostructures to regulate the optical properties of perovskites. A plasmonic metasurface composed of Au nanoparticles can effectively tailor both photoluminescence and location‐specific phase segregation of mixed‐halide CsPbI2Br thin films. The ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal hot electron injection on the timescale of hundreds of femtoseconds. Photocurrent measurements confirm the hot‐electron‐enhanced photon‐carrier conversion, and in addition, gate‐voltage tuning of phase segregation is observed because of correlated carrier injection and halide migration in the perovskite films. Finally, the characteristics of the gate‐modulated light emission are found to conform to a rectified linear unit function, serving as nonlinear electrical‐to‐optical converters in artificial neural networks. Overall, the hot electron engineering approach demonstrated in this work provides effective location‐specific control of the phase and optical properties of halide perovskites, underscoring the potential of plasmonic metasurfaces for advancing perovskite technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the various types of solid‐state proton conductors (SSPCs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as significant importance in the field of proton‐exchange membrane fuel‐cell (PEMFCs) applications. Herein, we have synthesized a three‐dimensional trinuclear zinc‐based metal–organic framework, denoted as Zn‐SDC‐MOF by modification of reported synthetic conditions, where stilbenedicarboxylic acid (H2SDC) and 4,4′‐bipyridine (bpy) are employed as an organic linker unit. With motivation of air stable trinuclear Zn‐SDC MOFs, we have analyzed the water stability behavior of this compound. It resulted in exceptional water stability performance over 3 weeks as confirmed by powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis. Moreover, this MOF compounds have shown modest proton conductive performance of 0.8 × 10−3 S cm−1, at 95% relative humidity (RH) and 298 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlighted with improved long-term thermal and environmental stability, all-inorganic metal halide perovskites exhibit tunable physical properties, cost-effective synthesis, and satisfactory optoelectronic performance, attracting increasing research interest worldwide. However, a less explored feature of these materials is their strong spin–orbit coupling (SOC), which is the hidden force influencing not only band structure but also properties including magnetoresistance, spin lifetime, and singlet-triplet splitting. This review provides an overview of the fundamental aspects and the latest progress of the SOC and debate regarding Rashba effects in all-inorganic metal halide perovskites, providing critical insight into the physical phenomena and potential applications. Meanwhile, crystal structures and photophysics of all-inorganic perovskite are discussed in the context of SOC, along with the related experimental and characterization techniques. Furthermore, a recent understanding of the band topology in the all-inorganic halide perovskites is introduced to push the boundary even further for the novel applications of all-inorganic halide perovskites. Finally, an outlook is given on the potential directions of breakthroughs via leveraging the SOC in halide perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inside cover picture, provided by Sungwoo Hong and co ‐ workers, illustrates a highly efficient and straightforward approach for the synthesis of spiroepoxy chroman ‐ 4 ‐ one derivatives with light irradiation using a blue LED under mild reaction conditions. During the reaction, the aldehyde generated in situ from the benzyl alcohol could further undergo visible light ‐ mediated internal radical cyclization and epoxidation, allowing the rapid generation of valuable and synthetically useful spiroepoxy chroman ‐ 4 ‐ ones and their nitrogen ‐ containing derivatives. Details of this work can be found in the communication on pages 3945 – 3949 (S. Jung, J. Kim, S. Hong, Adv. Synth. Catal. 2017, 359, 3945 – 3949; DOI: 10.1002/adsc.201701072). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cation‐binding salen nickel catalysts were developed for the enantioselective alkynylation of trifluoromethyl ketones in high yield (up to 99 %) and high enantioselectivity (up to 97 % ee). The reaction proceeds with substoichiometric quantities of base (10–20 mol % KOt‐Bu) and open to air. In the case of trifluoromethyl vinyl ketones, excellent chemo‐selectivity was observed, generating 1,2‐addition products exclusively over 1,4‐addition products. UV‐vis analysis revealed the pendant oligo‐ether group of the catalyst strongly binds to the potassium cation (K+) with 1:1 binding stoichiometry (Ka=6.6×105 m−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cation‐binding salen nickel catalysts were developed for the enantioselective alkynylation of trifluoromethyl ketones in high yield (up to 99 %) and high enantioselectivity (up to 97 % ee). The reaction proceeds with substoichiometric quantities of base (10–20 mol % KOt‐Bu) and open to air. In the case of trifluoromethyl vinyl ketones, excellent chemo‐selectivity was observed, generating 1,2‐addition products exclusively over 1,4‐addition products. UV‐vis analysis revealed the pendant oligo‐ether group of the catalyst strongly binds to the potassium cation (K+) with 1:1 binding stoichiometry (Ka=6.6×105 m−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exploring the effect of various fused multi-level features on RHP. • Designing a WTI mechanism to obtain decoupled modality representation. • Introducing a gated fusion method to fuse multi-level features for RHP. Predicting the online review helpfulness is of great significance to consumers due to it affects consumers' purchase decisions to a large extent. To generate accurate helpfulness predictions for online reviews, we need to consider all multi-modal messages including texts and images. Although extensive works have acquired great advances in the Review Helpfulness Prediction (RHP) task, there remain challenges in achieving a fine-grained fusion of the two heterogeneous modalities. Therefore, we propose a novel RHP method DMFN, which exploits the multi-level information of both texts and images to enhance the fine-detail representation of multimodal data. We further employ a weighted token-wise interaction to preserve finer-grained information in a lightweight way. Architecturally, DMFN consists of three parts, a multi-granularity feature generation part, a weighted token-wise interaction part, and a gated multi-level fully fusion part. The first part is built to fully extract the visual and linguistic features from multimodal reviews. The second part is designed to decouple the multi-granularity content and then sufficiently utilize the pair-wise correlations to obtain a disentangled manifold for multimodal inputs. The last part is constructed to adaptively integrate cross-modal features, and it controls the fusion of different features at multiple scales. Extensive experiment results on our collected RHP datasets from Yelp.com and Amazon.com show that our proposed approach is significantly superior to other existing benchmark RHP methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a critical role in the development and progression of lung cancer by promoting its invasiveness and metastasis. Using integrative analyses of the public lung cancer database, we found that the expression levels of the tight junction proteins, zonula occluden (ZO)-1 and ZO-2, were lower in lung cancer tissues, including both lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma than in normal lung tissues analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Although the ectopic expression or knockdown of ZO-1 and ZO-2 did not affect the growth of lung cancer cells, they significantly regulated cell migration and invasion. When M0 macrophages were co-cultured with ZO-1 or ZO-2 knockdown Calu-1 cells, M2-like polarization was efficiently induced. Conversely, co-culture of M0 THP-1 cells with A549 cells stably expressing ZO-1 or ZO-2 significantly reduced M2 differentiation. We also identified G protein subunit alpha q (GNAQ) as a potential ZO-1- and ZO-2-specific activator through analysis of correlated genes with the TCGA lung cancer database. Our results suggest that the GNAQ-ZO-1/2 axis may play a tumor-suppressive role in lung cancer development and progression and highlight ZO-1 and ZO-2 as key EMT- and tumor microenvironment-suppressive proteins. These findings provide new insights for the development of targeted therapies for lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Research progress on inorganic perovskites quantum dots is reviewed from three aspects: physical properties, synthesis approaches, and electronic applications. Inorganic perovskite quantum dots have been exploited as either the active layers or the additives in high-performance transistors and memories. Challenges and outlook on future advancement of perovskites quantum dots-based electronics are elaborated. Metal halide perovskites have generated significant attention in recent years because of their extraordinary physical properties and photovoltaic performance. Among these, inorganic perovskite quantum dots (QDs) stand out for their prominent merits, such as quantum confinement effects, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and defect-tolerant structures. Additionally, ligand engineering and an all-inorganic composition lead to a robust platform for ambient-stable QD devices. This review presents the state-of-the-art research progress on inorganic perovskite QDs, emphasizing their electronic applications. In detail, the physical properties of inorganic perovskite QDs will be introduced first, followed by a discussion of synthesis methods and growth control. Afterwards, the emerging applications of inorganic perovskite QDs in electronics, including transistors and memories, will be presented. Finally, this review will provide an outlook on potential strategies for advancing inorganic perovskite QD technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the role of CXCR6 in entry of T cells into the white and gray matter of the CNS during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) with and without a secondary injury to the cerebral cortex. CXCR6-deficient mice were susceptible to EAE induced by MOG(35-55) peptide vaccination. At the peak of EAE, GFP+ T cells were predominantly CD4+, exclusively present in the spinal cord, and absent in the brain in both CXCR6gfp/gfpand CXCR6gft/+mice. In the spinal cord, GFP+ T cells were mostly restricted to the white matter with preferential rostral- caudal axis locomotion in both genotypes. During remission, IL-17 and interferon-γ producing T cells were GFP+, whereas Foxp3+ cells were 20% GFP+ in both genotypes with no change in the ratio of Foxp3+ to IL-17 producing T cells. Recruitment of GFP+ T cells to the gray matter was further evaluated by inducing a small laser injury in layer 1 barrel cortex between day 16-20 post EAE induction. Laser injury recruited GFP+ T cells into the cortical gray matter of the CXCR6gfp/+, but not, CXCR6gfp/gfp mice over a period of 3-4 days. CXCL16, the ligand for CXCR6, was induced in the spinal cord as well as the brain of the active and recovering EAE mice. We conclude that in EAE, CXCR6 is not required for localization of T cells to spinal cord white matter, but is necessary for T cell entry into brain gray matter. Funding: NIH grants and Collaborative MS Research Center Award to M.D., J.L., J. Salzer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Kinetic modeling of MB sensitization of ZnO catalyst in photocatalytic dye removal. • Novel kinetic model by integration of reversible adsorption in photocatalysis. • Effect of oxygen vacancies on ZnO by H 2 -reduction on dye sensitization. • Impact of pH on adsorption and degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange. • Quantification of quantum yield by catalyst activity and dye sensitizer. Dye sensitization enhances catalyst reactivity using dye molecules to amplify light absorption. Researchers debate using dyes as model compounds due to uncertainty about whether degradation is driven by dye or the catalyst. Instead of avoiding this question, our approach involves understanding and quantifying the distinct roles of each component in the degradation process. This study investigated methylene blue (MB) sensitization of ZnO using a binary dye mixture of MB and methyl orange. A comprehensive kinetic model was developed to account for the function of MB sensitizer by simultaneously tracking the interaction of dyes across the catalyst surface and solution in pH range of 3 to 11. The effects of pH on dye adsorption were incorporated using dye speciation (pK a). The dye removal was kinetically modeled considering reversible adsorption/desorption and surface/aqueous degradation by the interaction between active radicals (in the solution) and electron-holes (on the catalyst surface). Additionally, the source of the generated electron hole (i.e., ZnO or MB sensitizer) was considered separately. Oxygen vacancy effects on dye adsorption and sensitization were explored through hydrogen reduction of ZnO at 500 °C. Characterization techniques assessed oxygen vacancy presence, while quantum yield calculations quantified MB sensitization's contribution to dye degradation versus the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]