bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact on length of stay and readmission rates when converting oral to long-acting injectable antipsychotics in schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
Authors: Chou Fabienne , Reome Earle , Davis Patricia
Published: August 2016

Introduction: Nonadherence with oral antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia has been associated with symptom relapse and rehospitalizations, resulting in increased morbidity and health care costs. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs) are an alternative to enhance adherence and decrease relapse requiring hospitalization. The objectives of this study are to determine the impact of LAIAs on reducing length of stay, the rate of annual readmissions, and the number of failed annual discharges (defined as a readmission in less than 30 days) in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder admitted to an acute inpatient psychiatric unit.

Methods: Using the hospital database, 52 patients receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders treated with oral antipsychotics and later transitioned to LAIAs were evaluated retrospectively.

Results: Patients treated with LAIAs did not show a statistically significant reduction in length of stay compared with their length of stay on oral antipsychotics. Patients treated with LAIAs experienced a statistically significant reduction in the rate of annual readmissions and a reduction in the number of failed annual discharges, although the latter was not statistically significant (P = .076 when compared to treatment with oral antipsychotics).

Discussion: These findings suggest a potential role for maintaining patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder on LAIAs to prevent relapse and rehospitalizations. The reduction in the number of failed annual discharges between the oral versus LAIA group, although not statistically significant, warrants further investigation to determine the impact of LAIAs on readmission within 30 days.
Electronic Health Record Nudges and Health Care Quality and Outcomes in Primary Care
Authors: Nguyen Oliver T. , Kunta Avaneesh R. , Katoju SriVarsha , Gheytasvand Sara , Masoumi Niloofar , Tavasolian Ronia , Alishahi Tabriz Amir , Hong Young-Rock , Hanna Karim , Perkins Randa , Parekh Arpan , Turner Kea
Published: September 2024

Importance

Nudges have been increasingly studied as a tool for facilitating behavior change and may represent a novel way to modify the electronic health record (EHR) to encourage evidence-based care.

Objective

To evaluate the association between EHR nudges and health care outcomes in primary care settings and describe implementation facilitators and barriers.

Evidence Review

On June 9, 2023, an electronic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science for all articles about clinician-facing EHR nudges. After reviewing titles, abstracts, and full texts, the present review was restricted to articles that used a randomized clinical trial (RCT) design, focused on primary care settings, and evaluated the association between EHR nudges and health care quality and patient outcome measures. Two reviewers abstracted the following elements: country, targeted clinician types, medical conditions studied, length of evaluation period, study design, sample size, intervention conditions, nudge mechanisms, implementation facilitators and barriers encountered, and major findings. The findings were qualitatively reported by type of health care quality and patient outcome and type of primary care condition targeted. The Risk of Bias 2.0 tool was adapted to evaluate the studies based on RCT design (cluster, parallel, crossover). Studies were scored from 0 to 5 points, with higher scores indicating lower risk of bias.

Findings

Fifty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, most studies (79.6%) were assessed to have a moderate risk of bias. Most or all descriptive (eg, documentation patterns) (30 of 38) or patient-centeredness measures (4 of 4) had positive associations with EHR nudges. As for other measures of health care quality and patient outcomes, few had positive associations between EHR nudges and patient safety (4 of 12), effectiveness (19 of 48), efficiency (0 of 4), patient-reported outcomes (0 of 3), patient adherence (1 of 2), or clinical outcome measures (1 of 7).

Conclusions and Relevance

This systematic review found low- and moderate-quality evidence that suggested that EHR nudges were associated with improved descriptive measures (eg, documentation patterns). Meanwhile, it was unclear whether EHR nudges were associated with improvements in other areas of health care quality, such as effectiveness and patient safety outcomes. Future research is needed using longer evaluation periods, a broader range of primary care conditions, and in deimplementation contexts.
Development of a 3D‐printed phantom for total skin electron therapy dose assessment
Authors: Lee Andrew , Alkhatib Zaid , Ibrahim Mounir , McCallum‐Hee Broderick , Dass Joshua , Fernandez de Viana Matthew , Rowshanfarzad Pejman
Published: September 2024

Purpose

Total skin electron therapy (TSET) is a complex radiotherapy technique, posing challenges in commissioning and quality assurance (QA), especially due to significant variability in patient body shapes. Previous studies have correlated dose with factors such as obesity index, height, and gender. However, current treatment planning systems cannot simulate TSET plans, necessitating heavy reliance on QA methods using standardized anthropomorphic phantoms and in‐vivo dosimetry. Given the relatively few studies on rotational techniques, comprehensive data in commissioning could streamline the process.

Methods

Developing a full‐body phantom would enable a more thorough TSET commissioning process, including testing for position‐specific dose distributions and comprehensive measurements across all body surfaces, unlike the typical torso‐only phantoms. This was created using digital modeling software, fabricated using 3D‐printing FDM technology, and filled with tissue‐equivalent gelatine. The phantom was positioned at an SSD of 340 cm and irradiated with a standard rotational TSET plan using the 6E HDTSE mode on a Varian TrueBeam linac at gantry angles of ± 18° from the horizontal. The dose was measured at over 50 points across the surface using Gafchromic EBT3 film.

Results

Dose distributions were generally consistent with existing literature values from in‐vivo dosimetry, with several position‐specific differences identified, including the hands and scalp compared to conventional positions. Hotspots were observed for the mid‐dorsum of the foot and nose, with areas under 80% of the dose identified as the soles of the feet, perineum, vertex of the scalp, top of the shoulder, and palm of the hand. Additionally, analysis using an interpolated dose heatmap found that 90% of the pixel area received a dose within 10% of the prescribed dose, indicating good uniformity with the commissioned technique.

Conclusions

With high agreement with the current literature, a 3D‐printed phantom proves effective for measuring doses in areas typically unmeasurable in TSET commissioning.
Long‐term stability of a PTW 34070 large‐area parallel ionization chamber in clinical proton scanning beams
Authors: Yamanaka Masashi , Mori Yutaro , Matsumoto Kazuki , Moriya Shunsuke , Yamano Akihiro , Shimo Takahiro , Shirata Ryosuke , Nitta Kazunori , Nagata Hironori , Tokuuye Koichi
Published: September 2024

Purpose

In the modeling of beam data for proton therapy planning systems, absolute dose measurements are performed utilizing a Bragg peak chamber (BPC), which is a parallel‐plate ionization chamber. The long‐term stability of the BPC is crucial for ensuring accurate absolute dose measurement. The study aims to assess the long‐term stability of the BPC in clinical proton pencil beam scanning delivery.

Methods

The long‐term stability evaluation focused on the BPC‐Type 34070 (PTW Freiburg, Germany), utilizing clinical proton scanning beams from December 2022 to November 2023. Monthly investigations were conducted to evaluate the response and cross‐calibration factor of the BPC and a reference chamber, employing the spread‐out Bragg peak (SOBP) field. Additionally, assessments were made regarding the BPC's response to monoenergetic beams, along with an examination of the impact of polarity and ion recombination on the BPC.

Results

The response and cross‐calibration factor of the BPC varied up to 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively, while the response of the reference chamber remained within a 0.5% range. The BPC's response to the mono‐energetic beams varied up to 2.0% across all energies, demonstrating similar variation trends in both the SOBP field and mono‐energetic beams. Furthermore, the variations in polarity and ion recombination effect remained stable within a 0.4% range throughout the year. Notably, the reproducibility of the BPC remained high for each measurement conducted, whether for the SOBP field or mono‐energetic beams, with a maximum deviation observed at 0.1%.

Conclusions

The response and cross‐calibration factor of the BPC demonstrated significant variations, with maximum changes of 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively. However, the reproducibility of the BPC remained consistently high for each measurement. It is recommended that when conducting absolute dose measurements using a BPC, its response should be compared and corrected against the reference chamber for each measurement.
Brain tumor segmentation by combining MultiEncoder UNet with wavelet fusion
Authors: Pan Yuheng , Yong Haohan , Lu Weijia , Li Guoyan , Cong Jia
Published: September 2024

Background and objective

Accurate segmentation of brain tumors from multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) holds significant importance in clinical diagnosis and surgical intervention, while current deep learning methods cope with situations of multimodal MRI by an early fusion strategy that implicitly assumes that the modal relationships are linear, which tends to ignore the complementary information between modalities, negatively impacting the model's performance. Meanwhile, long‐range relationships between voxels cannot be captured due to the localized character of the convolution procedure.

Method

Aiming at this problem, we propose a multimodal segmentation network based on a late fusion strategy that employs multiple encoders and a decoder for the segmentation of brain tumors. Each encoder is specialized for processing distinct modalities. Notably, our framework includes a feature fusion module based on a 3D discrete wavelet transform aimed at extracting complementary features among the encoders. Additionally, a 3D global context‐aware module was introduced to capture the long‐range dependencies of tumor voxels at a high level of features. The decoder combines fused and global features to enhance the network's segmentation performance.

Result

Our proposed model is experimented on the publicly available BraTS2018 and BraTS2021 datasets. The experimental results show competitiveness with state‐of‐the‐art methods.

Conclusion

The results demonstrate that our approach applies a novel concept for multimodal fusion within deep neural networks and delivers more accurate and promising brain tumor segmentation, with the potential to assist physicians in diagnosis.
Is an all‐phase ITV (internal target volume) a gold standard in the target definition of hepatocellular carcinoma?
Authors: Kumar Rishabh , Gupta Anil , Vishwanathan Bhaskar , Kamal Rose , Thaper Deepak
Published: September 2024

Background

Stereotactic ablative body radiation (SABR) is a well‐recognized treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Due to the inherent motion of liver tumors, effective motion management is crucial for successful SABR. In the motion‐encompassing motion management technique, all 10 respiratory phase image datasets are delineated and designated as the internal target volume (ITV). Some treatment centers use single or combination image sets to delineate the target volume. This study determines which specialty image set most closely matches an all‐phase ITV contour on a synchronized contrast‐enhanced 4DCT.

Materials and methods

Synchronized 4DCT contrast and delayed scans were acquired for 10 patients in the study. The maximum intensity projection (MiP), average intensity projection (AvgIP), and minimum intensity projection (MinIP) images were generated. The ITV delineation was done in all 10 phases (ITV_all_phase). The ITV_2phase combines the peak inhale and exhale phase, ITV_2 M combines MiP and MinIP, and ITV_3 M combines MiP, MinIP, and AvgIP. All ITVs were compared to ITV_all_phase with Dice similarity index (DSI) and volumes.

Results

Using ITV_all_phase as the reference, the DSI and the mean ITV volumes for the different ITVs were as follows: ITV_all_phase (1 and 116.69 cc), ITV_2phase (0.87 and 105.27 cc), MiP (0.76 and 98.24 cc), AvgIP (0.72 and 94.54 cc), ITV_MinIP (0.67 and 81.08 cc), ITV_2 M (0.84 and 106.26 cc), and ITV_3 M (0.86 and 112.51 cc).

Conclusion

The study demonstrates that in the motion‐encompassing technique of motion management, the target volume generated by delineating all phases of 4DCT provides the most accurate representation for patients with HCC. Specialty image sets and their combinations, while sometimes close, tend to result in less accurate targeting. Hence, the all‐phase 4DCT method should be preferred to avoid geographical misses and ensure optimal treatment outcomes. However, our conclusion may be limited by the technique we employed.
How to Help Students Make Informed Assessments of Cognitive Load: Examining the Role of Training Interventions
Authors: Krieglstein Felix , Schmitz Manuel , Wesenberg Lukas , Rey Günter Daniel
Published: September 2024

Measuring cognitive load and its different types is a significant challenge that is closely related to the development of cognitive load theory (CLT). Previous research has shown that students have difficulty assessing cognitive load after learning or problem‐solving. Accordingly, they may not reliably differentiate between the different types of cognitive load. Moreover, students may not consider the entire problem‐solving process in their overall cognitive load assessment. The purpose of this work was to examine two training interventions designed to assist students in making informed cognitive load assessments. Study 1 (N = 99) included pre‐training with a theoretical introduction to CLT to improve differentiation between cognitive load types. Study 2 (N = 80) implemented post‐training by instructing students to consider all impressions during problem‐solving for the overall load assessment. As both interventions were unsuccessful, further research is needed to assist students in assessing cognitive load in an informed manner.
Microenvironments‐Modulated Biomaterials Enhance Spinal Cord Injury Therapy
Authors: Li Yuehong , Zhang Qingzheng , Liu Zongtai , Fu Changfeng , Ding Jianxun
Published: September 2024

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results from various causes, including sports‐related incidents, degenerative cervical myelopathy, traffic accidents, and falls. SCI typically leads to sensory and motor dysfunction and even paralysis. Current treatments for SCI include systemic administration of high‐dose steroids and surgical decompression and stabilization. However, excessive use of glucocorticoids may increase susceptibility to infections and systemic bleeding. The long‐term effect of surgery intervention remains unclear, with ongoing debates regarding its timing, efficacy, and safety. Therefore, innovative approaches are urgently needed to alleviate secondary injuries and promote spinal recovery. One emerging therapeutic approach for SCI is modulating the microenvironments to achieve neuroprotection and neurogenesis during recovery. Several biomaterials with favorable physicochemical properties have been developed to enhance therapeutic effects by regulating microenvironments. This Review first discusses the pathology of SCI microenvironments and then introduces biomaterials‐based regulatory strategies targeting various microenvironmental components, including anti‐inflammation, anti‐oxidation, reduction of excitotoxicity, revascularization, neurogenesis, and scar density reduction. Additionally, the research and clinical application prospects for microenvironment regulation are presented.
Boosting the Intelligent Development of Electromagnetic Shielding Polymer Composites by Expert Knowledge
Authors: Cao Wenjing , Li Xiong , Chen Yiyuan , Jin Liyuan , Guo Rina , Song Na , Sun Sheng , Ding Peng
Published: September 2024

An intelligent process for developing electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composites is imperative to eliminate the escalating pollution of electromagnetic waves (EMWs). Meanwhile, integrating porous and/or layered structures with polymers is demonstrated as an effective approach. Herein, expert knowledge serves as the guidance of the Simulation‐First Strategy in designing shielding structures that incorporate MXene bubble wrap‐like aerogels (MBa‐bA), characterized by distinct bubble diameters a and densities b. The simulated EMI shielding efficiency (EMI SE) of corresponding MBa‐bA/polyethylene glycol (MBa‐bAP) composites is predicted through the finite element analysis (FEA) simulation. Subsequently, the MBa‐bAP composites are fabricated by template methods and exhibit an outstanding EMI SE of up to 83.1 dB and an ultrahigh SE of absorption (SEA) of 75.1 dB in X band at a = 10 µm and b = 0.50, perfectly aligning with the simulation outcomes. Combined with macro‐scale FEA simulation and experimental evidence, the pronounced EMWs attenuation effect, heat storage/release, and mechanical performances of MBa‐bAP composites are unequivocally substantiated. Based on these, this work proves the feasibility of the intelligent development strategy and provides a research basis for developing advanced EMI shielding materials directed by expert knowledge.
Challenges and Progress in Rechargeable Magnesium‐Ion Batteries: Materials, Interfaces, and Devices
Authors: Wang Dong , Zhang Zhenyu , Hao Yue , Jia Hongxing , Shen Xing , Qu Baihua , Huang Guangsheng , Zhou Xiaoyuan , Wang Jingfeng , Xu Chaohe , Pan Fusheng
Published: September 2024

Rechargeable magnesium‐ion batteries (RMBs) have garnered increasing research interest in the field of post‐lithium‐ion battery technologies owing to their potential for high energy density, enhanced safety, cost‐effectiveness, and material resourcefulness. Despite substantial advancements in RMB research, a number of intrinsic challenges remain unresolved, such as the strong Coulombic interaction between Mg2+ and the host crystal structure of cathode materials, sluggish Mg2+ diffusion kinetic, poor electrolyte compatibility, and the formation of passivation films on the Mg anode interface. These issues hinder the commercial applications of RMBs. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the progress in key areas of RMB research, including representative magnesium‐ion storage cathode/anode materials and magnesium‐ion conducting electrolytes. Additionally, recent developments in electrode‐electrolyte interface regulations and pouch‐cell fabrication are outlined, highlighting current challenges and the implementation of effective solutions. Finally, future research directions are proposed to guide the development of high‐performance RMBs with practical applications.
An Unusual Application of Multifunctional Nanozyme Derived from COF: Augmenting Chemoimmunotherapy while Attenuating Cardiotoxicity
Authors: Lv Wenxin , Jiang Guangwei , Lin Xiaojun , Qian Min , Huang Rong , Li Zhichao , Liu Hui , Lin Dan , Wang Yi
Published: September 2024

Enhancing therapeutic efficacy while reducing the adverse effects of drugs is crucial in cancer treatments. In this study, nitrogen‐doped carbon nanospheres are synthesized with variable enzymatic activities through the pyrolysis of a covalent organic framework (COF). These nanospheres show increased peroxidase (POD) and oxidase (OXD) activities in the tumor microenvironment, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that help eliminate tumor cells. Under normal conditions, they display catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, promoting antioxidative protection. Their porous structure and π–π/hydrophobic interactions allow for the loading of the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX). The nanospheres are then enveloped by tumor cell membranes, stabilizing the drug load and enabling targeted drug delivery with pH‐sensitive release. This targeted system induces ferroptosis in tumor cells and activates a strong anti‐tumor immune response, leading to enhanced immunotherapy for breast cancer and reduced tumor metastasis to the lungs. Importantly, the varied enzymatic activities of the nanomedicine system help mitigate the cardiotoxicity of DOX chemotherapy, improving cancer treatment while minimizing side effects. This approach introduces a nano‐enzyme drug system with distinctive activities and innovative preparation, setting a new standard for efficient, low‐toxicity cancer therapy.
Integrating Multiple Strategies Using Biotechnology to Design High‐Performance Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution
Authors: Ge Lin , Liu Chang , Xue Tingting , Kang Yiyang , Sun Yining , Chen Yuxi , Wu Jiajie , Teng Kai , Li Lei , Qu Qing
Published: September 2024

Combining multiple design strategies often enhances catalyst performance but usually comes with high costs and low reproducibility. A technique that enhances catalyst performance in multiple strategies is urgently needed. Herein, a novel bioregulation technique is introduced, allowing simultaneous control over morphology, particle size, doping, interface engineering, and electronic properties. Bioregulation technique utilizes the soluble extracellular polymer from Aspergillus niger as a templating agent to construct high‐performance catalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER). This technique controls catalyst morphology, introduces biological N and S doping, and regulates the electronic structure of the catalyst surface. Biomolecule modification enhances surface hydrophilicity, and the nanostructure increases surface roughness and gas‐release efficiency. Theoretical calculations show that the bioregulation technique shortens the d/p‐band center, optimizing reaction intermediate adsorption and desorption. The Bio‐Pt/Co3O4 catalyst with trace Pt on the surface, designed with these strategies, achieves HER (η10 of 42 mV), OER (η10 of 221 mV), and overall water‐splitting performance (1.51 V at 10 mA cm−2), maintaining stability for over 50 h, outperforming most Pt‐based catalysts. Notably, using spent lithium‐ion battery cathodes leachate, rich in Co2⁺, successfully replicates the experiment. This approach holds promise as a mainstream method for synthesizing high‐performance materials in the future.
Template‐Sacrificing Synthesis of Asymmetrically Coordinated Zn Single‐Atom Sites for High‐Performance Sodium–Sulfur Batteries
Authors: Zheng Fangcai , Chen Fangsheng , Li Zhiqiang , Yao Ge , Dong Shuting , Wei Lingzhi , Chen Qianwang , Wang Changlai , Wang Hui
Published: September 2024

Metal single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are extensively investigated to accelerate the sulfur redox kinetics in room‐temperature sodium─sulfur (Na─S) batteries. Nevertheless, the influence of the structure symmetry of SACs center on the electrocatalytic mechanism and the precise pathway in which single‐atom active sites facilitate sodium polysulfides (Na2Sn) conversion remain unknown. To enable controlled construction of highly active single‐atom configuration, herein, Zn SACs with an asymmetrical Zn─N3O configuration are designed for sodium polysulfides conversion. Both theoretical and experimental explorations reveal that the Zn─N3O single‐atom center displays higher electrocatalytic activity for polysulfides conversion than the Zn─N4 single‐atom center. The N/O co‐coordination induces the localized charge at Zn single‐atom center, which strengthens the d‐p hybridization with Na2Sn and stretches Na─S bond length of Na2Sn, thus accelerating the sulfur redox reaction kinetics. Consequently, the as‐assembled Na─S batteries achieve a high capacity of 1016 mAh g−1 at 1.0 C with a capacity decay of 0.0186% per cycle over 1000 cycles. This work uncovers the subtle relationship between the electrocatalytic activity of species conversion and the local coordination environment of SACs, and offers a guidance for the design of efficient asymmetrical SACs for different catalysis applications.
SnS‐Facilitated ZnAlSnO‐Based Fully Optically Modulated Artificial Synaptic Device for Image Processing
Authors: Yang Ruqi , Hu Dunan , Chen Qiujiang , Wang Zihan , Lu Bin , Ye Zhizhen , Li Xifeng , Lu Jianguo
Published: September 2024

Optical synapses offer a promising solution to the high energy consumption of von Neumann architectures. Despite significant research, existing photoconductivity modulation methods are typically unidirectional, and inhibitory behavior still depends on electrical stimulation. To address this, a two‐terminal planar fully optically modulated synapse device based on a ZnAlSnO/SnS heterostructure, demonstrating bidirectional optical response is presented. This device exhibits an excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) when exposed to 370 nm UV light and generates an inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC) under 630 nm red light. Continuous potentiation and depression stimuli reveals the stability of fully optically modulated artificial synapses. Leveraging its fully optically modulated conductance, a three‐layer artificial neural network is implemented for handwritten digit and clothing recognition, achieving accuracies of 91.12% and 78.22%, respectively. Additionally, based on its unique electrical response to UV light pulse, the development process of the Polaroid camera is well simulated. This work not only enriches the content of optical synapses, but also contributes to advancements in artificial intelligence, brain‐like computing, and image‐processing technologies.
Radial Egg White Hydrogel Releasing Extracellular Vesicles for Cell Fate Guidance and Accelerated Diabetic Skin Regeneration
Authors: Ma Yuan , Wang Xinhui , Huang Xiaoqi , He Yu , Su Ting , Niu Xingtang , Gao Jianhua , Lu Feng , Chang Qiang
Published: September 2024

Topology and bioactive molecules are crucial for stimulating cellular and tissue functions. To regulate the chronic wound microenvironment, mono‐assembly technology is employed to fabricate a radial egg white hydrogel loaded with lyophilized adipose tissue‐extracellular vesicles (radial EWH@L‐EVs). The radial architecture not only significantly modified the gene expression of functional cells, but also achieved directional and controlled release kinetics of L‐EVs. Through the synergy of topographical and inherent bioactive cues, radial EWH@L‐EVs effectively reduced intracellular oxidative stress and promoted the polarization of macrophages toward an anti‐inflammatory phenotype during the inflammatory phase. Afterward, radial EWH@L‐EVs facilitated the centripetal migration and proliferation of fibroblasts and endothelial cells as the wound transitioned to the proliferative phase. During the latter remodeling phase, radial EWH@L‐EVs accelerated the regeneration of granulation tissue, angiogenesis, and collagen deposition, thereby promoting the reorganization chronic wound. Compared with the gold standard collagen scaffold, radial EWH@L‐EVs actively accommodated the microenvironment via various functions throughout all stages of diabetic wound healing. This can be attributed to the orientation of topological structures and bioactive molecules, which should be considered of utmost importance in tissue engineering.
Flexible Pressure, Humidity, and Temperature Sensors for Human Health Monitoring
Authors: Li Jiaqi , Fang Zhengping , Wei Dongsong , Liu Yan
Published: September 2024

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, micro‐nano manufacturing, and flexible electronics technology have unleashed unprecedented innovation and opportunities for applying flexible sensors in healthcare, wearable devices, and human–computer interaction. The human body's tactile perception involves physical parameters such as pressure, temperature, and humidity, all of which play an essential role in maintaining human health. Inspired by the sensory function of human skin, many bionic sensors have been developed to simulate human skin's perception to various stimuli and are widely applied in health monitoring. Given the urgent requirements for sensing performance and integration of flexible sensors in the field of wearable devices and health monitoring, here is a timely overview of recent advances in pressure, humidity, temperature, and multi‐functional sensors for human health monitoring. It covers the fundamental components of flexible sensors and categorizes them based on different response mechanisms, including resistive, capacitive, voltage, and other types. Specifically, the application of these flexible tactile sensors in the area of human health monitoring is highlighted. Based on this, an extended overview of recent advances in dual/triple‐mode flexible sensors integrating pressure, humidity, and temperature tactile sensing is presented. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of flexible sensors are discussed.
Nanomechanical Crystalline AlN Resonators with High Quality Factors for Quantum Optoelectromechanics
Authors: Ciers Anastasiia , Jung Alexander , Ciers Joachim , Nindito Laurentius Radit , Pfeifer Hannes , Dadgar Armin , Strittmatter André , Wieczorek Witlef
Published: September 2024

High‐quality factor (Qm) mechanical resonators are crucial for applications where low noise and long coherence time are required, as mirror suspensions, quantum cavity optomechanical devices, or nanomechanical sensors. Tensile strain in the material enables the use of dissipation dilution and strain engineering techniques, which increase the mechanical quality factor. These techniques have been employed for high‐Qm mechanical resonators made from amorphous materials and, recently, from crystalline materials such as InGaP, SiC, and Si. A strained crystalline film exhibiting substantial piezoelectricity expands the capability of high‐Qm nanomechanical resonators to directly utilize electronic degrees of freedom. In this work, nanomechanical resonators with Qm up to 2.9 × 107 made from tensile‐strained 290 nm‐thick AlN are realized. AlN is an epitaxially‐grown crystalline material offering strong piezoelectricity. Nanomechanical resonators that exploit dissipation dilution and strain engineering to reach a Qm × fm‐product approaching 1013 Hz at room temperature are demonstrated. A novel resonator geometry is realized, triangline, whose shape follows the Al–N bonds and offers a central pad patterned with a photonic crystal. This allows to reach an optical reflectivity above 80% for efficient coupling to out‐of‐plane light. The presented results pave the way for quantum optoelectromechanical devices at room temperature based on tensile‐strained AlN.
Enhancing Spin–Orbit Coupling in an Indolocarbazole Multiresonance Emitter by a Sulfur‐Containing Peripheral Substituent for a Fast Reverse Intersystem Crossing
Authors: Fan Tianjiao , Liu Qiwei , Zhang Hai , Wang Xuewen , Zhang Dongdong , Duan Lian
Published: September 2024

A fast reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) remains an ongoing pursuit for multiresonance (MR) emitters but faces formidable challenges, particularly for indolocarbazole (ICz) derived ones. Here, heavy‐atom effect is introduced first to construct ICz‐MR emitter using a sulfur‐containing substitute, simultaneously enhancing both spin–orbit and spin–vibronic coupling to afford a fast RISC with a rate of 1.2 × 105 s−1, nearly one order of magnitude higher than previous maximum values. The emitter also exhibits an extremely narrow deep‐blue emission peaking at 456 nm with full‐width at half‐maxima of merely 12 nm and a photoluminescence quantum yield of 92%. Benefiting from its efficient triplet upconversion capability, this emitter achieves not only a high maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 31.1% in organic light‐emitting diodes but also greatly alleviates efficiency roll‐off, affording record‐high EQEs of 29.9% at 1000 cd m−2 and 18.7% at 5000 cd m−2 among devices with ICz‐MR emitters.
Multifunctional Copper‐Phenolic Nanopills Achieve Comprehensive Polyamines Depletion to Provoke Enhanced Pyroptosis and Cuproptosis for Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Zhu Guoqing , Xie Yulin , Wang Junrong , Wang Man , Qian Yanrong , Sun Qianqian , Dai Yunlu , Li Chunxia
Published: September 2024

The overexpression of polyamines in tumor cells contributes to the establishment of immunosuppressive microenvironment and facilitates tumor growth. Here, it have ingeniously designed multifunctional copper‐piceatannol/HA nanopills (Cu‐Pic/HA NPs) that effectively cause total intracellular polyamines depletion by inhibiting polyamines synthesis, depleting intracellular polyamines, and impairing polyamines uptake, resulting in enhanced pyroptosis and cuproptosis, thus activating a powerful immune response to achieve anti‐tumor therapy. Mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from overall intracellular polyamines depletion not only leads to the surge of copper ions in mitochondria, thereby causing the aggregation of toxic proteins to induce cuproptosis, but also triggers the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within mitochondria, which further upregulates the expression of zDHHC5 and zDHHC9 to promote the palmitoylation of gasdermin D (GSDMD) and GSDMD‐N, ultimately inducing enhanced pyroptosis. Then the occurrence of enhanced pyroptosis and cuproptosis is conductive to remodel the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, thus activating anti‐tumor immune responses and ultimately effectively inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis. This therapeutic strategy of enhanced pyroptosis and cuproptosis through comprehensive polyamines depletion provides a novel template for cancer immunotherapy.
A Click Chemistry Strategy Toward Spin‐Polarized Transition‐Metal Single Site Catalysts for Dynamic Probing of Sulfur Redox Electrocatalysis
Authors: Chen Weijie , Yu Yue , Du Yu , Wang Yu , Zhao Yan , Guo Kai , Yuan Pengfei , Zhang Jia‐Nan , Qu Gan
Published: September 2024

Catalytic conversion of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) is a crucial approach to enhance the redox kinetics and suppress the shuttle effect in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. However, the roles of a typical heterogenous catalyst cannot be easily identified due to its structural complexity. Compared with the distinct sites of single atom catalysts (SACs), each active site of single site catalysts (SSCs) is identical and uniform in their spatial energy, binding mode, and coordination sphere, etc. Benefiting from the well‐defined structure, iron phthalocyanine (FePc) is covalently clicked onto CuO nanosheet to prepare low spin‐state Fe SSCs as the model catalyst for Li–S electrochemistry. The periodic polarizability evolution of Fe‐N bonding is probed during sulfur redox reaction by in situ Raman spectra. Theoretical analysis shows the decreased d‐band center gap of Fe (Δd) and delocalization of dxz/dyz after the axial click confinement. Consequently, Li–S batteries with Fe SSCs exhibit a capacity decay rate of 0.029% per cycle at 2 C. The universality of this methodological approach is demonstrated by a series of M SSCs (M = Mn, Co, and Ni) with similar variation of electronic configuration. This work provides guidance for the design of efficient electrocatalysis in Li–S batteries.
A Closed‐Loop Nanosystem Based on Piezoelectric Sensor and Pd‐Nanoshell Photothermal Ablation for Renal Denervation to Treat Hypertension
Authors: Liu Chengzhe , Wang Chenlu , Huang Mingkun , Zhang Zizhuo , Qiao Jiaming , Han Xinrui , Wang Jiale , Zu Qinxuan , Zhou Xiaoya , Jiang Hong , Zhou Liping , Guo Shishang , Zeng Mengqi , Fu Lei , Yu Lilei
Published: September 2024

Renal sympathetic nerves play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, and renal denervation (RDN) is a new solution for patients with refractory hypertension. However, current RDN techniques show inconsistent results in clinical application probably owing to incomplete endovascular ablation of the sympathetic nerves and a lack of measures to localize and assess efficacy. In this study, a closed‐loop RDN system consisting of a sensing unit with a piezoelectric thin‐film sensor (PTFS) and a treatment unit with a hollow Pd nanoparticle shell (PdNPS) with a diameter of 202.0 nm for photothermal neural ablation is constructed. The PTFS can monitor and collect arterial pulsation and blood pressure (BP) and direct PdNPS to maximize RDN. PdNPS maintains a local temperature of 58–62 °C under near‐infrared‐II irradiation (1,064 nm) to achieve effective RDN within a range of 90–120 s treatment window. Photothermal ablation significantly inhibits the activities of renal sympathetic nerves post‐procedure and after one month and reduces the elevation of BP by > 50%. The novel closed‐loop system enables safe and efficient targeting, dynamic monitoring, and ablation of the renal sympathetic nerves. This closed‐loop system provides a new strategy for RDN technology and even for treating sympathetic nerve‐related chronic diseases.
Intramolecular Through‐Space Charge‐Transfer Effect for Achieving Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence in Amorphous Film
Authors: Dou Dehai , Zhou Xin , Wang Tian , Yang Qiqi , Tan Xiao , Ling Zhitian , Manz Marvin , Liu Xiaomin , Wetzelaer Gert‐Jan A. H. , Li Xiaosong , Baumgarten Martin , Blom Paul W. M. , Li Yungui
Published: September 2024

Organic emitters that exhibit room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in neat films have application potential for optoelectronic devices, bio‐imaging, and sensing. Due to molecular vibrations or rotations, the majority of triplet excitons recombine rapidly via non‐radiative processes in purely organic emitters, making it challenging to observe RTP in amorphous films. Here, a chemical strategy to enhance RTP in amorphous neat films is reported, by utilizing through‐space charge‐transfer (TSCT) effect induced by intramolecular steric hindrance. The donor and acceptor groups interact via spatial orbital overlaps, while molecular motions are suppressed simultaneously. As a result, triplets generated under photo‐excitation are stabilized in amorphous films, contributing to phosphorescence even at room temperature. The solvatochromic effect on the steady‐state and transient photoluminescence reveals the charge‐transfer feature of involved excited states, while the TSCT effect is further experimentally resolved by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The designed luminescent materials with pronounced TSCT effect show RTP in amorphous films, with lifetimes up to ≈40 ms, comparable to that in a rigid polymer host. Photoluminescence afterglow longer than 3 s is observed in neat films at room temperature. Therefore, it is demonstrated that utilizing intramolecular steric hindrance to stabilize long‐lived triplets leads to phosphorescence in amorphous films at room temperature.
Trackable Electronic Deception Enabled by Space‐Time Coding Metasurface
Authors: Wan Xiang , Wang Wen Hao , Wang Jia Wei , Wang Xu Jie , Wan Jia Chen , Chen Zhanye , Quan Yinghui , Cui Tie Jun
Published: September 2024

Space‐time coding metasurfaces (STCMs) have gained a great deal of achievements in the fields of radar and communication, but they have rarely been explored in the field of electronic jamming. The existing researches use time‐varying surface or phase‐switched screens to realize electronic deceptions, but the deceptions are completely passive and are limited in the time‐frequency domain. Here, a mechanism of STCM‐based deceptions is presented in the space and the time‐frequency domains, and precise designs of the STCM‐based deceptions are achieved by performing shifting operations on the space‐time coding sequences of the STCM. Moreover, STCM‐based DOA (direction‐of‐arrival) estimation is integrated with the deception procedure to achieve trackable electronic deception which cannot be realized by completely passive electronic jamming. A prototype system of the STCM‐based deception is built to verify the deception performance, and the experimental results agree well with the numerical simulations. This work extends the research and the applications of the STCMs, hence showing great scientific and engineering significance.
Vertically Stacked Broadband GNIF‐MoS2/p‐Ge Photodetector for Dark Current Suppression, High Photoresponse, and Ultrafast Transient Response
Authors: Pandey Rajiv Kumar , Choi Hwayong , Kim Young‐Hoon , Jeong Subin , Kim Yeji , Heo Junseok
Published: September 2024

The proposed model structure, featuring a gold (Au) nano‐island film (GNIF) integrated with a vertically stacked van der Waals heterojunction and offering an elegant platform for high‐performance, efficient, and sensitive photodetection across a broad spectral range, is designated as GNIF‐MoS₂/p‐Ge(MoS2 = Molybdenum disulfide, p‐Ge = p type germanium). The GNIF is fabricated via ultrathin film deposition, based on the surface dewetting properties of MoS2. The as‐fabricated photodetector (PD), offering ≈20 times reduction in dark current and characterized by wavelength‐dependent high responsivity (R(λ)), photoconductive gain (G(λ)), and detectivity (D(λ)), respond to a broad spectral range from visible light (400 nm) to short wave infrared (SWIR) (1600 nm). The ultrahigh transient response (τr) is found to be ≈2.5 and 16 µs for the 470 (visible light) and 1550 (SWIR) nm wavelengths, respectively, resulting in 3‐dB bandwidths of up to ≈48 kHz, which is considered high for such devices. To understand the inherent mechanisms of broadband detection and the high photoresponse and ultrafast transient response of PDs, a meticulous investigation is conducted on the wavelength‐dependent behaviors, depletion width changes, and material properties. The results provide valuable insights and a basis for the construction of suitable PDs based on nanometer‐thin metal films, 2D semiconductors, and a 3D hybrid structure.
Achieving Ultra‐High Background‐Limited Detectivity by a Brillouin Zone Folding Induced Quasi‐Bound State in the Continuum
Authors: Zhu Tianyun , Jing Wenji , Deng Jie , Wang Bo , Wang Ruowen , Ye Tao , Shi Mengdie , Ye Jiexian , Cui Tianyuan , Shen Jinyong , Li Fangzhe , Ning Jun , Zhou Jing , Chen Xiaoshuang
Published: September 2024

During infrared detection, the thermal radiation from the background generates substantial photon noise and thus severely limit the capability of an infrared detector to identify a target. Going beyond this limitation has been a long‐standing challenge in the development of infrared detectors. This paper proposes to break this limitation by creating a narrow photoresponse band with a high peak responsivity to reject the background radiation and enhance the responsivity to the target with characteristic emission lines. This scheme is numerically demonstrated in a dimerized grating integrated quantum well infrared photodetector, based on critical coupling with a Brillouin zone folding induced quasi‐bound state in the continuum (BIC). The asymmetric deformation of the grating structure folds the photonic band and generates a quasi‐BIC with a tunable high radiation Q factor (QR) at the Γ point. By reducing the doping concentration of the quantum wells for a high absorption Q factor (QA) and tuning the QR to make QR = QA for critical coupling, a narrowband photoresponse with a high peak responsivity is achieved and the background‐limited specific detectivity of 4.55 × 1012 cm Hz1/2 W−1 is obtained for a 2π field of view, surpassing the ideal‐photoconductor limit by 92 times.
Modular Access to Aryl Quinolinyl Ketones via Visible‐Light‐Induced Palladium‐Catalyzed Aldehyde C−H Bond Arylation of Quinoline‐8‐Carbaldehydes with Arylboronic Acid
Authors: Gopichand Thakur Dinesh , Sonawane Mahesh A. , Patel Raj N. , Rathod Nileshkumar B. , Patel Sachinkumar D. , Patel Dharmik M. , Chandra Ghosh Subhash
Published: September 2024

This article describes the development of a room‐temperature visible‐light‐induced palladium‐catalyzed directed aldehyde C−H bond arylation to access aryl quinolinyl ketones. In this pathway, the Pd catalyst plays a dual role by harvesting light as a photocatalyst and catalyzing the chemical transformation via C−H bond activation. This process is general to synthesize a range of aryl quinolinyl ketones and tolerates many common functional groups. Our methodology was successfully applied to synthesize highly potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors.
Elastic Wave Propagation in 2D Carbon Nano‐Onion Lattices
Authors: Lashani Reza , Ghavanloo Esmaeal
Published: September 2024

This study presents a simple analytical model to investigate wave propagation in 2D carbon nano‐onions (CNOs) and nitrogen‐doped carbon nano‐onions (N‐CNOs) lattices. Furthermore, the dispersion relationships of the waves and bandgaps in these lattices are derived based on Bloch's theorem. The CNOs and N‐CNOs lattices are modeled as infinite 2D mass‐in‐mass structures accurately assembled using linear springs. The Lennard–Jones potential energy is employed to obtain equivalent spring constants. A key finding of this research is the identification of bandgaps within all lattice structures, signifying regions where wave propagation is prohibited. The existence of these bandgaps offers potential for the advancement of adjustable nano‐scale metamaterials.
Numerical Analysis on the Use of Carbon Nanostructures as Interlayers to Perovskite Solar Cells Using SCAPS‐1D
Authors: Fidel Wisly , Perrin Guido , Anefnaf Ikram , Koech Richard K , Prédélus Dieuseul , Doumit Nicole , Botsoa Jacques , Ania Conchi O. , Ntsoenzok Esidor
Published: September 2024

Despite the numerous efforts to optimize the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), challenges persist. Carbon materials are promising candidates for this purpose, but identifying the most suitable carbon material and understanding its role in the PSC among the wide family of carbons remains a challenging task. In this study, SCAPS‐1D software is employed to optimize the use of carbon materials as interlayers to PSCs. The best configuration of the carbon interlayer and the required physicochemical properties of the carbon materials is identified for improved performance. The simulations show that the insertion of thin carbon interlayers of adequate features in n‐i‐p stacked cells (FTO/TiO2/MAPbI3/HTL/Ni) can increase the efficiency of the resulting PSCs by over 2.3 %, while significantly improving the open‐circuit voltage and the fill factor. These results underline that those carbon materials with optical bandgaps ranging from 3 to 3.5 eV offer the best performance as an interlayer to the hole tranport layer, with negligible impact of the thickness of the interlayer. This contribution offers a novel perspective on the use of carbon materials in PSCs and provides new insights into the understanding of the role of carbon materials as interlayers in PSCs.
Efficient Algorithm for Extracting Transmission Spectrum From Band Structure in Low‐Dimensional Systems
Authors: Bazrafshan M. Amir , Khoeini Farhad , Stampfl Catherine
Published: September 2024

Aiming at an efficient method to determine the transport properties of a physical system, an effective and accurate band‐counting algorithm is presented to extract the transmission spectrum of a low‐dimensional system, directly from the band structure. This approach is more efficient than Hamiltonian‐dependent formalisms such as the standard Green's function (GF) or the transfer matrix methods. The only constraint of the approach is that the bands should not be mixed, i.e., for each band in the k‐path, there should be a set of eigenvalues. The efficiency of the approach is comparable to that of Green's function method, and it is applicable to any computational approach whose output is a band structure, whether for particles or quasiparticles such as electrons and phonons. Since the transport coefficient is calculated separately for each band, the occurrence of eigenvalues at the same k‐point can be captured by the algorithm. The proposed algorithm will be useful for studying transmission coefficient‐dependent quantities, such as thermoelectric‐related quantities, and also the electric current within the Landauer–Büttiker formalism.