Activity

Gaining control over the nanoscale assembly of different electrode components in energy storage systems can open the door for design and fabrication of new electrode and device architectures that are not currently feasible. This work presents aqueous layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly as a route towards design and fabrication of advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with unprecedented control over the structure of the electrode at the nanoscale, and with possibilities for various new designs of batteries beyond the conventional planar systems. LbL self-assembly is a greener fabrication route utilizing aqueous dispersions that allow various Li+ intercalating materials assembled in complex 3D porous substrates. The spatial precision of positioning of the electrode components, including ion intercalating phase and electron-conducting phase, is down to nanometer resolution. This capable approach makes a lithium titanate anode delivering a specific capacity of 167 mAh g-1 at 0.1C and having comparable performances to conventional slurry-cast electrodes at current densities up to 100C. It also enables high flexibility in the design and fabrication of the electrodes where various advanced multilayered nanostructures can be tailored for optimal electrode performance by choosing cationic polyelectrolytes with different molecular sizes. A full-cell LIB with excellent mechanical resilience is built on porous insulating foams.

Right ventricular pacing (RVP) induces ventricular asynchrony in patients with normal QRS and increases the risk of heart failure and atrial fibrillation in long term. His bundle pacing (HBP) is a physiological alternative to RVP, and could overcome its drawbacks. Recent studies assessed the feasibility and safety of HBP in expert centers with a vast experience of this technique. These results may not apply to less experienced centers. We aim to evaluate the feasibility and safety of permanent HBP performed by physicians who are new to this technique.

We included all patients who underwent pacemaker implantation with attempt of HBP in three hospitals between September 2017 and January 2020. Indication for HBP was left to operators’ discretion. All the operators were new for HBP. His bundle (HB) electrical parameters were recorded at implant, 3- and 12-month follow-up.

HBP was successful in 141 of 170 patients (82.9%); selective HBP was obtained in 96 patients and nonselective HBP in 45. The mean procedure and fluoroscopy durations were 67.0 ± 28.8 min, and 7.3 ± 8.1 min (3.1 ± 4.1 Gy·cm

), respectively. The mean HB paced QRS duration was 106 ± 18 ms. The mean HB capture threshold was 1.29 ± 0.77 V and did not increase at 3- and 12-month follow-up. The ventricular lead revision was required in five patients. Our results showed a rapid technical learning allowing a high procedure success rate (89.8%) after 15 procedures.

HBP performed by operators new to this technique appeared feasible and safe. This should encourage HBP to be performed in patients expected to experience high RVP burden.

HBP performed by operators new to this technique appeared feasible and safe. This should encourage HBP to be performed in patients expected to experience high RVP burden.

We assessed the impact of pre-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) bifurcation angle change (BAC) on clinical outcomes.

There are little available data about the impact of BAC in unprotected left main distal bifurcation lesions (ULMD) PCI.

We identified consecutive 300 patients with ULMD underwent complex stenting using drug-eluting stent in three high-volume centers (Tokyo and Milan). We measured the widest BA of ULMD at both end-diastole and end-systole before stenting with two-dimensional quantitative coronary angiographic assessment and calculated the BAC value as a difference of two BA value in each lesion. We divided them into small and large BAC group according to the median BAC value (7.2°). The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF), which was defined as a composite of cardiac death, target lesion revascularization (TLR) and myocardial infarction.

TLF rate at 3-year was significantly higher in the large BAC group than in the small BAC group (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 5.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.40-10.1; p < .001). Veliparib TLR rate for left main (LM) to left anterior descending artery (LAD) and ostial left circumflex artery (LCXos) at 3-year were significantly higher in large BAC group than in small BAC group (adjusted HR 5.91; 95% CI, 2.03-17.2; p = .001 and adjusted HR 10.6; 95% CI, 5.20-21.6; p < .001, respectively).

A large BAC before stenting is strongly associated with adverse events after complex stenting for ULMD, mainly driven by repeat PCI for restenosis of the LCXos and of the LM-LAD.

A large BAC before stenting is strongly associated with adverse events after complex stenting for ULMD, mainly driven by repeat PCI for restenosis of the LCXos and of the LM-LAD.The energy conversion efficiency of water electrolysis is determined by the activity of selected catalysts. Ideal catalysts should possess not only porous architecture for high-density assembly of active sites but also a subtle electronic configuration for the optimized activity at each site. In this context, the development of stable porous hosting materials that allow the incorporation of various metal elements is highly desirable for both experimental optimization and theoretical comparison/prediction. Herein, MOF-derived spongy nanosheet arrays constructed by assembly of carbon encapsulated hetero-metal doped Ni2 P nanoparticles is presented as a superior bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting. This hierarchical structure can be stably retained when secondary metal dopants are introduced, providing a flexible platform for electronic modulation. The catalytic origin of activity enhancement via metal (Fe, Cr, and Mn) doping is deciphered through experimental and theoretical investigations. Combining the advantages in both morphological and electronic structures, the optimized catalyst NiMn-P exhibits remarkable activity in both hydrogen and oxygen evolution in the alkaline media, with an ultrasmall cell voltage of 1.49 V (at 10 mA cm-2 ) and high durability for at least 240 h.The eukaryotic cell is a smart compartment containing an outer permeable membrane, a cytoskeleton, and functional organelles, presenting part structures for life. The integration of membrane-containing artificial organelles (=polymersomes) into a large microcompartment is a key step towards the establishment of exquisite cellular biomimetics with different membrane properties. Herein, an efficient way to construct a hierarchical multicompartment composed of a hydrogel-filled proteinosome hybrid structure with an outer homogeneous membrane, a smart cytoskeleton-like scaffold, and polymersomes is designed. Specially, this hybrid structure creates a micro-environment for pH-responsive polymersomes to execute a desired substance transport upon response to biological stimuli. Within the dynamic pH-stable skeleton of the protein hydrogels, polymersomes with loaded PEGylated insulin biomacromolecules demonstrate a pH-responsive reversible swelling-deswelling and a desirable, on-demand cargo release which is induced by the enzymatic oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid. This stimulus responsive behavior is realized by tunable on/off states through protonation of the polymersomes membrane under the enzymatic reaction of glucose oxidase, integrated in the skeleton of protein hydrogels. The integration of polymersomes-based hybrid structure into the proteinosome compartment and the stimuli-response on enzyme reactions fulfills the requirements of eukaryotic cell biomimetics in complex architectures and allows mimicking cellular transportation processes.Pediatric hypertension is associated with significant target organ damage in children and cardiovascular morbidity in adulthood. Appropriate diagnosis and management per guideline recommendations are inconsistent. In this study, we determined the proportion of missed diagnosis of hypertension and prehypertension and appropriate follow-up in pediatric patients, stratified by sex, age, race/ethnicity, and weight status. Based on the electronic health record (EHR) data from eight federally qualified health centers, among 62,982 children aged 3 to 18 years, 6233 (10%) had at least one abnormal blood pressure (BP) measurement over twelve months. Among those children whose recorded BPs met the criteria for prehypertension (N = 6178), 14.6% had a diagnosis in the EHR. These children were more likely to be White and have obesity compared with children who met the criteria but were not diagnosed with prehypertension. Among those who met the criteria for hypertension (N = 55), 41.8% had a diagnosis of hypertension in the EHR. Being diagnosed with hypertension was not associated with any examined patient characteristics. Over eleven months, 2837 children had BP ≥ 95th percentile on ≥ 1 visit. Only 13% had guideline-adherent follow-up within 1 month and were more likely to be older, female, and of Hispanic ethnicity or “other” race. Over six months, 2902 children had BP ≥ 90th percentile on one visit. 41% had guideline-adherent follow-up within 6 months and were more likely to be older, of either White, Hispanic, Asian race, or Hispanic ethnicity. In a community-based setting, pediatric hypertension and prehypertension were persistently underdiagnosed with low adherence to recommended follow-up.This article summarises Shane Godbolt’s international Collaborations. It includes her associations with the European Association of Health Information & Libraries (EAHIL), International Congress on Medical Librarianship (ICML) and the Irish Health Sciences Libraries (HSLG).Field-stepped NMR spectroscopy at up to 36 T using the series-connected hybrid (SCH) magnet at the U.S. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is demonstrated for acquiring ultra-wideline powder spectra of nuclei with very large quadrupolar interactions. Historically, NMR evolved from the continuous-wave (cw) field-swept method in the early days to the pulsed Fourier-transform method in the modern era. Spectra acquired using field sweeping are generally considered to be equivalent to those acquired using the pulsed method. Here, it is shown that field-stepped wideline spectra of half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei acquired using WURST/CPMG methods can be significantly different from those acquired with the frequency-stepped method commonly used with superconducting magnets. The inequivalence arises from magnetic field-dependent NMR interactions such as the anisotropic chemical shift and second-order quadrupolar interactions; the latter is often the main interaction leading to ultra-wideline powder patterns of half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei. This inequivalence needs be taken into account to accurately and correctly determine the quadrupolar coupling and chemical shift parameters. A simulation protocol is developed for spectral fitting to facilitate analysis of field-stepped ultra-wideline NMR spectra acquired using powered magnets. A MATLAB program which implements this protocol is available on request.