Methylammonium-Free Ink for Blade-Coating of Pure-Phase α-FAPbI3 Perovskite Films in Air.

The α-c (α-FAPbI3) has been extensively employed in the fabrication of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, yet heavily relied on multiple additives in upscalable fabrication in air. In this work, a simple α-FAPbI3 ink is developed for the blade-coating fabrication of phase-pure α-FAPbI3 in ambient air free from any additives containing extrinsic ions. The introduction of 2-imidazolidinone (IMD) to the FAPbI3 precursor inks leads to the formation of intermediate phases that change the phase transition pathway from δ-FAPbI3 to α-FAPbI3 by tilting the PbI6 octahedrons with strong coordination to Pb2+. Furthermore, the IMD ligands in the intermediate phase gradually escape from the perovskite film during the annealing, leaving a phase-pure α-FAPbI3 film vertically grown with large grains. Consequently, the small-sized PSCs fabricated with blade-coated α-FAPbI3 film achieve an efficiency of up to 23.14%, and the corresponding mini-module yields an efficiency of 19.66%. The device performance is among the highest reported for phase-pure α-FAPbI3 PSCs fabricated in the air without non-native cations or chloride additives, offering a simple and robust fabrication approach of phase-pure α-FAPbI3 films for PV application.

Pharmacogenomics assists in controlling blood pressure in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular patients during Rehabilitation: a case report.

Hypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Pharmacogenomics, as a tool for personalized healthcare, helps in determining the optimal drug treatment based on the genome of individual patient. This study reports a 49-year-old male with acute cerebral infarction, pulmonary infection, extremely high-risk hypertension (grade3), type 2 diabetes, hyperhomocysteinemia, hyperlipidemia, and fatty liver. The patient initially received conventional systemic treatment but continued to have severe hypertension (159/85 mmHg). To better control blood pressure, a pharmacogenomic test was performed, and results showed that the SNP genotype of rs4961 (ADD1) suggests poor efficacy with certain antihypertensive drugs. The genotype of rs4149601 (NEDD4L) indicates better efficacy with hydrochlorothiazide, while the CYP3A5*3 genotype indicates a slow metabolism of calcium channel blockers, suggesting that amlodipine may be more effective than nifedipine. By replacing nifedipine with amlodipine and increasing the dosage of hydrochlorothiazide, the patient's systolic blood pressure was stabilized, although diastolic blood pressure remained suboptimal (131/91 mmHg). Despite low potassium levels, the patient was not sensitive to spironolactone (141/91 mmHg) but achieved exhibited well-controlled blood pressure (129/90 mmHg) with hydrochlorothiazide, consistent with pharmacogenomics recommendations. In summary, pharmacogenomics testing identified genetic variations influencing the patient's response to specific drugs, guiding their selection and administration. This approach can lead to better blood pressure control and reduce the risk of adverse drug events, highlighting the potential of personalized drugs in managing hypertension through pharmacogenomics.

A case report of breast cancer metastasis to the bladder from invasive ductal carcinoma.

Introduction and importance: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide, predominantly manifesting as invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), which usually metastasizes to the bones, lungs, and liver. However, metastasis to the bladder is exceedingly rare, with few documented cases and limited understanding in the existing literature. Case presentation: A 57-year-old woman with a history of IDC presented with a lump in her left breast and was initially treated with chemotherapy and a modified radical mastectomy. Years later, she developed urinary symptoms, which upon investigation revealed multiple bladder tumors and right kidney hydronephrosis. Diagnostic imaging, including ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scans, supported these findings. Clinical discussion: The discovery of bladder metastasis from IDC highlights significant diagnostic challenges due to the atypical presentation. The case underscores the importance of considering unusual metastatic sites in patients with known breast cancer, especially when they present with non-specific urinary symptoms. This report explores the potential pathophysiological mechanisms of such rare metastatic occurrences and discusses the implications for clinical practice. Conclusion: This case exemplifies the critical need for heightened awareness and thorough evaluation in patients with unusual symptoms and a history of breast cancer. It calls for more comprehensive diagnostic approaches and possibly adjusted treatment protocols to better manage atypical metastases, ultimately aiming to improve patient outcomes and contribute to a deeper understanding of metastatic breast cancer behavior.

Correlation between the Atherogenic Index of Plasma and Progression of Non-target Lesion Vascular Disease Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention using Drug-eluting Stents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlation between Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) levels and the progression of non-target lesion vascular disease following the deployment of Drug-eluting Stents (DES). METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled patients who had undergone successful treatment for CAD with DES and subsequently underwent a coronary angiography follow-up at the Cardiology Department of Tianjin Third Central Hospital from January 2017 to July 2022. The annual change in Gensini Score (GS) was calculated according to two angiographic evaluations in order to assess the progression of non-target lesion vascular disease; a change greater than 1 indicated progression, while a change of 1 or less indicated stability. AIP was calculated according to serum lipid parameters. Multivariate Logistic regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between AIP level and progression of non-target coronary artery lesions. The ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of AIP for coronary artery non-target lesion vascular disease progression. RESULTS: Out of the 344 patients who were monitored over a median duration of 1.2 years, 113 exhibited progression of non-target lesion vascular disease. Initially, baseline AIP levels were notably higher in the progression group compared to the non-progression group (0.30 [0.14, 0.43] vs. 0.11 [-0.06, 0.31]), and this difference remained significant during the follow-up period (0.19 [0.06, 0.34] vs. 0.11 [-0.06, 0.22]). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that AIP is an independent predictor for the progression of non-target lesion vascular disease following DES treatment. Individuals in the highest tertile of AIP faced a considerably elevated risk compared to those in the lowest tertile (OR = 4.88, 95% CI: 2.12-11.21, P < 0.001). Moreover, utilizing receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, a 0.15 AIP level cut-off was determined for diagnosing disease progression, with a sensitivity of 73.5% and specificity of 56.7%, and an area under the curve of 0.672 (95% CI: 0.613-0.731, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: AIP significantly correlates with the progression of non-target lesion vascular disease among patients with coronary artery disease who have undergone DES treatment, establishing itself as an independent risk factor in addition to conventional predictors.

Emotional dispositions and intracerebral hemorrhage: a Mendelian Randomization insight.

Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a severe form of stroke with high mortality and limited treatment options. While traditional risk factors like hypertension have been well-studied, the role of emotional states as acute triggers for ICH remains unclear. This study employs Mendelian Randomization (MR) to investigate the causal relationship between emotional traits of worry and anxiety and the incidence of ICH. Methods: We used a two-sample MR approach, leveraging summary-level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for emotional traits and ICH. The primary analysis was conducted using the Inverse-Variance Weighted (IVW) method, supplemented by multiple sensitivity analyses including Maximum Likelihood and MR PRESSO methods. Results: Our MR analysis revealed a robust and significant causal relationship between the emotional trait "Worrier/anxious feelings" and ICH, supported by 195 instrumental variables (SNPs). The odds ratio (OR) was 2.98 (95% CI: 1.16, 7.61) with a p-value of 0.0229. Sensitivity analyses corroborated these findings, enhancing the reliability of our results. In contrast, other emotional traits such as "Nervous feelings" and "Sensitivity/hurt feelings" did not show significant associations, reinforcing the specificity of our primary finding. Conclusion: Our study provides compelling evidence for a causal relationship between the emotional traits of worry and anxiety and the incidence of ICH, offering a new dimension in our understanding of this devastating condition and paving the way for more nuanced risk stratification and preventive strategies.

Instant p-doping and pore elimination of the spiro-OMeTAD hole-transport layer in perovskite solar cells.

An instant p-doping strategy employing 4-tert-butyl-2-chloropyridine and tert-butyl peroxybenzoate for the spiro-OMeTAD hole-transport layer (HTL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is proposed to replace the conventional 4-tert-butylpyridine-doped HTL. The novel doping process eliminates the formation of pores in the HTL. Meanwhile, a 21.4% efficiency is achieved on the corresponding absolute methylammonium-free PSCs with significantly improved thermal and moisture stability.

Prognostic value of red blood cell distribution width combined with chloride in predicting short- and long-term mortality in critically ill patients with congestive heart failure: Findings from the MIMIC-IV database.

Background: Hypochloremia and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) play important roles in congestive heart failure (CHF) pathophysiology, and they were associated with the prognosis of CHF. However, the prognostic value of chloride combined with RDW in patients with CHF remains unknown. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed critically ill patients with CHF. The database was derived from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV v2.0 (MIMIC-IV-v2.0) database. Results: In the final analysis, 5376 critically ill patients with CHF were included, and 2428 patients (45.2 %) experienced 5-year mortality. The restricted cubic spline model revealed a positive correlation between RDW and 5-year mortality, whereas chloride showed a U-shaped correlation with 5-year mortality. The median values of RDW and chloride were used to classify patients into four groups: high chloride/low RDW, low chloride/low RDW, high chloride/high RDW, and low chloride/high RDW. We observed the prognostic value of RDW combined with chloride in the Cox proportional hazard model, in predicting 5-year mortality, in-hospital mortality and 1-year mortality. Furthermore, we discovered that patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) had a higher 5-year mortality risk than patients without CKD. Conclusion: We found the translational potential role of chloride combined with RDW in prioritizing patients at high risk for short- and long-term mortality in a cohort of critically ill patients with CHF. Prospective multicenter investigations are warranted to validate our results.

Selective grain boundary passivation by ammonium nitrate for enhanced performance and stability of FA-Cs based perovskite solar cells.

Grain boundaries of metal halide perovskites contain massive defects that are detrimental to photovoltaics applications. This work demonstrates that inorganic NH4NO3 can selectively passivate the grain boundaries of perovskite films and improve their moisture resistance simultaneously, resulting in enhanced performance and stability of the methylammonium-free perovskite solar cells.

Aligned electrospun fibers of different diameters for improving cell migration capacity.

Electrospun fibers have gained significant attention as scaffolds in skin tissue engineering due to their biomimetic properties, which resemble the fibrous extracellular matrix. The morphological characteristics of electrospun fibers play a crucial role in determining cell behavior. However, the effects of electrospun fibers' arrangement and diameters on human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) remain elusive. Here, we revealed the impact of electrospun fiber diameters (700 nm, 2000 nm, and 3000 nm) on HSFs' proliferation, migration, and functional expression. The results demonstrated that all fibers exhibited good cytocompatibility. HSFs cultured on nanofibers (700 nm diameter) displayed a more dispersed and elongated morphology. Conversely, fibers with a diameter of 3000 nm exhibited a reduced specific surface area and lower adsorption of adhesion proteins, resulting in enhanced cell migration speed and effective migration rate. Meanwhile, the expression levels of migration-related genes and proteins were upregulated at 48 h for the 3000 nm fibers. This study demonstrated the unique role of fiber diameters in controlling the physiological functions of cells, especially decision-making and navigating migration in complex microenvironments of aligned electrospun fibers, and highlights the utility of these bioactive substitutes in skin tissue engineering applications.

[Commentary on relevant issues in surgical treatment of spinal metastatic tumors].

The multidisciplinary treatment model led by surgery has become a comprehensive strategy and overall concept for the treatment of spinal metastatic tumors. But the surgical treatment of spinal metastatic tumors is different from primary malignant tumors of the spine. Surgery is only a part of the multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment. Therefore, the following aspects need to be evaluated comprehensively based on the survival assessment, evaluation of spinal stability damage, nerve dysfunction, and oncological characteristics of the metastatic tumors with a reasonable surgical intervention. The attention should be paid to the minimally invasive treatment of spinal metastases, progress of new radiotherapy technology, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy and other medical treatment to make a comprehensive and individualization decision which is benefit to relieve patients ' pain, reconstruct spinal stability and avoid paralysis. While improving patient survival, increasing local tumor control rate and possibly prolonging survival time, avoiding excessive surgery as much as possible.

Barrier Strategy for Strain-Free Encapsulation of Perovskite Solar Cells.

The performance loss caused by encapsulation has been an obstacle to guarantee the excellent power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in practical application. This work revealed that the encapsulation-induced performance loss is highly related to the tensile strains imposed on the functional layers of the device when the PSC is exposed directly to the deformed encapsulant. A barrier strategy is developed by employing a nonadhesive barrier layer to isolate the deformed encapsulant from the PSC functional layer, achieving a strain-free encapsulation of the PSCs. The encapsulated device with a barrier layer effectively reduced the relative performance loss from 21.4% to 5.7% and dramatically improved the stability of the device under double 85 environment conditions. This work provides an effective strategy to mitigate the negative impact of encapsulation on the performance of PSCs as well as insight into the underlying mechanism of the accelerated degradation of PSCs under external strains.

Sleep Deprivation Impairs Human Cognitive Reappraisal Ability: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of sleep deprivation on individual cognitive reappraisal ability using a standardized behavioral paradigm. Methods: A randomized pretest-posttest control group design was conducted. Thirty-nine participants were eventually enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either the sleep control (SC: n = 17) or the sleep deprivation (SD: n = 22). Both of them were required to perform a standardized behavioral paradigm of measuring cognitive reappraisal ability one time under sleep-rested condition and another time under the condition of different sleep manipulation a week later. Results: Mean valence ratings of SD group were more negative than SC group's (p < 0.05) and mean arousal ratings of SD group were higher than SC group's (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Sleep deprivation may impair individual cognitive reappraisal ability and could potentially undermine the efficacy of cognitive therapy in terms of emotion regulation.

Extrinsic Interstitial Ions in Metal Halide Perovskites: A Review.

Perovskite solar cells have rapidly developed as a promising technology for the next generation of low-cost photovoltaics, receiving enormous attention from researchers and industries. Compared to traditional semiconducting materials, metal halide perovskite exhibits outstanding tolerance to extrinsic ions. At a certain range of doping concentration, the interstitial occupancy of extrinsic ions provides appealing benefits to the perovskite films, contributing to higher performance and stability of the devices. This review summarizes the research progress of interstitial ions for metal halide perovskite, providing insights into the mechanism and identification of interstitial doping of extrinsic ions, covering the benefits of interstitial ions in regulating crystal growth, inhibiting ion migration, and reducing defect density. Finally, based on the latest progress and findings, further topics and directions of research on interstitial ions in metal halide perovskite are proposed to advance the understanding of interstitial ions in perovskite and promote the development of perovskite photovoltaic technology.

Effect of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors/Angiotensin Receptor Blockers on In-Hospital Outcomes Based on Renal Function Among Critically Ill Patients: Findings From the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV Database.

Renal dysfunction is associated with increased mortality and length of hospital stay in critically ill patients. However, it remains unclear whether the early administration of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) for intensive care unit patients with renal dysfunction is associated with reduced in-hospital mortality. We conducted a retrospective analysis of critically ill patients who received early administration of an ACEI/ARB within 72 hours after being hospitalized. Patients were selected from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database. We included 18,986 critically ill patients in our analysis. After propensity score matching, our final study cohort of 4974 patients consisted of patients who received early administration of an ACEI/ARB (n = 2487) and nonusers (n = 2487). Results of logistic regression showed that early administration of an ACEI/ARB was associated with reduced risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.77; P < .001) and intensive care unit death (odds ratio, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.45-0.70; P < .001) when compared to nonusers. There was no meaningful interaction for early administration of an ACEI/ARB versus nonusers across estimated glomerular filtration rate in outcomes. Sensitivity analysis showed there was no difference in the outcomes between early administration of ACEI and that of ARB. In this study, we found that early administration of an ACEI/ARB was associated with a reduced risk of in-hospital adverse outcomes based on renal function among critically ill patients. There was no interaction between early administration of an ACEI/ARB and in-hospital adverse outcomes across estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Upregulation of Parkinson's disease-associated protein alpha-synuclein suppresses tumorigenesis via interaction with mGluR5 and gamma-synuclein in liver cancer.

Numerous epidemiological studies suggest a link between Parkinson's disease (PD) and cancer, indicating that PD-associated proteins may mediate the development of cancer. Here, we investigated a potential role of PD-associated protein α-synuclein in regulating liver cancer progression in vivo and in vitro. We found the negative correlation of α-synuclein with metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and γ-synuclein by analyzing the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, liver cancer patients and hepatoma cells with overexpressed α-synuclein. Moreover, upregulated α-synuclein suppressed the growth, migration, and invasion. α-synuclein was found to associate with mGluR5 and γ-synuclein, and the truncated N-terminal of α-synuclein was essential for the interaction. Furthermore, overexpressed α-synuclein exerted the inhibitory effect on hepatoma cells through the degradation of mGluR5 and γ-synuclein via α-synuclein-dependent autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP). Consistently, in vivo experiments with rotenone-induced rat model of PD also confirmed that, upregulated α-synuclein in liver cancer tissues through targeting on mGluR5/α-synuclein/γ-synuclein complex inhibited tumorigenesis involving in ALP-dependent degradation of mGluR5 and γ-synuclein. These findings give an insight into an important role of PD-associated protein α-synuclein accompanied by the complex of mGluR5/α-synuclein/γ-synuclein in distant communications between PD and liver cancer, and provide a new strategy in therapeutics for the treatment of liver cancer.

Formate Additive for Efficient and Stable Methylammonium-Free Perovskite Solar Cells by Gas-Quenching.

In order to promote the commercialization of perovskite solar cells, gas-quenching is considered to be a promising technique for perovskite film fabrication. However, when handling with methylammonium-free (MA-free) perovskites, it is often difficult to obtain high-quality perovskite films by gas-quenching. Herein, formate additives are employed to regulate the crystallization of MA-free perovskite, and improve the quality of perovskite films. Different additives of formamidine formate (FAFO) and potassium formate (KFO) is compared to investigate the role of formate groups in the crystallization of perovskite films prepared by gas-quenching. The FAFO additive facilitates the perovskite crystallization in (001) orientation whereas KFO favors for (111) orientation. The MA-free device with addition of FAFO demonstrate a champion power conversion efficiency of 20.94 %, compared to that of 20.14 % for KFO devices. In addition, FAFO device also exhibits improved thermal stability in ambient condition without encapsulation, extending the T80 lifetime by 18 times compared to the pristine device.

The Parkinson's disease-associated protein α-synuclein inhibits hepatoma by exosome delivery.

Numerous epidemiological studies suggest a link between Parkinson's disease (PD) and cancer. However, their relevant pathogenesis is not clear. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of exosome-delivered α-synuclein (α-syn) in the regulation between PD and liver cancer. We cultured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells with exosomes derived from conditioned medium of the PD cellular model, and injected exosomes enriched with α-syn into the striatum of a liver cancer rat model. We found that α-syn-contained exosomes from the rotenone-induced cellular model of PD suppressed the growth, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Integrin αVß5 in exosomes from the rotenone-induced PD model was higher than that in the control, resulting in more α-syn-contained exosomes being taken up by HCC cells. Consistently, in vivo experiments with rat models also confirmed exosome-delivered α-syn inhibited liver cancer. These findings illustrate the important role of PD-associated protein α-syn inhibiting hepatoma by exosome delivery, suggesting a new mechanism underlying the link between these two diseases and therapeutics of liver cancer.

Design and synthesis of iso-allo-DNJ and L-isoDALDP derivatives: pursuit of potent and selective inhibitors of α-glucosidase.

A series of iso-allo-DNJ and L-isoDALDP derivatives were synthesized from dithioacetal 16 with sequential and highly diastereoselective Ho and Henry reactions, and aziridinium intermediate-mediated ring rearrangement as key steps. Glycosidase inhibition assay found four of them as selective α-glucosidase inhibitors, and the less substituted compound 30 showed more potent α-glucosidase inhibition (IC50 = 9.3 µM) than the others. Molecular docking study revealed different docking modes of the iso-allo-DNJ and L-isoDALDP derivatives from their parent compounds, and also the similarity of compound 30 to isofagomine.

Distributed Li-Ion Flux Enabled by Sulfonated Covalent Organic Frameworks for High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes.

Metallic Li is considered the most promising anode material for high-energy-density batteries owing to its high theoretical capacity and low electrochemical potential. However, inhomogeneous lithium deposition and uncontrollable growth of lithium dendrites result in low lithium utilization, rapid capacity fading, and poor cycling performance. Herein, two sulfonated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with different sulfonated group contents are synthesized as the multifunctional interlayers in lithium metal batteries. The sulfonic acid groups in the pore channels can serve as Li-anchoring sites that effectively coordinate Li ions. These periodically arranged subunits significantly guide uniform Li-ion flux distribution, guarantee smooth Li deposition, and reduce lithium dendrite formation. Consequently, these characteristics afford an excellent quasi-solid-state electrolyte with a high ionic conductivity of 1.9 × 10-3  S  cm-1 at room temperature and a superior Li++ transference number of 0.91. A Li/LiFePO4 battery with the COF-based electrolyte exhibited dendrite-free Li deposition during the charge process, accompanied by no capacity decay after 100 cycles at 0.1 C.

Enhanced photocatalytic reduction of CO2 on BiOBr under synergistic effect of Zn doping and induced oxygen vacancy generation.

In this work, different BiOBr powders (without and with Zn doping) were prepared. Their specific properties and photocatalytic performance were studied. Zn doped BiOBr showed higher carrier transportation ability, beneficial to high performance photocatalysis. Further analysis and theoretical calculations unveiled that Zn doping resulted in more dispersive energy band structure with improved oxygen vacancy (OV) generation due to lattice distortion. OV acted as trap centers, playing dominant role in carrier transportation enhancement, which also synergized with more dispersive energy band due to Zn doping, improving carrier separation and transfer. Besides, Zn doping would further strengthen trapping effect under OV existence, stimulating synergistic enhancement to spatial charge separation and transfer with OV. With synergy of Zn doping and OV, Zn doped samples produced 1.75 times higher CH4 generation during gas-solid photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under visible light, testifying successful conducting of Zn doping improved photocatalytic capacity on BiOBr.