Water activating fresh NiMo foam for enhanced urea electrolysis.

Recently, production of hydrogen (H2) through the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has acquired great attention because it is more environmentally friendly and energy-saving. Herein, an approach of water activation was developed for in situ growth of NiMo LDH nanosheet arrays on NiMo foam without using any binder or pressurizing or heating steps. The obtained NiMo foam electrodes showed exceptional catalytic activity and durability for both the UOR and HER. This work offers a new standpoint on designing electrodes with high activation for efficient and sustainable hydrogen production coupled with urea organic oxidation.

Unlocking the potential of a NiMo foam substrate for water splitting using an ultrafast two-step dipping strategy.

In this paper, a facile and ultrafast two-step dipping process was developed to in situ form an electrocatalyst on a NiMo foam substrate without consuming extra energy. The obtained electrode showed a porous coral-like structure decorated with nanosheets and exhibited excellent overall water splitting properties in alkaline solution. This study provides a feasible strategy for developing an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient non-noble metal electrode for hydrogen production from water splitting.

Plasma-spray-enabled microcosmic explosion to construct Ni mesh-based electrodes for water splitting.

Currently, the fabrication of low cost and high efficiency electrocatalysts is a hotspot in the study of water splitting. Herein, plasma spray (PS) was used to induce a microcosmic explosion (me) on Ni mesh to modify the nanoscale Ni for the preparation of me-PS-NM electrodes with excellent hydrogen evolution. We also demonstrated that oxygen evolution could be significantly enhanced after the me-PS-NM electrodes were doped with Fe3+. Both electrodes formed a system exhibiting superior activity and stability for overall water splitting without noble metals.

Postoperative jaundice related to UGT1A1 and ABCB11 gene mutations: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Patients with obstructive jaundice caused by intrahepatic bile duct stones can be effectively managed by surgery. However, some patients may develop postoperative complications, liver failure, and other life-threatening situations. Here, we report a patient with mutations in the uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) and bile salt export pump (adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette subfamily B member 11, ABCB11) genes who presented multiple intrahepatic bile duct stones and cholestasis, and the jaundice of the patient increased after partial hepatectomy. CASE SUMMARY: A 52-year-old male patient admitted to the hospital on October 23, 2021, with a progressive exacerbation of jaundice, was found to have multiple intrahepatic bile duct stones with the diagnoses of obstructive jaundice and acute cholecystitis. Subsequently, the patient underwent left hepatectomy with biliary exploration, stone extraction, T-tube drainage, and cholecystectomy without developing any intraoperative complications. The patient had a dark urine color with worsening jaundice postoperatively and did not respond well to plasma exchange and other symptomatic and supportive treatments. Since the progressive increase in postoperative bilirubin could not be clinically explained with any potential reason, including, if not at all, viral infection, cholangitis, autoimmune liver disease, and other causes, the patient underwent whole-exon screening for any genetic diseases, which surprisingly identified UGT1A1 and ABCB11 gene mutations related to glucuronidation of indirect bilirubin as well as bile acid transport in hepatocytes, respectively. Thus, we hypothesized that postoperative refractory cholestasis might result from UGT1A1 and ABCB11 gene mutations and further recommended liver transplantation to the patient, who eventually declined it and died from liver failure six months later. CONCLUSION: Surgery may aggravate cholestasis in patients with multiple intrahepatic bile duct stones and cholestasis associated with UGT1A1 and ABCB11 gene mutations. A liver transplant may be the best option if active medical treatment fails.

Construction and Evaluation of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-Encapsulated Hemoglobin Microparticles as Oxygen Carriers.

Artificial oxygen carriers, such as favorably hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers, have received considerable attention due to some drawbacks of human donor blood. Among all oxygen carriers, the metal organic framework (MOF) exhibits excellent oxygen-carrying capacity due to its good encapsulation efficiency and competitive biocompatibility. Recently, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) with unique structure have attracted much attention due to their outstanding solvothermal stability. Notably, ZIF-8, the prototypical ZIF, has been utilized to load hemoglobin (Hb) as a potential blood substitute. In this work, another ZIF material, which possesses a high oxygen binding/release capability, suitable safety profile, high stability, and efficiency as a potential oxygen carrier, was used to encapsulate Hb in an environment-friendly condition.

Acid etching followed by water soaking: a top-down strategy to induce highly reactive substrates for electrocatalysis.

A top-down strategy using acid etching followed by water soaking is utilized to in situ synthesize autologous NiFe LDH nanosheets on NiFe foam without other metal ions, oxidizing agents or heating steps. The NiFe foam serves as both the metal source and substrate, and the obtained nanosheets are firmly anchored on the foam. The obtained ultrathin nanosheet arrays could greatly increase the electrocatalytic active sites. This factor together with the synergistic effect between Fe and Ni simultaneously leads to an enhanced catalytic effect for water splitting and urea oxidation. This strategy could be scaled up to pave a viable way for low-cost fabrication of highly efficient electrodes for electrocatalysis.

Surface Reconstruction of an FeNi Foam Substrate for Efficient Oxygen Evolution.

Designing earth-abundant electrocatalysts that are highly active, low-cost, and stable for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for electrochemical water splitting. However, in conventional electrode fabrication strategies, NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH) catalysts are usually coated onto substrates as external components, which suffers from poor conductivity, easily detaches from the substrate, and hinders their long-term utilization. Herein, the surface-reconstruction strategy is used to synthesize in situ autologous NiFe LDH to increase the surficial active sites numbers. The FeNi foam (FNF) serves as both the metal source and substrate, and the obtained NiFe LDH nanosheets (NSs) are firmly anchored in the monolithic FNF. What needs to be emphasized is that the strategy does not involve any high-temperature or high-pressure processes, apart from a cost-effective etching and a specified drying treatment. The nanostructure of NiFe LDH and the synergistic effect between Fe and Ni simultaneously lead to an enhanced catalytic effect for the OER. Remarkably, the sr-FNF46 requires only an ultralow overpotential of 283 mV to achieve a current density of 100 mA cm-2 for the OER in 1 M KOH electrolyte, and exhibits excellent stability. Thus, the obtained electrode holds promise for electrocatalytic applications. Finally, the formation mechanism of NiFe LDH NSs due to surface reconstruction is investigated and discussed in detail.

PNP Nanofluidic Transistor with Actively Tunable Current Response and Ionic Signal Amplification.

Inspired by electronic transistors, electric field gating has been adopted to manipulate ionic currents of smart nanofluidic devices. Here, we report a PNP nanofluidic bipolar junction transistor (nBJT) consisting of one polyaniline (PANI) layer sandwiched between two polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoporous membranes. The PNP nBJT exhibits three different responses of currents (quasi-linear, rectification, and sigmoid) due to the counterbalance between surface charge distribution and base voltage applied in the nanofluidic channels; thus, they can be switched by base voltage. Four operating modes (cutoff, active, saturation, and breakdown mode) occur in the collector response currents. Under optimal conditions, the PNP nBJT exhibits an average current gain of up to 95 in 100 mM KCl solution at a low base voltage of 0.2 V. The present nBJT is promising for fabrication of nanofluidic devices with logical-control functions for analysis of single molecules.

Knowledge and practice of diabetic foot care and the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers among diabetic patients of selected hospitals in the Volta Region, Ghana.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a common but serious complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). The factors distressing the worth of diabetic foot care (DFC) are knowledge and practice. Foot ulcers are the main cause of amputation and death in people suffering from DM. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of DFC and the prevalence of DFUs and its associated factors among diabetic patients of selected hospitals in the Volta Region, Ghana. A multihospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 473 patients with DM who were recruited using the systematic sampling method. Data were collected using a validated, pretested, and structured questionnaire, while medical variables were obtained from patient folders and analysed using SPSS version 23. All statistically significant parameters in bivariate analysis were incorporated in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. The results showed that 63% of diabetic patients had good knowledge of DFC, while 49% competently practiced it. A negative correlation was found between knowledge and practice levels of DFC (r = -0.15, P = <.01). The prevalence of DFUs was 8.7% among the studied diabetic patients. Male diabetic patients were 3.4 times more likely to develop DFUs than female diabetic patients (crude odd ratio [cOR] = 3.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.75-6.43; P = <.001). Type 1 diabetic patients were five times more likely to develop DFUs than those who had type 2 diabetes (cOR = 5.00; 95% CI = 2.50-10.00; P = <.001). Diabetic patients who had a family history of diabetes were 4.7 times more likely to develop DFUs than those without family history (adjusted odd ratio [aOR] = 4.66; 95% CI = 1.55-13.89; P = .006). Those who had diabetes for 5 to 10 years were 3.3 times more likely to develop DFUs than those who had diabetes for less than 5 years (aOR = 3.28; 95% CI = 1.40-7.67; P = .006). Diabetic patients who had comorbidity were 3.4 times more likely to develop DFUs than those without comorbidity (cOR = 3.35; 95% CI = 1.74-6.45; P = <.001). The study found that there was good knowledge but poor practices of DFC among patients. Health care providers are expected to better educate patients and emphasise self-care practices to patients. Health care providers should also give more attention to patients with associated risk factors to avoid further complications and reduce the occurrence of DFUs.

Food safety knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices of street-cooked food handlers in North Dayi District, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Food safety and hygiene are currently a global health apprehension especially in unindustrialized countries as a result of increasing food-borne diseases (FBDs) and accompanying deaths. This study aimed at assessing knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices (KAP) of food safety among street-cooked food handlers (SCFHs) in North Dayi District, Ghana. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 407 SCFHs in North Dayi District, Ghana. The World Health Organization's Five Keys to Safer Food for food handlers and a pretested structured questionnaire were adapted for data collection among stationary SCFHs along principal streets. Significant parameters such as educational status, average monthly income, registered SCFHs, and food safety training course were used in bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models to calculate the power of the relationships observed. RESULTS: The majority 84.3% of SCFHs were female and 56.0% had not attended a food safety training course. This study showed that 67.3%, 58.2%, and 62.9% of SCFHs had good levels of KAP of food safety, respectively. About 87.2% showed a good attitude of separating uncooked and prepared meal before storage. Good knowledge of food safety was 2 times higher among registered SCFHs compared to unregistered [cOR=1.64, p=0.032]. SCFHs with secondary education were 4 times good at hygiene practices of food safety likened to no education [aOR=4.06, p=0.003]. Above GHc1500 average monthly income earners were 5 times good at hygiene practices of food safety compared to below GHc500 [aOR=4.89, p=0.006]. Registered SCFHs were 8 times good at hygiene practice of food safety compared to unregistered [aOR=7.50, p<0.001]. The odd for good hygiene practice of food safety was 6 times found among SCFHs who had training on food safety courses likened to those who had not [aOR=5.97, p<0.001]. CONCLUSIONS: Over half of the SCFHs had good levels of KAP of food safety. Registering as SCFH was significantly associated with good knowledge and hygiene practices of food safety. Therefore, our results may present an imperative foundation for design to increase food safety and hygiene practice in the district, region, and beyond.

Boron-modulated surface of hollow nickel framework for improved hydrogen evolution.

A hollow Ni framework (HNF) is designed and prepared to utilize the exterior and interior surface active sites of a Ni-based binder-free and support-free electrode. Furthermore, the more efficient Ni-B active sites are then in situ introduced on the surface of HNF. This micro/nano structure engineering, together with the surface boron modulation, results in a synergistically enhanced catalytic effect for the HER performance.

Self-derivation-behaviour of substrates realizing enhanced oxygen evolution reaction.

Self-derivation-behaviour of substrates is utilized to fabricate monolithic electrodes for oxygen evolution, in which the selected substrate functions as both the precursor of the active catalyst and a conductive support. In particular, NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) can be directly derived from the surface metal of commercial NiFe foam (NFF). Moreover, the as-prepared monolithic electrode exhibits enhanced activity and durability, originating from the resultant defective nanosheet structure and autologous catalyst-support features.

Recognition of plastic nanoparticles using a single gold nanopore fabricated at the tip of a glass nanopipette.

A single gold nanopore with high surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) activity is fabricated on the tip of a glass nanopipette. Polystyrene (PS) nanospheres can be recognized from the SERS spectrum while passing through the single nanopore.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Probing the Translocation of DNA and Amino Acid through Plasmonic Nanopores.

DNA and amino acids are important biomolecules in living organisms. Probing such biomolecules with structural characters can provide valuable information for life study. Here, gold plasmonic nanopores (GPNs) with high SERS activity (a local enhancement factor higher than 109) are synthesized at the tip of a glass nanopipette. An electric field drives individual molecules to translocate through the GPNs, which enables in situ collection of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Nonresonant biomolecules, including nucleobases, amino acids, and oligonucleotides (DNA), with single nucleobase differences can be distinguished. The intensity of SERS is tunable by modulating the affinity between DNA and the GPNs. The present study shows the feasibility of applying a plasmonic nanopore to DNA and protein detection, which may also provide an easy way for tracking single molecule translocation by developing a well-defined single plasmonic nanopore.

An in situ SERS study of ionic transport and the Joule heating effect in plasmonic nanopores.

Understanding the ionic transport behaviour as well as temperature change caused by the Joule heating effect is important for the application of plasmonic nanopores. To explore the basic properties of ionic transport through nanopores, we assemble gold nanoparticles on the tip of a glass nanopipette to form a hydrophilic gold porous structure (hydro-GPS) that exhibits high Raman activity.

Layer by layer assembled films between hemoglobin and multiwall carbon nanotubes for pH-switchable biosensing.

Although pH-switchable behaviors have been reported based on multilayer films modified electrodes, their pH-switchable biosensing is still difficult due to the existence of the electroactive mediator. In this study, we report the pH-dependable determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) based on a four-bilayer film fabricated through layer by layer assembly between hemoglobin (Hb) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). We observed that response of electroactive probe Fe(CN)6(3-) at the multilayer films was very sensitive and reversible to pH values of phosphate buffer solutions phosphate buffer solution with cyclic voltammetry. The reduction peak height of Fe(CN)6(3-) at the multilayer film could reach ∼221µA at pH 3.0 while 0µA at pH 9.0. The linear range for the detection of H2O2 at pH 3.0 was from 12.5µM to 10.4mM, which was much wider than that at pH 9.0. Our results demonstrated that the detection of H2O2 with the proposed modified electrode is dependent on pH values of phosphate buffer solution. Moreover, the component of multilayer films has impacts on the performance of biosensors with pH-switchable behaviors.

Paper-based analytical devices for electrochemical study of the breathing process of red blood cells.

Herein we utilized the filter paper to physically trap red blood cells (RBC) to observe the breathing process of red blood cells based on the permeability of the filter paper. By integrating double-sided conductive carbon tape as the working electrodes, the device could be applied to monitor electrochemical responses of RBC for up to hundreds of minutes. The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) peak currents increased under oxygen while decreased under nitrogen, indicating that RBC could take in and release oxygen. Further studies demonstrated that the RBC suspension could more effectively take in oxygen than the solution of hemoglobin and the supernatant of RBC, suggesting the natural advantage of RBC on oxygen transportation. This study implied that simple paper-based analytical devices might be effectively applied in the study of gas-participating reactions and biochemical detections.

Paper-based electroanalytical devices for in situ determination of salicylic acid in living tomato leaves.

Detection of phytohormones in situ has gained significant attention due to their critical roles in regulating developmental processes and signaling for defenses in plants at low concentration. As one type of plant hormones, salicylic acid has recently been found to be one of pivotal signal molecules for physiological behaviors of plants. Here we report the application of paper-based electroanalytical devices for sensitively in situ detection of salicylic acid in tomato leaves with the sample volume of several microliters. Specifically, disposable working electrodes were fabricated by coating carbon tape with the mixture of multiwall carbon nanotubes and nafion. We observed that the treatment of the modified carbon tape electrodes with oxygen plasma could significantly improve electrochemical responses of salicylic acid. The tomato leaves had a punched hole of 1.5mm diameter to release salicylic acid with minor influence on continuous growth of tomatoes. By incorporating the tomato leaf with the paper-based analytical device, we were able to perform in situ determination of salicylic acid based on its electrocatalytic oxidation. Our experimental results demonstrated that the amounts of salicylic acid differed statistically in normal, phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene silent and diseased (infected by Botrytis cinerea) tomato leaves. By quantifying salicylic acid at the level of several nanograms in situ, the simple paper-based electroanalytical devices could potentially facilitate the study of defense mechanism of plants under biotic and abiotic stresses. This study might also provide a sensitive method with spatiotemporal resolution for mapping of chemicals released from living organisms.

Quantum dot (QD)-modified carbon tape electrodes for reproducible electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emission on a paper-based platform.

Stable and sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection relies on successful immobilization of quantum dots (QDs) on working electrodes. Herein, we report a new technique to apply double-sided carbon adhesive tape as the working electrode to improve the stability and reproducibility of QD-based ECL emission. CdS QD-modified electrodes were prepared by dropping and drying CdS QD suspension on the carbon adhesive tape supported by indium tin oxide (ITO) glass. The ECL detection was performed with the prepared electrode on a paper-based platform. We tested our system using H(2)O(2) of various concentrations and demonstrated that consistent ECL emission could be obtained. We attribute stable and reproducible ECL emission to the robust attachment of CdS QDs on the carbon adhesive tape. The proposed method could be used to quantify the concentration of dopamine from 1 µM to 10 mM based on the quenching effect of dopamine on ECL emission of CdS QD system using H(2)O(2) as the coreactant. Our approach addressed the problem in the integration of stable QD-based ECL detection with portable paper-based analytical devices. The similar design offers great potential for low-cost electrochemical and ECL analytical instruments.