Longitudinal impact of multi-segment spinal fixation surgery on mobility status and clinical outcomes in adult spinal deformity: a multicenter retrospective study.

PURPOSE: To investigate changes in postoperative mobility status in patients with ASD, and the determining factors that influence these changes and their impact on clinical outcomes, including the rate of home discharge and long-term mobility. METHODS: A total of 299 patients with ASD who underwent multi-segment posterior spinal fusion were registered in a multi-center database were investigated. Patient mobility status was assessed using walking aids and classified into five levels (1: independent, 2: cane, 3: walker, 4: assisted, and 5: wheelchair) preoperatively, at discharge, and after 2 years. We determined improvements or declines in the patient's mobility based on changes in the classification levels. The analysis focused on the factors contributing to the deterioration of postoperative mobility. RESULTS: Two years postoperatively, 87% of patients maintained or improved mobility. However, 27% showed decreased mobility status at discharge, associated with a lower rate of home discharge (49% vs. 80% in the maintained mobility group) and limited improvement in mobility status (35% vs. 5%) after 2 years. Notably, postoperative increases in thoracic kyphosis (7.0 ± 12.1 vs. 2.0 ± 12.4°, p = 0.002) and lower lumbar lordosis (4.2 ± 13.1 vs. 1.8 ± 12.6°, p = 0.050) were substantial factors in mobility decline. CONCLUSION: Postoperative mobility often temporarily decreases but generally improves after 2 years. However, an overcorrection in sagittal alignment, evidenced by increased TK, could detrimentally affect patients' mobility status. Transient mobility decline associated with overcorrection may require further rehabilitation or hospitalization. Further studies are required to determine the biomechanical effects of surgical correction on mobility.

A mathematical model of mobility-related infection and vaccination in an epidemiological case.

In this study, we established a system of differential equations with piecewise constant arguments to explain the impact of epidemiological transmission between different locations. Our main goal is to look into the need for vaccines as well as the necessity of the lockdown period. We proved that keeping social distance was necessary during the pandemic spread to stop transmissions between different locations and that re-vaccinations, including screening tests, were crucial to avoid reinfections. Using the Routh-Hurwitz Criterion, we examined the model's local stability and demonstrated that the system could experience Stationary and Neimark-Sacker bifurcations depending on certain circumstances.

Modeling a SEIVRS dynamic behavior with transportation-related transmissionEstablishing a system of two urban as differential equations with piecewise constant argumentsStability analysis of disease-free and co-existing equilibrium pointsAnalyzing bifurcation types around the disease-free and co-existing equilibrium points.Illustrating numerical scenarios that were applied during the pandemic event.

Amorphous calcium carbonate as a novel potential treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs: a pilot clinical study.

Background: Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a potential new treatment for canine osteoarthritis (OA) with novel mechanisms based on local pH modulation and targeting bone remodeling, inflammation, and pain. The aim of this pilot exploratory clinical study was to obtain initial data on the potential efficacy and safety of ACC in OA dogs and to determine if further investigation was appropriate using similar assessment methods. Materials and methods: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot study, 41 client-owned dogs were allocated in a 2:1 ratio to ACC: placebo given orally for 56 days. Efficacy assessments included improvements in pain and mobility using owner questionnaires [Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI), Client Specific Outcome Measure (CSOM), and Veterinary Orthopedic Scores (VOS)]. Safety in the study population was monitored by veterinary examinations, clinical pathology, and adverse events. Results: Fifty-three dogs were screened, of which 41 enrolled and served for the safety assessment. Thirty-six dogs were found evaluable for initial efficacy assessment. Three dogs given placebo (21.4%) and one given ACC (4.5%) were removed before day 56 due to owner-perceived pain and were considered treatment failures. There were no serious adverse events or clinically significant treatment-related effects in the study. Overall, ACC was found safe in the small study population. On day 56, proportionally more ACC than placebo dogs were treatment successes based on CBPI (45.5% vs. 21.4%) and CSOM (63.6% vs. 30.8%, respectively); however, these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.15 and 0.06, respectively). On day 56, within the ACC group but not the placebo group, the CBPI, CSOM, and VOS assessments were lower compared to day 0 and day 14 (p < 0.05). Limitations: The relatively small number of dogs limited the statistical power of the pilot study in evaluating the efficacy and safety of ACC. Conclusion: Study results support the conduct of larger, appropriately powered studies using similar assessments to confirm whether ACC may be a safe and effective treatment for OA in dogs.

Content-Aware Human Mobility Pattern Extraction.

Extracting meaningful patterns of human mobility from accumulating trajectories is essential for understanding human behavior. However, previous works identify human mobility patterns based on the spatial co-occurrence of trajectories, which ignores the effect of activity content, leaving challenges in effectively extracting and understanding patterns. To bridge this gap, this study incorporates the activity content of trajectories to extract human mobility patterns, and proposes acontent-aware mobility pattern model. The model first embeds the activity content in distributed continuous vector space by taking point-of-interest as an agent and then extracts representative and interpretable mobility patterns from human trajectory sets using a derived topic model. To investigate the performance of the proposed model, several evaluation metrics are developed, including pattern coherence, pattern similarity, and manual scoring. A real-world case study is conducted, and its experimental results show that the proposed model improves interpretability and helps to understand mobility patterns. This study provides not only a novel solution and several evaluation metrics for human mobility patterns but also a method reference for fusing content semantics of human activities for trajectory analysis and mining.

Helmet wearing and related factors among electric personal mobility device users in Korea.

Using data from the 2022 Korea Community Health Survey (n = 13 320), this study investigated helmet use and related factors among Korean adults using personal mobility devices, without distinguishing between private and hired users. Among mobility device users, 32.1% responded that they always wore a helmet. The proportion of helmet use was 35.2% among men, 25.8% among women, 29.2% among those aged 19-44 years, 42.3% among those aged 45-64 years and 26.6% among those aged 65 years or older. Furthermore, those who drank less frequently and were physically active were more likely to wear helmets. Moreover, people who always wore a seat belt when driving a car or sitting in the rear seat and people who always wore a helmet when riding a motorcycle were more likely to wear a helmet while using electric personal mobility devices. Approximately one-third of users always wore a helmet. The helmet-wearing rate was related to general characteristics such as gender and education level, and to safety behaviors such as wearing a seat belt when driving a car, sitting in the rear seat of a car, or when riding a motorcycle. In addition to considering personal characteristics investigated in this study, the helmet-wearing rate should be improved through policies or systems at the national or regional levels.

Comparing lagged impacts of mobility changes and environmental factors on COVID-19 waves in rural and urban India: a Bayesian spatiotemporal modelling study.

Previous research in India has identified urbanisation, human mobility and population demographics as key variables associated with higher district level COVID-19 incidence. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of mobility patterns in rural and urban areas in India, in conjunction with other drivers of COVID-19 transmission, have not been fully investigated. We explored travel networks within India during two pandemic waves using aggregated and anonymized weekly human movement datasets obtained from Google, and quantified changes in mobility before and during the pandemic compared with the mean baseline mobility for the 8-week time period at the beginning of 2020. We fit Bayesian spatiotemporal hierarchical models coupled with distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM) within the integrated nested Laplace approximate (INLA) package in R to examine the lag-response associations of drivers of COVID-19 transmission in urban, suburban, and rural districts in India during two pandemic waves in 2020-2021. Model results demonstrate that recovery of mobility to 99% that of pre-pandemic levels was associated with an increase in relative risk of COVID-19 transmission during the Delta wave of transmission. This increased mobility, coupled with reduced stringency in public intervention policy and the emergence of the Delta variant, were the main contributors to the high COVID-19 transmission peak in India in April 2021. During both pandemic waves in India, reduction in human mobility, higher stringency of interventions, and climate factors (temperature and precipitation) had 2-week lag-response impacts on the R t of COVID-19 transmission, with variations in drivers of COVID-19 transmission observed across urban, rural and suburban areas. With the increased likelihood of emergent novel infections and disease outbreaks under a changing global climate, providing a framework for understanding the lagged impact of spatiotemporal drivers of infection transmission will be crucial for informing interventions.

High-Performance Tin Oxide Thin-Film Transistors Realized by Codoping and Their Application in Logic Circuits.

Tin oxide is a promising channel material, offering the advantages of being low-cost and environmentally friendly and having a wide band gap. However, despite the high electron mobility of SnO2 in bulk, the corresponding thin-film transistors (TFTs) generally exhibit moderate performance, hindering their widespread application. Herein, we proposed a codoping strategy to improve both the electrical property and the stability of SnO2 TFTs. A comparative analysis between doped and undoped SnO2 was conducted. It is observed that taking advantage of the difference in ionic radii between two dopants (indium and gallium) and the tin ions in the host lattice can effectively reduce impurity-induced strain. Additionally, we investigated the effect of codoping content on SnO2 TFTs. The optimal codoped SnO2 (TIGO) TFTs demonstrate high performance, featuring a field-effect mobility of 15.9 cm2/V·s, a threshold voltage of 0.2 V, a subthreshold swing of 0.5 V/decade, and an on-to-off current ratio of 2.2 × 107. Furthermore, the devices show high stability under both positive and negative bias stress conditions with a small threshold voltage shift of 1.8 and -1.2 V, respectively. Utilizing the TIGO TFTs, we successfully constructed a resistor-loaded unipolar inverter with a high gain of 10.76. This study highlights the potential of codoped SnO2 TFTs for advanced applications in electronic devices.

The Relationship Between Lower Vitamin D Levels and Hearing Loss in Older Adults.

Background and Objectives: : Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a sensorineural disease that is associated with a number of factors. In addition to age, sex, environment, lifestyle, and comorbidities are all known to be related to ARHL as well. The prevalence of ARHL can be reduced by controlling the adjustable factors that cause it. Vitamin D levels are strongly related to calcium metabolism, which can affect ARHL. This study aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D and ARHL. Subjects and Methods: : A total of 1,104 subjects aged >65 years were enrolled from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted from 2010-2012. Every participant received both an audiological assessment and a nutritional survey. The association between ARHL and serum vitamin D concentration was analyzed using logistic regression analyses with complex sampling adjusted for confounding factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking status, mobility, and bone mineral density. Results: : Our multivariable analysis revealed that males in the group with lower serum levels of vitamin D (< 20 ng/mL) had a higher prevalence of ARHL (odds ratio, 1.638, 95% confidence interval, 1.058-2.538, p=0.027). Conclusions: : This finding suggests that lower serum levels of vitamin D are associated with ARHL in the older male population.

Enhancement noise margin and delay time performance of novel punch-through nMOS for single-carrier CMOS.

In this paper, we propose the use of punch-through nMOS (PTnMOS) as an alternative to pMOS in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. According to the TCAD simulation results, PTnMOS exhibit sub-threshold characteristics similar to those of pMOS and can be formed by simply changing the doping concentration of the source and drain. Without the need for sizing, which solves the area occupation problem caused by the need to increase the width of pMOS due to insufficient hole mobility. In addition, we compose a PTnMOS and nMOS without sizing to form a single-carrier CMOS in which only electrons are transmitted, and We extract its performance for comparison with conventional CMOS (Wp/Wn = 1). The results indicate that single-carrier CMOS has symmetric noise margin and 29% faster delay time compared to conventional CMOS (Wp/Wn = 1). If III-V or II-VI group materials could be applied to single-carrier CMOS, not only could costs be reduced and wafer area occupancy minimized, but also significant improvements in the performance and bandwidth application of microwave circuits could be achieved.

Comparison of Outcomes in Dual-Mobility Versus Fixed-Bearing Implants in Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is often regarded as one of the most successful surgical techniques developed in the twenty-first century. However, it is associated with complications such as prosthetic instability, dislocations, or infections. Dual-mobility (DM) implants have been developed with the goal of reducing the incidence of dislocations by increasing the femoral head-neck ratio, maximising hip stability, and improving the range of motion (ROM) before impingement and dislocation. This systematic review aims to comprehensively compare the safety and efficacy of DM versus fixed-bearing (FB) implants in primary THA patients. A comprehensive search strategy of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection databases was executed to identify pertinent literature comparing DM and FB implants in THAs. Eligible studies underwent independent screening, and data were systematically extracted. The analysis employed pooled risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences (MD) for continuous variables, each accompanied by their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI). Our systematic review and meta-analysis included nine studies encompassing 22,277 patients. The DM group had a significantly reduced incidence of dislocations compared to the FB group (RR 0.25, 95%CI [0.13, 0.47]; p-value <0.0001) and a significantly shorter length of stay (MD -9.92, 95%CI [-15.53, -4.32]; p-value = 0.0005). The FB group, however, had a significantly shorter operative time compared to the DM group (MD 10.41, 95%CI [7.64, 13.17]; p-value < 0.00001). We did not identify any significant statistical differences between the DM and FB groups regarding patient-reported outcome measures, the incidence of all-cause readmissions, the incidence of peri-prosthetic fractures, the incidence of infections, or the incidence of groyne pain.

First-principles Study of Phase-dependent Carrier Transport Mechanism for MASnI3 Sn-based Halide Perovskite.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted tremendous attentions owing to their excellent properties as next-generation photovoltaic devices. With soft covalent framework, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites exhibit different phases at different temperatures. The band-edge features of perovskites are mainly contributed by inorganic framework, which means the structural differences between these phases would lead to complex carrier transport. We investigated the carrier transport of Sn-based organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite CH3NH3SnI3 (MASnI3), considering acoustic deformation potential scattering, ionized impurity scattering, and polar optical phonon scattering. It is found that the electron mobility of each phase of MASnI3 is strongly correlated with the Sn-I-Sn bond angle and there is in-plane/out-of-plane anisotropy. The pCOHP (projected crystal orbital Hamilton population) analysis suggested that the tilt and rotation of the [SnI6]4- octahedron influence the Sn(p)-I(p) orbital electron coupling and the electron transport, leading to different band-edge features in multiple phases. The carrier mobility with respect to temperature was further calculated for each phase of MASnI3 in respective temperature intervals, showing lower carrier mobility in high temperature. Comparing the contribution of different scattering mechanisms, it was found that the dominant scattering mechanism is polar optical phonon scattering, while multiple scattering mechanisms compete in individual cases.

[What importance does outpatient care have for mobility in rural areas? Results from a GPS study among persons aged 75 and older]. / Außerhäusliche Mobilität von Personen ab 75 Jahren im ländlichen Raum. Ergebnisse aus einer GPS-Studie.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-home mobility, defined as active and passive movement through external environments, is a resource for autonomy, quality of life, and self-realization in older age. Various factors influence out-of-home mobility, primarily studied in urban settings. The study aims to examine associated factors in a study population aged 75 and above in rural areas. METHODS: Baseline data from the MOBILE trial involving 212 participants aged 75 and above and collected between June 2021 and October 2022 were analyzed. Out-of-home mobility was measured temporally as time out of home (TOH) and spatially as convex hull (CHull) using GPS over seven days. Mixed models considered outpatient care parameters as well as personal, social, and environmental factors along with covariates such as age and gender. RESULTS: Participants in the MOBILE study (average age 81.5; SD: 4.1; 56.1% female) exhibited average out-of-home mobility of TOH: 319.3 min (SD: 196.3) and CHull: 41.3 (SD: 132.8). Significant associations were found for age (TOH: ß = -0.039, p < 0.001), social network (TOH: ß = 0.123, p < 0.001), living arrangement (CHull: ß = 0.689, p = 0.035), health literacy (CHull: ß = 0.077, p = 0.008), sidewalk quality (ß = 0.366, p = 0.003), green space ratio (TOH: ß = 0.005, p = 0.047), outpatient care utilization (TOH: ß = -0.637, p < 0.001, CHull: ß = 1.532; p = 0.025), and active driving (TOH: ß = -0.361, p = 0.004). DISCUSSION: Previously known multifactorial associations related to objectively measured out-of-home mobility in old age could be confirmed in rural areas. Novel and relevant for research and practice is the significant correlation between out-of-home mobility and outpatient care utilization.

Linked lives: intergenerational transmission of labour-market pathways between parent dyads and children.

While a vast number of studies confirm the transmission of labour-market disadvantages from one generation to the next, less is known about how parents' interconnected labour-market pathways co-evolve and shape the opportunities and obstacles for their children's future careers. This study uses a multidimensional view of intergenerational transmission by describing the most typical pathways of parents' occupational careers and assesses how these patterns are associated with their children's labour-market outcomes. Drawing on Swedish longitudinal register data, we used multichannel sequence analysis to follow a cohort of people born in 1985 (n = 72,409) and their parents across 26 years. We identified four parental earning models, differentiating between (1) dual earners with high wages, (2) dual earners with low-wage, (3) one-and-a-half-earners and (4) mother as the main breadwinner. Regression analysis shows strong intergenerational transmission among the most advantageous trajectories, with education as a key determinant for young people to become less dependent on family resources. This study stresses the importance of intra-couple perspectives in life course research to understand how inequalities are shaped and preserved across generations.

PbI2 Passivation of Three Dimensional PbS Quantum Dot Superlattices Toward Optoelectronic Metamaterials.

Lead chalcogenide colloidal quantum dots are one of the most promising materials to revolutionize the field of short-wavelength infrared optoelectronics due to their bandgap tunability and strong absorption. By self-assembling these quantum dots into ordered superlattices, mobilities approaching those of the bulk counterparts can be achieved while still retaining their original optical properties. The recent literature focused mostly on PbSe-based superlattices, but PbS quantum dots have several advantages, including higher stability. In this work, we demonstrate highly ordered 3D superlattices of PbS quantum dots with tunable thickness up to 200 nm and high coherent ordering, both in-plane and along the thickness. We show that we can successfully exchange the ligands throughout the film without compromising the ordering. The superlattices as the active material of an ion gel-gated field-effect transistor achieve electron mobilities up to 220 cm2 V-1 s-1. To further improve the device performance, we performed a postdeposition passivation with PbI2, which noticeably reduced the subthreshold swing making it reach the Boltzmann limit. We believe this is an important proof of concept showing that it is possible to overcome the problem of high trap densities in quantum dot superlattices enabling their application in optoelectronic devices.

Neighborhood mobility and racial disparities in preterm birth: A sibling study in California.

Recent work finds that upward neighborhood mobility-defined as reductions in neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage due to moving-may improve birth outcomes. Less work, however, explores whether changes in socioeconomic context differentially impact birth outcomes by maternal race and ethnicity. In the US, mothers of minoritized racial and ethnic identity often experience worse neighborhood conditions and pregnancy outcomes than White mothers. Using a sibling-linked dataset, we examined whether neighborhood mobility corresponds with changes in preterm birth risk among Asian (N = 130,079), Black (N = 50,149), Hispanic (N = 429,938), and White (N = 233,428) mothers who delivered multiple live births in California between 2005 and 2015. We linked residential addresses at each birth to census-derived indices of neighborhood disadvantage and defined levels of neighborhood mobility as moving-induced changes in disadvantage between pregnancies. We mapped neighborhood mobility patterns and fit conditional logistic regression models estimating the odds of preterm birth in the sibling delivered after moving, controlling for the risk of preterm birth in the sibling delivered before moving, by maternal race and ethnicity. Dot density maps highlight racialized patterns of neighborhood mobility and segregation between Black and White mothers. Regression results show that Black and, in some cases, Asian and Hispanic mothers who experienced upward mobility (moves away from neighborhood disadvantage) exhibited reduced odds of preterm birth in the second delivery. Upward mobility did not reduce the odds of preterm birth among White mothers. Findings suggest that policies and programs that enable opportunities for neighborhood mobility may reduce persistent racial and ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes.

Do Motor-Cognitive and Motor-Motor Dual-Task Training Differently Affect Dual-Task Interference in Individuals With Intellectual Disability?

This study explored the effect of different dual-task (DT) training programs on DT interference in adults with intellectual disability. Center-of-pressure (CoP) mean velocity in single-task (ST) and cognitive-DT conditions and the Timed Up-and-Go Test (TUGT) during ST, cognitive-DT, and motor-DT conditions were assessed before and after intervention in a cognitive-motor training group, a motor-motor training group, and a control group. Before training, CoP mean velocity and TUGT time increased (p < .001) in DT compared with the ST condition. After training, the CoP mean velocity values remained unchanged (p = .07) in DT compared with the ST condition among the cognitive-motor training group. Furthermore, compared with the ST condition, no increase (p = 1) was reported in the TUGT time during the cognitive-DT condition for the cognitive-motor training group and during the motor-DT for the motor-motor training group (p = .12). The effect of DT training on DT interference depends on the training modality.

A user-inspired mobility experience of the future: a qualitative investigation.

Wheelchair users (WCUs) face additional challenges than non-WCU to multi-tasking (i.e. open doors, cook, use a cell-phone) while navigating their environments. While assistive devices have attempted to provide WCUs with mobility solutions that enable multi-tasking capabilities, current devices have been developed without the input of end-users and have proven to be non-usable. More balanced approaches that integrate the end-users' voices may improve current assistive technology usability trends. This study sought to empathically understand the lived experience of WCUs, their needs towards a mobility device, and their perceptions towards hands-free mobility. Full-time WCUs and care providers participated in semi-structured interviews examining wheelchair use and perceptions towards current and future mobility devices. Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data. 9 WCUs (aged 32.1 ± 7.0 years; wheelchair experience 17.9 ± 11.6 years) and five care providers (years caring for WCU 3.75 ± 0.96 years) participated in the study. The most common disability type was spinal cord injury (WCUs: n = 3; care providers: n = 3). Qualitative analysis revealed four key themes: (1) Current wheelchair usage, (2) WCU and care provider perspectives, (3) Future wheelchair, and (4) Hands-free wheelchair. Accordingly, participants desire bespoke, light-weight mobility devices that can through tight spaces, access uneven terrain, and free the hands during navigation. This study provides meaningful insight into the needs of WCUs and care providers that assistive technology innovators can use to develop more usable assistive technologies. Amongst study participants, the concept of a hands-free mobility device appears to be usable and desirable.

Integrating end-users' voices into the development of assistive technology may improve current usability trendsWheelchair users desire access to their hands and the ability to multi-task while navigating their wheelchairsThe development of a hands-free mobility device may profoundly improve the quality of life of wheelchair users.

Training Outcomes and Satisfaction in Canadian MD/PhD and MD/MSc Programs: Findings from a National Survey.

PURPOSE: Despite the impact of physician-scientists on scientific discovery and translational medicine, several reports have signalled their declining workforce, reduced funding, and insufficient protected research time. Given the paucity of outcome data on Canadian MD/PhD programs, this study presents a national portrait of the sociodemographic characteristics, training trajectories, productivity, and satisfaction in trainees and alumni from Canadian MD/PhD and MD/MSc programs. METHODS: Quantitative data were collected in a national survey launched in 2021. Respondents included 74 MD/PhD alumni and 121 trainees across 12 Canadian MD/PhD and MD/MSc programs. RESULTS: Among MD/PhD alumni, 51% were independent practitioners/researchers while others underwent residency training. Most trainees (88%) were in MD/PhD programs. Significantly more alumni identified as men than did trainees. Significantly more alumni conducted clinical and health services research, while more trainees conducted basic science research. Average time to MD/PhD completion was 8 years, with no correlation to subsequent research outcomes. Self-reported research productivity was highest during MD/PhD training. Concerning training trajectories, most alumni completed residency, pursued additional training, and practised in Canada. Finally, regression models showed that trainees and alumni were satisfied with programs, with significant moderators in trainee models. CONCLUSION: Survey findings showed Canadian MD/PhD and MD/MSc programs recruit more diverse cohorts of trainees than before, provide productive research years, and graduate alumni who pursue training and academic employment in Canada. Both alumni and trainees are largely satisfied with these training programs. The need to collect in-depth longitudinal data on Canadian MD/PhD graduates to monitor diversity and success metrics is discussed.

Incorporating Spirituality into Cognitive Stimulation Therapy Groups for Persons with Dementia: An Exploratory Study.

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention for older adults with mild to moderate dementia. While CST has been adapted in various ways, this study explored the impact of adding a spiritual dimension to CST. Participants (N = 34) were divided into spiritual and traditional CST groups based on their residence. After a 14-session intervention involving interactive conversations, the spiritual CST group showed significantly lower depression scores (M = 2.7) compared to traditional CST (M = 6.5). With the global increase in dementia-related disorders, non-pharmacological interventions like CST offer crucial support for addressing memory loss. Social workers are uniquely positioned to deliver CST to diverse populations who value spirituality or faith in their daily lives.

High Mobility Transistors and Flexible Optical Synapses Enabled by Wafer-Scale Chemical Transformation of Pt-Based 2D Layers.

Electronic devices employing two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layers as semiconducting channels often exhibit limited performance (e.g., low carrier mobility), in part, due to their high contact resistances caused by interfacing non-vdW three-dimensional (3D) metal electrodes. Herein, we report that this intrinsic contact issue can be efficiently mitigated by forming the 2D/2D in-plane junctions of 2D semiconductor channels seamlessly interfaced with 2D metal electrodes. For this, we demonstrated the selectively patterned conversion of semiconducting 2D PtSe2 (channels) to metallic 2D PtTe2 (electrodes) layers by employing a wafer-scale low-temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. We investigated a variety of field-effect transistors (FETs) employing wafer-scale CVD-2D PtSe2/2D PtTe2 heterolayers and identified that silicon dioxide (SiO2) top-gated FETs exhibited an extremely high hole mobility of ∼120 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature, significantly surpassing performances with previous wafer-scale 2D PtSe2-based FETs. The low-temperature nature of the CVD method further allowed for the direct fabrication of wafer-scale arrays of 2D PtSe2/2D PtTe2 heterolayers on polyamide (PI) substrates, which intrinsically displayed optical pulse-induced artificial synaptic behaviors. This study is believed to vastly broaden the applicability of 2D TMD layers for next-generation, high-performance electronic devices with unconventional functionalities.