Guanidinium Vanadate [C(NH2)3]3VO4·2H2O Revealing Enhanced Second-Harmonic Generation and Wide Band Gaps.

A new guanidinium-templated vanadate, [C(NH2)3]3VO4·2H2O, has been synthesized in a phase-pure form. It crystallizes in a noncentrosymmetric polar space group, Cc, and the crystal structure is built upon a framework of guanidinium, vanadate tetrahedra, and water molecules linked by hydrogen bonds. Notably, optical measurements reveal that the material exhibits an approximately 9.6-fold enhancement in second-harmonic generation efficiency compared to its phosphate analogue. The enhancement can be attributed to the increased geometrical distortion of the VO4 tetrahedra. Furthermore, we found that the coordination number of the central vanadium atom significantly affects the optical band gaps. Among various coordination numbers, the 4-coordinate VO4 tetrahedra are found to be more favorable for widening the optical band gap of materials compared to the 5- and 6-coordinate vanadium polyhedra, as demonstrated by this work.

Machine Learning-Based Etiologic Subtyping of Ischemic Stroke Using Circulating Exosomal microRNAs.

Ischemic stroke is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Proper etiological subtyping of ischemic stroke is crucial for tailoring treatment strategies. This study explored the utility of circulating microRNAs encapsulated in extracellular vesicles (EV-miRNAs) to distinguish the following ischemic stroke subtypes: large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), cardioembolic stroke (CES), and small artery occlusion (SAO). Using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and machine-learning techniques, we identified differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) associated with each subtype. Through patient selection and diagnostic evaluation, a cohort of 70 patients with acute ischemic stroke was classified: 24 in the LAA group, 24 in the SAO group, and 22 in the CES group. Our findings revealed distinct EV-miRNA profiles among the groups, suggesting their potential as diagnostic markers. Machine-learning models, particularly logistic regression models, exhibited a high diagnostic accuracy of 92% for subtype discrimination. The collective influence of multiple miRNAs was more crucial than that of individual miRNAs. Additionally, bioinformatics analyses have elucidated the functional implications of DEMs in stroke pathophysiology, offering insights into the underlying mechanisms. Despite limitations like sample size constraints and retrospective design, our study underscores the promise of EV-miRNAs coupled with machine learning for ischemic stroke subtype classification. Further investigations are warranted to validate the clinical utility of the identified EV-miRNA biomarkers in stroke patients.

Unveiling the Superior Optical Properties of Novel Melamine-Based Nonlinear Optical Material with Strong Second-Harmonic Generation and Giant Optical Anisotropy.

Two melamine-based metal halides, (C3 N6 H7 )(C3 N6 H6 )HgCl3 (I) and (C3 N6 H7 )3 HgCl5 (II), are synthesized by incorporating the heavy d10 cation, Hg2+ , and the halide anion, Cl- . The noncentrosymmetric structure of I results from two unique attributes: large asymmetric secondary building units produced by direct covalent coordination of melamine to Hg2+ and a small dihedral angle between melamine molecules. The former makes inorganic modules locally acentric, while the latter prevents planar organic groups from forming deleterious antiparallel arrangement. The unique coordination in I results in an enlarged band gap of 4.40 eV. Due to the large polarizability of the heavy Hg2+ cation and the π-conjugated system of melamine, I exhibits a strong second-harmonic generation efficiency of 5 × KH2 PO4 , larger than any reported melamine-based nonlinear optical materials to date. Density functional theory calculations indicate that I possesses giant optical anisotropy, with a birefringence of 0.246@1064 nm.

A Rare-Earth Selenite with Unexpectedly Well-Balanced Ultraviolet Nonlinear Optical Functionality, Sc(HSeO3 )3.

Establishing high performance ultraviolet (UV) nonlinear optical (NLO) selenite crystals with well-balanced properties is very challenging attributable to their strong absorption for UV light. Here a rare-earth selenite, Sc(HSeO3 )3 , with excellent UV NLO properties is introduced. Sc(HSeO3 )3 crystallizing in the polar NCS space group, Cc, features a 3D archetiture built up by interconnected ScO6 octahedra and HSeO3 groups. The crystal exhibits remarkably well-balanced UV-NLO functionality, namely, the shortest absorption edge (214 nm) among NLO-active selenites, wide bandgap (5.28 eV), large phase-matchable SHG response (5 × KDP), and sufficiently large birefringence (cal. 0.105 @1064 nm). Detailed DFT calculations have been performed to elucidate the structure-property relationships. This work provides a new example of discovering novel UV NLO selenite materials.

Higher portal venous pulsatility is associated with worse clinical outcomes following congenital heart surgery: a single-centre prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Increased portal venous flow pulsatility is associated with major complications after adult cardiac surgery. Nevertheless, no data are available for pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. We hypothesized that Doppler parameters including portal flow pulsatility could be associated with postoperative outcomes in children undergoing various cardiac surgeries. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study in children undergoing congenital cardiac surgery. We obtained postoperative portal, splenic, and hepatic venous Doppler data and perioperative clinical data including major postoperative complications. Portal and splenic venous flow pulsatility were calculated. We evaluated the association between venous Doppler parameters and adverse outcomes. The primary objective was to determine whether postoperative portal flow pulsatility could indicate major complications following congenital heart surgery. RESULTS: In this study, we enrolled 389 children, 74 of whom experienced major postoperative complications. The mean (standard deviation) portal pulsatility (44 [30]% vs 25 [14]%; 95% confidence interval [CI] for mean difference, 12 to 26; P < 0.001] and splenic pulsatility indices (41 [30]% vs 26 [16]%; 95% CI, 7 to 23; P < 0.001) were significantly higher in children with postoperative complications than in those without complications. The portal pulsatility index was able to help identify postoperative complications in biventricular patients and univentricular patients receiving bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt whereas it did not in other univentricular patients. An increased postoperative portal pulsatility index was significantly associated with major complications after pediatric cardiac surgery (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.29 to 1.91; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher portal venous pulsatility is associated with major postoperative complications in children undergoing cardiac surgery. Nevertheless, more data are needed to conclude the efficacy of portal venous pulsatility in patients with univentricular physiology. STUDY REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03990779); registered 19 June 2019.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: L'augmentation de la pulsatilité du flux de la veine porte est associée à des complications majeures après une chirurgie cardiaque chez l'adulte. Néanmoins, aucune donnée n'est disponible pour la patientèle pédiatrique atteinte de cardiopathie congénitale. Nous avons émis l'hypothèse que les paramètres Doppler, y compris la pulsatilité du flux de la veine porte, pourraient être associés aux devenirs postopératoires des enfants bénéficiant de diverses chirurgies cardiaques. MéTHODE: Nous avons réalisé une étude de cohorte observationnelle prospective portant sur des enfants bénéficiant d'une chirurgie cardiaque congénitale. Nous avons obtenu des données Doppler des veines porte, spléniques et hépatiques postopératoires ainsi que des données cliniques périopératoires, y compris les complications postopératoires majeures. La pulsatilité du flux des veines porte et spléniques a été calculée. Nous avons évalué l'association entre les paramètres Doppler veineux et les issues indésirables. L'objectif principal était de déterminer si la pulsatilité du flux postopératoire de la veine porte pouvait constituer un indicateur des complications majeures après une chirurgie cardiaque congénitale. RéSULTATS: Dans cette étude, nous avons recruté 389 enfants, dont 74 ont présenté des complications postopératoires majeures. La pulsatilité moyenne de la veine porte (écart type) (44 [30] % vs 25 [14] %; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % pour la différence moyenne, 12 à 26; P < 0,001] et les indices de pulsatilité splénique (41 [30] % vs 26 [16] %; IC 95 %, 7 à 23; P < 0,001) étaient significativement plus élevés chez les enfants présentant des complications postopératoires que chez les enfants sans complications. L'indice de pulsatilité de la veine porte a permis d'identifier les complications postopératoires chez les patient·es biventriculaires et les patient·es univentriculaires recevant une anastomose cavo-pulmonaire bidirectionnelle (procédure de Glenn), alors que ce n'était pas le cas chez les autres patient·es univentriculaires. Une augmentation postopératoire de l'indice de pulsatilité de la veine porte était significativement associée à des complications majeures après une chirurgie cardiaque pédiatrique (rapport de cotes, 1,40; IC 95 %, 1,29 à 1,91; P < 0,001). CONCLUSION: Une pulsatilité plus élevée de la veine porte est associée à des complications postopératoires majeures chez les enfants bénéficiant d'une chirurgie cardiaque. Néanmoins, davantage de données sont nécessaires pour conclure à l'efficacité de la pulsatilité de la veine porte chez les patient·es présentant une physiologie univentriculaire. ENREGISTREMENT DE L'éTUDE: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03990779); enregistrée le 19 juin 2019.

Effect of Hospital Case-Volume on Mortality after Ovarian Cancer Surgery: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of ovarian cancer surgery has recently shifted from optimal cytoreduction to more complete resection. This study attempted to reassess and update the association between surgical case-volume and both in-hospital and long-term mortality after ovarian cancer surgery using recent data. DESIGN: This study is a population-based retrospective cohort study. Participants/Material: Data from all adult patients who underwent ovarian cancer surgery in Korea between 2005 and 2019 were obtained from the national database. A total of 24,620 patients underwent ovarian cancer surgery in 362 hospitals during the period. SETTING: In-hospital and 1-, 3-, 5-year mortality were set as primary and secondary outcomes. METHODS: Hospitals were categorized into high-volume (>90 cases/year), medium-volume (20-90 cases/year), and low-volume (<20 cases/year) centers considering overall distribution of case-volume. Postoperative in-hospital and long-term mortality were analyzed using logistic regression after adjusting for potential risk factors. RESULTS: Compared to high-volume centers (0.54%), in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in medium-volume (1.40%; adjusted odds ratio, 2.92; confidence interval, 1.82-3.73; p < 0.001) and low-volume (1.61%; adjusted odds ratio, 2.94; confidence interval, 2.07-4.17; p < 0.001) centers. In addition, 1-year mortality was 6.26%, 7.06%, and 7.94% for high-volume, medium-volume, and low-volume centers, respectively, and the differences among the groups were significant. However, case-volume effect was not apparent in 3- and 5-year mortality after ovarian cancer surgery. LIMITATIONS: Lacking clinical information such as staging or histologic diagnosis due to the nature of the administrative data should be considered in interpreting the data. CONCLUSIONS: Case-volume effect was observed for in-hospital and 1-year mortality after ovarian cancer surgery, while it was not clearly found in 3- or 5-year mortality. Dilution of the case-volume effect might be attributed to the high accessibility to care.

COVID-19 and the reenactment of mass masking in South Korea.

How can we explain the divergence of social commitment to mass masking as public health measures in the global response to COVID-19? Rather than searching for deep-rooted cultural norms, this essay views the contemporary practice as a reenactment of multiple layers of accumulated socio-material conditions. This perspective will allow us to pursue a comparative study of the social history of mask-wearing around the world.

Enabling Self-management of a Chronic Condition through Patient-centered Coaching: A Case of an mHealth Diabetes Prevention Program for Older Adults.

Patient-centered communication (PCC) by healthcare professionals can contribute to enacting and facilitating patients' self-management of chronic health conditions. This study investigates the emerging patterns of PCC that occur in an mHealth-based diabetes prevention program for older adults. The analysis of user-coach communication data during the 16-week period of the program revealed four PCC strategies employed by coaches: (a) triggering reflections on users' routinized habits, (b) jointly determining a measurable health goal, (c) facilitating self-evaluations on recent behavior change, and (d) tailoring programs to adapt to users' lifestyle and health status. To advance these strategies, coaches utilized various mHealth features that helped them (a) engage in data-driven coaching, (b) increase situational awareness of users' health conditions and routines, (c) provide continuous support to users through regular and spontaneous in-app chats, and (d) foster user autonomy and engagement. The findings extend implications for developing technology-enabled healthcare practice to enhance self-management of chronic illness.

UCMAC: A Cooperative MAC Protocol for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks.

This paper proposes a cooperative medium access control (MAC) protocol for underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) named UCMAC, which fundamentally benefits from cooperative communication. In UCMAC, a source identifies cooperators and provides its destination with a list of the cooperators while also delineating their proximity to the destination. For erroneous reception of data packets, the destination then requests retransmission to the cooperators in a closest-one-first manner. A designated cooperator transmits the buffered data packet it has successfully overheard from the source or other cooperators. A signaling procedure and the various waiting times of the nodes are carefully designed to address the overheads that stem from cooperation. Through computer simulation, this paper evaluates UCMAC in terms of system throughput, latency, single-hop packet delivery ratio (PDR), and energy efficiency. The results show that UCMAC performs better than existing schemes, including MACA-U and CD-MACA.

Mobile But Connected: Harnessing the Power of Self-Efficacy and Group Support for Weight Loss Success through mHealth Intervention.

Despite the growing popularity of mHealth applications, their usage outcomes have received limited empirical attention. Drawing on server-level user activity data and an online survey (N = 384), this study examines the use of an mHealth application for weight loss to elucidate the ways in which it can help individuals harness the power of self-efficacy and group support to enact behavior change and accomplish their health goals. The results of structural equation modeling based on 6-month user activity data demonstrated that (a) self-efficacy had a positive impact on persistent food logging in an mHealth application; (b) social support received from a mobile group was positively associated with food logging and group participation; and (c) both food logging and group participation predicted weight loss success. Extending these findings, this study suggests theoretical and practical implications for designing individually tailored and evidence-based health intervention strategies using advanced mHealth technologies.

Complementary Support from Facilitators and Peers for Promoting mHealth Engagement and Weight Loss.

This study investigates the effects of mHealth interventions on sustainable behavior change and weight loss, drawing on in-app user activity data and online survey data. Specifically, we focus on the interactions within mobile support groups in Noom, an mHealth application for obesity intervention, to delve into how social support from facilitators and peers may play differential roles in promoting health outcomes. The results of structural equation modeling (N = 301) demonstrated that (a) perceived facilitator support was positively associated with group members' health information acquisition such as fitness-themed article reading whereas perceived peer support was positively linked to group participation such as posting and responding; (b) perceived peer support was positively related to normative influence among group members, which subsequently increased group members' responses to others' posts; and (c) health information reading and in-group posting promoted weight loss; however, merely responding to others' posts did not lead to weight-loss success. The findings suggest that the complementary influences of facilitators and peers must be considered to enhance the efficacy of support group interventions.

SOUNET: Self-Organized Underwater Wireless Sensor Network.

In this paper, we propose an underwater wireless sensor network (UWSN) named SOUNET where sensor nodes form and maintain a tree-topological network for data gathering in a self-organized manner. After network topology discovery via packet flooding, the sensor nodes consistently update their parent node to ensure the best connectivity by referring to the timevarying neighbor tables. Such a persistent and self-adaptive method leads to high network connectivity without any centralized control, even when sensor nodes are added or unexpectedly lost. Furthermore, malfunctions that frequently happen in self-organized networks such as node isolation and closed loop are resolved in a simple way. Simulation results show that SOUNET outperforms other conventional schemes in terms of network connectivity, packet delivery ratio (PDR), and energy consumption throughout the network. In addition, we performed an experiment at the Gyeongcheon Lake in Korea using commercial underwater modems to verify that SOUNET works well in a real environment.

Macromolecular sensing of RNAs by exploiting conformational changes in supramolecular nanostructures.

Here, we report on a ratiometric fluorescence biosensor based on self-assembled peptide nanostructures (SPN), which can respond to conformational changes induced by RNA ligand binding. The design of the SPN biosensor was inspired by the conformational stabilization and multimerization behaviors of the HIV-1 Rev protein induced by cooperative protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions. Because conformation-sensitive SPN biosensors can orchestrate binding and signal transduction events, they can be developed as highly sophisticated and smart nanomaterials for biosensing.

Learning Controllable ISP for Image Enhancement.

We present a plug-and-play Image Signal Processor (ISP) for image enhancement to better produce diverse image styles than the previous works. Our proposed method, ContRollable Image Signal Processor (CRISP), explicitly controls the parameters of the ISP that determine output image styles. ISP parameters for high-quality (HQ) image styles are encoded into low-dimensional latent codes, allowing fast and easy style adjustments. We empirically show that CRISP covers a wide range of image styles with high efficiency. On the MIT-Adobe FiveK dataset, CRISP can very closely estimate the reference styles produced by human experts and achieves better MOS with diverse image styles. Compared with the state-of-the-art method, our ISP comprises only 19 parameters, allowing CRISP to have 2× smaller parameters and 100× reduced FLOPs for an image output. CRISP outperforms previous works in PSNR and FLOPs with several scenarios for style adjustments.

Learning to Learn Task-Adaptive Hyperparameters for Few-Shot Learning.

The objective of few-shot learning is to design a system that can adapt to a given task with only few examples while achieving generalization. Model-agnostic meta-learning (MAML), which has recently gained the popularity for its simplicity and flexibility, learns a good initialization for fast adaptation to a task under few-data regime. However, its performance has been relatively limited especially when novel tasks are different from tasks previously seen during training. In this work, instead of searching for a better initialization, we focus on designing a better fast adaptation process. Consequently, we propose a new task-adaptive weight update rule that greatly enhances the fast adaptation process. Specifically, we introduce a small meta-network that can generate per-step hyperparameters for each given task: learning rate and weight decay coefficients. The experimental results validate that learning a good weight update rule for fast adaptation is the equally important component that has drawn relatively less attention in the recent few-shot learning approaches. Surprisingly, fast adaptation from random initialization with ALFA can already outperform MAML. Furthermore, the proposed weight-update rule is shown to consistently improve the task-adaptation capability of MAML across diverse problem domains: few-shot classification, cross-domain few-shot classification, regression, visual tracking, and video frame interpolation.

Induction of Cell Death by Bifidobacterium infantis DS1685 in Colorectal and Breast Cancers via SMAD4/TGF-Beta Activation.

Therapeutic advancements in treatments for cancer, a leading cause of mortality worldwide, have lagged behind the increasing incidence of this disease. There is a growing interest in multifaceted approaches for cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, but due to their low efficacy and severe side effects, there is a need for the development of new cancer therapies. Recently, the human microbiome, which is comprised of various microorganisms, has emerged as an important research field due to its potential impact on cancer treatment. Among these microorganisms, Bifidobacterium infantis has been shown to significantly improve the efficacy of various anticancer drugs. However, research on the role of B. infantis in cancer treatment remains insufficient. Thus, in this study, we explored the anticancer effect of treatment with B. infantis DS1685 supernatant (BI sup) in colorectal and breast cancer cell lines. Treatment with BI sup induced SMAD4 expression to suppress cell growth in colon and breast cancer cells. Furthermore, a decrease in tumor cohesion was observed through the disruption of the regulation of EMT-related genes by BI sup in 3D spheroid models. Based on these findings, we anticipate that BI sup could play an adjunctive role in cancer therapy, and future cotreatment of BI sup with various anticancer drugs may lead to synergistic effects in cancer treatment.

Negative regulation of SH2B3 by SMYD5 controls epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer.

The main cause of death in lung cancer patients is metastasis. Thus, efforts to suppress micrometastasis or distant metastasis in lung cancer, identify therapeutic targets and develop related drugs are ongoing. In this study, we identified SET and MYND domain-containing protein 5 (SMYD5) as a novel metastasis regulator in lung cancer and found that SMYD5 was overexpressed in lung cancer based on both RNA-sequencing analysis results derived from the TCGA portal and immunohistochemical analysis results; knockdown of SMYD5 inhibited cell migration and invasion by changing epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers and MMP9 expression in NCI-H1299 and H1703 cell lines. Additionally, SMYD5 knockdown increased Src homology 2-b3 expression by decreasing the level of H4K20 trimethylation. Furthermore, in an in vitro epithelial-mesenchymal transition system using TGF-ß treatment, SMYD5 knockdown resulted in reduced cell migration and invasion in the highly invasive NCI-H1299 and H1703 cell lines. Based on these findings, we propose that SMYD5 could serve as a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment and that cotreatment with an SMYD5 inhibitor and chemotherapy may enhance the therapeutic effect of lung cancer treatment.

Inserted layer of AZO thin film with high work function between transparent conductive oxide and p-layer and its solar cell application.

We report aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) films with high work function as an insertion layer between transparent conducting oxides (TCO) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) layer to improve open circuit voltage (V(oc)) and fill factor (FF) for thin film solar cells. Amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells exhibit poor fill factors due to a Schottky barrier at the interface between a-SiC:H window and TCO. The interface engineering is carried out by inserting an AZO layer with high work function (4.95 eV at O2 = 2 sccm). As a result, V(oc) and FF improved significantly. FF as high as 63.35% is obtained.

Effects of Death Anxiety and Perceived End-of-Life Care Competencies on Fear of Terminal Care among Clinical Nurses.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of death anxiety and perceived end-of-life care competencies on the fear of terminal care among clinical nurses. Methods: This correlational study was conducted from June to July 2021. The study included 149 clinical nurses employed at a tertiary hospital and seven other hospitals. The measurement tools used in this study were the Thanatophobia Scale (Cronbach's α=0.87), the Death Anxiety Scale (Cronbach's α=0.80), and the Scale of End-of-life Care Competencies (Cronbach's α=0.94). These instruments were chosen to assess the levels of fear of terminal care, death-related anxiety, and competencies in end-of-life care. Results: The mean score for fear of terminal care was 3.32±1.32. Differences in fear of terminal care were observed based on the working unit, position, number of patients requiring terminal care, and experience with end-of-life care education. Fear of terminal care was significantly positively correlated with death anxiety and significantly negatively correlated with end-of-life care competencies. In multiple regression analysis, the factors influencing fear of terminal care were attitudes toward end-of-life care competencies (ß=-0.39, P<0.001), death anxiety (ß=0.24, P<0.001), knowledge of end-of-life care competencies (ß=-0.22, P=0.005), and behaviors related to end-of-life care competencies (ß=-0.16, P=0.021). These factors explained 64.6% of the total variance (F=25.54, P<0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that developing nurses' end-of-life care competencies and reducing death anxiety are crucial for managing the fear of terminal care. Therefore, providing end-of-life care education and psychological support programs is important.

Difference between Anterior and Posterior Cord Compression and Its Clinical Implication in Patients with Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.

In degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), the low anteroposterior compression ratio of the spinal cord is known to be associated with a neurologic deficit. However, there is little detailed analysis of spinal cord compression. Axial magnetic resonance images of 183 DCM patients at normal C2-C3 and maximal cord compression segments were analyzed. The anterior (A), posterior (P), and anteroposterior length and width (W) of the spinal cord were measured. Correlation analyses between radiographic parameters and each section of Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores and comparisons of the patients divided by A (below or above 0, 1, or 2 mm) were performed. Between C2-C3 and maximal compression segments, the mean differences of A and P were 2.0 (1.2) and 0.2 (0.8) mm. The mean anteroposterior compression ratios were 0.58 (0.13) at C2-C3 and 0.32 (0.17) at maximal compression. The A and A/W ratio were significantly correlated with four sections and the total JOA scores (p < 0.05), but the P and P/W ratio did not demonstrate any correlations. Patients with A < 1 mm had significantly lower JOA scores than those with A ≥ 1 mm. In patients with DCM, spinal cord compression occurs mainly in the anterior part and the anterior cord length of <1 mm is particularly associated with neurologic deficits.