Enhanced Photocatalytic Coupling of Benzylamine to N-Benzylidene Benzylamine over the Organic-Inorganic Composites F70-TiO2 Based on Fullerenes Derivatives and TiO2.

The organic-inorganic composites F70-TiO2, based on fullerene with carboxyl group derivatives and TiO2 semiconductor, have been designed and constructed to become an optical-functional photocatalyst via the facile sol-gel method. The composite photocatalyst obtained shows excellent photocatalytic activity for the high-efficiency conversion of benzylamine (BA) to N-benzylidene benzylamine (NBBA) with air pressure at a normal temperature under visible light irradiation. By optimizing the composition, the composites with the 1:15 mass ratio of F70 and TiO2, denoted as F70-TiO2(1:15), demonstrated the highest reaction efficiency for benzylamine (>98% conversion) to N-benzylidene benzylamine (>93% selectivity) in this study. However, pure TiO2 and fullerene derivatives (F70) exhibit decreased conversion (56.3% and 89.7%, respectively) and selectivity (83.8% and 86.0%, respectively). The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and Mott-Schottky experiment's results indicate that the introduction of fullerene derivatives into anatase TiO2 would greatly broaden the visible light response range and adjust the energy band positions of the composites, enhancing the sunlight utilization and promoting the photogenerated charge (e--h+) separation and transfer. Specifically, a series of results on the in situ EPR tests and the photo-electrophysical experiment indicate that the separated charges from the hybrid could effectively activate benzylamine and O2 to accelerate the formation of active intermediates, and then couple with free BA molecules to form the desired production of N-BBA. The effective combination, on a molecular scale, between fullerene and titanium dioxide has provided a profound understanding of the photocatalysis mechanism. This work elaborates and makes clear the relationship between the structure and the performance of functional photocatalysts.

Advances in the Understanding of the Complex Role of Venous Sinus Stenosis in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder characterized by elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) that predominantly affects young obese women. IIH is a diagnosis of exclusion. That is, if increased ICP is suspected, magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance venography of the brain are recommended to exclude secondary causes. Imaging findings, such as empty sella, orbital findings, meningocele, and encephalocele, are not diagnostic of ICP, nor does their absence exclude ICP either. Therefore, venous manometry is recommended as the gold standard for evaluation, regardless of previous anatomic imaging results. Venous manometry is an invasive examination that is frequently applied to derive physiologic information concerning the nature of the pressure gradient. However, the pathogenesis of IIH has not been fully elucidated. The presence of venous sinus stenosis in a subset of patients has provided some support for the potential mechanisms underlying this condition. Hence, this review provides an up-to-date discussion on the potential pathogenic mechanisms of IIH with a special focus on venous sinus stenosis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 2.

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation affects older adults' cognition after general anesthesia: A meta-analysis.

Perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction comprises pre-existing neurocognitive dysfunction, postoperative delirium (POD), and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). This meta-analysis aims to study the effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on postoperative cognitive function after general anesthesia in older adults. Eight databases were searched, from the establishment of the databases to January 2022. Eighteen randomized controlled trials were included. TEAS reduced POCD incidence on the 1st and 3rd but not on the 5th and 7th postoperative days (p<0.00001; p<0.00001; p = 0.20; p = 0.30). Owing to the limited number of original studies, POD incidence could not be analyzed. TEAS improved the MMSE scores on the 1st and 3rd but not on the 5th and 7th postoperative days. TEAS reduced the values of S100ß at the end of the surgery and 1 day after surgery and IL-6 on the 1st postoperative day. TEAS can prevent early postoperative cognitive decline after general anesthesia in older adults.

Fire and smoke real-time detection algorithm for coal mines based on improved YOLOv8s.

Fire and smoke detection is crucial for the safe mining of coal energy, but previous fire-smoke detection models did not strike a perfect balance between complexity and accuracy, which makes it difficult to deploy efficient fire-smoke detection in coal mines with limited computational resources. Therefore, we improve the current advanced object detection model YOLOv8s based on two core ideas: (1) we reduce the model computational complexity and ensure real-time detection by applying faster convolutions to the backbone and neck parts; (2) to strengthen the model's detection accuracy, we integrate attention mechanisms into both the backbone and head components. In addition, we improve the model's generalization capacity by augmenting the data. Our method has 23.0% and 26.4% fewer parameters and FLOPs (Floating-Point Operations) than YOLOv8s, which means that we have effectively reduced the computational complexity. Our model also achieves a mAP (mean Average Precision) of 91.0%, which is 2.5% higher than the baseline model. These results show that our method can improve the detection accuracy while reducing complexity, making it more suitable for real-time fire-smoke detection in resource-constrained environments.

Diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography for detecting metastatic lymph nodes in patients with malignant tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This meta-analysis evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for detecting metastatic lymph nodes in patients with cancer. Methods: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched for literature published from database inception until September 2022. Only studies that investigated the diagnostic accuracy of DECT for metastatic lymph nodes in patients with malignant tumors and surgically removed metastatic lymph nodes for pathological confirmation were included. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. The threshold effect was determined by calculating Spearman correlation coefficients and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve patterns. Deeks test was used to assess publication bias. Results: All of the included studies were observational studies. A total of 16 articles involving 984 patients were included (2,577 lymph nodes) in this review. A total of 15 variables were included in the meta-analysis, including 6 individual parameters and 9 combined parameters. Normalized iodine concentration (NIC) in the arterial phase combined with the slope in the arterial phase showed better identification of metastatic lymph nodes. The spearman correlation coefficient was -0.371 (P=0.468), and the SROC curve did not show a "shoulder-arm" shape, suggesting that there was no threshold effect and that heterogeneity was present. The combined sensitivity was 94% [95% confidence interval (CI): 86-98%], the specificity was 74% (95% CI: 52-88%), and the area under the curve was 0.94. The Deeks test suggested no significant publication bias in the included studies (P=0.06). Conclusions: NIC in arterial phase combined with the slope in the arterial phase has some diagnostic value in differentiating between metastatic and benign lymph nodes, but this should be further evaluated in additional studies with rigorous design and high homogeneity.

Corrigendum to "Experience and lessons learned from blunt cerebrovascular injuries: A case report" [Heliyon 9 (3) (March 2023) Article e13968].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13968.].

Experience and lessons learned from blunt cerebrovascular injuries: A case report.

Background: Blunt cerebrovascular injuries are rare and serious complications of trauma that can lead to cerebral vascular dissection or aneurysm. Improving awareness of blunt cerebrovascular injuries and using computed tomography angiography to pre-screen patients at high risk is recommended by current guidelines to prevent the occurrence of ischemic stroke complications. Case description: A 32-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital following neck trauma accompanied by stroke symptoms. Imaging revealed intimal injury of the right common carotid artery and acute cerebral infarction. After an endarterectomy and repair, the vascular lumen obstruction resolved, blood flow was restored, and the patient's condition stabilized. Conclusion: Blunt cerebrovascular injury has been seriously neglected in clinical practice. Delayed or under-diagnosis of blunt cerebrovascular injury can result large strokes. Standardized treatment protocols, which include the screening and grading of blunt cerebrovascular injury, may reduce the risk of permanent neurological dysfunction, and even death, in patients.

Internal carotid artery dissection with different interventions and outcomes: two case reports.

Spontaneous internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) is a rare disease and an important cause of stroke in young patients. The presentation of ICAD is variable and atypical. We have used three-dimensional T1-weighted volume isotropic turbo spin-echo acquisition to help diagnose ICAD. ICAD should be considered in young patients presenting with relevant symptoms in an emergency setting. We herein report ICAD with an unexplained onset in two patients. Neither had a history of large or small cervical trauma, but both had a history of hypertension. The first patient was a 33-year-old man who presented with upper extremity numbness and mobility impairment, and the second patient was a 40-year-old man with onset of visual impairment. There were no obvious triggers in either case. Both patients were diagnosed with ICAD by blood vessel examination. However, their prognoses differed. The first patient recovered after endovascular therapy, whereas the second patient was successfully managed with medical treatment. ICAD can cause different symptoms depending on where the dissection occurs. Clinicians must be aware of the different clinical manifestations of ICAD, make the correct diagnosis in a timely manner, make appropriate treatment plans according to the patient's condition, and strive for timely recanalization of the blood vessels.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Activity by Constructing a Robust Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Material Based Fulvalene and TiO2.

A novel redox-active organic-inorganic hybrid material (denoted as H4TTFTB-TiO2) based on tetrathiafulvalene derivatives and titanium dioxide with a micro/mesoporous nanomaterial structure has been synthesized via a facile sol-gel method. In this study, tetrathiafulvalene-3,4,5,6-tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) (H4TTFTB) is an ideal electron-rich organic material and has been introduced into TiO2 for promoting photocatalytic H2 production under visible light irradiation. Notably, the optimized composites demonstrate remarkably enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution performance with a maximum H2 evolution rate of 1452 µmol g-1 h-1, which is much higher than the prototypical counterparts, the common dye-sensitized sample (denoted as H4TTFTB-5.0/TiO2) (390.8 µmol g-1 h-1) and pure TiO2 (18.87 µmol g-1 h-1). Moreover, the composites perform with excellent stability even after being used for seven time cycles. A series of characterizations of the morphological structure, the photoelectric physics performance and the photocatalytic activity of the hybrid reveal that the donor-acceptor structural H4TTFTB and TiO2 have been combined robustly by covalent titanium ester during the synthesis process, which improves the stability of the hybrid nanomaterials, extends visible-light adsorption range and stimulates the separation of photogenerated charges. This work provides new insight for regulating precisely the structure of the fulvalene-based composite at the molecule level and enhances our in-depth fundamental understanding of the photocatalytic mechanism.

A curcumin-based AIEE-active fluorescent probe for Cu2+ detection in aqueous solution.

Curcuminoids have been extensively investigated as metal ion probes, but the intrinsic aggregation-caused-quenching (ACQ) characteristic of curcumin would hinder their applications in aqueous solution. Fortunately, tetraphenylethylene (TPE) could endow the compounds with aggregation-induced emission (AIE)/aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) characteristics to eliminate the ACQ effect. According to this strategy, a series of TPE-modified curcumin derivatives L1-4 were prepared and studied for their AIEE properties. Among the four TPE-curcumin analogues, only L1 particles have been successfully used as an on-off fluorescence probe for detecting Cu2+ in aqueous solution. The fluorescence titration experiment determined its detection limit of 1.49 × 10-7 mol L-1, and the binding ratio between L1 and Cu2+ was estimated as 2 : 1, which was in agreement with the results of high resolution mass spectrum and Job's plot. In addition, the binding constant was evaluated as 6.77 × 102 M-1 using a Benesi-Hildebrand plot. Finally, the obtained L1-based indicator paper showed significant fluorescence response to Cu2+ aqueous solution. This TPE-modified strategy improves the detection capability of curcumin probe in aqueous solution and provides a feasible way to obtain other probes with ACQ characteristics.

Successful treatment of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis by balloon venoplasty: a case report.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis is a special cerebrovascular disease affecting young adult and middle-aged people. The clinical manifestations of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis are diverse and nonspecific; thus, imaging plays an important role in early diagnosis. Anticoagulation with heparin is the preferred treatment for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Endovascular treatment is also being increasingly used to achieve recanalization of the cerebral venous sinus. We herein describe a woman in her early 50s who was diagnosed with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis for which anticoagulation with heparin was ineffective. To improve her symptoms and prognosis, we selected balloon venoplasty to treat the right sigmoid sinus thrombosis. Her condition subsequently improved, and no recurrence was observed after several follow-ups.