NiCoP cocatalyst modified g-C3N4 as ohmic junction photocatalyst for efficient degradation of tetracycline under visible light.

Increasing the electron-hole recombination rate in g-C3N4 can effectively improve its photocatalytic performance. In this work, NiCoP/g-C3N4 (NCP/PCN) composites with ohmic junction were formed by embedding granular NiCoP in irregularly porous g-C3N4. There was almost no barrier between the metal and the semiconductor in ohmic junction, which made it easier for electrons to slip from PCN to NCP along the curved energy band, and NCP acted as an electron collector to rapidly capture the slipping electrons. In addition, porous g-C3N4 prepared by supramolecular self-assembly could provide a shorter diffusion path for electrons. Thus, the electron-hole was effectively separated and the photocatalytic performance was improved. The band electronic structure and existence of ohmic junction in 7-NCP/PCN composite were demonstrated by XPS, ESR and DFT calculation. Finally, a reasonable photocatalytic degradation mechanism and possible tetracycline degradation path were proposed. This work has significant potential for providing an effective method for the design of non-precious metal photocatalysts.

Trends in Health Service Use for Dry Eye Disease From 2017 to 2021: A Real-World Analysis of 369,755 Outpatient Visits.

Purpose: We aimed to analyze the trends and patterns in outpatient health service treatment of dry eye disease (DED) using real-world data from Yinzhou District in China. Methods: The Yinzhou Health Information System is a comprehensive database including electronic medical records from 277 medical institutions representing over 1.64 million residents. We extracted outpatient records from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2021, that included the first diagnosis of DED according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (H04.101, H04.103, H11.104, H16.202, or H18.803). We analyzed the trends and patterns of DED outpatient visits using the Mann-Kendall trend test and Cochran-Armitage trend test. Results: We identified a total of 369,755 outpatient visits from 145,712 patients with DED of all ages (60.37% female; 54.10% 50 years or older). Primary medical institutions had the largest number of DED outpatient visits (42%), followed by tertiary medical institutions (35%). Over the 5-year period, the number of DED outpatient visits increased from 59,260 to 90,807 (53.23%). We observed significant consecutive annual proportion increases in females (from 61.09% to 62.01%; P = 0.001), patients 50 years or older (from 55.10% to 60.08%; P < 0.001), and outpatient visits in primary medical institutions (from 33.19% to 48.75%; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study found an increase in outpatient health service use for DED in Yinzhou from 2017 to 2021, with higher proportions and increases among females, patients 50 years or older, and primary medical institutions. Translational Relevance: The rapid growth in the prevalence of DED indicates high eye healthcare needs in patients.

Deep learning for detecting visually impaired cataracts using fundus images.

Purpose: To develop a visual function-based deep learning system (DLS) using fundus images to screen for visually impaired cataracts. Materials and methods: A total of 8,395 fundus images (5,245 subjects) with corresponding visual function parameters collected from three clinical centers were used to develop and evaluate a DLS for classifying non-cataracts, mild cataracts, and visually impaired cataracts. Three deep learning algorithms (DenseNet121, Inception V3, and ResNet50) were leveraged to train models to obtain the best one for the system. The performance of the system was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity. Results: The AUC of the best algorithm (DenseNet121) on the internal test dataset and the two external test datasets were 0.998 (95% CI, 0.996-0.999) to 0.999 (95% CI, 0.998-1.000),0.938 (95% CI, 0.924-0.951) to 0.966 (95% CI, 0.946-0.983) and 0.937 (95% CI, 0.918-0.953) to 0.977 (95% CI, 0.962-0.989), respectively. In the comparison between the system and cataract specialists, better performance was observed in the system for detecting visually impaired cataracts (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study shows the potential of a function-focused screening tool to identify visually impaired cataracts from fundus images, enabling timely patient referral to tertiary eye hospitals.

Characteristics and Spatial-Temporal Differences of Urban "Production, Living and Ecological" Environmental Quality in China.

The article analyses the spatial and temporal differences in the environmental quality of production, living and ecology of 285 cities in China from 2010 to 2020 by using the entropy method, the Theil index and correlation analysis. The study concludes the following: (1) in terms of overall differences, the overall differences in the "production, living and ecological" environmental quality indices of 285 cities during the study period undergo a process of "narrowing-widening-narrowing". The differences within the four major zones of the country are higher than those between the four major zones, and the differences within the zones show an increasing trend year by year. (2) In terms of temporal differences, the combined scores of "production, living and ecological" environmental quality of the 285 cities in the study period show a decreasing trend, and the contribution of the PLE subsystem scores are, in descending order, production environmental quality > living environmental quality > ecological environmental quality. (3) In terms of overall ranking, the head effect of the combined production, living and ecological environmental quality (PLE) scores of cities in the study period is significant, and the top 10 cities in terms of combined scores are all small and medium-sized cities with significant regionalization characteristics. (4) In terms of spatial pattern, there is a significant spatial gradient in the east, central and western regions, with the overall PLE scores of the four major regions in descending order: eastern region > central region > western region > northeastern region. The regions with high scores in the "production, living and ecological" environmental quality of cities can be divided into three types: multi-core, dual-core and single-core. (5) In terms of influencing factors, there is a logarithmic curve relationship between the combined production, living and ecological environmental quality (PLE) score and the built-up area (BUA) of cities. The study proposes to optimize the layout of urban production, strengthen the industrial links of urban clusters, improve the level of public services, ensure the equalization of urban public services, strengthen the management of ecological environment and improve the quality of ecological environment in order to optimize the quality of urban "production, living and ecological" environment.

Spatio-Temporal Differentiation Characteristics and Urbanization Factors of Urban Household Carbon Emissions in China.

This paper explores the spatial relationship between urbanization and urban household carbon emissions at the prefectural level and above cities in China and uses Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to reveal the extent of the impact of urbanization on urban household carbon emissions and the spatial and temporal variation characteristics. The results show that: Overall carbon emissions of urban households in cities of China showed a decreasing trend during the study period, but there were significant differences in the carbon emissions of urban households in the four major regions. In terms of the spatial and temporal characteristics of urban household carbon emissions, the urban "head effect" of urban household carbon emissions is obvious. The high-high clustering of urban household carbon emissions is characterized by a huge triangular spatial distribution of "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Chengdu-Chongqing, and Shanghai". The level of urbanization in Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above shows a spatial pattern of decreasing levels of urbanization in the east, middle, and west. The four subsystems of urbanization are positively correlated with urban household carbon emissions in the same direction. The urbanization factors have a contributory effect on some cities' carbon emissions of urban households, but there are significant regional differences in the impact of urbanization factors on urban household carbon emissions in the eastern, central, and western regions of China, as they are at different stages of rapid urbanization development.

A Tetrathiafulvalene/Naphthalene Diimide-Containing Metal-Organic Framework with fsc Topology for Highly Efficient Near-Infrared Photothermal Conversion.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provide broad prospects for the development of new photothermal conversion materials, while their design and synthesis remain challenging. A new Zn-MOF (1) containing both tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) as an electron donor and naphthalene diimide (NDI) as an electron acceptor was constructed by using a space limiting effect. The material exhibited wide absorption peaks in the near-infrared region, indicating that there was strong charge transfer interaction between the TTF and NDI units and providing the possibility of photothermal conversion. 1 shows efficient near-infrared photothermal conversion performance. Under 808 nm laser (0.4 W cm-2) illumination, the temperature of 1 increased rapidly from room temperature to 250 °C, with good thermal stability and cycle durability. This work provides an efficient strategy for promising materials in photothermal therapy.

Reversible single crystal-to-single crystal double [2+2] cycloaddition induces multifunctional photo-mechano-electrochemical properties in framework materials.

Reversible structural transformations of porous coordination frameworks in response to external stimuli such as light, electrical potential, guest inclusion or pressure, amongst others, have been the subject of intense interest for applications in sensing, switching and molecular separations. Here we report a coordination framework based on an electroactive tetrathiafulvalene exhibiting a reversible single crystal-to-single crystal double [2 + 2] photocyclisation, leading to profound differences in the electrochemical, optical and mechanical properties of the material upon light irradiation. Electrochemical and in situ spectroelectrochemical measurements, in combination with in situ light-irradiated Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, revealed the variable mechanical properties of the framework that were supported using Density Functional Theory calculations. The reversible structural transformation points towards a plethora of potential applications for coordination frameworks in photo-mechanical and photoelectrochemical devices, such as light-driven actuators and photo-valves for targeted drug delivery.

Prospects for electroactive and conducting framework materials.

Electroactive and conducting framework materials, encompassing coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks, have captured the imagination of the scientific community owing to their highly designable nanoporous structures and their potential applications in electrochromic devices, electrocatalysts, porous conductors, batteries and solar energy harvesting systems, among many others. While they are now considered integral members of the broader field of inorganic materials, it is timely to reflect upon their strengths and challenges compared with 'traditional' solid-state materials such as minerals, pigments and zeolites. Indeed, the latter have been known since ancient times and have been prized for centuries in fields as diverse as art, archaeology and industrial catalysis. This opinion piece considers a brief historical perspective of traditional electroactive and conducting inorganic materials, with a view towards very recent experimental progress and new directions for future progress in the burgeoning area of coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks. Overall, this article bears testament to the rich history of electroactive solids and looks at the challenges inspiring a new generation of scientists. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mineralomimesis: natural and synthetic frameworks in science and technology'.

Simvastatin improves oral implant osseointegration via enhanced autophagy and osteogenesis of BMSCs and inhibited osteoclast activity.

Dental implants have become a widely accepted and successful treatment for fully and partially edentulous patients. Simvastatin has been applied to improve and accelerate the osseointegration of implants by increasing the quantity and quality of bone tissue. However, its potential mechanism has not been elucidated completely. Here, we found that simvastatin significantly enhanced the autophagy level of jaw-derived bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and alleviated production of reactive oxygen species under unfavourable conditions. Simvastatin promoted osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs via enhanced autophagy. Furthermore, simvastatin inhibited the bone resorption activity of osteoclasts. With the use of a rat model of oral implant osseointegration, we found local injection of simvastatin displayed more new bone formation at the interface of the bone and implant compared with that of oral administration. Fluorochrome labelling histomorphometrical analysis and micro-CT also showed that simvastatin promoted the osseointegration of implants. Notably, fewer activated osteoclasts were observed in the region of osseointegration of implants from the simvastatin treatment groups, especially the local delivery of simvastatin. Collectively, our results revealed that simvastatin can increase osteoblastic differentiation of BMSCs via enhanced autophagy and decreased osteoclast activity. Thus, simvastatin could be a viable and promising drug to improve and even accelerate the osseointegration of a dental implant.

Synergistic effect of polyelectrolyte multilayers and osteogenic growth medium on differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.

Layer-by-layer assembly of biogenic polyelectrolytes (PEL) was carried out on the surface of poly (L-lactide) to generate polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) that foster osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC). Gelatin (GEL), hyaluronic acid (HA) and heparin (HEP) were chosen as polyanions, while chitosan (CHI) was employed as polycation. Multilayer formation was monitored by surface plasmon resonance and water contact angle measurements showing that layer formation process and surface wetting properties depended on the type of polyanions. While HEP as strong PEL led to thicker and more hydrophilic PEM, layer mass was lower for weak polyanions GEL and HA. Short-term adhesion studies with hMSC showed strong adhesion and spreading of cells on PEM composed of GEL/CHI and low spreading, motile phenotype and aggregation of hMSC on HEP/CHI or HA/CHI. Long term studies over three weeks were carried out to follow growth and differentiation of hMSC on the PEM. Weak osteogenic differentiation of hMSC was observed on GEL/CHI if cells were cultured in normal medium while no osteogenic phenotypes were observed on HEP/CHI or HA/CHI. When cells were cultured in osteogenic differentiation medium, however, PEM composed of HEP/CHI or HA/CHI promoted differentiation of hMSC towards osteoblasts, while PEM composed of GEL/CHI failed to do so. Overall, the composition of PEMs can be used as additional tool to control osteogenic differentiation of hMSC.