A novel amphiphilic squalene-based compound with open-chain polyethers reduces malignant melanoma metastasis in-vitro and in-vivo.

Squalene (SQ) is a well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that provides promising anti-aging and UV-protective roles on human skin. However, its strong hydrophobic nature, accompanied by issues such as poor solubility and limited tissue permeation, has created challenges for scientists to investigate its untapped potential in more complex conditions, including cancer progression. The present study assessed the potent anti-metastatic properties of a newly synthesized amphiphilic ethylene glycol SQ derivative (SQ-diEG) in melanoma, the most fatal skin cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments have discovered that SQ-diEG may exert its potential on melanoma malignancy through the mitochondria-mediated caspase activation apoptotic signaling pathway. The potent anti-metastatic effect of SQ-diEG was observed in vitro using highly proliferative and aggressive melanoma cells. Administration of SQ-diEG (25 mg/kg) significantly decreased the tumor burden on the lung and inhibited the metastasis-associated proteins and gene markers in B16F10 lung colonization mice model. Furthermore, global gene profiling also revealed a promising role of SQ-diEG in tumor microenvironment. We anticipated that the amphiphilic nature of the SQ compound bearing ethylene glycol oligomers could potentially augment its ability to reach the pathology site, thus enhancing its therapeutic potential in melanoma.

Advancing sustainable rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta insights from ecological farming systems in An Giang Province.

Rice serves as a crucial staple food crop for half of the world's population. In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD), rice production plays a vital role in national food security. However, the majority of the existing intensified rice cultivation schemes in the VMD, which are typically traditional, have rendered many farmers' livelihoods unsustainable due to issues such as land degradation, water pollution, health risks, and low profitability. Therefore, it is imperative to explore alternative sustainable farming systems. This study investigates the benefits of two ecological farming systems, specifically organic rice and rice mixed with lotus, as alternatives to conventional rice farming in the upper VMD floodplain province of An Giang. These two farming systems have demonstrated long-term socioecological and economic advantages. On the one hand, they allow the introduction of rice products to the market at more affordable prices. Additionally, they contribute to improved water quality, improved soil fertility, and increased biodiversity such as bird, fish, and plant species compared to traditional rice farming systems. Although we acknowledge that the availability of floodwater poses a significant constraint for alternative farming systems, the business opportunities and socioecological benefits associated with these systems outweigh the limitations. Our findings provide evidence that ecological farming practices that support rice cultivation represent promising alternatives to sustainable rice production, which can help mitigate vulnerabilities in intensified rice farming systems and can be scaled up for other floodplain provinces in the VMD and beyond.

Antibiotic Management for Early-Onset Sepsis in Neonates With Gestational Ages of ≥ 34 Weeks: The Kaiser Sepsis Calculator Versus the 2010 CDC Guidelines.

INTRODUCTION: The traditional approach to neonatal early-onset sepsis (NEOS) management, involving maternal risk factors and nonspecific neonatal symptoms, usually leads to unnecessary antibiotic use. This study addresses these concerns by evaluating the Kaiser sepsis calculator (KSC) in guiding antibiotic therapy for NEOS, especially in high-incidence facilities (over 4/1,000 live births), by comparing it against the 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for neonates ≥34 weeks with suspected sepsis, thereby emphasizing its implications for personalized patient care. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study. All neonates of 34 gestational weeks or more, presenting with either maternal risk factors or sepsis symptoms within 12 hours of birth, were included in the study. The analysis focused on antibiotic recommendations by the 2010 CDC guidelines versus those by the KSC at presumed (0.5/1,000) and actual (16/1,000) sepsis incidence rates. RESULTS: NEOS was identified in 14 cases (14.1%). Compared to the KSC, at an incidence rate of 16 per 1,000, the KSC resulted in a significant 32.3% reduction in antibiotic treatment (74 cases (74.7%) vs. 42 cases (42.4%), respectively; p < 0.001). The calculator advised immediate antibiotic utilization for 13 out of 14 (92.9%) diagnosed cases, suggesting further evaluation for the remaining cases. When a presumed incidence of 0.5/1,000 was applied, the KSC indicated antibiotics less frequently than when using the actual rate of 16/1,000 (p<0.001) with two missed NEOS cases. CONCLUSIONS: Using the KSC led to a decrease of 32 cases (32.3%) in unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions compared to adherence to 2010 CDC guidelines. However, setting a presumed incidence below the actual rate risked missing NEOS. The calculator was effective when actual local incidence rates were used, ensuring no missed cases needing antibiotics.

Two-channel optical bistability and multistability in a degenerate four-level atomic medium under a static magnetic field.

In this paper, we study the formation of optical bistability (OB) and optical multistability (OM) in a degenerate four-level atomic system by an external magnetic field that is excited by a probe laser field, a coupling laser field and a signal laser field. The coupling field can cause electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for the probe field in the atomic medium, while the signal field and/or external magnetic field can switch between single-EIT and two-EIT regimes. Based on these properties, OB and OM effects can be formed at two different frequency regions of the probe field (two channels). By adjusting the magnetic field or the intensity and the frequency of laser fields, the threshold intensity and the width of OB or OM can also be changed simply. The model can be useful for experimental observations and applications in modern photonic devices.

Triethylene Glycol Squalene Improves Hair Regeneration by Maintaining the Inductive Capacity of Human Dermal Papilla Cells and Preventing Premature Aging.

De novo hair follicle (HF) regeneration, achieved through the replenishment of the dermal papilla (DP), acknowledged as the principal orchestrator of the hair growth cycle, is emerging as a prospective therapeutic intervention for alopecia. Nonetheless, multiple attempts have shown that these cells lose key inductive properties when cultured in a two-dimensional (2D) monolayer, leading to precocious senescence engendered by oxidative stress and inflammatory processes. Consequently, the three-dimensional (3D) spheroid technique is presently widely employed for DP cell culture. Nevertheless, substantiating the regenerative potential of these cells within the hair follicle (HF) milieu remains a challenge. In this current study, we aim to find a new approach to activate the inductive properties of DP cells. This involves the application of hair-growth-stimulating agents that not only exhibit concurrent protective efficacy against the aging process but also induce HF regeneration. To achieve this objective, we initially synthesized a novel highly amphiphilic derivative derived from squalene (SQ), named triethylene glycol squalene (Tri-SQ). Squalene itself is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound traditionally employed as a drug carrier for alopecia treatment. However, its application is limited due to its low solubility. Subsequently, we applied this newly synthesized derivative to DP cells. The data obtained demonstrated that the derivative exhibits robust antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities while concurrently promoting the expression of genes associated with hair growth. Moreover, to further assess the hair regrowth inductive properties of DP cells, we cultured the cells and treated them with Tri-SQ within a 3D spheroid system. Subsequently, these treated cells were injected into the previously depilated dorsal area of six-week-old male C57BL/6 mice. Results revealed that 20 days postinjection, a complete regrowth of hair in the previously hairless area, particularly evident in the case of 3D spheroids treated with the derivative, was observed. Additionally, histological and molecular analyses demonstrated an upregulation of markers associated with hair growth and a concurrent decrease in aging hallmarks, specifically in the 3D spheroids treated with the compound. In summary, our approach, which involves the treatment of Tri-SQ combined with a 3D spheroid system, exhibited a notably robust stimulating effect. This effect was observed in the induction of inductive properties in DP cells, leading to HF regeneration, and concurrently, it demonstrated an inhibitory effect on cellular and follicular aging.

The Role of Electrocardiographic Exercise Testing for the Possibility of Permanent Pacemaker Implantation in Patients with Sinus Bradycardia.

Objective: Study on the role of electrocardiographic (ECG) exercise testing for the possibility of permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) in patients with sinus bradycardia (SB). Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive, prospective study. The study on 60 patients with SB below 50 beats/minute on 12-lead electrocardiogram at rest, with or without symptoms of SB, conducted at the Vietnam National Heart Institute and Hanoi Heart Hospital from January 2020 to September 2021. Results: Sixty patients with SB were studied, 36 male (60%) and 24 female patients (40%), p > 0.05. The average age was 55.12 ± 13.89 years old. Maximum exercise capacity (MEC) is low and only reaches 7.78 ± 3.59 metabolic equivalents (METs); Not reaching 85% of predicted MEC accounts for 53.5%; Maximum exercise time is 10.53 ± 0.46 minutes; Impaired heart rate (HR) variability in patients with SB is high: Chronotropic Index <0.8 accounts for 53.5%, not reaching 85% of predicted HR max accounts for 45%. The average HR max was 129.90 ± 29.22 beats per minute (BPM). The average maximum workload systolic blood pressure was 155.23 ± 20.59 mmHg. The average value of maximum exercise diastolic blood pressure was 88.10 ± 9.11 mmHg. The HR decreased by 27.87 ± 16.82 BPM in the first minute. Not achieving 85% of predicted MEC (p = 0.062), so it is not an independent factor predicting the ability for PPI. Only the HR variability index <0.8 is an independent predictor for PPI in bradycardic patients, which has OR = 21.521 (95% CI: 2.27-04.34, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Results can be seen that Chronotropic Index <0.8 is an important marker for physicians to decide on PPI in ECG during exercise testing in SB patients and is a potential prognostic factor for the need for PPI.

Mental health impact on healthcare workers from COVID-19 in Vietnam: Suggestions for a preventive program.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of healthcare workers participating in the prevention and control of the pandemic, thereby reducing their quality of life and affecting the quality of patient outcomes. This study aims to explore and deeply understand the mental health problems among healthcare workers participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A mixed methods study was undertaken with a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 2870 healthcare workers who have been participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021, followed by a qualitative descriptive phenomenological study comprised of in-depth interviews with a purposively sampled subset of 40 healthcare workers. Results showed that of the 2870 survey participants, the majority (60.6%) were female, and the average age was 35.1 (SD = 8.6). The prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression was 17.2%, 20.8%, and 17.6%, respectively. The findings from in-depth interviews revealed that the participants were under extreme mental health issues such as worries, stress, and negative emotions. The worrying was related to risk of infection, being shunned, stigmatised, or assaulted by the community. Stress was due to excessive pressure from work. Negative emotions were identified as sadness, self-pity, feelings of loneliness, entrusting fate, feelings of guilt, anxiety, confusion, obsession, disorientation, physical and mental exhaustion. Promoting mental health among healthcare workers who participated in the crisis is necessary and urgent.

A comparative transcriptomics analysis reveals ethylene glycol derivatives of squalene ameliorate excessive lipogenesis and inflammatory response in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

Squalene (SQ) is a natural compound with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-oxidant effects, but due to its low solubility, its biological properties have been greatly underestimated. This study aims to explore the differences in gene expression patterns of four newly synthesized amphipathic ethylene glycol (EG) derivatives of SQ by whole-genome transcriptomics analysis using DNA microarray to examine the mRNA expression profile of adipocytes differentiated from 3T3-L1 cells treated with SQ and its EG derivatives. Enrichment analyses of the transcriptional data showed that compared with SQ, its EG derivatives exerted different, in most cases desirable, biological responses. EG derivatives showed increased enrichment of mitochondrial functions, lipid and glucose metabolism, and inflammatory response. Mono-, di-, and tetra-SQ showed higher enrichment of the cellular component-ribosome. Histological staining showed EG derivatives prevented excessive lipid accumulation. Additionally, mitochondrial transcription factors showed upregulation in tetra-SQ-treated cells. Notably, EG derivatives showed better anti-inflammatory effects. Further, gene-disease association analysis predicted substantial improvement in the bioactivities of SQ derivatives in metabolic diseases. Cluster analyses revealed di- and tetra-SQ had more functional similarities than others, reflected in their scanning electron microscopy images; both di- and tetra-SQ self-organized into similar sizes and shapes of vesicles, subsequently improving their cation binding activities. Protein-protein interaction networks further revealed that cation binding activity might explain a major part, if not all, of the differences observed in functional analyses. Altogether, the addition of EG derivatives may improve the biological responses of SQ and thus may enhance its health-promoting potential.

Ingestion and adherence of microplastics by estuarine mysid shrimp.

Microplastics have been reported to be present in zooplankton, yet questions persist regarding their fate and dynamics within biota. We selected the commercial mysid shrimp, Mesopodopsis orientalis, as the focal zooplankton for this study due to their crucial role in our study area, the Inner Gulf of Thailand in January 2022. We investigated the presence of microplastics in mysid bodies and fecal pellets, examining both attached microplastics on external body parts and those ingested. In addition, we conducted microplastic feeding experiments, exposing mysids to various treatments of microplastics. The results of the field investigation indicate that mysids exhibited an average of 0.12 ± 0.03 microplastic items/mysid from whole-body samples. The shape, type, and color of microplastics found in mysids were similar to those present in seawater, with blue PET microfibers being the most prevalent. Our observations on live mysids revealed that microplastics were acquired through ingestion and adherence to appendages and exoskeletons. Microplastics were observed in mysid's fecal pellets at 0.09 ± 0.03 items/mysid, while microplastics adhering to the mysid's body and appendages were observed at 0.10 ± 0.04 items/mysid. The sizes of microplastics extracted from preserved mysids ranged from 58 µm to 4669 µm, with median of 507 µm. The laboratory experiments revealed that the presence of microalgae enhanced microplastic ingestion in mysids; microplastics incubated with a cyanobacterium, Oscillatoria sp., and diatom Navicula sp. significantly increased the number of microplastic particles ingested by mysids. This study showed that microplastics can be more ingested in mysids, especially when food items are present. Microplastic fate in these animals may involve expulsion into the environment or adherence, potentially facilitating their transfer up the marine food web.

Photoexcitation of (diarylmethylene)amino benziodoxolones for alkylamination of styrene derivatives with carboxylic acids.

The alkylamination of alkenes using pristine carboxylic acids was achieved by the photoexcitation of (diarylmethylene)amino benziodoxolones (DABXs), which serve as both an oxidant and an aminating reagent (an iminyl radical precursor). The developed method is a simple photochemical reaction without the need for external photosensitizers and shows a broad substrate scope for aliphatic carboxylic acids leading to the formation of primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl radicals, thus enabling the facile synthesis of various structurally complex amines. Mechanistic investigations including transient absorption spectroscopy measurements using a laser flash photolysis (LFP) method disclosed the unique photochemical reactivity of DABXs, which undergoes homolysis of their I-N bonds to give an iminyl radical and ortho-iodobenzoyloxy radical, the latter of which participates in the single-electron oxidation of carboxylates.

Climate change and human health in Vietnam: a systematic review and additional analyses on current impacts, future risk, and adaptation.

This study aims to investigate climate change's impact on health and adaptation in Vietnam through a systematic review and additional analyses of heat exposure, heat vulnerability, awareness and engagement, and projected health costs. Out of 127 reviewed studies, findings indicated the wider spread of infectious diseases, and increased mortality and hospitalisation risks associated with extreme heat, droughts, and floods. However, there are few studies addressing health cost, awareness, engagement, adaptation, and policy. Additional analyses showed rising heatwave exposure across Vietnam and global above-average vulnerability to heat. By 2050, climate change is projected to cost up to USD1-3B in healthcare costs, USD3-20B in premature deaths, and USD6-23B in work loss. Despite increased media focus on climate and health, a gap between public and government publications highlighted the need for more governmental engagement. Vietnam's climate policies have faced implementation challenges, including top-down approaches, lack of cooperation, low adaptive capacity, and limited resources.

Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 sleep disturbances in adults at different follow-up time points: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Our systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the prevalence of post-COVID sleep disturbances in adult population. We systematically searched relevant studies from four databases that reported post-COVID sleep disturbances prevalence with a mean or median follow-up duration of ≥28 days. We identified 153 eligible papers, with a total COVID-19 population of 252437. Employing multilevel mixed-effects meta-analyses, we estimated the overall pooled prevalence of post-COVID sleep disturbances being 28.98% (25.73-32.34), with the highest prevalence reported in Europe and the lowest in Southeast Asia. Poor sleep quality was the most prevalent definition of sleep disturbances, followed by excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia, sleep apnea. Prevalence estimates were notably higher when measured with Epworth sleepiness scale, or Pittsburgh sleep quality index compared to symptom questionnaires, self-reports, or personal interviews. Female sex (Odds ratio, OR = 1.59, 1.38-1.83) and severe/critical acute COVID-19 (OR = 1.36, 1.09-1.69) emerged as substantial risk factors. Our review underscore the persistent prevalence of sleep disturbances among COVID-19 survivors, and the importance of factors such as geography, definition, measures of sleep disorders, sex, and severity of acute COVID-19 infection. These findings highlight the urgent need for further investigation into the underlying molecular mechanisms driving these sleep disturbances to develop effective therapeutic strategies.

Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial, Nitric Oxide Inhibition and Cytotoxic Activity of Essential Oils from Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. Leaves and Stems from Vietnam.

This study was aimed to investigate the chemical composition and biological activities of leaf and stem essential oils of Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. from Vietnam. Their chemical composition was analyzed by GC/MS. Antimicrobial activities were evaluated by microdilution broth assay. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by the ability to inhibit nitric oxide production in macrophage cells. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated using the sulforhodamine B assay on three human cancer cell lines. Forty-four compounds were identified in the leaf oil, among which dehydroaromadendrane (23.4 %), (E)-carpacin (17.6 %), 2-tridecanone (12.2 %), and 9-methyl-2-decanone (11.8 %) were the most abundant. The stem oil contained fifty-five identified constituents, mainly γ-gurjunene (51.1 %) and butyl acetate (11.8 %). Both oils exhibited inhibitory effects on three bacterial strains, namely S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and a fungal strain C. albican, while showed insignificant effects on B. subtilis, L. fermentum, and S. enterica. Both oils showed weak NO production inhibition in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, but exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against all three tested cell lines SK-LU-1, MCF-7, and HepG2 with the IC50 values ranging from 16.03±0.77 to 35.60±1.62 µg/mL. This is the first report on the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities of essential oils from the leaves and stems of Z. acanthopodium.

Detection of preceding sleep apnea using ECG spectrogram during CPAP titration night: A novel machine-learning and bag-of-features framework.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has a heavy health-related burden on patients and the healthcare system. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is effective in treating OSA, but adherence to it is often inadequate. A promising solution is to detect sleep apnea events in advance, and to adjust the pressure accordingly, which could improve the long-term use of CPAP treatment. The use of CPAP titration data may reflect a similar response of patients to therapy at home. Our study aimed to develop a machine-learning algorithm using retrospective electrocardiogram (ECG) data and CPAP titration to forecast sleep apnea events before they happen. We employed a support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbour (KNN), decision tree (DT), and linear discriminative analysis (LDA) to detect sleep apnea events 30-90 s in advance. Preprocessed 30 s segments were time-frequency transformed to spectrograms using continuous wavelet transform, followed by feature generation using the bag-of-features technique. Specific frequency bands of 0.5-50 Hz, 0.8-10 Hz, and 8-50 Hz were also extracted to detect the most detected band. Our results indicated that SVM outperformed KNN, LDA, and DT across frequency bands and leading time segments. The 8-50 Hz frequency band gave the best accuracy of 98.2%, and a F1-score of 0.93. Segments 60 s before sleep events seemed to exhibit better performance than other pre-OSA segments. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of detecting sleep apnea events in advance using only a single-lead ECG signal at CPAP titration, making our proposed framework a novel and promising approach to managing obstructive sleep apnea at home.

Assessment of the reliability of MSI status and dMMR proteins deficiency screening on endoscopic biopsy material in esophagus and gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a negative predictive factor for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in resectable oesogastric adenocarcinoma and a crucial determinant for immunotherapy. We aimed to evaluate reliability of dMMR/MSI status screening performed on preoperative endoscopic biopsies. METHODS: Paired pathological samples from biopsies and surgical specimen of oesogastric adenocarcinoma were retrospectively collected between 2009 and 2019. We compared dMMR status obtained by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and MSI status by PCR. dMMR/MSI status on surgical specimen was considered as reference. RESULTS: PCR and IHC were conclusive on biopsies respectively for 53 (96.4%) and 47 (85.5%) of the 55 patients enrolled. IHC was not contributive for 1 surgical specimen. A third reading of IHC was carried out for 3 biopsies. MSI status was observed in 7 (12.5%) surgical specimens. When analyses were contributive, sensitivity and specificity of biopsies for dMMR/MSI were respectively 85% and 98% for PCR vs. 86% and 98% for IHC. Concordance rate between biopsies and surgical specimen was 96.2% for PCR and 97.8% for IHC. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic biopsies are a suitable source of tissue for dMMR/MSI status determination in oesogastric adenocarcinoma which should be routinely performed at diagnosis to better adapt neoadjuvant treatment. MINIABSTRACT: By comparison of dMMR phenotype obtained by immunohistochemistry and MSI status by PCR between match-paired samples of oesogastric cancer's endoscopic biopsies and surgical specimen, we observed that biopsies are a suitable source of tissue for dMMR/MSI status determination.

Effect of Alkali Metal Cations on the Unilamellar Vesicle of a Squalene Bearing 18-Crown-6.

Squalene bearing 18-crown-6 was synthesized and formed unilamellar vesicles with a membrane thickness of about 6 nm and a diameter of about 0.32 µm. In the wake of the recognition of alkali metal cations, squalene unilamellar vesicles become larger as multilamellar vesicles or smaller while maintaining unilamellar vesicles depending on cations.

Efficacy and safety of zero-fluoroscopy ablation of ventricular arrhythmias originating from the right ventricular outflow tract: Comparison with fluoroscopy-guided ablation without a three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping system.

Background: Radiofrequency catheter ablation is the preferred treatment choice for ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) originating from right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) in symptomatic patients and is usually performed under fluoroscopy guidance. Zero-fluoroscopy (ZF) ablations using 3D mapping system applied for treatment of various types of arrhythmias are trending and practiced in many centers around the world, but rarely done in Vietnam. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of zero-fluoroscopy ablation of RVOT VAs, compared with fluoroscopy-guided ablation without a 3D electroanatomic mapping (EAM) system. Methods and Results: We conducted a nonrandomized, prospective single-center study including 114 patients with RVOT VAs that had electrocardiographic features of typical left bundle branch block, inferior axis QRS morphology, and a precordial transition ≥ V3, from May 2020 to July 2022. The patients were assigned (without randomization) to two different approaches of either zero-fluoroscopy ablation under the guidance of the Ensite system (ZF group) or fluoroscopy-guided ablation without a 3D EAM (fluoroscopy group) in a 1:1 ratio. After a follow-up time of 5.0 ± 4.9 months and 6.9 ± 9.3 months in the ZF and fluoroscopy groups, respectively, the results showed a higher success rate in the fluoroscopy group than in the complete ZF group (87.3% vs 86.8%), although the difference was not statistically significant. No major complication was noted in both the groups. Conclusion: ZF ablation for RVOT VAs can be done safely and effectively using the 3D electroanatomic mapping system. The results of ZF approach are comparable to that of the fluoroscopy-guided approach without a 3D EAM system.

New C 2h phase of group III monochalcogenide monolayers AlX (X = S, Se, and Te) with anisotropic crystal structure: first-principles study.

In this paper, we introduce a new phase of two-dimensional aluminum monochalcogenide, namely C 2h-AlX (X = S, Se, and Te). With the C 2h space group, C 2h-AlX possesses a large unit cell containing 8 atoms. The C 2h phase of AlX monolayers is found to be dynamically and elastically stable based on the evaluation of its phonon dispersions and elastic constants. The anisotropic atomic structure of C 2h-AlX leads to a strong anisotropy in its mechanical properties with Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio strongly dependent on the directions examined in the two-dimensional plane. All three monolayers of C 2h-AlX are found to be direct band gap semiconductors, which are compared with the indirect band gap semiconductors of available D 3h-AlX. Particularly, the transition from direct to indirect band gap is observed in C 2h-AlX when a compressive biaxial strain is applied. Our calculated results indicate that C 2h-AlX exhibits anisotropic optical characteristics and its absorption coefficient is high. Our findings suggest that C 2h-AlX monolayers are suitable for applications in next-generation electro-mechanical and anisotropic opto-electronic nanodevices.

A Two-Flap Combination for Auricular Elevation in Microtia Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of combined flaps, a modification of the Nagata technique, for providing a reasonable projection for reconstructed auricles. METHODS: The authors modified the Nagata method for covering the cartilage block by introducing a new combined flap technique, including the temporoparietal skin flap and retroauricular flap. The authors compared the shape, size, and position of the reconstructed ear to the opposite ear, and we evaluated postoperative complications and patient satisfaction levels. They verified the effectiveness of the combined flap by assessing flap necrosis, skin color, thickness, hair in the auricular area, and scars. RESULTS: A total of 38 consecutive patients (39 ears) with microtia, aged 6 to 34 years, underwent reconstruction using the modified method and were followed up for 33.6 months on average. The reconstructed auricle's shape was well defined, with 41.0% having good and 15.4% having excellent results. Most cases achieved good and acceptable levels in size, position, medial longitudinal axis angle, and auriculocephalic angles, and 79.9% of patients/their families were satisfied. The authors observed no cases of flap necrosis or hypertrophic scarring, and there were low rates of flap complications, such as unmatched skin color (7.7%), unacceptable thickness (5.1%), or hair and stretch marks (10.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The modified method's reconstructed ear achieved stable projection, symmetric appearance, and obvious anatomical landmarks with high patient satisfaction. The combined flap method showed certain advantages: high survival rate, less skin contrast, no hypertrophic scars, and fewer complications. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

Bioinspired and Bioderived Aqueous Electrocatalysis.

The development of efficient and sustainable electrochemical systems able to provide clean-energy fuels and chemicals is one of the main current challenges of materials science and engineering. Over the last decades, significant advances have been made in the development of robust electrocatalysts for different reactions, with fundamental insights from both computational and experimental work. Some of the most promising systems in the literature are based on expensive and scarce platinum-group metals; however, natural enzymes show the highest per-site catalytic activities, while their active sites are based exclusively on earth-abundant metals. Additionally, natural biomass provides a valuable feedstock for producing advanced carbonaceous materials with porous hierarchical structures. Utilizing resources and design inspiration from nature can help create more sustainable and cost-effective strategies for manufacturing cost-effective, sustainable, and robust electrochemical materials and devices. This review spans from materials to device engineering; we initially discuss the design of carbon-based materials with bioinspired features (such as enzyme active sites), the utilization of biomass resources to construct tailored carbon materials, and their activity in aqueous electrocatalysis for water splitting, oxygen reduction, and CO2 reduction. We then delve in the applicability of bioinspired features in electrochemical devices, such as the engineering of bioinspired mass transport and electrode interfaces. Finally, we address remaining challenges, such as the stability of bioinspired active sites or the activity of metal-free carbon materials, and discuss new potential research directions that can open the gates to the implementation of bioinspired sustainable materials in electrochemical devices.