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Although negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials provide a new strategy to overcome the thermal-quenching phenomenon among rare earth doped luminescent materials, the overall weak upconversion luminescence still restricts their application in the field of optical temperature sensing. Herein, giant enhancement of anti-quenching upconversion luminescence is achieved in the NTE Sc2W3O12:Er3+/Yb3+ phosphors by (KMg)3+ impurity doping, and the phosphors are used for the construction of an all-fiber temperature sensing (AFTS) system. Compared to the upconversion luminescence of the Sc2W3O12:Er3+/Yb3+ phosphors at room temperature, the synergistic effect of impurity doping and NTE characterstics results in a 6000-fold enhancement of the upconversion luminescence of the (KMg)3+ doped Sc2W3O12:Er3+/Yb3+ phosphors at 573 K. A single-point tip temperature sensor was constructed based on the fluorescence luminescence intensity ratio (FIR) technology and the corresponding self-calibrated curves were obtained with a regression coefficient of 0.9996. The potential application of the constructed AFTS system was demonstrated in the real-time temperature monitoring of a CPU chip and a thermostat bath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) has good potential to promote technology-enhanced learning. Students can benefit from immersive visualization and intuitive interaction in their learning of abstract concepts, complex structures, and dynamic processes. This paper is interested in evaluating the effects of VR learning games in a Virtual and Augmented Reality Technology-Enhanced Learning (VARTeL) environment within an engineering education setting. A VARTeL flipped classroom is established in the HIVE learning hub at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore for the immersive and interactive learning. Experiments are designed for the university students conducting the learning, with three interactive and immersive VR games related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), i.e., virtual cells, a virtual F1 racing car, and vector geometry. These VR games are a part of the VARTeL apps designed in-house at NTU for STEM education. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are performed. A total of 156 students from Mechanical Engineering participated in the experiment. There are 15 participants selected for an interview after the experiment. Pre-tests and post-tests are performed using two different models, the developed VARTeL and the modified Technology-Rich Outcome-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI), in order to measure the efficiency of the VARTeL environment in Higher Education. Significant improvements of about 24.8% are observed for the post-tests over the pre-tests, which illustrate the effectiveness of the VARTeL for Engineering education. Details of the VR simulation games, methods of data collection, data analyses, as well as the experiment results are discussed. It is observed from the results that all the underlying scales of the modified TROFLEI are above the threshold for the 'Good' category, indicating that a very reliable questionnaire is designed in this research. The mean 'Ideal' values are about 0.7–2.6% higher than the mean 'Actual' values. The limitations of the experiment and future works with recommendations are also presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease that affects worldwide. Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the chronic inflammation and OA progression. Scavenging overproduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) could be rational strategy for OA treatment. Bilirubin (BR) is a potent endogenous antioxidant that can scavenge various ROS and also exhibit anti‐inflammatory effects. However, whether BR could exert protection on chondrocytes for OA treatment has not yet been elucidated. Here, chondrocytes were exposed to hydrogen peroxide with or without BR treatment. The cell viability was assessed, and the intracellular ROS, inflammation cytokines were monitored to indicate the state of chondrocytes. In addition, BR was also tested on LPS‐treated Raw264.7 cells to test the anti‐inflammation property. An in vitro bimimic OA microenvironment was constructed by LPS‐treated Raw264.7 and chondrocytes, and BR also exert certain protection for chondrocytes by activating Nrf2/HO‐1 pathway and suppressing NF‐κB signalling. An ACLT‐induced OA model was constructed to test the in vivo therapeutic efficacy of BR. Compared to the clinical used HA, BR significantly reduced cartilage degeneration and delayed OA progression. Overall, our data shows that BR has a protective effect on chondrocytes and can delay OA progression caused by oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An up-and-coming concept that seeks to transform how students learn about and study complex systems, as well as how industrial workers are trained, metaverse technology is characterized in this context by its use in virtual simulation and analysis. In this work, a virtual environment is created that duplicates real-world situations and enables immersive and interactive learning in the educational metaverse. For this purpose, we built a digital twin of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) campus as a foundation, called NTUniverse. It is designed as an educational metaverse in which various academic and analytical applications are digitized as 3D content embedded within this virtual campus. The approach to digitally twinning educational systems and embedding them within virtual campuses enables remote and collaborative learning as well as professional technical skills training. It also makes feasible the analysis of abstract concepts, complicated structures, dynamic processes, and sensitive industrial procedures virtually, which is otherwise challenging if not impossible to perform in the real world. The work offers important insights into the behaviors and interactions of systems in the metaverse by evaluating design choices and user interests. NTUniverse is an attempt to explore a novel approach that addresses remote education and training challenges. Three efforts with NTUniverse will be discussed in this work, including (1) digitalization of the NTU campus; (2) campus train modelling and simulation; and (3) science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effects of different duration and daily frequency of vestibular rehabilitation (VR) in patients with residual symptoms after benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) successful repositioning. Method: Patients with successful BPPV repositioning (n = 118) were divided into 3 groups according to VR duration and frequency: group A (n = 30; 15 minutes, 3 times/day), group B (n = 30; 30 minutes, 3 times/day), group C (n = 28; 15 minutes, 6 times/day), and control group D (n = 30; no VR). All patients completed the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) and vestibular rehabilitation benefit questionnaire (VRBQ) at baseline and after 2 and 4 weeks. Results: The emotional scores and the proportion of severe dizziness disability in the DHI scores were significant differences between VR groups A to C and control group D after 2 and 4 weeks (all P <.05). There were significant differences in total DHI and VRBQ scores among the VR groups A to C after 2 and 4 weeks (all P <.05). Interestingly, emotion scores were not significantly different in group A (P =.385), group B (P =.569), and group C (P =.340) between 2 and 4 weeks. Meanwhile at 2 weeks, the difference in motion-provoked dizziness score between group A and B was statistically significant (P =.02). Conclusions: A total VR duration over 4 weeks can reduce dizziness and improve VR benefits in routine therapy in patients with residual dizziness after successful BPPV repositioning. Emotional improvement can be observed after 2 weeks. VR may help to relieve motion-provoked dizziness earlier if patients are willing to consider increasing the duration to more than 15 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical imaging is crucial for the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. Artificial intelligence and computer vision have rapidly become popular in medical image analyses thanks to technological advancements. To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of medical diagnosis and treatment, significant efforts have been made in the literature on medical image processing, segmentation, volumetric analysis, and prediction. This paper is interested in the development of a prediction pipeline for breast cancer studies based on 3D computed tomography (CT) scans. Several algorithms were designed and integrated to classify the suitability of the CT slices. The selected slices from patients were then further processed in the pipeline. This was followed by data generalization and volume segmentation to reduce the computation complexity. The selected input data were fed into a 3D U-Net architecture in the pipeline for analysis and volumetric predictions of cancer tumors. Three types of U-Net models were designed and compared. The experimental results show that Model 1 of U-Net obtained the highest accuracy at 91.44% with the highest memory usage; Model 2 had the lowest memory usage with the lowest accuracy at 85.18%; and Model 3 achieved a balanced performance in accuracy and memory usage, which is a more suitable configuration for the developed pipeline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial infections pose a significant risk to human health. Magnolol, derived from Magnolia officinalis, exhibits potent antibacterial properties. Synthetic biology offers a promising approach to manufacture such natural compounds. However, the plant-based biosynthesis of magnolol remains obscure, and the lack of identification of critical genes hampers its synthetic production. In this study, we have proposed a one-step conversion of magnolol from chavicol using laccase. After leveraging 20 transcriptomes from diverse parts of M. officinalis, transcripts were assembled, enriching genome annotation. Upon integrating this dataset with current genomic information, we could identify 30 laccase enzymes. From two potential gene clusters associated with magnolol production, highly expressed genes were subjected to functional analysis. In vitro experiments confirmed MoLAC14 as a pivotal enzyme in magnolol synthesis. Improvements in the thermal stability of MoLAC14 were achieved through selective mutations, where E345P, G377P, H347F, E346C, and E346F notably enhanced stability. By conducting alanine scanning, the essential residues in MoLAC14 were identified, and the L532A mutation further boosted magnolol production to an unprecedented level of 148.83 mg/L. Our findings not only elucidated the key enzymes for chavicol to magnolol conversion, but also laid the groundwork for synthetic biology-driven magnolol production, thereby providing valuable insights into M. officinalis biology and comparative plant science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age‐related variations in many regions and/or networks of the human brain have been uncovered using resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging. However, these findings did not account for the dynamical effect the brain's global activity (global signal [GS]) causes on local characteristics, which is measured by GS topography. To address this gap, we tested GS topography including its correlation with age using a large‐scale cross‐sectional adult lifespan dataset (n = 492). Both GS topography and its variation with age showed frequency‐specific patterns, reflecting the spatiotemporal characteristics of the dynamic change of GS topography with age. A general trend toward dedifferentiation of GS topography with age was observed in both spatial (i.e., less differences of GS between different regions) and temporal (i.e., less differences of GS between different frequencies) dimensions. Further, methodological control analyses suggested that although most age‐related dedifferentiation effects remained across different preprocessing strategies, some were triggered by neuro‐vascular coupling and physiological noises. Together, these results provide the first evidence for age‐related effects on global brain activity and its topographic‐dynamic representation in terms of spatiotemporal dedifferentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threat generalisation is an adaptive process that is essential for individual survival. In contrast, over‐generalisation is a pathological process that underlies the development of anxiety disorders. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is an individual characteristic known to influence threat generalisation by altering the responses to threat in uncertain situations. However, how it affects contextual threat generalisation remains unclear. Here, we used a novel paradigm to investigate whether contextual threat generalisation varied between individuals depending on their IU level (high or low) and the predictability of a situation (predictable or unpredictable). We analysed shock expectancy in 82 participants (age: 18–27 years) during threat acquisition and generalisation. Results showed that compared with the low IU group, the high IU group exhibited increased contextual threat generalisation to threat‐related cues in unpredictable situation. These findings suggest that IU could be a marker for anxiety disorder susceptibility, as well as a target for anxiety treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical oxidase biosensors have been widely applied in healthcare, environmental measurements and the biomedical field. However, the low and fluctuant oxygen levels in solution and the high anodic detection potentially restrict the assay accuracy. To address these problems, in this work, we constructed a three-phase interface enzyme electrode by sequentially immobilizing H2O2 electrocatalysts and an oxidase layer on a superhydrophobic laser-induced graphene (LIG) array substrate. The LIG-based enzyme electrode possesses a solid–liquid–air three-phase interface where constant and sufficient oxygen can be supplied from the air phase to the enzymatic reaction zone, which enhances and stabilizes the oxidase kinetics. We discovered that the enzymatic reaction rate is 21.2-fold improved over that of a solid–liquid diphase system where oxygen is supplied from the liquid phase, leading to a 60-times wider linear detection range. Moreover, the three-phase enzyme electrode can employ a cathodic measuring principle for oxidase catalytic product H2O2 detection, which could minimize interferences arising from oxidizable molecules in biofluids and increase the detection selectivity. This work provides a simple and promising approach to the design and construction of high-performance bioassay systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative attentional bias is a basic character of depression. The attentional bias modification training (ABMT), being a highly promising and easy‐to‐use depression intervention technique, has attracted much attention to alleviate depressive symptoms in recent years. However, the effectiveness of ABMT programs was mixed across studies, since it remained unclear the underlying mechanisms of ABMT on alleviating depressive symptoms. We systematically analyzed the main ABMT paradigms to clarify possible mechanisms of effective training and reasons of ineffective training. Valid ABMT programs might alleviate depressive symptoms through regulating self‐related rumination or two subcomponents of attentional bias: facilitated attention and impaired attentional disengagement. The reasons for the invalidity of ABMT mainly included the suboptimal design of training procedures, mixed effects of participants' personal characteristics, and the unclear relationship between attentional bias and depression. The ABMT is promising for alleviating depressive symptoms, but training procedures are required to be improved to obtain stable training effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the feasibility of using an intrarectal Foley catheter during ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (US-HIFU) in patients with benign uterine diseases of the posterior wall beyond the HIFU therapeutic range. Patients were treated with US-HIFU and lesion changes were monitored using contrast-enhanced MRI from June 2020 to September 2021. A Foley catheter was inserted into the rectum to facilitate a successful US-HIFU ablation. Complications and lesion responses were recorded during the treatment and follow-up. Thirteen patients with 14 lesions beyond the device's treatable area were enrolled. The average placement time and insertion depth of the intrarectal Foley catheter was 7.6 ± 2.7 min and 23.2 ± 7.6 cm, respectively. A median of 50 mL degassed water was injected into the Foley catheter balloon. All 14 lesions were successfully pushed into a treatable area and subjected to HIFU. The average treatment time, irradiation time, and total therapeutic energy of HIFU were 44.2 ± 17.3 min, 394.4 ± 295.7 s, and 73.3 ± 46.6 kJ, respectively. The mean non-perfusion volume (NPV) in all treated lesions was 23.2 ± 19.2 cm3, and the mean NPV ratio was 57.8 ± 16.9%. Major complications were not observed. Intrarectal Foley catheter-assisted US-HIFU is effective and safe. Its clinical application could benefit patients with benign uterine diseases outside the HIFU therapeutic range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metaverse has gained popularity recently in many areas including social media, healthcare, education and manufacturing. This work explores the use of the metaverse concept for cultural heritage applications. The motivation is to develop a systematic approach for the construction of a cultural heritage metaverse and to offer, potentially, more effective solutions for tourism guidance, site maintenance, heritage object conservation, etc. We propose a framework for this cultural heritage metaverse with an emphasis on fundamental elements and on characterization of the mapping between the physical and virtual cultural heritage worlds. Efforts are made to analyze the dimensional structures of the cultural heritage metaverse. Specifically, five different dimensions, linearity, planarity, space, time and context, are discussed to better understand this metaverse. The proposed framework and methodology are novel and can be applied to the digitalization of cultural heritage via its metaverse development. This is followed by a detailed case study to illustrate the tangible procedure, constructing a cultural heritage metaverse with a complex and dynamic nature which can be used for different applications, including heritage conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to explore the influence mechanism of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for smart cities on consumers' purchase intention. The authors aim to identify the key components of CSR for smart cities based on the perspective of consumers, namely responsibility toward consumers, environment and community and validate their relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The authors exploit data collected by questionnaire surveys to estimate the effects of CSR for smart cities on consumers' purchase intentions and to investigate the statistical causality between them. The multilinear regression model is used to figure out the different impact levels of the three dimensions of CSR for smart cities on consumers' purchase intention. Findings: The results illustrate that CSR for smart cities and its three dimensions all have significant positive impacts on consumers' purchase intentions. Besides, consumer–corporate identity (CCI) exerts a partial mediation effect on this influence mechanism. Research limitations/implications: This research is based on a rather small sample size. Besides, due to the time limitation and other factors, some other control variables are neglected in the regression model. Therefore, the impact level could be distorted. Practical implications: The authors put forward management implications according to research conclusions. Corporates should actively fulfill the CSR in the field of consumer responsibility to boost consumers' purchase intention. Corporate should strengthen the interaction with consumers to improve their corporate identity. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is to provide convincing evidence of the impacts of CSR for smart cities on consumer purchase intention (CPI), thus proposing effective measures for corporates to win more consumers by taking on social responsibility for smart cities. This paper takes CCI as mediating variable to deepen the understanding of the impacts of CSR for smart cities on CPI, which is innovative and beneficial to enriching literature in related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a group of typical endocrine disrupters, phthalates are simultaneously present in a variety of environmental media and enter human body through multiple exposure pathways. In this study, field monitoring data were used to characterize the skin‐air (Klg), dust‐air (Kd), and PM2.5‐air (Kp) partition coefficients of DiBP, DnBP, and DEHP. The median values of log(Klg) in the summer and winter were 7.654 and 7.932, 7.265 and 7.902, 9.419 and 9.015 for DiBP, DnBP, and DEHP, respectively, and Klg was significantly higher in the winter. The median Kd (m3/mg) in the summer (0.036–0.151 for DiBP, 0.021–0.036 for DnBP and 1.479–4.069 for DEHP) were significantly higher than the counterparts in the winter (0.027–0.065 for DiBP, 0.022–0.245 for DnBP, and 0.140–3.250 for DEHP). In addition, Kd was associated with material of surface and residence time of dust. The Kp values (m3/μg) of DiBP, DnBP, and DEHP in the summer (0.053, 0.015, and 0.021) were also significantly higher than the counterparts in the winter (0.011, 0.004, and 0.025). The partition of phthalates was influenced by built environment, such as temperature, humidity, ventilation, indoor chemistry, smoking, and building age. Except Klg, there was substantial discrepancy between the estimates of K with empirical equations and the values of K based on field monitoring data in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report the evaluation of the frequency of subjective and objective otolaryngologic findings and therapeutic results in 32 patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy (MEM) from September 2001 to June 2021. Our analysis included studying the patients' family histories, the clinical manifestations of MEM, and the therapeutic effects of treatments. The patients' ages ranged from 2 to 77 years, with a median age of 12.3 years. We found that MEM ENT symptoms were characterized by hearing loss, dysphagia, and facial weakness. Most cases of sensorineural hearing loss were bilateral symmetrical progressive or sudden deafness since adolescence, which were often underestimated. Associated neuromuscular symptoms required mtDNA testing. Dysphagia and facial weakness occurred preferentially in middle-aged patients, and muscle biopsies were advised. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responsetesting were more sensitive and reliable than pure tone averages for objective monitoring of pathogenesis. Administration of the mitochondrial synthase complex benefited patients with acute episodes. If patients did not fully recover and exhibitedresidual language deficits, hearing aids or cochlear implants were recommended. Counsel was given regarding synthetical treatments for facial weakness, endoscopic circopharyngealmyotomy for dysphagia, and surgical correction of ptosis. This study demonstrates that increased awareness of these symptoms is important to address appropriate interventions and avoid complications such as ablepsia, aphasia, social isolation, malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, and heart failure in the setting of MEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can impair communication, social skills, living skills, and learning capabilities. Learning approaches usually differ between mainstream schools and special needs schools, to cater for the different learning processes of children with ASD. Besides the traditional classroom-based education, alternative technology and methods are explored for special needs education. One method is to train children with ASD using Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. Many prior works show the effectiveness of VR-based learning with varying degrees of success. Some children with ASD may face challenges to gain independent living skills. Their parents or guardians have to expend a significant amount of effort in taking care of children with ASD. It will be very helpful if they can have a learning opportunity to gain such living skills. In this research, we develop a VR serious game to train children with ASD one of the basic living skills for road crossing safely. The VR serious game operates on multiple types of platforms, with various user interaction inputs including the Microsoft Kinect sensor, keyboard, mouse, and touch screen. The game design and methodology will be described in this paper. Experiments have been conducted to evaluate the learning effectiveness of the road crossing game, with very positive results achieved in the quiz and survey questionnaire after the gameplay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verbal fluency is an important indicator of human verbal ability. Methods to improve fluency is an interesting issue necessitating investigation. To do this, the current study required participants to randomly receive transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at 10 Hz, 40 Hz (control frequency), and sham stimulation over the prefrontal cortex before a phonemic fluency task. It was found that 10-Hz tACS significantly improved phonemic fluency relative to sham stimulation. This result demonstrates the modulatory effect of 10-Hz tACS on language ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to assess the quality of global guidelines or consensus statements for newborn and childhood hearing screening, as well as to compare various guidelines between other countries and China.Methods: A PROSPERO registered systematic review (number CRD42021242198) was conducted. Multiple electronic databases and government websites including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CENTRAL, Cochrane Library, and BMJ Best Practice were searched from inception until May 2021. The latest national and international guidelines, consensus statements, technical specifications, and recommendations regarding newborn or childhood hearing screening that were published in Chinese or English medical journals or elsewhere with the full version available online. The following information was extracted independently by two reviewers for comparative analysis: titles, authors, publication year, country, the source organization, and main key recommendations using systems for assigning the level of evidence and strength of recommendations. The quality of the guidelines was assessed by three independent reviewers using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation, 2nd edition. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to assess among-reviewer agreement.Results: We assessed 15 newborn and 6 childhood hearing screening guidelines, respectively. Most newborn guidelines recommend the 1-3-6 guidelines and pre-discharge screening; however, the specific screening times differ. 93.33% of newborn hearing guidelines recommend "primary screening-re-screening-diagnosis-intervention" for well-babies while 73.33% of the guidelines recommend "initial screening-diagnosis-intervention" for newborns in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); 33.33% of the newborn hearing guidelines recommended initial screening coverage of > 95% while 46.66% did not mention it. Further, 26.66% of the newborn hearing guidelines recommended a referral rate to diagnosis within 4% while 60% did not mention it. Regarding childhood hearing screening guidelines, the screening populations differed across guidelines (age range: 0-9 years); most guidelines recommend pediatric hearing screening for all preschoolers. Only 50% of the guidelines specify screening and re-screening techniques, including pure-tone hearing screening, OAE, tympanometry, and others. The "Clarity of Presentation" domain achieved the highest mean score, and the lowest was "Editorial Independence" both in newborn and childhood guidelines. Overall score of newborn hearing screening guidelines ranged from 3 (2018 Europe) to 7 (2019 America), with an average score of 5.33. Average score of childhood hearing screening guidelines was 4.78, with the score ranging from 4 (2017 England, 2012 Europe, 2016 WHO) to 6.67 (2011 America). ICC analysis revealed excellent agreement across 21 guidelines (> 0.75).Conclusions: These findings indicated newborn hearing screening guidelines had superior quality over childhood ones. Comparative analysis suggested that recommendations of the Chinese newborn and pediatric hearing screening protocols are consistent with the mainstream international opinion. Moreover, this analysis demonstrated that "Editorial Independence" and "Stakeholder Involvement" have the greatest opportunities for improvement. These results may help to advance the quality of hearing screening guidelines in clinical practice and guide evidence-based updates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variation of brain functions as healthy ageing has been discussed widely using resting-state brain imaging. Previous conclusions may be misinterpreted without considering the effects of global signal (GS) on local brain activities. Up to now, the variation of GS with ageing has not been estimated. To fill this gap, we defined the GS as the mean signal of all voxels in the gray matter and systematically investigated correlations between age and indices of GS fluctuations. What's more, these tests were replicated with data after hemodynamic response function (HRF) de-convolution and data without noise regression as well as head motion data to verify effects of non-neural information on age. The results indicated that GS fluctuations varied as ageing in three ways. First, GS fluctuations were reduced with age. Second, the GS power transferred from lower frequencies to higher frequencies with age. Third, the GS power was more evenly distributed across frequencies in ageing brain. These trends were partly influenced by HRF and physiological noise, indicating that the age effects of GS fluctuations are associated with a variety of physiological activities. These results may indicate the temporal dedifferentiation hypothesis of brain ageing from the global perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lanthanide‐doped up‐conversion (UC) materials with color tunable property show promising application in many fields, such as biological imaging, optical multiplexing, and information security. Although great efforts have been devoted to regulate UC emission color via modifying chemical composition, crystal structure, or external stimuli condition, it is remain a daunting challenge to develop a general strategy that probably suitable for various lanthanide‐doped nano‐systems. Herein, we verify the cross‐relaxation possibility between sensitizer Yb3+ and activator Er3+ as well as Er3+‐ Er3+ pairs can be well modified by engineering the crystal lattice distortion of matrix, leading to the evident UC emission color variations. Specifically, with incorporating Al3+ or Ca2+ ions into the Yb/Er co‐doped BaF2 nanocrystals (NCs) contained glass ceramics (GCs), the contraction of the crystal lattice lead to the change of UC emission color from green to red. On the contrary, the high laser excitation power results in the lattice expansion of the Al3+‐doped BaF2:Yb/Er GCs at different Yb3+ concentration as well as Al3+ doped CaF2 GCs, which leads to the greatly increased green‐to‐red ratio. These multi‐color UC GCs show potential application in anti‐counterfeiting filed. Our results open up a general avenue for the control of UC emission color via engineering crystal lattice distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a condition of high blood pressure that is usually concurrent with proteinuria in pregnancy. PE complicates the management of both maternal and fetal health and contributes to most adverse pregnancy outcomes, but the mechanism underlying the development of PE remains unclear. In this study, we performed a case-control study to compare the gut microbiota of PE (n = 26), abnormal placental growth (APG, n = 25) and healthy pregnant women (n = 28) and analyzed the potential pathogenic role of gut microbiota in PE progression. Results: The clinical pathophysiological state did not affect the bacterial diversity, while the compositions of the gut microbiota were significantly altered in both the PE and APG groups compared with healthy pregnant women. At the phylum level, TM7 was significantly increased in women with APG. Heterogeneity was observed at the genus level, especially in genera with positive LDA scores, suggesting the stage-dependent effect of gut microbiota on the development of PE. The beneficial bacterium Lactobacillus was markedly depleted in the PE and APG groups but was only correlated with blood pressure (BP) and proteinuria levels in the PE group. Two different bacterial taxa belonged to Lactobacillus showed different correlations (OTU255 and OTU784 were significantly related to PE and APG, respectively). Conclusions: Our results indicated that shifts in the gut microbiota might occur from the early stages of the development of PE, which is of possible etiological and therapeutic importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imprinted polymers were prepared to absorb dichlorophen (DCP) by using mesoporous silica with ordered pores and high specific surface area. Both scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results suggested that the mesoporous silica nanosphere pores had a periodic distribution. The imprinted layer of polymers was thin and uniform. The adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption of imprinted polymers was obviously improved due to the presence of mesoporous structure. The maximum adsorption capacity of MSNs@MIPs at 318 K was 91.1 mg/g, and the adsorption process rapidly reached the equilibrium within 40 min. The adsorption isotherm was well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model, indicating that multimolecular layer adsorption mechanism governs the adsorption of DCP by the polymers. The adsorption of MSNs@MIPs complied with pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Both selective and regenerative experiments demonstrated that MSNs@MIPs can be successfully applied for selective adsorption of DCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual attention and visual working memory (VWM) are two major cognitive functions in humans, and they have much in common. A growing body of research has investigated the effect of emotional information on visual attention and VWM. Interestingly, contradictory findings have supported both a negative bias and a positive bias toward emotional faces (e.g., angry faces or happy faces) in the attention and VWM fields. We found that the classical paradigms—that is, the visual search paradigm in attention and the change detection paradigm in VWM—are considerably similar. The settings of these paradigms could therefore be responsible for the contradictory results. In this paper, we compare previous controversial results from behavioral and neuroscience studies using these two paradigms. We suggest three possible contributing factors that have significant impacts on the contradictory conclusions regarding different emotional bias effects; these factors are stimulus choice, experimental setting, and cognitive process. We also propose new research directions and guidelines for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Size, morphology, and composition of airborne particles strongly affect human health and visibility, precipitation, and the kinetic characteristics of particles. In this study, the morphology and chemical composition of particles emitted from conventional (diesel and gasoline) and alternative (CNG and methanol) fuel vehicles were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). The SEM images revealed that the size of primary particles (without agglomeration) was approximately 10 nm in the exhaust from all the tested vehicles. The particles emitted from gasoline vehicle (GV), CNG vehicle (CNGV), and methanol vehicle (MV) had the same median diameter, 62 nm, which was smaller than those from heavy diesel vehicle (HDV) and light diesel vehicle (LDV). Soot was observed in the HDV, LDV, and GV samples but not in the CNGV and MV. The fractal dimension, which was used to quantify the degree of irregularity of soot, was 1.752 ± 0.014, 1.789 ± 0.076, and 1.769 ± 0.006 in the exhaust from HDV, LDV, and GV samples, respectively. The particles discharged by all tested vehicles contained the elements C, O, Fe, and Na. The main element in the samples of HDV, LDV, and GV was C, while O was the main element in the samples of alternative fuel vehicles. The profiles of minor elements were more complex in the emissions of alternative fuel vehicles than those in the emissions of conventional fuel vehicles. The results improved our understanding of the morphology and elemental composition of particles emitted from vehicles powered by diesel, gasoline, CNG, and methanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The decidua is a tissue that contacts both maternal and foetal components and is pivotal to labour onset due to its location. Due to the heterogeneity of decidual tissue, it is challenging to study its role in the peripartum period. Herein, we analysed the transcriptomes of peripartum decidua at single‐cell resolution. Materials and methods: Single‐cell RNA sequencing was performed for 29 231 decidual cells before and after delivery to characterize the transcriptomes. Results: Eight major cell types (including endothelial cells, fibroblasts) and subtypes of decidual stromal cells, extravillous trophoblasts and T cells were identified and found to have various functions. Compared with before delivery, the activation of decidual stromal cell, extravillous trophoblast and T‐cell subtypes to different degrees was observed after delivery. Furthermore, the activation involved multiple functions, such as cell proliferation, and several pathways, such as the activator protein 1 pathway. The results of pseudotemporal ordering showed differentiation of decidual stromal cell and extravillous trophoblast subtypes, suggesting inhomogeneity of these subgroups in decidualization (decidual stromal cell) and invasion (extravillous trophoblast). Conclusions: The peripartum decidual tissue is heterogeneous. This study revealed changes in the decidua and its components at single‐cell resolution; these findings provide a new perspective for the study of peripartum decidua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octahedral NaBi(WO4)2:Er3+/Yb3+ phosphors were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Intense green upconversion emissions from both 2H11/2 → 4I15/2 and 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions were observed and the appropriate energy gap between them is very suitable for temperature sensing requirement based on the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique. A flexible and portable all-fiber temperature sensing device was established and used to assess the temperature sensing characteristics of NaBi(WO4)2:Er3+Yb3+ phosphors. A maximum absolute sensitivity of 0.014 K−1 is achieved at 423 K and the temperature absolute error is −0.5 K to +0.6 K. The stepwise heating and cooling processes confirm the good stability and recyclability of the all-fiber temperature sensor, which lays the foundation for actual temperature measurement. Based on the high flexibility and accuracy of the temperature sensor, the monitoring of body temperature was realized in real time and continuously, which may provide new development prospects for effective health tracking and improvement of medical care quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and remote temperature measurements in harsh environments are of great importance. The FIR technique is self-referenced and regarded as a promising method to improve the temperature accuracy and simplify the experimental devices. Herein, a point all-fiber temperature sensor based on the FIR technique has been developed. Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped NaYF4 phosphors (NPs) were used to fabricate a temperature sensing probe combined with silica fiber. Highly crystalline and pure hexagonal NPs were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Intense green up-conversion luminescence was observed in the prototype sensor at an excitation power of 1 mW. The relationship between FIR value and temperature was investigated at the temperature range of 258–423 K. The maximum relative temperature sensitivity is 1.68% K−1 at 258 K. Preliminary experimental results indicate that the absolute error is ±1 K with a temperature uncertainty σ of 0.187 K and relative standard deviation of 0.133%, suggesting the high accuracy and reliability of the proposed all-fiber temperature sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous enhancement of upconversion luminescence and temperature sensitivity is achieved by aliovalent doping in Er3+/Yb3+ codoped SrMoO4 phosphors and a highly accurate ratiometric temperature sensing platform has been constructed in an all-fiber structure. The influence of aliovalent doping of Li+ and Ga3+ in SrMoO4 phosphors on the crystal structure and growth was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A detailed structural analysis was carried out using Eu3+ ions as a spectroscopic probe to disclose the change of the local site symmetry due to aliovalent doping. The upconversion emission intensity of Er3+ in SrMoO4 phosphors is enhanced by 82 times and 255 times due to Li+ doping and Li+/Ga3+ codoping, respectively. The intense upconversion luminescence and high temperature sensitivity lead to a small temperature uncertainty (0.091 K) and an absolute error (−0.5–0.3 K) as well as good repeatability (<1%). Preliminary experiments from material design to device applications pave the way for the practical applications of ratiometric temperature sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho3+-doped and Ho3+/Yb3+-codoped lead bismuth gallate (PBG) oxide glasses were prepared and their spectroscopic properties were investigated. The derived Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters (Ω2=6.81×10-20 cm2, Ω4=2.31×10-20 cm2, and Ω6=0.67×10-20 cm2) indicate a higher asymmetry and stronger covalent environment for Ho3+ sites in PBG glass compared with those in tellurite, fluoride (ZBLAN), and some other lead-contained glasses. Intense frequency upconversion emissions peaking at 547, 662, and 756 nm as well as infrared emissions at 1.20 and 2.05 μm in Ho3+/Yb3+-codoped PBG glass were observed, confirming that energy transfer between Yb3+ and Ho3+ takes place, and a two-phonon-assisted energy transfer from Yb3+ to Ho3+ ions was determined by the calculation using phonon sideband theory. The 1.20 μm emission observed was primarily due to the weak multiphonon deexcitation originated from the small phonon energy of PBG glass (∼535 cm-1). A large product of emission cross-section and measured lifetime (9.93×10-25 cm2 s) was obtained for the 1.20 μm emission and the gain coefficient dependence on wavelength with population inversion rate (P) was performed. The peak emission cross-section for 2.05 μm emission was calculated to be 4.75×10-21 cm2. The relative mechanism of Ho3+-doped and Ho3+/Yb3+-codoped PBG glasses on their spectroscopic properties was also discussed. Our results suggest that Ho3+/Yb3+-doped PBG glasses are a good potential candidate for the frequency upconversion devices and infrared amplifiers/lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent Tb3+ and Yb3+ codoped oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing CaF2 nanocrystals were prepared by melt quenching and subsequent heat treatment. Crystallization kinetics of CaF2 nanocrystals was investigated by differential scanning calorimetric method. The average apparent activation energy Ea of the crystallization was ∼498 kJ/mol. Moreover, the value of the Avrami exponent n was 1.01. These results suggest that the crystallization mechanism of CaF2 is a diffusion controlled growth process of needles and plates of finite long dimensions. X-ray diffraction patterns and transmission electron microscopy image confirmed the CaF2 nanocrystals in the glass ceramic. Ultraviolet (UV) and visible emission spectra of the as-made glass and the glass ceramic with an excitation of a 974 nm laser diode were recorded at room temperature. An intense UV emission at 381 nm was observed in the glass ceramic. The origin of the enhancement of the emission at 381 nm was investigated using spectroscopic technique and Judd-Ofelt analysis. The enhancement of the emission at 381 nm could be attributed to the change of the ligand field of Tb3+ ions due to the incorporation of some Tb3+ and Yb3+ ions into CaF2 nanocrystals in the glass ceramic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tb3+‐doped germanate glass ceramics containing CaF2 nanocrystals were prepared by melt quenching method with subsequent heat treatment. Their microstructures were investigated by XRD and TEM techniques. Their optical properties were studied by the transmittance, the photoluminescence, and the X‐ray excited luminescence (XEL). The luminescence intensity in the glass ceramics under 377 nm light and X‐ray excitations is significantly enhanced. The maximum integrated XEL intensity of the glass ceramics is about 50% of that of the commercial Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) scintillating crystal. The results indicate that Tb3+‐doped germanate glass ceramic could be a promising scintillating material used in X‐ray detection for slow event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anastrozole is currently used as first‐line treatment in locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. A generic anastrozole tablet was developed to offer an alternative to the marketed tablet formulation. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the bioequivalence between the test and reference formulations of anastrozole in a single‐dose, 2‐period, 2‐sequence crossover study with a 14‐day washout interval. A total of 20 healthy male Chinese volunteers were enrolled and completed the study, after oral administration of a single dose of 1.0‐mg test and reference formulations of anastrozole. The blood samples were collected at different times and were determined by a fully validated high‐pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. The evaluated pharmacokinetic parameters, including Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞, were assessed for bioequivalence based on current guidelines. The observed pharmacokinetic parameters of anastrozole of the test drug were similar to those of the reference formulation. The 90% confidence intervals of test/reference ratios for Cmax, AUC0−t, and AUC0−∞ were within the bioequivalence acceptance range of 80%–125%. The results obtained from these healthy Chinese subjects in this study suggest that the test formulation of anastrozole 1.0‐mg tablet is bioequivalent to the reference formulation (Arimidex 1.0‐mg tablet). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder with different levels of severity. Although the exact causes of ASD is not yet known, nor is there a medical cure for ASD to date, special facilities and schools have been established to help individuals coping better and becoming more independent. With the advancement in Virtual Reality (VR) technology, there has been a greater depth of development of technology-enhanced game-based learning for children with ASD. This paper will describe our effort on virtual pink dolphins to assist children with ASD in their learning, at the same time, to avoid the use of physical pink dolphins which is a species endangered. A study on the use of a low-cost VR enabled pink dolphins game for children with ASD to learn direction following, psychomotor skills and hand-eye coordination will be reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A portable all-fiber thermometer based on the FIR technique in Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped TeO2–WO3–La2O3–Na2O (TWLN) glasses was designed and its temperature sensing performance in the temperature range of 293–569 K was determined in detail. The high glass transition temperature (Tg = 439 °C) of TWLN glass contributes to broadening the range of temperature measurement. The spectroscopic analysis of Eu3+ ions and Judd–Ofelt analysis of Er3+ ions reveal that the rare earth ions are situated in a low symmetry environment in TWLN glass, which suggests that a large FIR change and high temperature sensitivity are expected. Intense green upconversion emission in Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped TWLN glass fiber was easily observed under 980 nm excitation at a low pumping power (1.4 mW). The maximum temperature sensitivity of the portable all-fiber thermometer reached 86.7 × 10−4 K−1 at 553 K. Experimental results showed that the absolute errors were around ±1 K within the temperature range from 285 to 563 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report the synthesis of hexoctahedral (HOH-shaped), elongated tetrahexahedral (ETHH-shaped) and octahedral (OCT-shaped) Au@AuPd nanoparticles (NPs) via co-reduction of a trace amount of Au and Pd precursors by ascorbic acid (AA) with the aid of an elemental silver reservoir on the surface of the corresponding preformed Au NPs enclosed by different facets. Consequently, surface facets of alloy-shells of the resulting Au@AuPd NPs can be tuned, as they can retain the original surface facets of pre-formed, facet-controlled Au cores. It is found that both mass activities and specific activities of the three types of Au@AuPd NPs exhibit “volcano-type” dependence with respect to their Pd content in the surface of ultrathin AuPd alloy-shells. Moreover, HOH-shaped Au@Au0.20Pd2.0 NPs simultaneously display the best activity and excellent stability due to the exposed high-index facets of the AuPd alloy-shell and the appropriate area ratio of active facets and inactive facets on the surfaces of ultrathin alloy-shells. Furthermore, their ECSA value, mass activity and specific activity are 125.8 m2 g−1, 11.9 A mgPd−1 and 9.5 mA cm−2, respectively, which are about 4-fold, 31-fold, and 7-fold better than those (28.4 m2 g−1, 0.38 A mgPd−1, and 1.34 mA cm−2) of commercial Pd/C catalysts, respectively. Thus, this work not only demonstrates that surface facets of core–shell Au@AuPd NPs can be engineered via co-reduction of a trace amount of Au and Pd precursors by AA with the aid of an elemental silver reservoir on the surface of preformed Au NPs, but also will open a new way to improve the electrocatalytic performance of CS Au@AuPd NPs by surface engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first synthesized high-quality gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with size ranging from 5.5 to 17.8 nm in high yield via a robust, one-step seeded growth method using Tris-base (TB). It was found that the narrow distribution in size and shape of the as-prepared Au NPs was affected by reaction temperature and pH value of the reaction media. The sizes of these small Au NPs could be finely controlled by varying the gold precursor and/or seed amount according to an established relationship between the NP diameter and the particle number of the seeds (or the mass of the gold precursor in some cases). Due to their highly colloidal stability, TB-stabilized Au NPs (TB-Au NPs) could be directly used for the detection of Pb2+. Pb2+ can be determined in a large linear range of 0.1 nM to 5 μM with a high determination coefficient, good repeatability (10 times at least) and high selectivity (1 : 200) by our 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME)/S2O32−–TB-Aum NP sensors (m represents the size of Au NPs, m = 5.5, 10, and 15 nm). Moreover, the limit of detection (LOD) of the 2-ME/S2O32−–TB-Au5.5 NP sensor for Pb2+ could be as low as 0.1 nM, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the lowest one obtained by a colorimetric method thus far. Furthermore, our 2-ME/S2O32−–TB-Au5.5 NP sensor could also detect Pb2+ in real soil extracts with satisfactory recovery. Thus, the 2-ME/S2O32−–TB-Au5.5 NP sensor could be applied for the determination of Pb2+ in real samples from complicated natural environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basic social interaction and executing certain tasks can be difficult for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The symptoms of such behaviour include inappropriate gestures, body language and facial expressions, lack of interest in certain tasks, cognitive disability in coordination of limbs, and a difficulty in comprehending tasks’ requirements. This paper will discuss our efforts to develop virtual learning environments for children with ASD to improve their gestures and their interests in comprehending tasks’ requirements. Virtual environments are ideal for imparting skills necessary for independence before encouraging children with ASD to try these out in the real world and gain real-life experience. A high-end solution and a simplified solution will be presented together with a discussion on their comparison study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this work, we report the production of hyperbranched, trisoctahedral-shaped core–shell Au@PdPt nanoparticles (HTCS Au@PdPt NPs) by facet-dependent growth of transition Pd layers and uniform PdPt alloy shells, respectively, by two batches of addition of the reducing agent, ascorbic acid (AA) solution, on preformed trisoctahedral (TOH) Au cores enclosed by {331} facets. It is found that the thickness and composition of the PdPt alloy shell of HTCS Au@PdPt NPs can be accurately controlled by varying the amount of the Pd and Pt precursors. Moreover, the ultrasmall PdPt branches (3.5 nm × 9.2 nm) on the TOH Au cores can lead to a significantly increased electrochemically active surface area (up to 55.4 m2 gPt−1). Taking electrooxidation of methanol and formic acid by Au@PdPt catalysts as an example, three types of Au cores enclosed with different facets were selected to investigate the effect of the resulting transition Pd layer on the performance of CS NP-based catalysts with similar structures. By comparison of their electrocatalytic performance, the enhanced electrocatalytic performance of the HTCS Au100@Pd20Pt20 NPs can be mainly attributed to improved charge transfer between the well-defined TOH Au cores and the highly crystalline PdPt alloy shells besides the unique dendritic PdPt alloyed shell and core–shell structure. The as-prepared HTCS Au100@Pd20Pt20 NPs have excellent electrocatalytic performances in electro-oxidation of methanol (0.64 A mgPt−1) and formic acid (0.77 A mgPt−1), which are significantly higher than those of commercial Pt black (0.12 A mgPt−1 for both of methanol and formic acid) and other Au@PdPt NPs with Au cores enclosed with different facets. In addition, HTCS Au100@Pd20Pt20 NPs also exhibit the best durability among them possibly due to their superior anti-CO poisoning capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report one new method for direct synthesis of monodisperse, quasi-spherical AuAg alloyed nanocrystals (ANCs) with sizes of 11 to 25 nm and core–shell (CS) AuAg@AuAg NCs (CS AuAg ANCs) with sizes of 30 to 80 nm via the Fe2+-assisted citrate coreduction of auric ions and silver ions in a one-pot reaction. It is found that at fixed concentration of auric ions, the concentrations of ferrous ions and silver ions play key roles in tuning the size and the types of NCs (AuAg ANCs and CS AuAg ANCs), respectively. Moreover, AuAg ANCs and CS AuAg ANCs exhibit excellent and poor chemical stability in nonideal chemical environments, respectively. The potential application of these AuAg ANCs for SERS detection of industrial pollutants (such as benzidine and p-cresol) in artificial industrial wastewater has been successfully demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]