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Excessive intake of nitrite causes serious health problems. Monitoring nitrite levels is necessary for protecting both human health and the environment. Therefore, the fabrication of sensors for rapid detection of nitrite was the aim of this work. We proposed a new method based on an electrochemical sensor prepared from polyrhodamine B (PRhB) coating deposited on polylactic acid modified carbon black (PLA-CB) electrode. The synthesized PRhB/PLA-CB sensor is selective and efficient for nitrite detection, which is based on the interaction between the dimethylamino group of PRhB and nitrite and it has both the advantages of simple preparation and low cost. In optimal experimental conditions, the results of cyclic voltammetry showed that PRhB/PLA-CB, showed significant improvement of the electro-catalytic performance (20%) compared to bare PLA-CB thanks to due to the large surface area and porosity provided by PLA-CB combined with the conductivity and catalytic activity of PRhB. The coating was characterized using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The effects of pH and scan rate on nitrite detection were evaluated. The modified electrodes exhibited a remarkable electro-catalytic performance with a wide linear range of 1-10000 µM and low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.342 µM and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 1.036 µM. The proposed sensor was used for the detection of nitrite in tap and commercial water showing good recovery results.

A multisource inverter comprises multiple dc sources in the input that can be combined with varying voltage levels to operate under different loads and reduce the battery capacity requirements of electric vehicles. This article introduces a generalized topology for multisource inverters (MSIs) aimed at reducing the number of power electronics switches, lowering voltage stress on power switches, and minimizing the battery size. A dual-source inverter, based on the proposed generalized configuration, can generate four combinations that reduce the battery size of electric vehicles (EVs) while minimizing power losses. To harness the advantages of model predictive control, the proposed dual-source traction inverter is controlled using this method. The feasibility of the proposed approach is validated through simulation results, which demonstrate its suitability as a drive for an electric motor. The outcomes indicate that model predictive control is a viable alternative for such applications, offering simplicity, high performance, and low harmonic content. Furthermore, experimental results for a static load are presented to verify the correct operation of the proposed system.

Northwestern University’s Center for Scalable Telehealth Cancer Care (STELLAR) is 1 of 4 Cancer Moonshot Telehealth Research Centers of Excellence programs funded by the National Cancer Institute to establish an evidence base for telehealth in cancer care. STELLAR is grounded in the Institute of Medicine’s vision that quality cancer care includes not only disease treatment but also promotion of long-term health and quality of life (QOL). Cigarette smoking, insufficient physical activity, and overweight and obesity often co-occur and are associated with poorer treatment response, heightened recurrence risk, decreased longevity, diminished QOL, and increased treatment cost for many cancers. These risk behaviors are prevalent in cancer survivors, but their treatment is not routinely integrated into oncology care. STELLAR aims to foster patients’ long-term health and QOL by designing, implementing, and sustaining a novel telehealth treatment program for multiple risk behaviors to be integrated into standard cancer care. Telehealth delivery is evidence-based for health behavior change treatment and is well suited to overcome access and workflow barriers that can otherwise impede treatment receipt. This paper describes STELLAR’s 2-arm randomized parallel group pragmatic clinical trial comparing telehealth-delivered, coach-facilitated multiple risk behavior treatment vs self-guided usual care for the outcomes of reach, effectiveness, and cost among 3000 cancer survivors who have completed curative intent treatment. This paper also discusses several challenges encountered by the STELLAR investigative team and the adaptations developed to move the research forward.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed a spotlight on the potential to dramatically increase the use of telehealth across the cancer care continuum, but whether and how telehealth can be implemented in practice in ways that reduce, rather than exacerbate, inequities are largely unknown. To help fill this critical gap in research and practice, we developed the Framework for Integrating Telehealth Equitably (FITE), a process and evaluation model designed to help guide equitable integration of telehealth into practice. In this manuscript, we present FITE and showcase how investigators across the National Cancer Institute’s Telehealth Research Centers of Excellence are applying the framework in different ways to advance digital and health equity. By highlighting multilevel determinants of digital equity that span further than access alone, FITE highlights the complex and differential ways structural determinants restrict or enable digital equity at the individual and community level. As such, achieving digital equity will require strategies designed to not only support individual behavior but also change the broader context to ensure all patients and communities have the choice, opportunity, and resources to use telehealth across the cancer care continuum.

Updated SR on REBOA insertion vascular complications. Incidence of 8%, with post-hoc meta-regression of 7Fr devices showing a 13% reduction of complications. This provides a benchmark for quality of care in REBOA vascular access complications. #REBOA #Complications

The current steel industry needs new efficient monitoring systems that to aid human operators in their tasks. One of the most dangerous steps in the electrolysis process is the moment in which the cathodes and the anodes are lifted from the cells and moved through the facility. This paper proposes a new inspection system to detect whether the cathodes can be lifted by the crane. The proposed system uses a camera that takes images of the rack of cathodes before they are lifted. The images are processed to detect incorrectly positioned cathodes that could generate a problem when lifted. The computer vision system used to process the images was tested on more than 5500 cathodes with 90% effectiveness on anomaly detection and 0.8% of detection errors. The results were then validated in a second industrial facility on more than 6000 cathodes providing even better results, proving the effectiveness and reliability of the system. The system has been also tested in terms of response time proving it suitable for real-time monitoring in a real facility.

Surface metrology is crucial task in automated quality control. The measurement of surface features such as regular and irregular patterns, roughness, waviness, flatness and dimensions is of utmost importance to ensure products are being manufactured according to specifications. This work focuses on flatness measurement in rails, which is a quality parameter affected by roller deformations during rail production. This work proposes a flatness measurement system for rails based on a dual triangulation configuration. Innovative solutions are provided for the most challenging tasks including calibration, registration, calculation of the deviations of the surface from their intended shape, filtering and flatness characterization. Extensive tests on synthetic and real data indicate excellent performance in terms of measurement accuracy, robustness and reliability.

The detection of deep reflected S waves on Mars inferred a core size of 1,830 ± 40 km (ref. 1), requiring light-element contents that are incompatible with experimental petrological constraints. This estimate assumes a compositionally homogeneous Martian mantle, at odds with recent measurements of anomalously slow propagating P waves diffracted along the core–mantle boundary2. An alternative hypothesis is that Mars’s mantle is heterogeneous as a consequence of an early magma ocean that solidified to form a basal layer enriched in iron and heat-producing elements. Such enrichment results in the formation of a molten silicate layer above the core, overlain by a partially molten layer3. Here we show that this structure is compatible with all geophysical data, notably (1) deep reflected and diffracted mantle seismic phases, (2) weak shear attenuation at seismic frequency and (3) Mars’s dissipative nature at Phobos tides. The core size in this scenario is 1,650 ± 20 km, implying a density of 6.5 g cm−3, 5–8% larger than previous seismic estimates, and can be explained by fewer, and less abundant, alloying light elements than previously required, in amounts compatible with experimental and cosmochemical constraints. Finally, the layered mantle structure requires external sources to generate the magnetic signatures recorded in Mars’s crust.

Many patients are affected by HIV/AIDS, and these conditions are highly prevalent worldwide. Patients with HIV/AIDS can experience debilitating wound infections that often require flap reconstruction and become challenging for surgeons to treat. In the past 5 years, mesenchymal stem cells have been tested and used as regenerative therapy to promote the growth of tissues throughout the body because of their ability to successfully promote cellular mitogenesis. To the authors’ knowledge, the use of mesenchymal stem cell grafting following necrosis of a myocutaneous gracilis flap (as part of perineal wound reconstruction) has never been reported in the literature.In addition, the use of mesenchymal stem cells and regenerative medicine combined in the setting of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus with prior radiation (along with comorbid AIDS) has not been previously documented.In this report, the authors outline the case of a 60-year-old patient who had a recipient bed (perineum) complication from prior radiation therapy. Complicating the clinical picture, the patient also developed a Pseudomonal organ space infection of the pelvis leading to the failure of a vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap and myocutaneous gracilis flaps. As a result, the patient underwent serial operative debridements for source control, with the application of mesenchymal stem cells, fetal bovine dermis, porcine urinary bladder xenograft, and other regenerative medicine products, achieving a highly successful clinical outcome. A procedural description for future use and replication of this method is provided.

The properties of the first kilometers of the Martian atmospheric Planetary Boundary Layer have until now been measured by only a few instruments and probes. InSight offers an opportunity to investigate this region through seismoacoustics. On six occasions, its seismometers recorded short low‐frequency waveforms, with clear dispersion between 0.4 and 4 Hz. These signals are the air‐to‐ground coupling of impact‐generated infrasound, which propagated in an low‐altitude atmospheric waveguide. Their group velocity depends on the structure of effective sound speed in the boundary layer. Here, we conduct a Bayesian inversion of effective sound speed up to 2,000 m altitude using the group velocity measured for events S0981c, S0986c and S1034a. The inverted effective sound speed profiles are in good agreement with estimates provided by the Mars Climate Database. Differences between inverted and modeled profiles can be attributed to a local wind variation in the impact→station direction, of amplitude smaller than 2 m/s. The Martian Planetary Boundary Layer corresponds to the first few kilometers of the atmosphere. The InSight lander offers the opportunity to investigate its properties via the coupling of seismic and acoustic waves. Impact‐generated infrasound waves were recorded for the first time on Mars by the seismometers of the InSight mission. These infrasound waves propagated in an atmospheric waveguide in the first kilometers above the Martian surface, and thus present a frequency‐dependent group velocity. This frequency‐dependence, also known as a dispersion relation, is influenced by the structure of the speed of sound in the waveguide. Here, we use group velocity measured for events S0981c, S0986c and S1034a to invert the variations of effective sound speed between 0 and 2,000 m altitude. For the three events, the inverted profiles are in good agreement with estimates provided by the Mars Climate Database using global climate modeling. The differences between inverted and modeled profiles can be attributed to a local variation in wind in the impact→station direction, with magnitude smaller than 2 m/s. InSight recorded impact‐generated infrasound on Mars. Their group velocity is sensitive to the structure of the atmospheric boundary layerWe conduct a Bayesian inversion of effective sound speed profiles with altitude based on group velocities measured for three impact eventsThe inverted profiles provide an indirect measurement of the Martian boundary layer, and validate models of the Mars Climate Database InSight recorded impact‐generated infrasound on Mars. Their group velocity is sensitive to the structure of the atmospheric boundary layer We conduct a Bayesian inversion of effective sound speed profiles with altitude based on group velocities measured for three impact events The inverted profiles provide an indirect measurement of the Martian boundary layer, and validate models of the Mars Climate Database

Nanotechnology approaches for improving the delivery efficiency of chemicals and molecular cargoes in plants through plant biorecognition mechanisms remain relatively unexplored. We developed targeted carbon-based nanomaterials as tools for precise chemical delivery (carbon dots, CDs) and gene delivery platforms (single-walled carbon nanotubes, SWCNTs) to chloroplasts, key organelles involved in efforts to improve plant photosynthesis, assimilation of nutrients, and delivery of agrochemicals. A biorecognition approach of coating the nanomaterials with a rationally designed chloroplast targeting peptide improved the delivery of CDs with molecular baskets (TP-β-CD) for delivery of agrochemicals and of plasmid DNA coated SWCNT (TP-pATV1-SWCNT) from 47% to 70% and from 39% to 57% of chloroplasts in leaves, respectively. Plants treated with TP-β-CD (20 mg/L) and TP-pATV1-SWCNT (2 mg/L) had a low percentage of dead cells, 6% and 8%, respectively, similar to controls without nanoparticles, and no permanent cell and chloroplast membrane damage after 5 days of exposure. However, targeted nanomaterials transiently increased leaf H2O2(0.3225 μmol gFW–1) above control plant levels (0.03441 μmol gFW–1) but within the normal range reported in land plants. The increase in leaf H2O2levels was associated with oxidative damage in whole plant cell DNA, a transient effect on chloroplast DNA, and a decrease in leaf chlorophyll content (−17%) and carbon assimilation rates at saturation light levels (−32%) with no impact on photosystem II quantum yield. This work provides targeted delivery approaches for carbon-based nanomaterials mediated by biorecognition and a comprehensive understanding of their impact on plant cell and molecular biology for engineering safer and efficient agrochemical and biomolecule delivery tools.

Promising feasibility of an EHR-integrated screening/referral system in a diverse oncology clinic

The flow experience in sports is a construct of great interest to recreational and competitive athletes, coaches, and psychologists in pursuit of optimal performance. As there are no validated instruments for evaluating flow in the Brazilian Portuguese language, we evaluated the psychometric properties of a Brazilian version of the Flow State Scale (FSS-2) through three steps. Initially, four translators and five sports psychology specialists adapted the FSS-2 content for the Brazilian Portuguese language. Second, 371 athletes of both sexes who were engaged in group and individual sport modalities and who participated in national university sports competitions from 24 states responded to the adapted version of the FSS-2. Third, an independent sample of 34 athletes from Paraná responded to both the adapted FSS-2 and the dispositional flow scale (DFS-2)to permit analysis of the external validity and temporal stability of the adapted FSS-2. We found that the Brazilian version of the FSS-2 contains clear and pertinent items with a good content validity coefficient (CVC = 0.94) and satisfactory internal consistency (α > 0.88/CC > 0.80). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the adapted 36-item model presented adequate fit [X2(558) = 1258.85; X2/df = 2.256; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.92; non-normed fit index (NNFI) = 0.90; Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.91; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.06 (0.05–0.06); (RMSEA <0.05) =.001] with all first order factors (challenge-skills balance, action-attention fusion, clear goals, feedback, intense concentration, control, loss of self-awareness, time transformation, and autotelic experience). External validity (r > 0.344) and temporal stability (0.53 < intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) < 0.86) were satisfactory. We conclude that the Brazilian version of FSS-2 is adequate to evaluate flow states experienced by Brazilian athletes following a sports competition.

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Graphical Abstract:

IMPORTANCE: Racial disparities in survival outcomes among Black women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer have been reported. However, the association between individual-level and neighborhood-level social determinants of health on such disparities has not been well studied. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between race and clinical outcomes (ie, relapse-free interval and overall survival) adjusting for individual insurance coverage and neighborhood deprivation index (NDI), measured using zip code of residence, in women with breast cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a post hoc analysis of 9719 women with breast cancer in the Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment, a randomized clinical trial conducted from April 7, 2006, to October 6, 2010. All participants received a diagnosis of hormone receptor–positive, ERBB2-negative, axillary node–negative breast cancer. The present data analysis was conducted from April 1 to October 22, 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: A multivariate model was developed to evaluate the association between race and relapse-free interval and overall survival adjusting for insurance and NDI level at study entry, early discontinuation of endocrine therapy 4 years after initiation, and clinicopathologic characteristics of cancer. Median follow-up for clinical outcomes was 96 months. RESULTS: A total of 9719 women (4.2% [n = 405] Asian; 7.1% [n = 693] Black; 84.3% [n = 8189] White; 4.4% [n = 403] others/not specified) were included; 9.1% of included women [n = 889] were Hispanic or Latino. Median (SD) age was 56 (9.2) years. In multivariate models, Black race compared with White race was associated with statistically significant shorter relapse-free interval (hazard ratio [HR], 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05-1.84; P = .02) and overall survival (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.10-2.99; P = .009), adjusting for insurance and NDI level at study entry and other factors. Although uninsured status was not associated with clinical outcomes, patients with Medicare (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.01-1.68; P = .04) and Medicaid (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.01-2.05; P = .05) had shorter overall survival compared with those with private insurance. Participants living in neighborhoods in the highest NDI quartile experienced shorter overall survival compared with those in the lowest quartile (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.01-1.77; P = .04), regardless of self-identified race. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings of this post hoc analysis of a randomized clinical trial suggest that Black women with breast cancer have significantly shorter relapse-free interval and overall survival compared with White women. Early discontinuation of endocrine therapy, clinicopathologic characteristics, insurance coverage, and NDI do not fully explain the observed disparity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00310180

Meteoroid impacts shape planetary surfaces by forming new craters and alter atmospheric composition. During atmospheric entry and impact on the ground, meteoroids excite transient acoustic and seismic waves. However, new crater formation and the associated impact-induced mechanical waves have yet to be observed jointly beyond Earth. Here we report observations of seismic and acoustic waves from the NASA InSight lander’s seismometer that we link to four meteoroid impact events on Mars observed in spacecraft imagery. We analysed arrival times and polarization of seismic and acoustic waves to estimate impact locations, which were subsequently confirmed by orbital imaging of the associated craters. Crater dimensions and estimates of meteoroid trajectories are consistent with waveform modelling of the recorded seismograms. With identified seismic sources, the seismic waves can be used to constrain the structure of the Martian interior, corroborating previous crustal structure models, and constrain scaling relationships between the distance and amplitude of impact-generated seismic waves on Mars, supporting a link between the seismic moment of impacts and the vertical impactor momentum. Our findings demonstrate the capability of planetary seismology to identify impact-generated seismic sources and constrain both impact processes and planetary interiors.