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Background: Falls are the most common consequence of low bone mineral density (BMD). However, due to limitations inherent in observational studies, the causal relationship between the two remains unestablished. Methods: This study utilized Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis to explore the causal relationship between BMD and the risk of falling, incorporating linkage disequilibrium score (LDSC) regression for genetic correlation assessment. The primary method was inverse-variance weighted (IVW), supplemented with sensitivity analyses and the causal analysis using summary effect estimates (CAUSE) to address heterogeneity and pleiotropy biases. Results: LDSC analysis indicated significant genetic correlations between BMD at various sites and falling risk (rgrange: −0.82 to 0.76, all P< 0.05). IVW analysis, with False Discovery Rate (FDR) correction, showed a protective causal effect of total body BMD (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.82–0.88, P= 7.63 × 10−17, PFDR= 1.91 × 10−16), femoral neck BMD (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.75–0.88, P= 3.33 × 10−7, PFDR= 5.55 × 10−7), lumbar spine BMD (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.79–0.91, P= 9.56 × 10−7, PFDR= 1.20 × 10−6), and heel BMD (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.79–0.81, P= 1.69 × 10−39, PFDR= 8.45 × 10−39) on falling risk. No causal relationship was found for forearm BMD (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.94–1.11, P= 0.64, PFDR= 0.64). Replication datasets and CAUSE analysis provided causal evidence consistent with the main findings. Conclusion: The study established a causal relationship between BMD at four different sites and the risk of falling, highlighting potential areas for targeted prevention strategies.

Reducing the crystal size of perovskites to the strong quantum confinement regime is an effective way to realize blue luminescence for light-emitting applications. However, challenges remain in directly constraining the crystal growth during film preparation to achieve three-dimensional quantum confinement, and the widely used long-chain ligands may bring difficulties for charge transport and unfavorably affect the device performance. Herein, we report a novel strategy for fabricating strongly confined blue-emitting perovskite nanocrystalline films via synergistic steric effect modulation by precursors and antisolvents. We synthesize cesium pentafluoropropanoate (CsPFPA) as a new type of precursor agent, where the steric effect of the PFPA group can help constrain the growth of perovskite crystals and passivate the defects. Furthermore, different types of antisolvents with varied molecular sizes and steric hindrance are used to regulate the size of perovskite crystals and improve film quality. Consequently, highly emissive blue perovskite films are realized with the emission wavelength effectively tuned in the blue region by varying the concentration of CsPFPA as well as the type of antisolvents. Based on the strongly confined perovskite films, blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are constructed, showing good spectral tunability and stability in the electroluminescence. This work demonstrates a novel pathway for developing bright perovskite blue emitters for LEDs, which may potentially advance their future applications in display and lighting.

Previous study has highlighted an association between cannabis use (CU) and an increased risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), potentially due to indirect effects on sex hormonal balance. However, the evidence remains controversial, and the causal relationship is unclear. This study utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) data to investigate the causal relationships between cannabis use disorder (CUD), lifetime cannabis use (LCU), and ED, as well as levels of sex hormones including estradiol (E2), bioavailable testosterone (BT), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) through Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. The primary method of analysis was the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Data from the FinnGen and UK Biobank were used for replication and meta-analysis. The results indicated no causal relationship between genetically predicted CUD (OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.87–1.10, P= 0.66) and LCU (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.84–1.50, P= 0.42) with the risk of ED. The meta-analysis provided consistent evidence (P> 0.05). No causal relationships were found between CUD and LCU with E2(CUD: β = 0.00, 95% CI 0.00–0.01, P= 0.37; LCU: β = 0.00, 95% CI −0.02–0.01, P= 0.62), BT (CUD: β = 0.00, 95% CI −0.03–0.02, P= 0.90; LCU: β = 0.02, 95% CI −0.04–0.09, P= 0.46), FSH (CUD: β = 0.01, 95% CI −0.18–0.20, P= 0.92; LCU: β = 0.01, 95% CI −0.44–0.47, P= 0.95), and LH (CUD: β = 0.01, 95% CI −0.18–0.21, P= 0.90; LCU: β = 0.13, 95% CI −0.22–0.49, P= 0.46). Sensitivity analyses detected no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity, ensuring the robustness of the results. In conclusion, this MR analysis did not provide evidence supporting a causal relationship between CU and ED or sex hormone levels.

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years due to their outstanding performance and promise in lighting and display applications. However, the fabrication of perovskite LEDs usually requires a low-humidity atmosphere, which is unfavorable for industrial production. Herein, we report an effective strategy to fabricate highly luminescent quasi two-dimensional CsPbBr3perovskite films in an ambient atmosphere with a humidity up to 60%. We reveal that the hole transport layer (HTL) plays a significant role in the morphology and optical properties of the perovskite films. Using hydrophobic self-assembled monolayer materials as HTLs can remarkably improve the quality of the perovskite films processed in high humidity air. The resultant perovskite LEDs show reduced leakage current and significantly enhanced performance. Furthermore, surface treatment is conducted to prevent water invasion and promote radiative recombination in perovskite films and LEDs. Eventually, the perovskite LEDs exhibit bright green emission with an external quantum efficiency of 4.87%. The present work provides a feasible pathway to overcome the humidity limitation for obtaining bright perovskite films and LEDs, which would contribute to further reducing the fabrication cost of perovskite LEDs and promoting their applications.

Background: Sarcopenia (SP) is an aging-related loss of muscle mass and function, affecting the respiratory system. However, the causality of the association between sarcopenia on lung diseases remains elusive. Methods: The bidirectional univariate Mendelian randomization (UVMR), multivariate MR (MVMR) analysis, and mediation MR were utilized to systematically investigate the genetic causal relationship of SP and 11 respiratory diseases. Independent genomic variants related to sarcopenia or respiratory diseases were identified as instrumental variables (IVs), and the summary level data of genome-wide associated studies (GWAS) were obtained from the UK biobank and FinnGen. MVMR analysis was conducted to explore the mediation effects of body mass index (BMI), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), smoking, education attainment (EA), physical activity, and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Results: Forward UVMR analysis based on the primary method revealed that pneumoconiosis was associated with a higher risk of appendicular lean mass (ALM) (OR = 1.01, p= 0.03), and BMI (10.65%), smoking (10.65%), and physical activity (17.70%) had a mediating role in the effect of pneumoconiosis on ALM. In reverse MR analysis, we found that genetically predicted ALM was significantly associated with an increased risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) (OR = 1.24, p= 7.21E-05). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR = 0.98, p= 0.002) and sarcoidosis (OR = 1.01, p= 0.004) were identified to increase the loss of left-hand grip strength (HGS). Conversely, the increase in left- HGS presented a protective effect on chronic bronchitis (CB) (OR = 0.35, p= 0.03), (OR = 0.80, p= 0.02), and asthma (OR = 0.78, p= 0.04). Similarly, the loss of the right-HGS elevated the risk of low respiratory tract infection (LRTI) (OR = 0.97, p= 0.02) and bronchiectasis (OR = 1.01, p= 0.03), which is also an independent protective factor for LRTI and asthma. In the aspects of low HGS, the risk of LRTI was increased after MVMR analysis, and the risk of sarcoidosis and pneumoconiosis was elevated in the reverse analysis. Lastly, asthma was found to be related to the loss of the usual walking pace, and the reverse MR analysis suggested a causal relationship between the usual walking pace and LRTI (OR = 0.32, p= 2.79 × 10−5), asthma (OR = 0.24, p= 2.09 × 10−6), COPD (OR = 0.22, p= 6.64 × 10−4), and PE(OR = 0.35, p= 0.03). Conclusions: This data-driven MR analysis revealed SP was bidirectional causally associated with lung diseases, providing genetic evidence for further mechanistic and clinical studies to understand the crosstalk between SP and lung diseases.

• Ionic liquid of BMIMPF 6 is utilized for the first time as dual bulk and interface modifier for fabricating inorganic perovskite solar cells in ambient air. • The proposed strategy enables effective protection of CsPbI 3 perovskite structure and enhancement of charge carrier transport/extraction. • Dramatically improved efficiency and stability of ambient-processed inverted CsPbI 3 perovskite solar cells are achieved. All-inorganic cesium lead iodide (CsPbI 3) perovskites with superior thermal stability are attractive candidates for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Fabricating such inorganic PSCs in the ambient atmosphere is desirable for practical production, however, the challenge remains in inhibiting the phase transition of CsPbI 3 in ambient air. Herein, we demonstrate a dual bulk and interface engineering using ionic liquid to stabilize CsPbI 3 perovskite structure, thus enhancing the performance of ambient-processed inverted CsPbI 3 PSCs. Such dual bulk and interface engineering is found effective not only in suppressing the bulk and interfacial charge carrier recombination and enhancing charge carrier transport and extraction, but also in protecting CsPbI 3 crystal structure by leaving hydrophobic alkyl chains coverage at the boundary and surface to prevent phase transition caused by moisture from ambient air. The optimized device fully processed in the open air with relative humidity up to 55% exhibits remarkably enhanced efficiency and stability over the control device, with the efficiency increasing from 8.6% to 13.21%, and 92% efficiency maintaining after storage for 1680 h, which outperforms the control device with only 82% retaining after 648 h storage. We thus believe this work can provide an efficient alternative for the low-cost fabrication of ambient-processible PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure-bromide quasi-2D perovskite (PBQ-2DP) promises high-performance light-emitting diodes (LEDs), while a challenge remains on control over its n-phase distribution for bright true-blue emission. Present work addresses the challenge through exploring the passivation molecule of amino acid with reinforced binding energy, which generates narrow n-phase distribution preferentially at n= 3 with true blue emission at 478 nm. Consequently, a peak external quantum efficiency of 5.52% and a record brightness of 512 cd m–2are achieved on the PBQ-2DP-based true blue PeLED, these both values located among the top in the records of similar devices. We further reveal that the electron–phonon coupling results in the red-shifted emission in the PBQ-2DP film, suggesting that the view of n-phase distribution dominated true-blue emission in PBQ-2DP needs to be revisited, pointing out a guideline of electron–phonon coupling suppression to relieve the strait of realizing true blue or even deep blue emission in the PBQ-2DP film.

Tin-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have recently attracted extensive attention as a promising alternative to lead-based counterparts due to their low toxicity and narrow band gap. However, the severe open-circuit voltage (Voc) loss remains one of the most significant obstacles to further improving photovoltaic performance. Herein, we report an effective approach to reducing the Vocloss of tin-based PSCs. We find that introducing ethylammonium bromide (EABr) as an additive into the tin perovskite film can effectively reduce defect density both in the tin perovskite film and at the surface as well as optimize the energy level alignment between the perovskite layer and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) transport material, thereby suppressing nonradiative recombination both in the bulk film and at the interface. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the Vocloss is gradually mitigated along with increasing storage duration due to the slow passivation effect. As a result, a remarkable Vocof 0.83 V is achieved in the devices optimized with the EABr additive, which shows a significantly improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.80% and good stability.