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Although diverse uranium (U) adsorbents have been explored, it is still a great challenge for high-efficient uranium extraction form seawater. Herein a wood-mimetic oriented porous Ti3C2Tx-MXene/gelatin hydrogel (MGH) has been explored through growing directional ice crystals cooled by liquid nitrogen and subsequently forming pores by freeze-dry (Ice-template) method, for ultrafast and high-efficient U-adsorption from seawater with great enhancement by both electric field and sunlight. Different from disperse Ti3C2Tx-MXene powder, this MGH not only can be easily utilized but also can own ultrahigh specific surface area for high-efficient U-adsorption. The U-adsorbing capacity of this MGH (10 mg) can reach 4.17 mg·g−1 after only 1 week in 100 kg of seawater, which is outstanding in existing adsorbents. Furthermore, on the positive pole of 0.4 V direct current source or under 1-sun irradiation, the U-adsorbing capacity of the MGH can increase by 57.11% and 13.57%, respectively. Most importantly, the U-adsorption of this hydrogel can be greatly enhanced by simultaneously using the above two methods, which can increase the U-adsorbing capacity by 79.95% reaching 7.51 mg·g−1. This work provides a new biomimetic porous MXene-based hydrogel for electric field/sunlight bi-enhanced high-efficient U-extraction from seawater, which will inspire new strategy to design novel U-adsorbents and systems.

Although metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) own excellent uranium adsorption capacity but are still difficult to conveniently extract uranium from seawater due to the discrete powder state. In this study, a new MOF-based macroporous membrane has been explored, which can high-efficiently extract uranium through continuously filtering seawater. Through modifying the UiO-66 with poly(amidoxime) (PAO), it can disperse well in a N,N-dimethylformamide solution of graphene oxide and cotton fibers. Then, the as-prepared super-hydrophilic MOF-based macroporous membrane can be fabricated after simple suction filtration. Compared with nonmodified MOFs, this UiO-66@PAO can be dispersed uniformly in the membrane because it can stabilize well in the solution, which have largely enhanced uranium adsorbing capacity owing to the modified PAO. Last but not least, different from powder MOFs, this UiO-66@PAO membrane provides the convenient and continuously uranium adsorbing process. As a consequence, the uranium extraction capacity of this membrane can reach 579 mg·g−1 in 32 ppm U-added simulated seawater for only 24 h. Most importantly, this UiO-66@PAO membrane (100 mg) can remove 80.6% uranyl ions from 5 L seawater after 50 filtering cycles. This study provides a universal method to design and fabricate a new MOF-based adsorbent for high-efficient uranium recovery from seawater.

Dynamic covalent bond-based shape memory polymers (DCB-SMPs) are one of most important SMPs which have a wide potential application prospect. Different from common strong covalent bonds, DCBs own relatively weak bonding energy, similarly to the supramolecular interactions of noncovalent bonds, and can dynamically combine and dissociate these bonds. DCB-SMP solids, which can be designed to respond for different stimuli, can provide excellent self-healing, good reprocessability, and high mechanical performance, because DCBs can obtain dynamic cross-linking without sacrificing ultrahigh fixing rates. Furthermore, besides DCB-SMP solids, DCB-SMP hydrogels with responsiveness to various stimuli also have been developed recently, which have special biocompatible soft/wet states. Particularly, DCB-SMPs can be combined with emerging 3D-printing techniques to design various original shapes and subsequently complex shape recovery. This review has summarized recent research studies about SMPs based on various DCBs including DCB-SMP solids, DCB-SMP hydrogels, and the introduction of new 3D-printing techniques using them. Last but not least, the advantages/disadvantages of different DCB-SMPs have been analyzed via polymeric structures and the future development trends in this field have been predicted.

Background: In lung transplantation (LTx) surgery, veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) can provide mechanical circulatory support to patients with cardiopulmonary failure. However, the use of heparin in the administration of ECMO can increase blood loss during LTx. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of heparin-free V-A ECMO strategies. Methods: From September 2019 to April 2022, patients who underwent lung transplantation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 229 patients were included, including 117 patients in the ECMO group and 112 in the non-ECMO group. Result: There was no significant difference in the incidence of thrombus events and bleeding requiring reoperation between the two groups. The in-hospital survival rate after single lung transplantation (SLTx) was 81.08%in the ECMO group and 85.14% in the Non-ECMO group, (P = 0.585). The in-hospital survival rate after double lung transplantation (DLTx) was 80.00% in the ECMO group and 92.11% in the Non-ECMO groups (P = 0.095). Conclusions: In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that the heparin-free V-A ECMO strategy in lung transplantation is a safe approach that does not increase the incidence of perioperative thrombotic events or bleeding requiring reoperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research revealed an association between coffee consumption and depressive symptoms. However, the results differed between studies in adults and adolescents. Additionally, limited research on coffee and depressive symptoms has distinguished between black and sugar-sweetened coffee. Furthermore, few studies have examined the potential sex differences in the abovementioned association. This longitudinal study aimed to explore the associations of black and sugar-sweetened coffee consumption with subsequent depressive symptoms in adolescents while also investigating sex disparities within these associations., Methods: In this longitudinal study, 10,770 individuals completing standardized questionnaires at baseline and follow-up were included in the main analysis. The data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed-effects models, and subgroup analyses were grouped according to sex., Results: After adjusting for covariates and baseline depressive symptoms status, adolescents who consumed black coffee daily (OR, 1.45; 95 % CI, 1.14-1.84) had a greater risk of experiencing depressive symptoms compared with those who did not consume it or consumed it monthly. Similarly, in comparison with none or monthly consumers, those who consumed sugar-sweetened coffee weekly (OR, 1.22; 95 % CI, 1.03-1.44) and daily (OR, 1.32; 95 % CI, 1.02-1.73) demonstrated an elevated risk of having depressive symptoms. Subgroup analyses showed that black and sugar-sweetened coffee consumption was associated with depressive symptoms only in males., Limitations: Self-reported data on coffee consumption and depressive symptoms., Conclusions: Adolescents who consume black or sugar-sweetened coffee weekly or daily are at a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms, with this association appearing to be more pronounced in male adolescents. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To develop a concise screening tool for diabetic foot risk assessment in patients with diabetes, and rigorously evaluate its reliability and validity., Methods: 390 adults diagnosed with diabetes were selected for a study in Changsha, China. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, initial items were developed by amalgamating existing diabetic foot risk screening tools and group discussions. Additionally, diabetic foot experts established content validity during this phase. In the second phase, the validity and reliability of the developed items were evaluated through various methods such as item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, ROC curve and AUC., Results: The Brief Diabetic Foot Risk Screening Scale consists of 6 dimensions and 19 items. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the scale, revealing six principal factors that accounted for 74.139 % of the total variance. The I-CVI was greater than 0.8, indicating good content validity, while the S-CVI was 0.737. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fit well. The scale's Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.770, indicating good internal consistency, and its test-retest reliability was 0.958. The AUC suggests that the Brief Diabetic Foot Risk Screening Scale is an effective measure for identifying diabetic foot., Conclusion: The Scale is a reliable and valid tool for assessing foot risk., Competing Interests: We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Osteoma is the most common benign tumor of the craniomaxillofacial region. Its etiology remains unclear, and the computed tomography and histopathologic examination contribute to its diagnosis. There are very rare reports of recurrence and malignant transformation after surgical resection. Furthermore, giant frontal osteomas that occurred repeatedly and were accompanied by skin multiple keratinous cysts and multinucleated giant cell granulomas have not been reported in previous literature., Methods: The previous cases of recurrent frontal osteoma in the literature and all cases of frontal osteoma in our department in the last 5 years were reviewed., Results: A total of 17 cases of frontal osteoma (mean age 40 y, all female) were reviewed in our department. All patients underwent open surgery to remove the frontal osteoma, and no evidence of complications was found during postoperative follow-up. Two patients underwent 2 or more operations due to the recurrence of osteoma., Conclusions: Two cases of recurrent giant frontal osteoma were reviewed emphatically in this study, including 1 case of giant frontal osteoma with skin multiple keratinous cysts and multinucleated giant cell granulomas. As far as we know, this is the first giant frontal osteoma that occurred repeatedly and was accompanied by skin multiple keratinous cysts and multinucleated giant cell granulomas., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.)