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Space sharing services like vacation rentals and meeting rooms are being equipped with smart devices such as cameras, door locks and many other sensors. However, the sharing of such devices poses privacy and security problems, as there is typically no clear control transfer between owners and users. In this article, we propose Spacelord, a system to time-share smart devices contained in a shared space privately and securely while allowing users to configure them. When a user stays at a space, Spacelord ensures that the smart devices contained in it run code and configurations the user trusts while removing pre-installed code and configurations. When the user leaves the space, Spacelord reverts any changes the user has introduced to the smart devices, deletes any remaining private data and lets the owner take back control over the devices. We evaluate Spacelord for two realistic space-sharing cases—smart home and coworking meeting room—and observe smart space provisioning delays of ~82sacross three different platforms. Moreover, the average runtime overhead of our system varies from 7.8% to 11.8% across different hub hardware, running native applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 12.4‐inch inverted cadmium‐free electroluminescent quantum dot (QD) light emitting diode (LED) display panel based on metal oxide thin film transistors (TFTs) is demonstrated. The backplane of our panel is fabricated by using multiple steps of photolithography processes, and pixel/scan driver circuits are composed by n‐type indium‐gallium‐zinc oxide TFTs. Especially, each sub‐pixel has internal compensation circuit which compensates the threshold voltage of its own driving TFT. Different from the conventional structure, since our QD LEDs have inverted structures, electroluminescent layers from the electron injection layer to the hole injection layer are constructed by sequential inkjet‐printing processes. Our inverted electroluminescent QD LED display based on metal oxide TFTs is very promising structure for premium large‐format displays for the next generation due to its superb performance and cost‐effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common ownership of firms can have anticompetitive effects by incentivizing collusive outcomes that maximize joint surpluses of the commonly held firms or procompetitive effects through enhanced knowledge spillovers. Using a difference-in-differences regression methodology that exploits mergers between financial institutions as exogenous shocks to common ownership, our baseline results suggest that higher common ownership leads to greater product market fluidity (a text-based metric of competition) and generally leads to more product development and higher investments. These findings suggest that, on average, common ownership spurs dynamism in product spaces rather than tacit collusion between cross-held competitors. This is especially true in economic environments in which it is easier to take advantage of knowledge spillovers. However, common ownership can also inhibit product market competition and dynamism, especially in industries more prone to quasi-monopoly outcomes in product spaces. Implementing a one-size-fits-all regulatory policy limiting common ownership may be harmful in industries with strong spillover opportunities. This paper was accepted by Victoria Ivashina, finance. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4830. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino‐single benzene‐based fluorophores (SBBFs) are representative small‐size fluorescent dyes that have an electron push‐pull structure within the benzene core. In this work, a new library of amino‐SBBFs, which have trifluoroacetyl moiety at the electron‐pushing amine group (named SBBF‐TFA), featuring a variety of methylamines, dimethylamines, as well as acetyl. To explore the SBBF‐TFA library, we conducted (i) library synthesis, (ii) assessment of various photophysical properties in nine different types of organic/aqueous solvents, and (iii) evaluation of cytotoxicity in the HeLa cell line. We believe that our findings provide valuable insights for advancing novel small‐molecule fluorescent probes and materials with diverse applications across pharmacochemical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to evaluate whether the administration of remimazolam as a maintenance agent for general anesthesia affects the occurrence of hypotension compared with sevoflurane when switching to the beach chair position (BCP). Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial from June 2023 to October 2023 in adult patients undergoing orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia in the BCP. A total of 78 participants were randomly allocated to the remimazolam (R) or sevoflurane (S) groups. The primary outcome was the incidence of hypotension that occurred immediately after switching to a BCP. The secondary outcomes included differences between the study groups in perioperative blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), endotracheal tube extubation time, postoperative complications, and hospital length of stay (LOS). Results: The incidence of hypotension immediately after switching to a BCP was significantly higher in the S group. The risk factors associated with hypotension included sevoflurane administration and a high baseline systolic BP. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for the occurrence of hypotension after the transition to a BCP, the cutoff value for systolic BP was 142 mmHg. The perioperative BP and HR were higher in the R group at several timepoints. Postoperative endotracheal tube extubation time was shorter in the R group. There were no significant differences in the postoperative complications or hospital LOS between the two groups. Conclusions: Remimazolam should be considered as an anesthetic agent to prevent hypotension when switching to BCP, and hypotension may occur frequently in patients with high baseline BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundUrine exosomes are small vesicles exocytosed into the urine by all renal epithelial cell types under normal physiologic and disease states. Urine exosomal proteins may mirror disease specific proteome perturbations in kidney injury. Analysis methodologies for the exosomal fraction of the urinary proteome were developed for comparing the urinary exosomal fraction versus unfractionated proteome for biomarker discovery.MethodsUrine exosomes were isolated by centrifugal filtration of urine samples collected from kidney transplant patients with and without acute rejection (AR), which were biopsy matched. The proteomes of unfractionated whole urine (Uw) and urine exosomes (Ue) underwent mass spectroscopy-based quantitative proteomics analysis. The proteome data were analyzed for significant differential protein abundances in AR.ResultsA total of 1018 proteins were identified in Uw and 349 proteins in Ue. Two hundred seventy-nine overlapped between the two urinary compartments and 70 proteins were unique to the Ue compartment. Of 349 exosomal proteins identified from transplant patients, 220 had not been previously identified in the normal Ue fraction. Eleven Ue proteins, functionally involved in an inflammatory and stress response, were more abundant in urine samples from patients with AR, three of which are exclusive to the Ue fraction. Ue AR-specific biomarkers (1) were also detected in Uw, but since they were observed at significantly lower abundances in Uw, they were not significant for AR in Uw.ConclusionA rapid urinary exosome isolation method and quantitative measurement of enriched Ue proteins was applied. Perturbed proteins in the exosomal compartment of urine collected from kidney transplant patients were specific to inflammatory responses, and were not observed in the Ue fraction from normal healthy subjects. Ue-specific protein alterations in renal disease provide potential mechanistic insights and offer a unique panel of sensitive biomarkers for monitoring AR.

The lead apron plays a crucial role in radiation protection and is extensively used in medical institutions. Periodic performance evaluations, involving visual inspections and transmission imaging, are conducted annually. This research aims to propose a performance evaluation method for 0.5 mm lead aprons used in nuclear medicine departments. The experiments were conducted using transmission imaging and source-based evaluation methods, involving two lead aprons with <1 year of use and two other aprons used for over 10 years. The experimental results indicate that using 50 kVp for transmission imaging is appropriate to detect cracks in the lead aprons. Additionally, in the case of lead aprons used for >10 years, the measured attenuation rate was found to be ~3–5% lower, depending on the measurement method. Consequently, a performance evaluation, including crack detection and actual attenuation rate measurements, should be carried out for lead aprons used long-term to ensure efficacy of radiation protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Decreased kidney function is a putative risk factor for various cancers. However, few studies have investigated the association between a decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and incident pancreatic cancer. We aimed to investigate the risk of incident pancreatic cancer according to eGFR categories. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we included 359 721 adults who underwent health checkups in 2009 or 2010 by using the Korean National Health Insurance Database. The study population was categorized into four groups by eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation: group 1 (eGFR < 45), group 2 (eGFR ≥ 45 to < 60), group 3 (eGFR ≥ 60 to < 90), and group 4 (eGFR ≥ 90). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the incidence of pancreatic cancer until 2019 by comparing the eGFR groups. Results: During the 3 493 589.05 person‐years of follow‐up, 1702 pancreatic cancer cases were identified. Compared with group 4 (eGFR ≥ 90), HRs and 95% CIs for the incidence of pancreatic cancer were 1.39 (1.24–1.56) for group 3 (eGFR ≥ 60 to < 90), 1.79 (1.47–2.16) for group 2 (eGFR ≥ 45 to < 60), and 2.05 (1.62–2.60) for group 1 (eGFR < 45) in the multivariate adjusted model. Conclusions: Decreased eGFR was significantly associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in Korean population. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between a decreased eGFR and the risk of pancreatic cancer in other ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]