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Two new zinc(II) complexes, triethylammonium dichlorido[2-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-phenylquinolin-8-olato]zinc(II), (C6H16N){Zn(C21H13N2O3)Cl2] (ZnOQ), and bis(triethylammonium) {2,2′-[1,4-phenylenebis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenolato}bis[dichloridozinc(II)], (C6H16N)2[Zn2(C20H14N2O2)Cl4] (ZnBS), were synthesized and their structures were determined using ESI–MS spectrometry, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the ligands 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-phenylquinolin-8-ol (HOQ) and N,N′-bis(2-hydroxybenzylidene)benzene-1,4-diamine (H2BS) were deprotonated by triethyl-amine, forming the counter-ion Et3NH+, which interacts via an N—H...O hydrogen bond with the ligand. The ZnII atoms have a distorted trigonal–pyramidal (ZnOQ) and distorted tetrahedral (ZnBS) geometries with a coordination number of four, coordinating with the ligands via N and O atoms. The N atoms coordinating with ZnII correspond to the heterocyclic nitrogen for the HOQ ligand, while for the H2BS ligand, it is the nitrogen of the imine (CH=N). The crystal packing of ZnOQ is characterized by C—H...π interactions, while that of ZnBS by C—H...Cl interactions. The emission spectra showed that ZnBS complex exhibits green fluorescence in the solid state with a small band-gap energy, and the ZnOQ complex does exhibit non-fluorescence.

This study examines a cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) network utilizing an energy-constrained unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) relay (UAVR) to expand coverage and improve network throughput. In order to provide energy to the UAVR, we consider the hybrid simultaneous wireless information and power transmission (SWIPT) method, which allows the UAVR to harvest energy from the source (i.e., sink node) signal. Herein, a hybrid time switching (TS)-based and power splitting (PS)-based relaying scheme is applied to improve the UAVR’s energy harvesting (EH) efficiency and the system performance. Given this context, we derive the closed-form expression of the outage probability (OP) for the sensors to evaluate the network performance. Based on the achieved analytical results, we apply the bat algorithm optimization (BAO) method to determine the optimal working point (as a fraction of received power and power allocation coefficients, and the 3-D positions of the UAVR) for the system such that the OP is minimized. The numerical analysis indicates that BAO is effective in both exploring and exploiting solutions, making it a suitable choice for similar non-convex optimization problems in continuous search spaces for cooperative NOMA IoT networks.

A new quinoline derivative, namely, 6-(diethylamino)-4-phenyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinoline, C24H23N3 (QP), and its MnII complex aqua-1κO-di-μ-chlorido-1:2κ4Cl:Cl-dichlorido-1κCl,2κCl-bis[6-(diethylamino)-4-phenyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinoline]-1κ2N1,N2;2κ2N1,N2-dimanganese(II), [Mn2Cl4(C24H23N3)2(H2O)] (MnQP), were synthesized. Their compositions have been determined with ESI-MS, IR, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The crystal-structure determination of MnQP revealed a dinuclear complex with a central four-membered Mn2Cl2 ring. Both MnII atoms bind to an additional Cl atom and to two N atoms of the QP ligand. One MnII atom expands its coordination sphere with an extra water molecule, resulting in a distorted octahedral shape. The second MnII atom shows a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal shape. The UV–vis absorption and emission spectra of the examined compounds were studied. Furthermore, when investigating the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, it was found that the fluorescent color changes from blue to green and eventually becomes yellow as the fraction of water in the THF/water mixture increases from 0% to 99%. In particular, these color and intensity changes are most pronounced at a water fraction of 60%. The crystal structure contains disordered solvent molecules, which could not be modeled. The SQUEEZE procedure [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18] was used to obtain information on the type and quantity of solvent molecules, which resulted in 44 electrons in a void volume of 274 Å3, corresponding to approximately 1.7 molecules of ethanol in the unit cell. These ethanol molecules are not considered in the given chemical formula and other crystal data.

Abstract A novel conjugated rod–coil diblock copolymer poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(furfuryl methacrylate) (P3HT-b-PFMA) has been successfully synthesized for the first time using photoinduced organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (O-ATRP). This process utilized an organic photoredox catalyst of N-aryl phenoxazine, namely 10-(Perylene-3-yl-10H-Phenoxazine, under 365 nm UV irradiation. The diblock copolymer P3HT-b-PFMA was produced efficiently in a controlled manner, resulting in designed average molecular weights and a narrow polydispersity index. Notably, the furfurylmethacrylate (FMA) monomer derived from biomass-based furfuryl compounds was applied for this controlled polymerization, leading to the formation of conjugated diblock copolymers. The synthesized P3HT-b-PFMA was characterized through 1H-NMR, FT-IR, and GPC methods. Furthermore, the optical and hydrophilic-hydrophobic properties of P3HT-b-PFMA were also evaluated through UV-Vis spectroscopy and contact angle measurements.

In this study, we investigated the possibility of a photocatalytic system that uses graphene-quantum-dot (GQD)-deposited graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) to treat tetracycline (TC) and other organic compounds generated from an in-situ-recirculatory-aquaculture-system (RAS)-like shrimp farming pond. GQDs were successfully deposited on the exfoliated g-C3N4 base through a hydrothermal treatment. The results showed that the incorporation of GQDs into the g-C3N4 enhanced its porosity without aggregating its mesoporous structure. The GQDs-deposited g-C3N4 photocatalysts revealed sheet-like structures with nanopores on their surface that facilitate photocatalysis. More than 90% of the TC was removed by the photocatalysts under UV-LED irradiation. Low loadings of GQDs over g-C3N4 resulted in a faster and more effective photocatalysis of TC, mainly driven by.O2- radicals. The photocatalysts were also applicable in the degradation of organic compounds with 27% of the total organic compounds (TOC) being removed from the wastewater of a RAS-like shrimp farming pond.

The molecular and crystal structure of (E)-2-[(benzo[d]thiazol-2-ylimino)methyl]-5-(diethylamino)phenol (C18H19N3O2S, Et2N-Bz) and its unexpected reaction product with triphenylborane, 2,2-diphenyl-1,3-dioxa-2-borata-1,2-dihydronaphthalene [systematic name: N,N-diethyl-2,2-diphenyl-2H-1,3λ3,2λ4-benzodioxaborinin-7-amine, C23H24BNO2, (I)] are described. For Et2N-Bz, the hydroxyl group is involved in an intramolecular hydrogen bond with the imino nitrogen atom and the C=N bond displays an E configuration. The crystal packing is characterized by layers of inversion dimers parallel to the (10\overline{1}) plane and chains of molecule in the a-axis direction formed through C—H...O interactions. Complex (I) crystallizes with two molecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit, which differ in the orientation of the ethyl groups. The 1,3-dioxa-2-borata-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene ring displays a slight envelope conformation with the boron atom as the flap. In the crystal packing, chains of alternating A and B molecules formed by C—H...O hydrogen bonds run in the b-axis direction. The UV–vis absorption and emission properties of the compounds are discussed and their aggregation-induced emission properties are further investigated.

This study examines the effects of urbanization on household health expenditure. Using a unique bi-annually household-level dataset from 2012–2016 from Vietnam, we obtain key findings as follows. To mitigate possible endogeneity concerns, we utilize a two-stage least squares regression (2SLS) approach, employing the development of information and communication (ICT) infrastructure at the province level as an instrumental variable (IV). The key findings can be summarized as follows. First, urbanization significantly reduces Vietnamese households’ inpatient and outpatient health expenses. Second, the self-treatment expenses of households increase as the process of urbanization advances. In addition, we perform various robustness checks, encompassing different measures of urbanization, the use of lag of urbanization as an additional IV, and the plausible exogenous IV. The outcomes derived from these rigorous sensitivity analyses substantiate the reliability and consistency of our key results. Finally, we propose different ways to explain these results, including health insurance expenses and household income.

In this work, two novel hyperbranched conjugated polymers poly(tris(4-(10-(2-ethylhexyl)-10H-phenoxazin-3-yl)phenyl)amine) (P1) and poly (tris(4-(7-(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazol-4-yl)-10-(2-ethylhexyl)-10H-phenoxazin-3-yl)phenyl)amine) (P2) have been successfully synthesized via Direct polycondensation in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 as a catalyst. The chemical structures of novel conjugated polymers then were determined via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). Subsequently, the optical properties of conjugated polymers in different solvents were investigated via UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence emission (PL) spectroscopies, and were analyzed for optoelectronic applications.

Abstract Increasing lines of evidence suggest deviations from the normal early developmental trajectory could give rise to the onset of schizophrenia during adolescence and young adulthood, but few studies have investigated brain imaging changes associated with schizophrenia common variants in neonates. This study compared the brain volumes of both grey and white matter regions with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores (PRS) for 207 healthy term-born infants of European ancestry. Linear regression was used to estimate the relationship between PRS and brain volumes, with gestational age at birth, postmenstrual age at scan, ancestral principal components, sex and intracranial volumes as covariates. The schizophrenia PRS were negatively associated with the grey (β = −0.08, p = 4.2 × 10−3) and white (β = −0.13, p = 9.4 × 10−3) matter superior temporal gyrus volumes, white frontal lobe volume (β = −0.09, p = 1.5 × 10−3) and the total white matter volume (β = −0.062, p = 1.66 × 10−2). This result also remained robust when incorporating individuals of Asian ancestry. Explorative functional analysis of the schizophrenia risk variants associated with the right frontal lobe white matter volume found enrichment in neurodevelopmental pathways. This preliminary result suggests possible involvement of schizophrenia risk genes in early brain growth, and potential early life structural alterations long before the average age of onset of the disease.

Utilizing data from the 2016 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey, we undertake an empirical investigation into the influence of energy poverty on the health expenditure of Vietnamese households. Employing a double-hurdle model, our empirical findings reveal a negative relationship between energy poverty and health expenditure. Specifically, our results indicate that for each incremental unit increase in energy poverty, there is a substantial reduction of 42.5 percentage points in the overall health expenditure of the households. Furthermore, as energy poverty deepens, we observe declines of 24.6 percentage points and 45.5 percentage points in the expenses incurred for inpatient/outpatient care and self-treatment, respectively. To validate the robustness of our results, we conduct several sensitivity analyses, including propensity score matching, double/debiased machine learning. Across all these methods, our findings consistently underscore the significant and persistent adverse impact of energy poverty on the examined outcome variables. Additionally, to examine the underlying pathways, we conduct a structural equation modeling analysis and find that the relationship between energy poverty and health expenses is mediated by household hospitalization and expenditures on essential items, such as food and daily necessities.

Background: Laminectomy with fusion (LF) and laminoplasty (LP) are common posterior decompression procedures used to treat multilevel degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). There is debate on their relative efficacy and safety for treatment of DCM. The goal of this study is to examine outcomes and costs of LF and LP procedures for DCM. Methods: This is a retrospective review of adult patients (.05). Patients were successfully weaned off opioids at similar rates (LF: 88%, LP: 86%). Fixed and variable costs respectively with LF cases hospital were higher, 15.7% and 25.7% compared to LP cases (p=.03 and p

Human infection with the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis is persistent unless effectively treated, and potentially fatal in immunosuppressed individuals. Epidemiological data are lacking, partially due to inadequate diagnosis. A rapid antigen detection test is a priority for population surveillance, validating cure after treatment, and for screening prior to immunosuppression. We used a targeted analysis of open access 'omics' data sets and used online predictors to identify S. stercoralis proteins that are predicted to be present in infected stool, Strongyloides-specific, and antigenic. Transcriptomic data from gut and non-gut dwelling life cycle stages of S. stercoralis revealed 328 proteins that are differentially expressed. Strongyloides ratti proteomic data for excreted and secreted (E/S) proteins were matched to S. stercoralis, giving 1,057 orthologues. Five parasitism-associated protein families (SCP/TAPS, prolyl oligopeptidase, transthyretin-like, aspartic peptidase, acetylcholinesterase) were compared phylogenetically between S. stercoralis and outgroups, and proteins with least homology to the outgroups were selected. Proteins that overlapped between the transcriptomic and proteomic datasets were analysed by multiple sequence alignment, epitope prediction and 3D structure modelling to reveal S. stercoralis candidate peptide/protein coproantigens. We describe 22 candidates from seven genes, across all five protein families for further investigation as potential S. stercoralis diagnostic coproantigens, identified using open access data and freely-available protein analysis tools. This powerful approach can be applied to many parasitic infections with 'omic' data to accelerate development of specific diagnostic assays for laboratory or point-of-care field application.

Hand gesture recognition is an efficient and practical solution for the non-contact human–machine interaction in smart devices. To date, vision-based methods are widely used in this research area, but they are susceptible to light conditions. To address this issue, radar-based gesture recognition using micro-Doppler signatures can be applied as an alternative. Accordingly, the use of a novel densely convolutional neural network model, Dop-DenseNet, is proposed in this paper for improving hand gesture recognition in terms of classification accuracy and latency. The model was designed with cross or skip connections in a dense architecture so that the former features, which can be lost in the forward-propagation process, can be reused. We evaluated our model with different numbers of filter channels and experimented with it using the Dop-Net dataset, with different time lengths of input data. As a result, it was found that the model with 64 3 × 3 filters and 200 time bins of micro-Doppler spectrogram data could achieve the best performance trade-off, with 99.87% classification accuracy and 3.1 ms latency. In comparison, our model remarkably outperformed the selected state-of-the-art neural networks (GoogLeNet, Res-Net-50, NasNet-Mobile, and MobileNet-V2) using the same Dop-Net dataset.

Hiding high utility and frequent itemset is the method used to preserve sensitive knowledge from being revealed by pattern mining process. Its goal is to remove sensitive high utility and frequent itemsets from a database before sharing it for data mining purposes while minimizing the side effects. The current methods succeed in the hiding goal but they cause high side effects. This paper proposes a novel algorithm, named HSUFIBL, that applies a heuristic for finding victim item based on the constrained intersection lattice theory. This algorithm specifies exactly the condition that allows the application of utility reduction or support reduction method, the victim item, and the victim transaction for the hiding process so that the process needs the fewest data modifications and gives the lowest number of lost non-sensitive itemsets. The experimental results indicate that the HSUFIBL algorithm achieves better performance than previous works in minimizing the side effect.

PurposeThis study determined whether initiation of pharmacologic treatment was delayed for newly diagnosed osteoporosis patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods1,189 patients ≥50 years with newly diagnosed osteoporosis using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) screening at a single academic institution were included. Patients with previous osteoporosis were excluded. Patients diagnosed between March 1, 2018-January 31, 2020 (pre-pandemic cohort, n = 576) were compared to those diagnosed between March 1, 2020-January 31, 2022 (pandemic cohort, n = 613). Age, sex, race, ethnicity, ordering providers (primary vs specialty), and pharmacological agents were evaluated. Primary outcomes included proportion of patients prescribed therapy within 3 and 6-months of diagnosis, and mean time from diagnosis to treatment initiation.ResultsThe pre-pandemic cohort had more White patients (74.3 vs 68.4%, p = .02) and no differences between remaining demographic variables. Only 40.5% of newly diagnosed patients initiated pharmacologic therapy within 6 months. Patients treated at 3-months (31.8 vs 35.4%, p = 0.19) and 6-months (37.8 vs 42.9, p = 0.08) were comparable between cohorts (47.2 vs 50.2% p = 0.30). Mean time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was similar (46 vs 45 days, p = 0.72). There were no treatment differences based on gender, race, or ethnicity or between ordering providers (65.1 vs 57.4% primary care, p = 0.08). Bisphosphonates were most often prescribed in both cohorts (89% vs 82.1%).ConclusionsThis is the first study assessing COVID-19's impact on pharmacologic treatment of newly diagnosed osteoporosis. 40.5% of newly diagnosed patients were treated pharmacologically within six months of diagnosis, and the pandemic did not significantly affect treatment rates.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) can lead to pain, disability, and permanent spinal cord impairment. Timely diagnosis and surgical intervention is essential to optimize functional outcomes for patients with CSM. Here, we compared patients who were admitted through clinic versus the emergency department (ED) for surgical management of DCM. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Patients aged ≥18 years admitted for surgery for DCM through clinic (elective cohort) were compared to a surgical cohort who were evaluated through the ED (call cohort). Basic demographics included age, gender, race, ethnicity, and insurance payor. Sociodemographic characteristics were estimated using the Social Deprivation Index (SDI) and the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) for the state of California, which were obtained through aggregated Zip Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA). Cervical MRI was reviewed to assess severity of spinal cord compression. Other outcomes included number of motion segments operated on, functional outcome using the Nurick classification, length of stay (LOS), disposition, and 30-day reoperation and readmission rates. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: From 2015 to 2021, 327 DCM patients received surgery (227 Elective Cohort, 100 Call Cohort). Elective cohort was mainly female (48.0 vs 30.0%, p=0.002) and white (72.7 vs 51.0%, p=0.0001). Call cohort was mainly uninsured/covered by Medicare/Medicaid (78.0 vs 67.0%, p=0.04), had higher SDI (68.0 vs 56.2, p=0.0003), ADI (7.9 vs 7.2, p=0.009), and cervical cord compression on MRI (78.0 vs 42.3% Grade III, p DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Compared to DCM patients undergoing elective surgery, those admitted through the ED were more likely to be male, non-White, and socioeconomically disadvantaged, as measured by SDI and ADI. Postoperative outcomes were less favorable for these patients, including longer hospital stay, discharge disposition, and less Nurick grading improvement.

Objective To investigate prevention of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) and failure (PJF) following adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery utilizing a novel technique of posterior ligament augmentation with polyester fiber tether. Methods This study evaluated ASD adult patients who underwent posterior decompression and instrumented fusion from the thoracolumbar junction (T9–L1) to the pelvis from 2011–2017. Basic demographic data were obtained. Radiographic outcomes included proximal junctional angle (PJA), sagittal vertical axis, PJK, and PJF. The study population was divided into patients who had ASD surgery with and without ligamentous augmentation. Results A total of 43 subjects were evaluated, including 20 without and 23 with ligamentous augmentation. PJA increased over time for both groups. PJA was smaller for the augmented group, and rate of increase in PJA was slower in the augmented group (p

Human β-defensin-3 (hBD-3) exhibits antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities; however, its contribution to autophagy regulation remains unclear, and the role of autophagy in the regulation of the epidermal barrier in atopic dermatitis (AD) is poorly understood. Here, keratinocyte autophagy was restrained in the skin lesions of patients with AD and murine models of AD. Interestingly, hBD-3 alleviated the IL-4– and IL-13–mediated impairment of the tight junction (TJ) barrier through keratinocyte autophagy activation, which involved aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling. While autophagy deficiency impaired the epidermal barrier and exacerbated inflammation, hBD-3 attenuated skin inflammation and enhanced the TJ barrier in AD. Importantly, hBD-3–mediated improvement of the TJ barrier was abolished in autophagy-deficient AD mice and in AhR-suppressed AD mice, suggesting a role for hBD-3–mediated autophagy in the regulation of the epidermal barrier and inflammation in AD. Thus, autophagy contributes to the pathogenesis of AD, and hBD-3 could be used for therapeutic purposes.

Purpose: Globally, countries with both developed and developing economies are struggling to secure sufficient participation in vocational education to generate the range and quantum of skills required for their communities and realising national social and economic goals. In an era of high aspiration, vocational education and the occupations it serves are increasingly seen as being a less than desirable outcome by young people and their parents. Hence, there is a need to identify means by which to inform and engage young people in considering vocational education and the occupations it serves. The case study discussed in this paper is contextualised within the Australian state of Queensland, which, like many other countries is struggling to have a workforce sufficient to meet communities' healthcare needs as its population both grows and ages. Methods: The study data were collected from 1) interviews with healthcare-related stakeholders including health industry representatives, teachers or practitioners, and healthcare providers, 2) focus groups with senior secondary students, and 3) surveys with these participant groups. It provides a descriptive analysis of efforts to secure greater participation by young people in allied health roles, and, in particular, young Australian Indigenous people. Findings: The study participants included those from regional and metropolitan centres and from state and independent schools, and in all of which the focus on engagement was central. Findings indicated that engagement was necessary to advise young people about these occupations, the effective preparation for them, and likely retention in the workforce. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for intentional strategies to engage young people, their parents/guardians and with those efforts likely needing to be organised and enacted at the local level. This requires collaboration and engagement from education, industry, and local communities. Essentially, a systemic approach is required, specifying roles for government, employers, educational systems, and teachers and parents who engage directly with young people. In all, engagement, advice and opportunities locally are all emphasised in the study reported here.

Abstract We report a robust fabrication method for patterning freestanding Pt nanowires for use as thermal anemometry probes for small-scale turbulence measurements. Using e-beam lithography, high aspect ratio Pt nanowires (~300 nm width, ~70 µm length, ~100 nm thickness) were patterned on the surface of oxidized silicon (Si) wafers. Combining wet etching processes with dry etching processes, these Pt nanowires were successfully released, rendering them freestanding between two silicon dioxide (SiO2) beams supported on Si cantilevers. Moreover, the unique design of the bridge holding the device allowed gentle release of the device without damaging the Pt nanowires. The total fabrication time was minimized by restricting the use of e-beam lithography to the patterning of the Pt nanowires, while standard photolithography was employed for other parts of the devices. We demonstrate that the fabricated sensors are suitable for turbulence measurements when operated in constant-current mode. A robust calibration between the output voltage and the fluid velocity was established over the velocity range from 0.5 to 5 m s−1 in a SF6 atmosphere at a pressure of 2 bar and a temperature of 21 °C. The sensing signal from the nanowires showed negligible drift over a period of several hours. Moreover, we confirmed that the nanowires can withstand high dynamic pressures by testing them in air at room temperature for velocities up to 55 m s−1.

Ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors, such as posaconazole and ravuconazole, have been proposed as drug candidates for Chagas disease, a neglected infectious tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. To understand better the mechanism of action and resistance to these inhibitors, a clone of the T. cruzi Y strain was cultured under intermittent and increasing concentrations of ravuconazole until phenotypic stability was achieved. The ravuconazole-selected clone exhibited loss in fitness in vitro when compared to the wild-type parental clone, as observed in reduced invasion capacity and slowed population growth in both mammalian and insect stages of the parasite. In drug activity assays, the resistant clone was above 300-fold more tolerant to ravuconazole than the sensitive parental clone, when the half-maximum effective concentration (EC50) was considered. The resistant clones also showed reduced virulence in vivo, when compared to parental sensitive clones. Cross-resistance to posaconazole and other CYP51 inhibitors, but not to other antichagasic drugs that act independently of CYP51, such as benznidazole and nifurtimox, was also observed. A novel amino acid residue change, T297M, was found in the TcCYP51 gene in the resistant but not in the sensitive clones. The structural effects of the T297M, and of the previously described P355S residue changes, were modelled to understand their impact on interaction with CYP51 inhibitors.

In addition to its antimicrobial activity, the skin-derived antimicrobial peptide human β-defensin-3 (hBD-3) promotes keratinocyte proliferation and migration to initiate the wound healing process; however, its effects on fibroblasts, which are the major cell type responsible for wound healing, remain unclear. We investigated the role of hBD-3 in cell migration, proliferation and production of angiogenic growth factors in human fibroblasts and evaluated the in vivo effect of hBD-3 on promoting wound healing and angiogenesis. Following hBD-3 treatment, the mouse wounds healed faster and showed accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages in the early phase of wound healing and reduction of these phagocytes 4 days later. hBD-3-treated wounds also displayed an increased number of fibroblasts and newly formed vessels compared to those of the control mice. Furthermore, the expression of various angiogenic growth factors was increased in the hBD-3-treated wounds. Additionally, in vitro studies demonstrated that hBD-3 enhanced the secretion of angiogenic growth factors such as fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor and induced the migration and proliferation of human fibroblasts. The hBD-3-mediated activation of fibroblasts involves the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1)/Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways, as evidenced by the inhibitory effects of pathway-specific inhibitors. We indeed confirmed that hBD-3 enhanced the phosphorylation of FGFR1, JAK2 and STAT3. Collectively, the current study provides novel evidence that hBD-3 might be a potential candidate for the treatment of wounds through its ability to promote wound healing, angiogenesis and fibroblast activation.

This paper studies factors affecting credit risk in lending activities of joint-stock commercial banks in Vietnam. Data is collected from audited financial statements of 23 banks, and macroeconomic data from General Statistics Office of Vietnam in the period of 2009 – 2019. This paper uses GMM method which is carried out by using R programing language in Jupyter Notebook. The findings show that lagged credit risk, profitability and inflation have positive effects on credit risk, while bank capital, bank size, economic growth and loans to deposits ratio have negative ones. In addition, the findings also show that the nonlinear effects of loan growth on credit risk with U shape relationship, and this paper also calculates the relative importance of each variable.

Objectives: Local health personnel have drawn attention to an apparent increase in incidence and severity of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Sudan. The objective of this study was to investigate CL burden and surveillance. Methods: Surveillance data were compiled from the KalaCORE programme, Leishmania coordinators in Northern Kordofan and Southern Darfur, and Khartoum Dermatology Hospital. CL lesions were sampled from 14 suspected cases from Northern Kordofan and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Omdurman. PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and multilocus sequencing were used to characterize the disease agent. Results: All sites reported substantial increases from 2014 to 2016/7, far exceeding World Health Organization case reports for 2014, consistent with a widespread outbreak. Single seasonal peak incidence was observed, except for two peaks in Southern Darfur. In Northern Kordofan, the odds ratio for CL in the 35–44 years age group was 2.6 times higher than in the >45 years age group (p

Abstract The UV light-mediated metal-free polymerizations of 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) have been successfully performed by using 10-(pyren-1-yl)-10H-phenothiazine (PPTh) and pyrene as photocatalysts. The preparation of narrow polydispersity poly (4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) with high conversions was enabled in both protic as well as unprotic reaction media at ambient temperature. Additionally, copolymerizations of 4VP with acrylate and methacrylate monomers were also demonstrated, affording metal-free copolymer products.

Abstract The synthesis of poly(L-glutamic acid) (PG) was investigated. Reduction of poly(benzyl-L-glutamate) by the palladium/charcoal catalyst proved to be an effective method for obtaining polyglutamic acid pure and particularly exhibiting in the α-helix secondary structure. The structure of this synthetic polypeptide was assessed by infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle powder X-ray diffraction methods. The α-helical PG was, for the first time, combined with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The obtained PG was demonstrated to be a promising matrix to disperse MWCNTs, forming MWCNT/PG biocomposites.

Empirical evidence demonstrates that credit standards, including lending margins and collateral requirements, move in a countercyclical direction. In this study, we construct a small open economy model with financial frictions to generate the countercyclical movement in credit standards. Our analysis demonstrates that countercyclical fluctuations in credit standards work as an amplifier of shocks to the economy. In particular, the existence of endogenous credit standards increases output volatility by 21%. We also suggest three alternative tools for policymakers to dampen the effects of endogenous credit standards on macroeconomic volatility. First, the introduction of credit growth to the monetary policy succeeds in counteracting the fluctuation of lending, and thus decreasing the additional volatility considerably. Second, the exchange rate augmented monetary policy, if well-constructed, is considered an efficient tool to eliminate most of the additional fluctuations caused by deep habits in the banking sector. Finally, the introduction of the foreign interest augmented policy also proves successful in dampening the effect of endogenous movements in lending standards.

In the title complexes, trans-(2-aminopyridine-κN)dichlorido{4-ethoxycarbonylmethoxy-3-methoxy-1-[(2,3-η)-prop-2-en-1-yl]benzene}platinum(II), [PtCl2(C5H6N2)(C14H18O4)], (I), and (2-aminopyridine-κN)chlorido{5-ethoxycarbonylmethoxy-4-methoxy-1-[(2,3-η)-prop-2-en-1-yl]phenyl-κC1}platinum(II), [Pt(C14H17O4)Cl(C5H6N2)], (II), the central PtII metal atom displays a distorted square-planar coordination, with the PtII atom coordinated by the pyridine N atom, the C=C double bond of the eugenol ligand and two Cl atoms for (I) or one Cl atom and a C atom of the phenyl ring for (II). The allyl fragment in (I) is disordered, with population parameters 0.614 (14) and 0.386 (14) for the two positions of the central C atom. The least-squares planes through the two aromatic ring systems make a dihedral angle of 51.10 (13)° for (I) and 78.5 (2)° for (II). Intramolecular N—H...O and N—H...π interactions occur in (I). In (I), inversion dimers formed by C—H...Cl interactions are further linked into chains parallel to the b axis by C—H...O hydrogen bonds. Both aromatic rings are involved in π–π interactions, with centroid-to-centroid distances of 3.508 (3) and 3.791 (3) Å. In (II), inversion dimers form chains parallel to the b axis by C—H...O interactions.

In an ever-changing world of work, workers are expected to maintain currency of changes through lifelong learning to sustain employment and transition into new jobs or occupations - as the need arises. Adult workers rely on affordances from societal, workplace, community and educational institution sources that offer opportunities - intentional or sometimes unintentional. Productive engagement in these opportunities leads to positive outcomes in terms of learning and employment, although adults' personal epistemologies, agency, and intentionality determine which affordances they engage with, in what ways, and for what purposes (Billett, Choy and Le, 2023). Moreover, working age adults' learning is largely and necessarily premised on their own constructive efforts albeit with guidance from those with whom they work closely. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the working age population is defined as those aged 15 to 64 (OECD, 2023). In Australia, the working age can be extended to 74 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2023). Working age adults' worklife learning is sustained through permutations of lifelong learning and lifelong education that enables them to navigate different kinds of transitions that may arise due to institutional or personal factors such as life stages, employment status, occupations, re-locations, health and personal preference or trajectories (Billett, Choy & Le, 2023). This means that lifelong educational provisions need to extend beyond those from educational institutions to include experiences in workplaces and the community. The growing realisation of the potency and importance of learning experiences in workplaces and other social settings is now attracting a greater consideration of these sites for ongoing learning of working age adults. This calls for learning in the course of everyday work to be acknowledged and systematised around work practices. In this paper, we illuminate and elaborate on workplace contributions to learning that support individuals' employability across working life. Drawing on the worklife history interviews (n=66) and a survey (n=678) data from an Australian Research Council funded project [DP 190101519], we report and discuss working age adults' perspectives of workplace affordances. The findings from the interviews indicate that three work-based models suggested by Billett et al. (2016) are most appropriate for supporting workers' learning in their work settings. These are wholly work-based experiences, work-based experiences with direct guidance and work-based experiences with educational interventions. The affordances and practices of workplaces are central to supporting workers' lifelong learning in workplaces, but they also need access to lifelong education provisions to maintain currency of knowledge and skills to sustain employment.

Itch or pruritus is the hallmark of atopic dermatitis and is defined as an unpleasant sensation that evokes the desire to scratch. It is also believed that itch is a signal of danger from various environmental factors or physiological abnormalities. Because histamine is a well-known substance inducing itch, H1-antihistamines are the most frequently used drugs to treat pruritus. However, H1-antihistamines are not fully effective against intractable itch in patients with atopic dermatitis. Given that intractable itch is a clinical problem that markedly decreases quality of life, its treatment in atopic dermatitis is of high importance. Histamine-independent itch may be elicited by various pruritogens, including proteases, cytokines, neuropeptides, lipids, and opioids, and their cognate receptors, such as protease-activated receptors, cytokine receptors, Mas-related G protein-coupled receptors, opioid receptors, and transient receptor potential channels. In addition, cutaneous hyperinnervation is partly involved in itch sensitization in the periphery. It is believed that dry skin is a key feature of intractable itch in atopic dermatitis. Treatment of the underlying conditions that cause itch is necessary to improve the quality of life of patients with atopic dermatitis. This review describes current insights into the pathophysiology of itch and its treatment in atopic dermatitis.

Ependymomas are primary CNS tumors representing 3%-6% of all CNS tumors, and 34.5% of ependymomasoccur in the spine. Spinal ependymomas occur most frequently in the cervical spine. Rarely, tumor-associatedsyringomyelia and hematomyelia may complicate cervical spinal ependymomas. Here, the authors present a case ofa 37 year-old gentleman with cervical intramedullary WHO Grade II ependymoma with hematomyelia extendingcephalad to the brainstem. The authors also detail their operative procedure using the OmniGuide CO2 laser andreview current literature on the management of cervical intramedullary ependymoma with tumor-associatedsyringomyelia and/or hematomyelia.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Ni(H2O)6](C12H12BrN2O5S)2·H2O, contains a half hexaaquanickel(II) complex cation with the NiII ion lying on an inversion center, one 5-bromo-7-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-1-methyl-6-oxidoquinolin-1-ium-3-sulfonate (QAO) anion and a half lattice water molecule on a twofold rotation axis. In the crystal, QAO anions are stacked in a column along the c axis by π–π stacking interactions [centroid–centroid distances 3.5922 (10)–3.7223 (11) Å]. The columns are interlinked by hexaaquanickel(II) cations through O—H...O and N—H...O hydrogen bonds.

In the title complexes, trans-dichlorido(4-chloroaniline-κN){3-methoxy-4-methoxycarbonylmethoxy-1-[(2,3-η)-prop-2-en-1-yl]benzene}platinum(II) 0.1-hydrate, [PtCl2(C6H6ClN)(C13H16O4)]·0.1H2O, (I), and trans-dichlorido(4-chloroaniline-κN){4-ethoxycarbonylmethoxy-3-methoxy-1-[(2,3-η)-prop-2-en-1-yl]benzene}platinum(II), [PtCl2(C6H6ClN)(C14H18O4)], (II), the PtII metal atom displays a slightly distorted square-planar coordination geometry defined by the aniline N atom, two chloride anions (trans-positioned) and one ethylenic double bond. The least-squares planes through the two aromatic ring systems make an angle of 47.3 (3)° for (I) and 38.6 (2)° for (II). Both structures show disorder for the PtCl2 fragment, in the case of (I) even further extended towards the CH2—CH=CH2 ligand. An intramolecular C—H...Cl hydrogen bond occurs in (I). In the crystal packing of (I), which is dominated by N—H...O and C—H...Cl interactions, a partially occupied water molecule is observed on a twofold rotation axis with a refined site occupancy of 0.10 (1). A C—H...π interaction is also present. In (II), inversion dimers form chains along the b-axis direction by N—H...O hydrogen bonds.

Partnerships with local public sector agencies, enterprises and tertiary institutions offer a means to inform young people about post-school pathways into working life and occupations that schools alone cannot achieve. Informing about those pathways is an important, yet, complex educational goal for schooling. This is because much of schooling effort privileges and is directed towards higher education entry. Often advice provided to young people through schools is by teachers and administrators who are, understandably, unacquainted with the range of post-school pathways other than higher education. School guidance officers report being ill-equipped and unable to provide students personalised advice. Consequently, sources of advice and experiences beyond the school are now being utilised, particularly through the growing role of partnerships. These partnerships take diverse forms and comprise different kinds of institutional alignments and are increasingly being viewed as essential bases for supporting effective and informed post-school transitions. This article presents and discusses a review of literature and a recent investigation to advance principles and practices of how such partnerships can be best initiated, enacted, and sustained over time and they can meet the goals of informing and guiding young people's pathways, including options other than progression to higher education.

Recruiting and retaining vocational education and training (VET) educators is an increasing challenge in countries across the world. So understanding their transition and retention is vital to the development of a sustainable workforce. This paper draws on interviews with senior administrators of Australian training providers and survey data from practising VET teachers and trainers to identify factors that most influenced these educators to remain in what was, for most of them, a second or later career. The research found that the major influences on retention of new educators in VET were partly extrinsic, including employment conditions, lifestyle balance and support for professional development, and partly intrinsic, including a supportive culture and job satisfaction through enjoyment of teaching and giving back to industry. The findings provide training providers with a clear indication of what encourages educators to make a long-term commitment to VET teaching and what motivates them to perform at their best once they have made the transition.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Ni(H2O)6](C11H8NO8S)2·2H2O, features a half-hexaaquanickel(II) complex cation with the NiII ion on an inversion center, one deprotonated 5,6-dihydroxy-3-sulfoquinolin-7-yloxyacetic acid (QOH) molecule appearing in its zwitterionic form and one lattice water molecule. The sulfonate group is disordered over two positions with occupancy factors of 0.655 (5) and 0.345 (5). The hexaaquanickel(II) cation interacts through hydrogen bonding with eight QOH molecules and two water molecules. The six-membered rings of quinoline show π–π stacking [centroid-to-centroid distances of 3.679 (2) Å and 3.714 (2) Å].