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BACKGROUND: Oral anti-coagulants (OAC) are the intervention for the prevention of stroke, which consistently improve clinical outcomes and survival among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The main purpose of this study is to identify problems in OAC utilization among hospitalized patients with AF in China. METHODS: Using data from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Atrial Fibrillation (CCC-AF) registry, guideline-recommended OAC use in eligible patients was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 52,530 patients with non-valvular AF were enrolled from February 2015 to December 2019, of whom 38,203 were at a high risk of stroke, 9717 were at a moderate risk, and 4610 were at a low risk. On admission, only 20.0% (6075/30,420) of patients with a diagnosed AF and a high risk of stroke were taking OAC. The use of pre-hospital OAC on admission was associated with a lower risk of new-onset ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack among the diagnosed AF population (adjusted odds ratio: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.43-0.68; P  70% of AF patients were at a high risk of stroke. Although poor performance on guideline-recommended OAC use was found in this study, over time the CCC-AF project has made progress in stroke prevention in the Chinese AF population.Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02309398.

Background: Polyamines, including spermidine (SPD), spermine (SPM) and putrescine (PUT), are essential for cellular physiology and various cellular processes. This study aimed to examine the associations of dietary polyamines intake and all-cause mortality and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: This prospective cohort study included 184,732 participants without CVD at baseline from the UK Biobank who had completed at least one dietary questionnaire. Diet was assessed using Oxford WebQ, a web-based 24 h recall questionnaire, with polyamines intakes estimated from previous studies. Cox proportional models with restricted cubic splines were employed to investigate nonlinear associations. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality or incident CVD (including CVD death, coronary heart disease and stroke). Results: During a median follow-up period of 11.5 years, 7348 (3.9%) participants died and 12,316 (6.5%) developed incident CVD. Polyamines intake showed nonlinear associations with all-cause mortality and incident CVD (P for nonlinear < 0.01). Compared to the lowest quintile group of dietary polyamines intake (≤17.4 mg/day), the quintile 2 to 5 groups demonstrated a reduced risk of all-cause mortality, with the lowest risk in quintile 2 group (>17.4–22.3 mg/day) (HR:0.82, 95% CI: 0.76–0.88). Similar results were observed for incident CVD, with the lowest risk in the quintile 4 group (>27.1–33.5 mg/day) (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.82–0.92). Conclusions: We found that dietary polyamines intake was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality or incident CVD. Furthermore, our study identified an optimal range of dietary polyamines intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosensors based on terahertz (THz) metasurfaces have recently attracted widespread attention. However, few have been reported so far because it is a challenge to achieve ultrasensitive multidimensional detection in the THz spectrum. Here, we propose a novel THz biosensor that consists of a metasurfaces and a metal oxide semiconductor-like structure (MOSLS), which is based on patterned graphene–polyimide–perovskite. We varied the photoconductivity of the MOSLS via the electrostatic doping effect. The biosensor could detect whey protein down to a concentration limit of 6.25 ng/mL. Significant responses in frequency, phase, and transmission amplitude were all detected for different protein concentrations. The transmission value difference, frequency shift, and phase difference increased with the concentration of whey protein, clearly demonstrating multidimensional biosensing. Moreover, by applying lasers with different wavelengths, we have realized reversible biosensing in THz region for the first time. These results are very promising for applications of THz metasurfaces in the field of biosensing.

Chronic wounds are inherently vulnerable to external mechanical contact owing to their impaired physiological states. Accidental touching may lead to secondary damage to delicate wound tissues, including deterioration of tissue and inflammation, thereby prolonging the healing process. In addition, patients encounter nociceptive sensations, indicative of physical discomfort and potential distress. However, the traditional dressings for chronic wounds fail to convey adequate perceptual information to prevent mechanical trauma. An electrostatic‐induction‐enabled anti‐touching hydrogel dressing (EAHD) is proposed, which promotes wound healing and reduces touching‐induced injuries. The EAHD combines a proximity sensor and a pro‐healing hydrogel. The proximity sensor can detect approaching objects, enabling remote perception. More importantly, EAHD and a wireless alarm system are integrated to warn against the detected potential hazards such as unintentional touching. Meanwhile, the EAHD significantly accelerates wound healing in preclinical diabetic mice, ≈38% faster than that of the control group. This study proposes a novel strategy for multifunctional wound dressing that promotes wound healing and prevents accidental touching‐induced secondary damage to the wound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of efficient all perovskite tandem solar cells has faced challenges related to current matching and optical losses. In this work, a design of a non‐coplanar three‐terminal (3T) all perovskite tandem solar cell is presented, which consists of a p‐i‐n inverted NiOX‐based CsPbI2Br perovskite top cell, and a FA0.6MA0.4Sn0.5Pb0.5I3 perovskite bottom cell with back‐contact (BC) device structure. It effectively mitigated the optical losses introduced in non‐absorbing layers and resulted in a 2.9% absolute efficiency improvement compared to that of planar sandwich‐type 3T tandems. Both optical and electrical characteristics of the multi‐terminal tandem cells are investigated. Then, it is focused on understanding the impact of top cell thickness on overall non‐coplanar BC 3T‐tandem performance, considering low‐energy photon optical reflection and carrier transport distance. Following optimizations of energy level and device structure, an efficiency of 32.16% is achieved, with non‐coplanar BC 3T device architecture: top cell consisting of hole extraction layer (ITO/NiOx), CsPbI2Br absorber layer, and electron extraction layer (ZnO/FA0.6MA0.4Sn0.5Pb0.5I3/SnO2/Ag); and bottom cell (Ni/NiOx/FA0.6MA0.4Sn0.5Pb0.5I3/SnO2/Ag); bottom perovskite layer has two functions, one is electron transport layer for top cell, and the other is low‐energy photon absorption layer in bottom cell. It provides insight and a promising pathway for manufacturing high‐efficient all perovskite tandem solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the prevalence and risk factors of prehypertension, as well as the predictors of progression from prehypertension to hypertension. To do this, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, after unrestricted searches of PubMed and The Cochrane Library through September 2010. In addition, we reviewed references, major textbooks, and review articles. Pooled prevalence, standardized mean differences, and odds ratios were estimated by using a random-effects model.Twenty-six articles met our inclusion criteria; these included 20 cross-sectional and 6 longitudinal studies, with a total sample of 250,741 individuals. The overall pooled prevalence of prehypertension was 36%. The pooled prevalence among males was higher than that among females (40% vs 33%). The pooled standardized mean difference for body mass index was 1.37 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20–1.55); for total cholesterol, 8.08 (95% CI, 6.71–9.46); for low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, 5.14 (95% CI, 3.09–7.18); and for fasting plasma glucose, 4.23 (95% CI, 3.28–5.18); all of which showed more significant results in females. The pooled odds ratio was 1.13 (95% CI, 0.93–1.37) for smoking and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.69–1.39) for drinking. In addition, factors such as older age at baseline, male sex, Mongolian race, and being overweight or obese were predictors of progression to hypertension, according to descriptive analysis.The prevalence of prehypertension was relatively high, especially for males. There were many modifiable risk factors associated with prehypertension, to which healthcare providers should pay more attention.

Improving power conversion efficiency (PCE) in photovoltaics has driven innovative approaches in solar cell design and technology. Silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells exhibit advantages in PCE due to their effective passivating contact structures. SHJ–interdigitated back contact (SHJ–IBC) solar cells have the potential to surpass traditional SHJ cells, attributed to their advantage in short‐circuit current (JSC). Herein, Silvaco Atlas technology computer‐aided design is used to create digital twins of high‐efficiency SHJ solar cells with amorphous silicon and nanocrystalline silicon hole selective contact (HSC) layers. Using parameters from digital twins of SHJ solar cells, the practical efficiency limit of SHJ–IBC solar cells is assessed. The results show that SHJ–IBC cells can achieve potential efficiencies of 27.01% with amorphous HSC and 27.38% with nanocrystalline HSC. Further efficiency augmentation to 27.51% can be achieved by narrowing the gap from 80 to 20 μm. This study not only advances comprehension of SHJ–IBC solar cells but also provides insights into optimizing geometrical configurations for improved performance. The utilization of digital twins provides a valuable tool for predicting and evaluating the performance of SHJ–IBC solar cells, contributing substantively to the ongoing development of high‐efficiency photovoltaic technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In crystalline silicon (c‐Si) solar cells, the hole transport layer (HTL) made of high oxygen content MoOx (x > 2.85, H‐MoOx) evaporating from molybdenum trioxide is not ideal due to low optical bandgap and interface reaction effects. This limits the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of c‐Si solar cells. To improve this, low oxygen content MoOx (x < 2.85, L‐MoOx) with a wide bandgap of 3.87 eV, deposited using molybdenum dioxide (MoO2), is explored and implemented. The c‐Si/SiOx (FGA, forming gas annealing)/L‐MoOx heterojunction has a low contact resistivity of ≈15.06 mΩ cm2, which is almost one order of magnitude lower than that of c‐Si/SiOx(FGA)/H‐MoOx heterojunction. Using L‐MoOx as the HTL, a c‐Si solar cell based on the SiOx passivation layer shows a fill factor of 84.38% and PCE of 21.75%, representing the highest efficiency for MoOx‐based p‐type c‐Si solar cells. Scanning transmission electron microscopy results show that the L‐MoOx HTL effectively enhances the stability of c‐Si solar cells when exposed to air by reducing Ag and Si element diffusion into MoOx. This successful preparation of efficient and stable MoOx HTL films, while preserving their field‐effect passivation ability, provides valuable insights into the development of high‐performance HTL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]