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An efficient way through borohydride synthesis route using NaBH4 was performed to prepare pure zirconia nanopowders via three different conditions such as gelation, precipitation, and constant pH. Zirconia powders prepared through constant pH route show highest activation energy of crystallization ( Ea = 260 kJ/mol) or higher exothermic peak temperature (717°C), when compared with gelation or precipitation route due to its controlled growth of smaller crystallites. The released huge amount of H2 gas bubbles during borohydride synthesis via constant pH route play a major role for formation of loose smaller crystallites and thus enhances the activation energy of crystallization of pure zirconia. So, the as-prepared zirconia powders prepared through constant pH route remain amorphous up to 600°C and pure t-ZrO2 (~20 nm) was stable up to 800°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient way through borohydride synthesis route using NaBH4 was performed to prepare pure zirconia nanopowders via three different conditions such as gelation, precipitation, and constant pH. Zirconia powders prepared through constant pH route show highest activation energy of crystallization ( Ea = 260 kJ/mol) or higher exothermic peak temperature (717°C), when compared with gelation or precipitation route due to its controlled growth of smaller crystallites. The released huge amount of H2 gas bubbles during borohydride synthesis via constant pH route play a major role for formation of loose smaller crystallites and thus enhances the activation energy of crystallization of pure zirconia. So, the as-prepared zirconia powders prepared through constant pH route remain amorphous up to 600°C and pure t-ZrO2 (~20 nm) was stable up to 800°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to analyse the associations of intensive care unit (ICU) and high care unit (HCU) organisational structure on in-hospital mortality among patients with sepsis in Japan's acute care hospitals., Design: Multicentre cross-sectional study., Settings: Patients with sepsis aged ≥18 years who received critical care in acute care hospitals throughout Japan between April 2018 and March 2019 were identified using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB)., Interventions: None., Participants: 10 968 patients with sepsis were identified. ICUs were categorised into three groups: type 1 ICUs (fulfilling stringent staffing criteria such as experienced intensivists and high nurse-to-patient ratios), type 2 ICUs (less stringent criteria) and HCUs (least stringent criteria)., Primary Outcome Measure: The study's primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to examine the impact of ICU/HCU groups on in-hospital mortality., Results: We analysed 2411 patients (178 hospitals) in the type 1 ICU group, 3653 patients (422 hospitals) in the type 2 ICU group and 4904 patients (521 hospitals) in the HCU group. When compared with the type 1 ICU group, the adjusted HRs for in-hospital mortality were 1.12 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.21) for the type 2 ICU group and 1.17 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.26) for the HCU group., Conclusion: ICUs that fulfil more stringent staffing criteria were associated with lower in-hospital mortality among patients with sepsis than HCUs. Differences in organisational structure may have an association with outcomes in patients with sepsis, and this was observed by the NDB., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Cerebral vasospasm is a rare postoperative complication of transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma surgery with potentially severe consequences. These vasospasms generally have a delayed presentation at a mean of 8 postoperative days. We report an unusual case of hyperacute onset of cerebral vasospasm that occurred immediately after surgery., Case Description: A 38-year-old man underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for a nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma. The patient experienced mild subarachnoid hematoma during surgery. Three hours after surgery, he developed rightward conjugate eye deviation and complete paralysis of the left upper and lower extremities. Diagnostic imaging revealed cerebral vasospasm in both middle cerebral arteries, and symptoms improved after intra-arterial administration of fasudil hydrochloride., Conclusion: There is a need for prompt diagnosis and therapeutic intervention when typical symptoms of cerebral vasospasm, such as paralysis, occur at any time during the postoperative course., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Surgical Neurology International.)

The present work investigated the thermochemical properties of urea synthesized in well-ordered nanospaces of porous hollow silica spheres' shells from recovered ammonia and carbon dioxide in aqueous solution. Thermochemical behaviors of the urea synthesized in well-ordered nanospaces of the hollow spheres' shells prepared with 1-dodeclyamine were analyzed from the results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), and endothermic peaks assigned as the phase transition and decomposition were observed at ca. 440 and 514 K, respectively, which were higher than those of pristine urea (405 and 408 K, respectively), probably because of the nanoconfinement effect. The decomposition behavior was also confirmed by the result of diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectra of the samples treated at various temperatures up to 573 K, and the decomposition of urea synthesized in the well-ordered nanospaces of the hollow spheres' shells started at 468 K and completed up to 533 K., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Considering the importance of elucidating the heat transfer in living cells, we evaluated the thermal conductivity κ and conductance G of hydrated protein through all-atom non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Extending the computational scheme developed in earlier studies for spherical protein to cylindrical one under the periodic boundary condition, we enabled the theoretical analysis of anisotropic thermal conduction and also discussed the effects of protein size correction on the calculated results. While the present results for myoglobin and green fluorescent protein (GFP) by the spherical model were in fair agreement with previous computational and experimental results, we found that the evaluations for κ and G by the cylindrical model, in particular, those for the longitudinal direction of GFP, were enhanced substantially, but still keeping a consistency with experimental data. We also studied the influence by salt addition of physiological concentration, finding insignificant alteration of thermal conduction of protein in the present case., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Computational Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)