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Abstract Background Non-specific chronic low back pain (NCLBP) has a high incidence, which has a significant impact on a patient’s body and mind and is a common condition affecting people’s quality of life. Core stability exercise (CSE) is a modestly effective treatment for NCLBP; however, CSE has only been shown to be a useful treatment option in the short term. Many clinical practice guidelines recommend the use of a biopsychosocial framework to guide the management of NCLBP. Self-compassion training (SCT) is a promising psychotherapy treatment option for NCLBP; however, there is still a lack of research on CSE combined with SCT. In this study, we will seek to determine whether CSE combined with SCT is an effective treatment option for patients with NCLBP compared to CSE alone. Methods In this study, we will randomize 166 adults with NCLBP to a combined SCT and CSE arm or a CSE alone arm (83 participants per group). Both interventions will consist of four weekly 1.5-h group sessions of CSE supplemented by home practice. The combined group protocol also includes 2 h of SCT before CSE. Interviewers masked to the treatment assignments will assess the outcomes at 4 and 16 weeks post-randomization. The primary outcomes are back pain disability (based on the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire) and pain intensity (NRS; average pain, worst pain, average pain) at 16 weeks. Discussion If SCT is found to enhance the effectiveness of CSE for patients with chronic back pain, the results of the study may promote the development of mind-body therapies for chronic low back pain. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100042810 . Registered on 21 January 2021

A mild Pd-catalyzed three-component cascade cyclization functionalization of o-iodostyrenes, internal alkynes and boron reagents is presented. The transformation is driven by a controlled reaction sequence of intermolecular carbopalladation, intramolecular Heck-type cyclization, and a borylation process to give versatile boryl-functionalized indene skeletons in a selective fashion. Significantly, (Bpin)2, (Bneop)2 and CH2(Bpin)2 as boron sources are all tolerated. Additionally, the synthetic utility of this approach is demonstrated by gram-scale synthesis and synthetic transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective loading of spatially separated redox cocatalysts on direct Z-scheme heterojunctions holds great promise for advancing the efficiency of artificial photosynthesis, which however is limited to the photodeposition of noble metal cocatalysts and the fabrication of hollow double-shelled semiconductor heterojunctions. Moreover, the co-exposure of discrete cocatalyst and semiconductor increases the product diversity when both the exposed sites of which participate in CO2 photoreduction. Herein, we present a facile and versatile protocol to overcome these limitations via surface coating of Z-scheme heterojunctions with bifunctional noble-metal-free cocatalysts. With Cu2O/Fe2O3 (CF) as a model heterojunction and layered Ni(OH)2 as a model cocatalyst, it is found that Ni(OH)2 lying on the surfaces of Cu2O and Fe2O3 separately co-catalyzes the CO2 reduction and H2O oxidation. Thorough experimental and theoretical investigation reveals that the Ni(OH)2 outer layer: (i) mitigates the charge recombination in CF and balances their transfer and consumption; (ii) reduces the rate-determining barriers for CO2-to-CO and H2O-to-O2 conversion, (iii) suppresses the side proton reduction occurring on CF, and (iv) protects the CF from component detachment. As expected, the redox reactions stoichiometrically proceed, and significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity, selectivity, and stability in CO generation are achieved by the stacked Cu2O/Fe2O3@Ni(OH)2 in contrast to CF. This study demonstrates the significance of the synergy between bifunctional cocatalysts and Z-scheme heterojunctions for improving the efficacy of overall redox reactions, opening a fresh avenue for the rational design of artificial photosynthetic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mildly-acidic MnO 2 -Zn batteries are considered as a promising alternative for large-scale energy storage systems for their low toxicity, high safety, and low cost. Though, the degradation of MnO 2 with cycling still hinders the further development of the batteries. In this study, it is observed that the decrease in available capacity of MnO 2 with charge and discharge is accompanied by a structural transformation with the emergence of Zn─Mn─O phases. An electrodeposition test indicates that the Zn─Mn─O phase is formed from a co-precipitation of Zn and Mn during the charge process. Further, the structural change of MnO 2 is suppressed and its cycle stability is improved with the addition of TiOSO 4 as a facile electrolyte additive. As a result, under a current of 1200 mA g -1 , the MnO 2 electrode still gives a capacity of 230 mAh g -1 for over 1500 cycles. Capacity retention is 75% after 10 000 cycles under a current rate of 4800 mA g -1 . These findings provide fundamental insights on the degradation mechanism of MnO 2 and a new strategy to improve the electrochemical performance of aqueous MnO 2 -Zn batteries., (© 2024 The Author(s). Small published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Construction of core-shell semiconductor heterojunctions and plasmonic metal/semiconductor heterostructures represents two promising routes to improved light harvesting and promoted charge separation, but their photocatalytic activities are respectively limited by sluggish consumption of charge carriers confined in the cores, and contradictory migration directions of plasmon-induced hot electrons and semiconductor-generated electrons. Herein, a semiconductor/metal/semiconductor stacked core-shell design is demonstrated to overcome these limitations and significantly boost the photoactivity in CO 2  reduction. In this smart design, sandwiched Au serves as a "stone", which "kills two birds" by inducing localized surface plasmon resonance for hot electron generation and mediating unidirectional transmission of conduction band electrons and hot electrons from TiO 2  core to MoS 2  shell. Meanwhile, upward band bending of TiO 2  drives core-to-shell migration of holes through TiO 2 -MoS 2  interface. The co-existence of TiO 2  → Au → MoS 2  electron flow and TiO 2  → MoS 2  hole flow contributes to spatial charge separation on different locations of MoS 2  outer layer for overall redox reactions. Additionally, reduction potential of photoelectrons participating in the CO 2  reduction is elaborately adjusted by tuning the thickness of MoS 2  shell, and thus the product selectivity is delicately regulated. This work provides fresh hints for rationally controlling the charge transfer pathways toward high-efficiency CO 2  photoreduction., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Construction of photocatalytic systems with spatially separated dual cocatalysts is considered as a promising route to modulate charge separation/transfer, promote surface redox reactivities, and prevent unwanted reverse reactions. However, past efforts on the loading of spatially separated double-cocatalysts are limited to hollow structured semiconductors with inner/outer surface and monocrystalline semiconductors with different exposed facets. To overcome this limitation, herein, enabled by a unique stacked photocatalyst design, a facile and versatile strategy for spatial separation of redox cocatalysts on various semiconductors without structural and morphological restriction is demonstrated. The smart design begins with the deposition of light-harvesting semiconductors on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, followed with the coverage of Ni(OH) 2 outer layer. The ternary photocatalysts exhibit superior activities and stabilities of H 2 O oxidation and selective CO 2 -to-CO reduction, remarkably surpassing other counterparts. The origin of the enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic interplay of rGO@Ni(OH) 2 reduction cocatalysts surrounding the semiconductors and Ni(OH) 2 oxidation cocatalysts directly supported by the semiconductors, which mitigates the charge recombination, supplies highly active and selective sites for overall reactions, and preserves the semiconductors from photocorrosion. This work presents a new approach to regulating the position of dual cocatalysts and ameliorating the net efficiency of photoredox catalysis., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)