Good Test Performance Research Articles

Smile stimuli induce better performance in tests performed by children and adolescents practicing jiu-jitsu

Aims: This study compared the performance of children and adolescents practicing jiu-jitsu when stimulated or not stimulated to smile before specific and non-specific physical tests. Methods: 268 children and adolescents (male=168) were measured in 5 tests (30” by 3’ interval) of which 3 were specific (4-Leg Exercise, Gyaku-tsuki test and O-soto-otoshi nage-komi test) and 2 non-specific (Side jumps and Burpees). These tests were carried out under two conditions: a) without prior stimuli; b) after joy stimuli. Results: There was an isolated effect of the pre-test intervention for non-specific tests, with better performance after joy stimuli (Side jumps: 35.8±13.3 vs. 30.1±11.1; Burpees: 16.1±5 .3 vs. 13.8±4.8 repetitions; p≤0.001 for both comparisons). There were also isolated effects of the pre-test intervention for the specific O-soto-otoshi nage-komi test and 4-Leg Exercise, where happiness stimuli resulted in better performance (O-soto-otoshi nage-komi test: 15.2±3.5 vs. 12.5 ± 3.7 repetitions; 4-Leg Exercise: 3.5±1.2 vs. 2.8±1.2 repetitions p≤0.001 for both comparisons). For the Gyaku-tsuki test, there was an interaction effect between intervention and age (p=0.02), where older children performed better. Conclusion: Stimulating emotions of happiness brings better performance in children and adolescents practicing jiu-jitsu regardless of gender and age, except for the Gyaku-tsuki test where older people tend to perform better. Keywords: martial arts, emotion, children, adolescent, performance.

Adsorption recovery of chlorinated volatile organic compounds on coffee ground-based activated carbon of tunable porosity

Chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) play an indispensable role in industrial production, but meanwhile pose serious threats to human health. As a response to the urgent and challenging requirements of reducing pollution and carbon emissions, in this work, the critically favorable ultra-micropores and hierarchical porous structure are constructed onto the low-cost coffee ground-based activated carbon (AC) for the CVOCs adsorption recovery. To regulate the processes of carbonization and activation, the formation of the porosity is elaborated in terms of elements, functional groups and graphited structure. As expected, abundant ultra-micropores (<1 nm) are particularly apt to the adsorption of 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE) of small size and also contribute positively to the adsorption of chlorobenzene (CB). Moreover, the sample S400-4 possesses a large surface area (1643 m2/g), pore volume (0.89 cm3/g) and hierarchical porous structures that greatly benefit the adsorption of both 1,2-DCE (2.11 mmol/g) and CB (4.15 mmol/g). The advantage is ascribed to the facilitated transfer of CVOCs through the hierarchical porous structures and the higher affinity of CB for the π-π interaction. S400-4 presents a good performance in the recycle tests and with the interference of co-existing components alike, which indicates the engineering application potential of coffee ground-based AC. Hopefully, this work sheds light on the structure-function relationship between biomass-based AC and CVOCs adsorption, and contributes to the targeted development of suitable CVOCs adsorption materials and recovery technologies.

A systematic review of cognitive and behavioral tools to differentiate behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia from other conditions.

The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is thought to be the commonest clinical presentation of frontotemporal lobar degeneration and is predominantly characterized by changes in behavior. In patients lacking unequivocal biomarker evidence of frontotemporal neurodegeneration, the clinical diagnosis of bvFTD is often unstable. In response, we conducted a systematic review and critical appraisal of cognitive and behavioral tools that have sought to differentiate bvFTD from other conditions. A systematic literature review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted on December 31, 2023 for cognitive and behavioral tools that differentiated bvFTD from other cohorts. Ninety-six studies were included. The quality appraisal of almost all studies was low and introduced a high risk of bias. The few studies that were of high quality had a prospective study design and recruited patients suspected (but not yet confirmed) to have bvFTD. These studies reported that behavioral tools (e.g., the Frontal Behavioral Inventory) and social cognition tests (e.g., the Ekman's Faces Test) had good test performance in differentiating bvFTD from a broad range of psychiatric and neurological conditions. Importantly, the review highlighted the extreme paucity of studies that have evaluated methods where, in Bayesian terms, there is genuine clinical uncertainty regarding a diagnosis of bvFTD. Most studies used healthy controls of typical Alzheimer's disease as comparators-groups that often have negligible pretest probability of bvFTD. In response, we propose a study design checklist for studies seeking to develop diagnostic algorithms in bvFTD research.

A non-enzymatic sensor obtained by direct writing of a AuNP-based ink for monitoring ascorbic acid in sweat

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the development of wearable sensors for monitoring vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in sweat. These sensors can help assess personal nutritional status, prevent vitamin imbalances, and determine the effectiveness of certain medical treatments. This study presents the first example of non-enzymatic ascorbic acid sensor based on the catalytic activity of printed AuNPs. The three-electrode electrochemical system sensor was fabricated by printing a working and counter-electrode from an AuNP-based ink and a pseudo-reference electrode from a silver ink, on a flexible Kapton® substrate. SEM examination of the printed gold layer revealed a highly divided material, which facilitates electron transfer and accelerates the oxidation of ascorbic acid. In vitro amperometry demonstrated a proportional increase in current with ascorbic acid concentration ranging from 10 to 390 μM, with a sensitivity of 14 μA·mM−1·cm−2. The low oxidation potential of +0.2 V vs Ag/AgCl effectively avoided most interfering oxidations. These results pave the way toward evaluation on the body of healthy volunteers, by placing the sensor directly on their skin, for example for tracking the changes in ascorbic acid concentration in sweat when eating Vitamin C tablets or Vitamin C-containing food such as orange juice. The very first results demonstrated good real-time performance in testing in such experimental conditions. This has potential applications in healthcare, not only on skin but also on therapeutic bandages applied to chronic wounds.

The twin peaks of learning neural networks

Recent works demonstrated the existence of a double-descent phenomenon for the generalization error of neural networks, where highly overparameterized models escape overfitting and achieve good test performance, at odds with the standard bias-variance trade-off described by statistical learning theory. In the present work, we explore a link between this phenomenon and the increase of complexity and sensitivity of the function represented by neural networks. In particular, we study the Boolean mean dimension (BMD), a metric developed in the context of Boolean function analysis. Focusing on a simple teacher-student setting for the random feature model, we derive a theoretical analysis based on the replica method that yields an interpretable expression for the BMD, in the high dimensional regime where the number of data points, the number of features, and the input size grow to infinity. We find that, as the degree of overparameterization of the network is increased, the BMD reaches an evident peak at the interpolation threshold, in correspondence with the generalization error peak, and then slowly approaches a low asymptotic value. The same phenomenology is then traced in numerical experiments with different model classes and training setups. Moreover, we find empirically that adversarially initialized models tend to show higher BMD values, and that models that are more robust to adversarial attacks exhibit a lower BMD.

SFlt1/PlGF among patients with suspected preeclampsia when considering hypertensive status

BACKGROUNDIn high-resource settings, biomarkers of angiogenic balance, such as the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt1)/placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio, have been studied extensively to aid in evaluation of patients with suspected preeclampsia (PE), and have been incorporated into the 2021 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy definition of PE. The utility in under-resourced settings has not been as well characterized. OBJECTIVEThis analysis sought to identify the role of the sFlt1/PlGF ratio in the evaluation of patients with or without hypertension who are suspected of having PE without other diagnostic information. STUDY DESIGNThis is a secondary analysis of a prior prospective study of patients who were presented with suspected PE at ≥20+0 weeks’ gestation at a single academic tertiary care center. Patients were recruited in the parent study from July 2009 to June 2012. In the original study, clinicians were masked to biomarker results, and patients were followed by chart review. In this analysis, the performance of the sFlt1/PlGF ratio (≤38, >38, or >85) was assessed alone in identifying both hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients at risk of evolving into PE with severe features (PE-SF; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ definition) within two weeks of the triage visit (PE-SF2). Hypertension was defined as a blood pressure (BP)≥140/90 mmHg. RESULTSThere were 1043 patients included in the analysis; of whom, 579 (55.5%) and 464 (44.5%) presented with or without hypertension, respectively. In triage, 332 (75.4%) of hypertensive patients presented due to BP concerns, and the remainder were evaluated due to other features (new-onset headache, proteinuria, or edema). On triage evaluation, 66.8% of all patients had a normal sFlt1/PlGF ratio ≤38, and 17.0% had an elevated ratio >85. Among hypertensive patients, a sFlt1/PlGF ratio ≤38 was a good rule-out test for PE-SF2 (negative likelihood ratio [LR-] of 0.15), and a ratio >85 was a good rule-in test (positive likelihood ratio [LR+] of 5.75). Among normotensive patients, sFlt1/PlGF was useful as a rule-in test for ratio >38 (LR+ 5.13) and >85 (LR+ 12.80). Stratified by gestational age, sFlt1/PlGF continued to be a good rule in and good rule out test at <35 weeks among those with hypertension but did not have good test performance ≥35 weeks. sFlt1/PlGF had a good test performance as a rule in test for >85 regardless of gestational age. In triage, 4.3% (30/693) of patients with sFlt1/PlGF ratio <38 had concurrent laboratory evidence of PE, compared with 15.9% (28/176) patients with ratio >85. CONCLUSIONThese findings support the potential for the use of sFlt1/PlGF and BP measurement alone in resource-limited settings where other laboratory tests or clinical expertise are unavailable for risk stratification. Performance of the biomarker varied by the presence of hypertension and gestational age.

Modelling the effect of cascade reservoir regulation on ice-jam flooding

In regulated rivers, dams and their reservoirs are the main means to change the flow conditions, and strategic reservoir operations can be an important measure for mitigating ice-jam flooding (IJF). Previous studies have shown the effect of single reservoir operation on IJF probabilities, but little is known about the effect of cascade reservoir operation on IJF occurrences and severity. This study presents a probabilistic modelling framework that couples machine learning (LSTM, Long Short-Term Memory) and river ice (RIVICE) models to assess the effects of regulated and naturalized flows on IJF backwater levels. The trained LTSM shows good performance in both validation (RMSE = 398.88, R = 0.86 and NSE = 0.67) and testing (RMSE = 366.57, R = 0.84 and NSE = 0.71) periods and the calibrated RIVICE can well simulate backwater levels caused by three IJFs from 2008 to 2010 with total volumes of incoming ice for 0.4 million m3, 0.55 million m3 and 0.32 million m3. The completed framework was used to assess IJF hazard along the Sanhuhekou bend, a reach of the upper Yellow River, whose hydraulic regime is impacted by eight upstream reservoirs. The effect of naturalized and regulated flows on IJF are compared from two aspects. Firstly, comparing the median of naturalized and regulated IJF backwater level ensembles, the results show that regulation increases the IJF backwater levels. Secondly, comparing the extreme values of naturalized and regulated IJF backwater level ensembles, results show that regulation can increase the hazard of IJF inundation when annual exceedance probability (AEP) is less severe than 1:100 and regulation can decrease the hazard of IJF when AEP is more severe than 1:125.

New Chemistries for Degradable Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Networks.

With the increasing use of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) in various industries, there is a need for greater sustainability, particularly in developing polymer materials from renewable resources, as well as the reuse and recycling of materials to reduce environmental impact, reduce waste, or extend their life. Here, we outlined the required properties of PSAs which are governed by the molecular parameters (molecular weights, dispersities, molecular weight between entanglement, molecular weight between cross-links and gel content) of polymer materials which subsequently define the physical properties (storage and loss moduli, glass transition temperature) that are required for good performance in peel, tack and shear tests. The sustainable approach discussed here is the development of degradable polymer materials featuring selectively degradable linkages in the backbone. This provides a viable alternative for the design of PSAs that could overcome the 'stickies' problem and make the recycling of glass and cardboard more efficient.

A multidimensional classifier to support lung transplant referral in patients with pulmonary fibrosis

BackgroundLung transplantation remains the sole curative option for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but donor organs remain scarce, and many eligible patients die prior to transplant. Tools to optimize the timing of transplant referral are urgently needed. MethodsLeast absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) was applied to clinical and proteomic data generated as part of a prospective cohort study of interstitial lung disease (ILD) to derive clinical, proteomic, and multi-dimensional logit models of near-term death or lung transplant within 18 months of blood draw. Model fitted values were dichotomized at the point of maximal sensitivity and specificity and decision curve analysis used to select the best performing classifier. We then applied this classifier to independent IPF and non-IPF ILD cohorts to determine test performance characteristics. Cohorts were restricted to patients aged ≤72 years with body mass index 18-32 to increase likelihood of transplant eligibility. ResultsIPF derivation, IPF validation and non-IPF ILD validation cohorts consisted of 314, 105 and 295 patients, respectively. A multi-dimensional model comprising two clinical variables and 20 proteins outperformed stand-alone clinical and proteomic models. Following dichotomization, the multi-dimensional classifier predicted near-term outcome with 70% sensitivity and 92% specificity in the IPF validation cohort and 70% sensitivity and 80% specificity in the non-IPF ILD validation cohort. ConclusionsA multi-dimensional classifier of near-term outcome accurately discriminated this endpoint with good test performance across independent IPF and non-IPF ILD cohorts. These findings support refinement and prospective validation of this classifier in transplant eligible individuals.

Organoboron-thiophene-based polymer electrodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Polymer electrodes are drawing widespread attention to the future generation of lithium-ion battery materials. However, weak electrochemical performance of organic anode materials still exists, such as low capacity, low rate performance, and low cyclability. Herein, we successfully constructed a donor-acceptor thiophene-based polymer (PBT-1) by introducing an organoboron unit. The charge delocalization and lower LUMO energy level due to the unique structure enabled good performance in electrochemical tests with a reversible capacity of 405 mA h g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and over 10 000 cycles at 1 A g-1. Moreover, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra revealed that the unique stable spin system in the PBT-1 backbone during cycling provides a fundamental explanation for the highly stable electrochemical performance. This work offers a reliable reference for the design of organic anode materials and expands the potential application directions of organoboron chemistry.

A contagion test with unspecified heteroscedastic errors

The tests of contagion in Fry-McKibbin et al. (2010) filter returns by a vector autoregressive model, assume residuals are independent, fit a parametric distribution family to residuals, and test for the change of contagion measures, which ignore the effect of filtering the time series model and the stylized fact of heteroscedasticity in daily returns. This paper studies a contagion test based on correlation by allowing heteroscedastic errors with a deterministic jump from the pre-crisis to the crisis periods. Because the developed test does not infer heteroscedasticity, it is robust against heteroscedasticity but its asymptotic variance under the null hypothesis of no contagion becomes complicated, which relies on a block method for estimating the asymptotic variance. A simulation study confirms the good finite sample performance of the new contagion test. Finally, we apply the test to three datasets to test for contagion.

Focusing on Provider Quality Measurement: Continued Consensus and Feasibility Testing of Practice-Based Quality Measures for Primary Care Providers in Long-Term Care

Medical providers in long-term care (LTC) use a unique skillset in delivering comprehensive resident care. Publicly reported quality measures (QMs) do not directly emphasize medical provider competency and their role in care. The impact of providers is understudied and to a large extent, unknown. Our objective was to define, test, and validate QMs to pragmatically measure the practice-based quality of medical providers in a pilot study. We included 7 North American LTC homes with data from practicing medical providers for LTC residents. We engaged in a 4-phased approach. In phase 1, experts rated 95 candidate QMs using 5 pragmatic-focused criteria in a RAND-modified Delphi process. Phase 2 involved specifying 37 QMs for collection (4 QMs were dropped during pilot testing). We created an abstraction manual and data collection tool for all QMs. Phase 3 involved a retrospective chart review in 7 LTC homes on 33 QMs with trained data abstractors. Data were sufficient to analyze performance for 26 QMs. Lastly, in phase 4 results and psychometric properties were reviewed with an expert panel. They ranked the tested measures for validity and feasibility for use by a nonphysician auditor to evaluate medical provider performance based on medical record review. In total, we examined data from 343 resident charts from 7 LTC homes and 49 providers. Our process yielded 10 QMs as being specified for measurement, feasible to collect, and had good test performance. This is the only study to systematically identify a subset of QMs for feasible collection from the medical record by various data collectors. This pragmatic approach to measuring practice-based quality and quantifying select medical provider competencies allows for the evaluation of individual and facility-level performance and facilitates quality improvement initiatives. Future work should perform broader testing and validate and refine operationalized QMs.

Superhydrophobic F-SiO2/tea polyphenol coating with high efficiency photothermal anti-icing and de-icing properties

Ice accumulation is an important challenge for daily life and industrial production. The photothermal effect offers a promising approach for active de-icing to address this issue. While the photothermal effect of polyphenol-metal ion complex is extensively studied in photothermal cancer therapy, its application in de-icing remains relatively unexplored. Herein, a durable photothermal superhydrophobic coating was designed by combining F-SiO2 @Tp/Fe (Tea polyphenol-Fe3+) nanoparticles and silicone resin using a one-step spray method. Due to the unique micro-nano structure, the resulting coating exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity, characterized by water contact angle (CA) of up to 159° and sliding angle (SA) of less than 2.5°. Additionally, the coating demonstrated reliable mechanical durability and chemical stability, as evidenced by its good performance in sandpaper abrasion, tape peeling and electrochemical corrosion tests. Moreover, owing to the efficient photothermal conversion of F-SiO2 @Tp/Fe nanoparticles, surface temperature of the coating can quickly reach 81 ℃ under 1 kW/m2 simulated sunlight irradiation (1 Sun). The prepared coating exhibits over three times delayed icing time under 1 sun irradiation at − 25 °C in comparison to the absence of light. And the coating also exhibits stable de-icing and defrosting cycle performance. These findings demonstrate effective synergistic effect of anti-icing and de-icing in the F-SiO2 @Tp/Fe photothermal superhydrophobic coating, showcasing its promising application potential in practical engineering.

A Deep Learning-Based Radiomic Classifier for Usual Interstitial Pneumonia

Because chest CT scan has largely supplanted surgical lung biopsy for diagnosing most cases of interstitial lung disease (ILD), tools to standardize CT scan interpretation are urgently needed. Does a deep learning (DL)-based classifier for usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) derived using CT scan features accurately discriminate radiologist-determined visual UIP? A retrospective cohort study was performed. Chest CT scans acquired in individuals with and without ILD were drawn from a variety of public and private data sources. Using radiologist-determined visual UIP as ground truth, a convolutional neural network was used to learn discrete CT scan features of UIP, with outputs used to predict the likelihood of UIP using a linear support vector machine. Test performance characteristics were assessed in an independent performance cohort and multicenter ILD clinical cohort. Transplant-free survival was compared between UIP classification approaches using the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazards regression. A total of 2,907 chest CT scans were included in the training (n= 1,934), validation (n= 408), and performance (n= 565) data sets. The prevalence of radiologist-determined visual UIP was 12.4%and 37.1%in the performance and ILD clinical cohorts, respectively. The DL-based UIP classifier predicted visual UIP in the performance cohort with sensitivity and specificity of 93%and 86%, respectively, and in the multicenter ILD clinical cohort with 81%and 77%, respectively. DL-based and visual UIP classification similarly discriminated survival, and outcomes were consistent among cases with positive DL-based UIP classification irrespective of visual classification. A DL-based classifier for UIP demonstrated good test performance across a wide range of UIP prevalence and similarly discriminated survival when compared with radiologist-determined UIP. This automated tool could efficiently screen for UIP in patients undergoing chest CT scan and identify a high-risk phenotype among those with known ILD.

Evidence of Horse Exposure to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Leishmania infantum in Greece through the Detection of IgG Antibodies in Serum and in an Alternative Diagnostic Sample-The Saliva.

Among the various zoonotic pathogens that infect horses, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia spp. and Leishmania spp. have gained scientific interest, and relevant molecular and serological studies in horses have been conducted worldwide. Moreover, human and veterinary medicine have extensively applied alternatives to serum diagnostic samples-such as saliva-for detecting pathogens or antibodies. In this study, we investigated the exposure of horses in Greece to A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi, and L. infantum, and we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of saliva compared to serum in detecting IgG antibodies against the abovementioned pathogens. Paired saliva and serum samples were collected from 317 horses from different regions in Greece. The paired samples were examined using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for detecting IgG antibodies against A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi, and L. infantum. Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were determined to assess the validity of saliva as an alternative to serum. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that the optimal cut-off value for detecting antibodies against all the examined pathogens in saliva was 1/10. Higher seropositivity rates were found for B. burgdorferi (15.14%) and A. phagocytophilum (14.19%) compared to L. infantum (1.26%). The detection of IgG antibodies using IFAT in saliva samples had a good test performance compared to serum. The two sample types had a substantial to almost perfect agreement. Although the sensitivity was moderate (70.83-75.56%) in all cases, the specificity was almost perfect to perfect (99.63-100%). This study provides the first evidence that horses in Greece are exposed to A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi and confirms that the seroprevalence of L. infantum in horses in Greece remains low. Our findings suggest that saliva sampling coupled with IFAT could be successfully applied for detecting IgG antibodies against these important zoonotic pathogens in large-scale epidemiological studies in horses, at the population level, as an alternative to serum.

Boosting oxygen electrocatalytic performance of Cu atom by engineering the d-band center via secondary heteroatomic phosphorus modulation

Atomically dispersed catalysts have been widely explored for some reactions, but it remains a challenge to modulate the electronic structure of the center metal for enhancing the electrochemical activity. Herein, the electrochemical activity of copper single-atom catalyst (Cu SAC) was significantly improved by doping secondary heteroatomic phosphorus to engineer the d-band center of Cu atoms, which was named Cu SAC/P. In alkaline media, the Cu SAC/P-700 catalyst exhibited excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance with a higher half-wave potential than Cu SAC-700, even better than the state-of-the-art 20 wt% Pt/C 20 mV. The oxygen electroactivity coefficient was only 0.76 V, achieving good performance in zinc-air battery tests. Density functional theory calculations suggested that phosphorus effectively modulated the density of states and the d-band center of Cu atoms. It improved the adsorption of the reaction intermediates and facilitated to trap them on Cu atoms, thus boosting the ORR activity of the catalyst.

Choosing blood pressure thresholds to inform pregnancy care in the community: An analysis of cluster trials.

To inform digital health design by evaluating diagnostic test properties of antenatal blood pressure (BP) outputs and levels to identify women at risk of adverse outcomes. Planned secondary analysis of cluster randomised trials. India, Pakistan, Mozambique. Women with in-community BP measurements and known pregnancy outcomes. Blood pressure was defined by its outputs (systolic and/or diastolic, systolic only, diastolic only or mean arterial pressure [calculated]) and level: normotension-1 (<135/85 mmHg), normotension-2 (135-139/85-89 mmHg), non-severe hypertension (140-149/90-99 mmHg; 150-154/100-104 mmHg; 155-159/105-109 mmHg) and severe hypertension (≥160/110 mmHg). Dose-response (adjusted risk ratio [aRR]) and diagnostic test properties (negative [-LR] and positive [+LR] likelihood ratios) were estimated. Maternal/perinatal composites of mortality/morbidity. Among 21 069 pregnancies, different BP outputs had similar aRR, -LR, and +LR for adverse outcomes. No BP level (even normotension-1) was associated with low risk (all -LR ≥0.20). Across outcomes, risks rose progressively with higher BP levels above normotension-1. For each of maternal central nervous system events and stillbirth, BP ≥155/105 mmHg showed at least good diagnostic test performance (+LR ≥5.0) and BP ≥135/85 mmHg at least fair performance, similar to BP ≥140/90 mmHg (+LR 2.0-4.99). In the community, normal BP values do not provide reassurance about subsequent adverse outcomes. Given the similar performance of BP cut-offs of 135/85 and 140/90 mmHg for hypertension, and 155/105 and 160/110 mmHg for severe hypertension, digital decision support for women in the community should consider using these lower thresholds.

Electrochemical immunosensor based on Fe3O4/MWCNTs-COOH/AuNPs nanocomposites for trace liver cancer marker alpha-fetoprotein detection

An electrochemical biosensor based on iron tetroxide (Fe3O4)/carboxylated carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH)/gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was designed for the detection of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which is often used as an important indicator for the early clinical diagnosis of liver cancer markers. The Fe3O4/MWCNTs-COOH nanocomposite was synthesized by a solvothermal method and it combined with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) deposited at the constant potential on a glassy carbon electrode to form Fe3O4/MWCNTs-COOH/AuNPs, which intensifies the electrical signal while the large active sites enable more stable immobilization of the AFP monoclonal antibodies on the electrode. The electrochemical performance of Fe3O4/MWCNTs-COOH/AuNPs was investigated in detail and the electrochemical response signal after the immune reaction with the AFP antigen-antibody was recorded. The peak current Ip of the response signal is linearly proportional to the lgcAFP in the range of 1 pg mL−1–10 μg mL−1, with a detection limit of 1.09034 pg mL−1 and good performance in clinical sample testing. The proposed sensor has shown great application and development potential in clinical medicine field.

Vision rescue via unconstrained in vivo prime editing in degenerating neural retinas.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited retinal dystrophy causing progressive and irreversible loss of retinal photoreceptors. Here, we developed a genome-editing tool characterized by the versatility of prime editors (PEs) and unconstrained PAM requirement of a SpCas9 variant (SpRY), referred to as PESpRY. The diseased retinas of Pde6b-associated RP mouse model were transduced via a dual AAV system packaging PESpRY for the in vivo genome editing through a non-NGG PAM (GTG). The progressing cell loss was reversed once the mutation was corrected, leading to substantial rescue of photoreceptors and production of functional PDE6β. The treated mice exhibited significant responses in electroretinogram and displayed good performance in both passive and active avoidance tests. Moreover, they presented an apparent improvement in visual stimuli-driven optomotor responses and efficiently completed visually guided water-maze tasks. Together, our study provides convincing evidence for the prevention of vision loss caused by RP-associated gene mutations via unconstrained in vivo prime editing in the degenerating retinas.

A biomimetic beetle-like membrane with superoleophilic SiO2-induced oil coalescence on superhydrophilic CuC2O4 nanosheet arrays for effective O/W emulsion separation

It is highly attractive to develop highly efficient oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion separation technologies for promoting the oily wastewater treatment. Herein, a novel inversely Stenocara beetle-like hierarchical structure of superhydrophobic SiO2 nanoparticle-decorated CuC2O4 nanosheet arrays were prepared on copper mesh membrane by bridging polydopamine (PDA) to make a SiO2/PDA@CuC2O4 membrane for substantially enhanced separation of O/W emulsions. The superhydrophobic SiO2 particles on the as-prepared SiO2/PDA@CuC2O4 membranes were served as localized active sites to induce coalescence of small-size oil droplets in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Such innovated membrane delivered outstanding demulsification ability of O/W emulsion with a high separation flux of 2.5 kL⋅m−2⋅h−1 and its filtrate’s chemical oxygen demand (COD) being 30 and 100 mg⋅L−1 for surfactant-free emulsion (SFE) and surfactant-stabilized emulsion (SSE), respectively, and also exhibited a good anti-fouling performance in cycling tests. The innovative design strategy developed in this work broadens the application of superwetting materials for oil-water separation and presents a promising prospect in practical oily wastewater treatment applications.