Nanostructured Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Coatings on Functionalized Glass for Energy Storage.

Conducting polymers rise among some of the most promising transparent supercapacitor electrode materials due to high conductivity, environmental stability, light weight, and ease of synthesis. A major challenge for depositing conducting polymers on a glass substrate is the lack of molecular interactions between organic and inorganic moieties resulting in poor adhesion and low cycling stability of the electrode. We present a synthetic approach by covalently linking poly(3,4-ethylyenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and glass through Friedel-Crafts alkylation on a self-assembled diphenyldimethoxysilane monolayer. This method obviates the need for a conductive FTO or ITO coating, enabling the fabrication of current collector-free planar supercapacitor electrodes on any glass surface. The electrode produced from our vapor-phase synthesis is coated with a highly conductive nanofibrillar PEDOT film (sheet resistance 2.1 Ω/□) possessing a gravimetric capacitance of ∼200 F/g. Our PEDOT planar supercapacitor possesses outstanding stability (86% capacitance retention after 50,000 cycles). We also fabricate a proof-of-concept transparent tandem supercapacitor on PEDOT-coated glass using 3D-printed frames that supplies enough voltage and current to light up a blue light-emitting diode (LED).

Lymphohistiocytic Myocarditis Possibly Due to Moderna mRNA-1273 Vaccine.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the clear benefits of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination in mitigating the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there are emerging reports of postvaccination myocarditis, the majority of which are diagnosed based on the clinical and radiologic findings without biopsy confirmation. We report a case of biopsy-confirmed lymphohistiocytic myocarditis after Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccination. METHODS: We describe a case of a previously healthy 45-year-old woman who had palpitations, exercise intolerance, and syncope 1 week after her first mRNA-1273 vaccine dose. Laboratory tests and cardiac imaging were compatible with myocarditis. Given her unusual clinical presentation, an endomyocardial biopsy was performed to exclude other potential etiologies. RESULTS: The endomyocardial biopsy specimen showed patchy endocardial and intramyocardial lymphohistiocytic infiltrates with scattered eosinophils and focal myocyte injury. CD3 and CD68 immunostains confirmed the lymphocytic and histiocytic nature of the infiltrate, respectively. A focal histiocytic collection suggestive of an ill-defined granuloma was present. The histologic and immunohistochemical findings of a lymphohistiocytic myocarditis were highly suggestive of a postvaccination hypersensitivity reaction. CONCLUSIONS: Myocarditis following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is a rare adverse event. The findings of a lymphohistiocytic myocarditis with scattered eosinophils and a possible ill-defined granuloma are highly suggestive of a hypersensitivity reaction. The mechanism by which this inflammation occurs remains uncertain. Despite our findings, the benefits of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination far outweigh the risks.

Metabolic Profiling of Neocortical Tissue Discriminates Alzheimer's Disease from Mild Cognitive Impairment, High Pathology Controls, and Normal Controls.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for an estimated 60-80% of cases, and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. While considerable advancements have been made in the clinical care of AD, it remains a complicated disorder that can be difficult to identify definitively in its earliest stages. Recently, mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics has shown significant potential for elucidation of disease mechanisms and identification of therapeutic targets as well diagnostic and prognostic markers that may be useful in resolving some of the difficulties affecting clinical AD studies, such as effective stratification. In this study, complementary gas chromatography- and liquid chromatography-MS platforms were used to detect and monitor 2080 metabolites and features in 48 postmortem tissue samples harvested from the superior frontal gyrus of male and female subjects. Samples were taken from four groups: 12 normal control (NC) patients, 12 cognitively normal subjects characterized as high pathology controls (HPC), 12 subjects with nonspecific mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 12 subjects with AD. Multivariate statistics informed the construction and cross-validation (p < 0.01) of partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models defined by a nine-metabolite panel of disease markers (lauric acid, stearic acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, and four unidentified mass spectral features). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed high predictive accuracy of the resulting PLS-DA models for discrimination of NC (97%), HPC (92%), MCI (∼96%), and AD (∼96%) groups. Pathway analysis revealed significant disturbances in lysine degradation, fatty acid metabolism, and the degradation of branched-chain amino acids. Network analysis showed significant enrichment of 11 enzymes, predominantly within the mitochondria. The results expand basic knowledge of the metabolome related to AD and reveal pathways that can be targeted therapeutically. This study also provides a promising basis for the development of larger multisite projects to validate these candidate markers in readily available biospecimens such as blood to enable the effective screening, rapid diagnosis, accurate surveillance, and therapeutic monitoring of AD. All raw mass spectrometry data have been deposited to MassIVE (data set identifier MSV000087165).

Meta-Analysis of Aidi Injection and First-Generation Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Treating Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

The combination of Aidi injection (ADI) and epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been reported, but the effects of this therapy have not been systematically assessed. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before June 2020 were searched from 6 databases. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of 8 RCTs involving 667 patients diagnosed with stage III-IV NSCLC. We found that ADI combined with EGFR-TKI increased the objective response rate (ORR) significantly (relative risk [RR]: 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-1.99, P < 0.0001). There was also improvement in the disease control rate (DCR) (RR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.11-1.40, P = 0.0002) as compared with EGFR-TKI alone. This therapy also increased the percentage of CD3+ cells (weighted mean difference [WMD]: 9.86; 95% CI: 4.62-15.10), CD4+ cells (WMD: 6.10; 95% CI: 1.67-10.53), and the CD4+/CD8+ (WMD: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.28-0.43). With regard to drug toxicity, the occurrence of rash was significantly reduced by ADI combined with EGFR-TKI (RR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.63-0.97, P = 0.03); however, we did not find a significant reduction in the occurrence of dry skin, nausea and vomiting, as well as diarrhea between the 2 therapies. ADI combined with first-generation EGFR-TKIs may be more effective in improving tumor response, reducing the occurrence of rash, and enhancing immune function in NSCLC than EGFR-TKI alone.

Unravelling the Mysteries of Traumatic Diaphragmatic Injury: An Up-to-Date Review.

Traumatic diaphragmatic injury (TDI) is an underdiagnosed condition that has recently increased in prevalence due to its association with automobile collisions. The initial injury is often obscured by concurrent thoracic and abdominal injuries. Traumatic diaphragmatic injury itself is rarely lethal at initial presentation, however associated injuries and complications of untreated TDI such as herniation and strangulation of abdominal viscera have serious clinical consequences. There are 2 primary mechanisms of TDIs: penetrating TDI which tend to be smaller, more difficult to detect, and result in fewer complications; and blunt TDIs which are larger and have higher overall mortality due to associated injuries or delayed complications. The anatomy of thoracic and abdominal cavities distinguishes the epidemiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, treatment, and prognosis of right versus left TDI. Although there is no definitive radiologic sign for diagnosing TDI, many signs have been introduced in the literature and the concurrent presence of multiple signs increases the sensitivity of TDI detection. Conservative versus surgical management depends on mechanism of TDI, side, and most importantly the associated injuries.