Effects of nurse-led hierarchical management care on acute stroke patients: A pilot study to promote stroke-associated pneumonia management.

Background: Stroke-related pneumonia (SAP) is a common complication in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients, and it has adverse effects on the clinical outcomes and increases the burden on patients' families and society. Early identification and individualized care are necessary to reduce the incidence of SAP. Objective: The present study aimed to explore the effect of nurse-led hierarchical management care based on the acute ischemic stroke-associated pneumonia score (AIS-APS) scale in AIS patients. Methods: A quasi-intervention pilot study design was adopted for the present study. A total of 120 AIS patients were enrolled and assigned to the intervention group and the control group, with 60 subjects in each group in a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China. The control group received routine care, whereas the intervention group was given nurse-led hierarchical management care based on the AIS-APS scale. The intervention duration was more than 7 days, and the incidence of SAP, neurological function, swallowing function, and activities of daily living (ADLs) at discharge were observed. The outcomes were assessed at baseline and at outpatient time. Results: A total of 120 participants were enrolled in our study. A significant decrease was found in the incidence of SAP in the intervention group (18.3%) compared with that in the control group (41.7%). Positive outcomes were shown in neurology function, swallowing function, and ADL in the intervention group. Conclusion: Nurse-led hierarchical management care based on AIS-APS can reduce the incidence of SAP, promote AIS patients' neurological function, and maintain patients' ADL. The results of our study indicated that nurse-led hierarchical management care is feasible for AIS patients and provides individualized interventions for patients with different levels of SAP risk. Nurse-led hierarchical management care could be incorporated into routine nursing practice. Further study is needed and expected to solve more clinical problems.

Research hotspots and frontiers of post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation: a bibliometric study and visualization analysis.

Background: Aphasia is a common complication of stroke and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Rehabilitation plays a crucial role in the comprehensive management of post-stroke aphasia and its consequences. However, bibliometric analysis in the field of post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation is still lacking. This study aimed to comprehensively identify assistance networks, analyze research trends, focus on hot and cutting-edge health topics related to post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation, and inform future research guidelines. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) electronic database was searched from inception to January 4, 2023 to identify studies related to post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation. Bibliometric analysis and visualization of country, institution, journal, author, reference, and keywords were performed using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. Results: A total of 2,325 papers were included in the analysis, with a progressive increase in the number of articles published each year. The USA was the country with the most publications (809 articles), and the University of Queensland was the institution with the most publications (137 articles). The subject area of post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation is dominated by clinical neurology (882 articles). Aphasiology was the journal with the most publications (254 articles) and the most cited journal (6,893 citations). Worrall L was the most prolific author (51 publications), and Frideriksson J was the most cited author (804 citations). Conclusion: By using bibliometrics, we provided a comprehensive review of studies related to post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation. Future research hotspots on topics related to post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation will mainly focus on the plasticity mechanisms of neurolinguistics networks, language function assessment, language rehabilitation modalities, and patients' rehabilitation needs and participation experiences in post-stroke aphasia. This paper provides systematic information that is worth exploring in the future.

Three-Dimensional-Bioprinted Bioactive Glass/Cellulose Composite Scaffolds with Porous Structure towards Bone Tissue Engineering.

In this study, three-dimensional (3D) bioactive glass/lignocellulose (BG/cellulose) composite scaffolds were successfully fabricated by the 3D-bioprinting technique with N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) as the ink solvent. The physical structure, morphology, mechanical properties, hydroxyapatite growth and cell response to the prepared BG/cellulose scaffolds were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the BG/cellulose scaffolds had uniform macropores of less than 400 µm with very rough surfaces. Such BG/cellulose scaffolds have excellent mechanical performance to resist compressive force in comparison with pure cellulose scaffolds and satisfy the strength requirement of human trabecular bone (2-12 MPa). Furthermore, BG significantly increased the excellent hydroxyapatite-forming capability of the cellulose scaffolds as indicated by the mineralization of the scaffolds in simulated body fluid (SBF). The BG/cellulose scaffolds showed low cytotoxicity to human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) in the CCK8 assay. The cell viability reached maximum (percent of the control group) when the weight ratio of cellulose to BG was 2 in the scaffold. Therefore, the 3D-printed BG/cellulose scaffolds show a potential application in the field of bone tissue engineering.

Uniaxial Strain-Induced Tunable Mid-infrared Light Emission from Thin Film Black Phosphorus.

Strain engineering is a powerful tool that can modulate semiconductor device performance. Here, we demonstrate that the bandgap of thin film (∼40 nm) black phosphorus (bP) can be continuously tuned from 2.9 to 3.9 µm by applying an in-plane uniaxial strain, as evidenced by mid-infrared photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The deduced bandgap strain coefficients are ∼103 meV %-1, which coincide with those obtained in few-layer bP. On the basis of first-principles calculations, the origin of the uniaxial tensile strain-induced PL enhancement is suggested to be due to the increase in both the effective mass ratio (me*/mh*) and the bandgap, leading to the increment of the radiative efficiency. Moreover, the mid-infrared PL emission remains perfectly linear-polarized along the armchair direction regardless of tensile or compressive strain. The highly tunable bandgap of bP in the mid-infrared regime opens up opportunities for the realization of mid-infrared light-emitting diodes and lasers using layered materials.

Physicochemical and Photocatalytic Properties of 3D-Printed TiO2/Chitin/Cellulose Composite with Ordered Porous Structures.

In this study, we printed three-dimensional (3D) titanium dioxide (TiO2)/chitin/cellulose composite photocatalysts with ordered interconnected porous structures. Chitin microparticles were mixed with cellulose in the N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) solution to prepare the printing "ink". TiO2 nanoparticles were embedded on the chitin/cellulose composite in the NMMO removal process by water before the freeze-drying process to build the 3D cellulosic photocatalysts with well-defined porous structures. The 3D-printed TiO2/chitin/cellulose composites were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Disperse Spectroscopy (EDS). The XRD and FTIR analyses showed that chitin had an interference effect on the crystal regeneration of cellulose and resulted in a large amount of amorphous phase. The SEM images show that the printed cellulosic strands had a hollow structure, and the EDS analysis showed that TiO2 nanoparticles were embedded on the chitin/cellulose composite surfaces. In the photocatalytic degradation process of methylene blue (MB) dye in an aqueous solution, the TiO2/chitin/cellulose 3D composite photocatalysts demonstrated efficient MB degradation activities with excellent reusability and stability, in which the chitin content performed the function of adjusting the MB degradation efficiency.

Surface Engineering of Cr-Doped Cobalt Molybdate toward High-Performance Hydrogen Evolution.

Replacing commercial noble metal catalysts with earth-abundant metal catalysts for hydrogen production is an important research direction for electrolytic water. Improving the catalytic performance of non-noble metals while maintaining stability is a key challenge for alkaline hydrogen evolution. Herein, we combined alkali etching and surface phosphating to regulate the properties of Cr-doped CoMoO4 material, forming a surface structure in which amorphous cobalt phosphate and Cr-doped Co(Mo)Ox coexist. As expected, the as-prepared catalytic material exhibits remarkable hydrogen evolution activity in 1.0 M KOH, only requiring a low overpotential of 52.7 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2, and can maintain this current density for 24 h. The characterization and analysis of the catalyst before and after the stability test reveal that the Cr doping and surface engineering (i.e., alkali etching and phosphating) synergistically increase the adsorption and dissociation of water, optimize the desorption of H, and ultimately accelerate hydrogen evolution. This work provides a new strategy for tailoring nonprecious metal materials to improve the hydrogen production from water electrolysis.

Structure Optimization of Cellulose Nanofibers/Poly(Lactic Acid) Composites by the Sizing of AKD.

Recently, cellulose nanofibers (CNF) are used as one novel fillers to reinforce poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix and form PLA green nanocomposites. In the present work, alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) was used as the sizing of CNF to improve the interfacial compatibility between the hydrophilic CNF and the hydrophobic PLA. The interactions between the AKD and CNF were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which showed the formation of ketone ester structure between AKD and the hydroxyl groups of CNF. Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the little reduced thermal stability of the AKD-CNF/PLA composites. The AKD-CNF/PLA morphology has rough surfaces due to the incorporation of cellulose nanofibers. The mechanical properties of AKD-CNF/PLA were tested by tensile testing, which discovered more AKD-CNF content enhances stress-strain performance. The highest tensile strength of composites was obtained for PLA with 5.0 wt.% AKD-cellulose, which is almost nine times higher than that of the pure PLA.

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Gene Expression Inheritance Patterns Associated with Cabbage Head Heterosis.

The molecular mechanism of heterosis or hybrid vigor, where F1 hybrids of genetically diverse parents show superior traits compared to their parents, is not well understood. Here, we studied the molecular regulation of heterosis in four F1 cabbage hybrids that showed heterosis for several horticultural traits, including head size and weight. To examine the molecular mechanisms, we performed a global transcriptome profiling in the hybrids and their parents by RNA sequencing. The proportion of genetic variations detected as single nucleotide polymorphisms and small insertion-deletions as well as the numbers of differentially expressed genes indicated a larger role of the female parent than the male parent in the genetic divergence of the hybrids. More than 86% of hybrid gene expressions were non-additive. More than 81% of the genes showing divergent expressions showed dominant inheritance, and more than 56% of these exhibited maternal expression dominance. Gene expression regulation by cis-regulatory mechanisms appears to mediate most of the gene expression divergence in the hybrids; however, trans-regulatory factors appear to have a higher effect compared to cis-regulatory factors on parental expression divergence. These observations bring new insights into the molecular mechanisms of heterosis during the cabbage head development.

Enhanced luminescence properties of InAs nanowires via organic and inorganic sulfide passivation.

InAs nanowires (NWs) have been considered to be highly suitable for future nanoscale photonic applications in mid-wave infrared region. However, progress in this area has been seriously hampered because of the poor radiative efficiency of InAs NWs attributed to their non-radiative (NR) surface. Herein, we demonstrated that a significant improvement of optical performances of InAs NWs grown by chemical vapor deposition could be achieved via sulfur passivation process. Luminescence properties of InAs NWs via organic sulfide (ODT) and inorganic sulfide ((NH4)2S) passivation were investigated by detailed photoluminescence (PL) measurement, which exhibited ∼17-fold enhancement in the intensity of optical emission compared to unpassivated InAs NWs. Moreover, the results of this investigation revealed that compared to ODT passivation, (NH4)2S passivation provided a more effective method to enhance the luminescence intensity even up to room temperature. This improvement of optical emission arises from the efficient passivation of surface defect states which act as competing NR centers. Furthermore, the stability of the passivated InAs NWs was investigated by PL measurement as a function of storage time in air. These findings are important for the successful implementation of optoelectronic devices based on InAs NWs.

Bonding MnO2/Fe3O4 shell-core nanostructures to catalyze H2O2 degrading organic dyes.

Shell-core nanostructures with both high catalytic activation and recyclability have been becoming hot property in nano-catalysis. By respectively using co-precipitation method, sol-gel method, and homogeneous precipitation method we manufactured shell-core nano-particles of Fe3O4 core and MnO2 shell. The Bonding mechanism of the composite is discussed in detail, and the efficiency and nature of the particles to degrade methyl orange by catalyzing H2O2 is also demonstrated. We show that by using homogeneous precipitation method one can obtain morphologically uniform nano-particles of about 5-6 nm MnO2 shell and 13-14 nm Fe3O4 core. The characteristic peak of Fe3O4 in the Infrared spectra of the composite particles was blue shifted, and a novel peak appears at 775.68 cm(-1) referring to occurrence of new bond. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis showed that the bonding energy of Fe2p and Ols was increased due to the combination of the MnO2 shell and the Fe3O4 core, suggesting a new bond of Fe-O-Mn occurred in the composite. The MnO2 shell has abundant hydroxyl radicals and exhibits high chemical activity in catalyzing H2O2 and degrading methyl orange with a degree of greater than 95%. On the other hand, the shell-core nanostructures are super-paramagnetic, and the saturated magnetization reaches 33.5 eum/g, which is sufficient for the catalyst to be recycled.