A simple and straightforward method using microwave-assisted reactions is presented for the functionalization of graphene oxide with aromatic and non-aromatic amines, notedly dibenzylamine (DBA),
p
...-phenylenediamine (PPD), diisopropylamine (DPA) and piperidine (PA). The as-synthesized amine-functionalized graphene oxide materials (amine-GO) were characterized using spectroscopic techniques including XRD, FTIR,
13
C NMR, XPS, TEM for imaging and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The characterization confirmed the functionalization for all amines, reaching relatively high surface nitrogen atomic concentrations of up to 8.8%. The investigations of electrochemical behavior for the amine-GOs show the significant improvement in GO's electrochemical properties through amine functionalization, exhibiting long life cycle stability and reaching specific capacitance values of up to 290 F g
−1
and 260 F g
−1
for GO-PA and GO-DPA samples, respectively, confirming their potential application as alternative supporting materials in supercapacitors.
A simple and straightforward method using microwave-assisted reactions is presented for the functionalization of graphene oxide with aromatic and non-aromatic amines.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Ultrasensitive detection and spatially resolved mapping of neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin, are critical to facilitate understanding brain functions and investigate the information ...processing in neural networks. In this work, we demonstrated single molecule detection of dopamine and serotonin using a graphene–Au nanopyramid heterostructure platform. The quasi-periodic Au structure boosts high-density and high-homogeneity hotspots resulting in ultrahigh sensitivity with a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) enhancement factor ∼1010. A single layer graphene superimposed on a Au structure not only can locate SERS hot spots but also modify the surface chemistry to realize selective enhancement Raman yield. Dopamine and serotonin could be detected and distinguished from each other at 10–10 M level in 1 s data acquisition time without any pretreatment and labeling process. Moreover, the heterostructure realized nanomolar detection of neurotransmitters in the presence of simulated body fluids. These findings represent a step forward in enabling in-depth studies of neurological processes including those closely related to brain activity mapping (BAM).
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
From previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there is consensus about the positive effect of exercise training on exercise capacity for systolic heart failure (HF); however, the effect on ...actual prognostic markers such as NTproBNP and minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO
2
) slope has not been evaluated. The primary aim of the proposed study is to determine the effect of aerobic exercise training (AEX) on the VE/VCO
2
slope and NTproBNP. The following databases (up to February 30, 2013) were searched with no language limitations: CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2013, issue 2), MEDLINE (from January 1966), EMBASE (from January 1980), and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) (from January 1929). We screened reference lists of articles and also conducted an extensive hand search of the literature. Randomized controlled trials of exercise-based interventions with 2-month follow-up or longer compared to usual medical care or placebo were included. The study population comprised adults aged between 18 and 65 years, with evidence of chronic systolic heart failure (LVEF < 45 % and baseline NTproBNP > 300 pg/ml). Two review authors independently extracted data on study design, participants, interventions, and outcomes. We assessed the risk of bias using PEDro scale. We calculated mean differences (MD) or standardized mean differences between intervention and control groups for outcomes with sufficient data; for other outcomes, we described findings from individual studies. Eight studies involving a total of 408 participants met the inclusion criteria across the NTproBNP (5 studies with 191 patients) and VE/VCO
2
slope (4 studies with 217 patients). Aerobic exercise significantly improved NTproBNP by a MD of −817.75 95 % confidence interval (CI) −929.31 to −706.19. Mean differences across VE/VCO
2
slope were −6.55 (95 % CI −7.24 to −5.87). Those patients’ characteristics and exercise were similar (frequency = 3–5 times/week; duration = 20–50 min/day; intensity = 60–80 % of VO
2
peak) on the included studies. Moreover, the risk of bias across all studies was homogeneous (PEDro scale = 7–8 points). However, based on the statistical analysis, the heterogeneity among the studies was still high, which is related to the variable characteristics of the studies. Aerobic exercise may be effective at improving NTproBNP and the VE/VCO
2
slope in systolic HF patients, but these effects are limited to a specific HF population meeting specific inclusion criterion in a limited number of studies. Future randomized controlled studies including diastolic and HF overleap with pulmonary diseases are needed to better understand the exact influence of AEX.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Trigeminal electrical stimulation of the dorsal anterior mucosal surface of the tongue has demonstrated its efficacy in a variety of neurological disorders in which anatomical or functional ...alterations are present. The pathogenesis of such disorders is often linked to altered arousal circuits, and the benefits of tongue stimulation are attributed to the rebalancing of this system. Dental ULFTENS shows efficacy in acting on the muscular, autonomic system and control of the descending pathways that modulate pain. It is administered at the skin level in the area anterior to the tragus and not on the mucosal surface of the tongue. The use of this stimulation technique at the tongue level could have new applications and clinical results if it were able to reduce the activity of arousal circuits.
A new intraoral device allowed electrical stimulation of the dorsal anterior mucosa of the tongue in 32 healthy young women. The effects on HRV were monitored by photoplethysmographic wave (PPG) and compared with a control group. The HRV parameters studied were RMSSD, HF, LF, LF/HF, REC, DET.
The group of stimulated subjects showed a significant change in some of the HRV parameters that was maintained even in the epoch after the end of electrical stimulation. This effect can be considered as a vagal activation and a change of HRV trend. The control group of unstimulated subjects showed an opposite trend. There were no undesirable or annoying effects of stimulation.
Stimulation of the dorsal anterior (trigeminal) mucosal surface of the tongue with ULFTENS applied with an intraoral device was shown to be able to increase HRV.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The lack of diversity among faculty at universities and medical schools in the United States is a matter of growing concern. However, the factors that influence the career choices of underrepresented ...minority and female postdoctoral researchers have received relatively little attention. Here we report the results of a survey of 1284 postdocs working in the biomedical sciences in the US. Our findings highlight possible reasons why some underrepresented minority and female postdocs choose not to pursue careers in academic research, and suggest interventions that could be taken in the early stages of postdoctoral training to prevent this attrition of underrepresented groups.
Over the past decades, self-assembled, vertically-aligned nanotubes have been generated on metallic substrates via anodization, which attracted significant scientific interest for a broad range of ...applications. These nano-tubular structures integrate highly controllable geometry at the nano-scale with fascinating chemical and biological properties. In this review, we first discussed mechanistic aspects of nanotube growth primarily on titanium (Ti) substrates by controlled anodization, a relatively inexpensive and scalable electrochemical process. We thoroughly reviewed electrochemical conditions that led to formation of self-assembled, vertically-aligned nano-tubular layers as they apply primarily to Ti substrates; we also reviewed anodization conditions that have led to formation of nanotubes on zirconium and various Ti alloys. We discussed how to adjust a set of anodization parameters to fine-tune the geometry of vertically oriented titania (TiO2) nanotubes, such as nanotube diameter, wall thickness, and length. We critically analyzed the key anodization parameters in the literature, including applied voltage, anodization duration, voltage ramp, electrolyte composition and concentration, electrolyte pH, electrolyte temperature, and electrolyte fluoride and water concentrations. Lastly, we discussed the promising properties of anodically grown TiO2 nano-tubular arrays for a wide range of biomedical applications, including directing cell bioactivity, anti-bacterial efficacy, modulating deposition of hydroxyapatite, drug delivery, biosensors, and orthopedic implants (in vivo). We highlighted ongoing in vitro and in vivo studies on the effects of nanotube geometry and aspect ratio on their hydrophilicity and interactions with biological entities at the protein, cellular and tissue level.
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
Although previous studies have revealed professional consequences of burnout among nurses, less is known about the potential personal consequences. This study investigated the ...prevalence of suicidal ideation and attitudes toward help seeking among U.S. nurses relative to other workers, and the extent to which personal and professional factors, including burnout, were related to suicidal ideation.
Methods:
In November 2017, a cross-sectional survey was sent to 86,858 nurses who were members of the American Nurses Association and to a probability-based sample of 5,198 U.S. workers. The survey included questions regarding suicidal ideation, burnout, symptoms of depression, individual and professional characteristics, and willingness to seek professional help if a serious emotional problem arose. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with suicidal ideation after controlling for other factors.
Results:
Among the 7,378 nurse respondents, 403 (5.5%) reported having suicidal ideation within the past year. Most nurses (84.2%) indicated willingness to seek professional help for a serious emotional problem. Yet nurses with suicidal ideation were less likely to report that they'd seek such help (72.6%) than nurses without suicidal ideation (85%). In a multivariable analysis of nurses' data, after controlling for other personal and professional characteristics, we found that burnout was strongly associated with suicidal ideation. Adjusted combined multivariable analyses showed that nurses were more likely than other workers to have suicidal ideation. Both nurses and other workers who reported suicidal ideation were less likely to seek help than were those who did not report such ideation.
Conclusions:
Compared with other U.S. workers, nurses are at higher risk for suicidal ideation, and nurses with such ideation are more reluctant to seek help than those without it. Burnout contributes to the risk of suicidal ideation. These issues warrant greater attention. Systems- and practice-level interventions must be identified and implemented, both to address the higher prevalences of burnout and suicidal ideation in nurses and to mitigate the stigma about mental health problems and other barriers to seeking help.
The US COVID‐19 crises: facts, science and solidarity Cipriano, Pamela F.; Boston‐Leary, Katie; Mcmillan, Kendra ...
International nursing review,
December 2020, 2020-Dec, 2020-12-00, 20201201, Volume:
67, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The United States leads the world in COVID‐19 cases and deaths. The government’s poorly coordinated response has lacked national mandates, failed to deploy adequate personal protective equipment, ...supplies and testing and devalued advice of science experts. COVID‐19 exposed racial disparities in health care and as protests against racial injustice erupted, nurses have responded to the call to confront racism as a public health crisis. Nurses also suffer from lack of personal protective equipment, burnout, extreme workloads, overwhelming deaths and fear of contracting COVID‐19. While facing danger, nurses have implemented practice changes and fostered new roles and teamwork to provide safer care. Advancing policy to provide personal protective equipment as well as financial and mental health support for nurses is a priority nationally and globally.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
The shielding tensor in 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) offers important information about the structural aspects of carbon materials from a local point of view. Not only the symmetry of the ...carbon site but also the presence of local structural distortions can affect the values of the isotropic shielding constant, the shielding anisotropy, and the deviation from axial symmetry. In this report, the 13C shielding in a single graphene sheet was calculated using density functional theory (DFT) via the gauge-including projector augmented plane wave (GIPAW) method. After performing convergence tests involving changes of k sampling and supercell size, the calculations were extended to graphene-based systems, including graphene bilayer and stacked graphene sheets, finally leading to hexagonal graphite. The calculated results showed good agreement with experimental values obtained by 13C NMR measurements in different types of carbon materials, evidencing the power of the DFT calculations for predicting NMR parameters in graphene-based nanocarbons.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
IntroductionA significant number of patients with COVID-19 may experience dyspnoea, anxiety, depression, pain, fatigue and physical impairment symptoms, raising the need for a multidisciplinary ...rehabilitation approach, especially for those with advanced age, obesity, comorbidities and organ failure. Traditional pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), including exercise training, psychosocial counselling and education, has been employed to improve pulmonary function, exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with COVID-19. However, the effects of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in PR programmes remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether the addition of a supervised IMT in a PR is more effective than PR itself in improving dyspnoea, health-related quality of life and exercise capacity in symptomatic patients with post-COVID-19.Methods and analysisThis parallel-group, assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial, powered for superiority, aimed to assess exercise capacity as the primary outcome. A total of 138 are being recruited at two PR centres in Brazil. Following baseline testing, participants will be randomised using concealed allocation, to receive either (1) standard PR with sham IMT or (2) standard PR added to IMT. Treatment effects or differences between the outcomes (at baseline, after 8 and 16 weeks, and after 6 months) of the study groups will be analysed using an ordinary two-way analysis of variance.Ethics and disseminationThis trial was approved by the Brazilian National Ethics Committee and obtained approval on 7 October 2020 (document number 4324069). The findings will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.Trial registration numberNCT04595097.
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