Sulfur-rich molybdenum sulfides are an emerging class of inorganic coordination polymers that are predominantly utilized for their superior catalytic properties. Here we investigate surface water ...dependent properties of sulfur-rich MoS x (x = 32/3) and its interaction with water vapor. We report that MoS x is a highly hygroscopic semiconductor, which can reversibly bind up to 0.9 H2O molecule per Mo. The presence of surface water is found to have a profound influence on the semiconductor’s properties, modulating the material’s photoluminescence by over 1 order of magnitude, in transition from dry to moist ambient. Furthermore, the conductivity of a MoS x -based moisture sensor is modulated in excess of 2 orders of magnitude for 30% increase in humidity. As the core application, we utilize the discovered properties of MoS x to develop an electrolyteless water splitting photocatalyst that relies entirely on the hygroscopic nature of MoS x as the water source. The catalyst is formulated as an ink that can be coated onto insulating substrates, such as glass, leading to efficient hydrogen and oxygen evolution from water vapor. The concept has the potential to be widely adopted for future solar fuel production.
The family of crystals constituting covalently bound strings, held together by van der Waals forces, can be exfoliated into smaller entities, similar to crystals made of van der Waals sheets. ...Depending on the anisotropy of such crystals, as well as the spacing between their strings in each direction, van der Waals sheets or ribbons can be obtained after the exfoliation process. In this work, we demonstrate that ultrathin nanoribbons of bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) can be synthesized via a high-power sonication process. The thickness and width of these ribbons are governed by the van der Waals spacings around the strings within the parent crystal. The lengths of the nanoribbons are initially limited by the dimensions of the starting bulk particles. Interestingly, these nanoribbons change stoichiometry and composition and are elongated when the duration of agitation increases because of Ostwald ripening. An application of the exfoliated van der Waals strings is presented for optical biosensing using photoluminescence of Bi2S3 nanoribbons, reaching detection limits of less than 10 nM L–1 in response to bovine serum albumin. The concept of exfoliating van der Waals strings could be extended to a large class of crystals for creating bodies ranging from sheets to strings, with optoelectronic properties different from that of their bulk counterparts.
The family of crystals constituting covalently bound strings, held together by van der Waals forces, can be exfoliated into smaller entities, similar to crystals made of van der Waals sheets. ...Depending on the anisotropy of such crystals, as well as the spacing between their strings in each direction, van der Waals sheets or ribbons can be obtained after the exfoliation process. In this work, we demonstrate that ultrathin nanoribbons of bismuth sulfide (Bi
S
) can be synthesized via a high-power sonication process. The thickness and width of these ribbons are governed by the van der Waals spacings around the strings within the parent crystal. The lengths of the nanoribbons are initially limited by the dimensions of the starting bulk particles. Interestingly, these nanoribbons change stoichiometry and composition and are elongated when the duration of agitation increases because of Ostwald ripening. An application of the exfoliated van der Waals strings is presented for optical biosensing using photoluminescence of Bi
S
nanoribbons, reaching detection limits of less than 10 nM L
in response to bovine serum albumin. The concept of exfoliating van der Waals strings could be extended to a large class of crystals for creating bodies ranging from sheets to strings, with optoelectronic properties different from that of their bulk counterparts.
Background Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) are known to reduce mortality and cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease who have not progressed to ...left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) and/or heart failure (HF). This study investigated the effect of changes in statin therapy and cholesterol level on mortality in patients with LVSD. Methods Data from consecutive patients with LVSD enrolled in a single local hospital HF management program were analyzed. Patients were grouped according to changes in statin treatment within 4 months after their initial visit: groups NS (no statin), IS (initiation of statin), CS (continuation of statin), and SS (statin stopped). Results Nine hundred patients were followed for a median of 36 (28-43) months (range, 16-66 months). The 2-year mortality was 16.7%. Groups IS and CS had lower 2-year mortality than groups NS and SS (11.0% and 11.9% vs 22.0% and 34.8%, respectively; P < .001). This was independent of age, sex, severity of LVSD, HF medications, New York Heart Association functional class, and baseline cholesterol. The effect was mainly observed in patients with coronary artery disease. In 734 patients who had completed 1-year follow-up on stable HF treatment, neither baseline cholesterol nor change over 1 year predicted outcome. Conclusion Initiation and maintenance of treatment with statins is associated with better survival in patients with LVSD. This could not be explained by other measured variables.
IntroductionLung cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and surgery remains the main treatment for early stage disease. Prior to the introduction of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery ...(VATS), lung resection for cancer was undertaken through an open thoracotomy. To date, the evidence base supporting the different surgical approaches is based on non-randomised studies, small randomised trials and is focused mainly on short-term in-hospital outcomes.Methods and analysisThe VIdeo assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy versus conventional Open LobEcTomy for lung cancer study is a UK multicentre parallel group randomised controlled trial (RCT) with blinding of outcome assessors and participants (to hospital discharge) comparing the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of VATS lobectomy versus open lobectomy for treatment of lung cancer. We will test the hypothesis that VATS lobectomy is superior to open lobectomy with respect to self-reported physical function 5 weeks after randomisation (approximately 1 month after surgery). Secondary outcomes include assessment of efficacy (hospital stay, pain, proportion and time to uptake of chemotherapy), measures of safety (adverse health events), oncological outcomes (proportion of patients upstaged to pathologic N2 (pN2) disease and disease-free survival), overall survival and health related quality of life to 1 year. The QuinteT Recruitment Intervention is integrated into the trial to optimise recruitment.Ethics and disseminationThis trial has been approved by the UK (Dulwich) National Research Ethics Service Committee London. Findings will be written-up as methodology papers for conference presentation, and publication in peer-reviewed journals. Many aspects of the feasibility work will inform surgical RCTs in general and these will be reported at methodology meetings. We will also link with lung cancer clinical studies groups. The patient and public involvement group that works with the Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit at the Brompton Hospital will help identify how we can best publicise the findings.Trial registration number ISRCTN13472721
One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood
.... Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers of alterations in nerve tissue repair (SPON-1 and NFASC) were elevated in those with cognitive impairment and SCG3, suggestive of brain-gut axis disturbance, was elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) was persistently elevated in some individuals with long COVID, but virus was not detected in sputum. Analysis of inflammatory markers in nasal fluids showed no association with symptoms. Our study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie long COVID and was not designed for biomarker discovery. Our findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of long COVID, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials.
The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after ...hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures.
In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025.
Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years SD 12; 158 61% male and 101 39% female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years SD 14; 30 58% male and 22 42% female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 61% of 259 vs 14 27% of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio OR 2·9 95% CI 1·5–5·8; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years 95% CI 4–10; mean age of 59·8 years SD 11·7 with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years 11·9 without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 1·32–4·82; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 1·23–11·88; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation.
After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification.
UK Research and Innovation and National Institute for Health Research.
2D materials with high in‐plane anisotropy are rapidly emerging as a tantalizing class of nanomaterials with promising applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics since they provide an ...additional degree of freedom that can be exploited in device design. The large‐area synthesis of such materials remains however challenging since the anisotropic crystal structure renders identifying a suitable growth substrate to be difficult, while the nanosheets are usually too fragile for the exfoliation and transfer of macroscopic sheets. This work reports the scalable synthesis of highly crystalline, large‐area 2D Bi2S3 nanosheets using a novel liquid‐metal‐based synthesis approach. Ultrathin bismuth oxide sheets are exfoliated from molten bismuth followed by tube furnace sulfurization. The strategy effectively separates the formation of layered structures from the process of anisotropic crystallization, overcoming the shortcomings of established techniques. The synthesized nanosheets feature a highly anisotropic orthorhombic crystal structure with intraplane van der Waals gaps and a direct bandgap of ≈2.3 eV. The nanosheets are found to be highly photoconductive with a photoresponsivity of 8 A W−1. Bi2S3 channel‐based field effect transistors feature a maximum hole mobility of 28 cm2 V−1 s−1, highlighting the excellent electronic properties of the isolated nanosheets.
This work broadens the scalable synthesis and application of anisotropic 2D Bi2S3 nanosheets for potential optoelectronic devices. The synthesis method results in large lateral size nanosheets of Bi2S3 which are highly in‐plane anisotropy and p‐type semiconductivity. Photodetection and field effect transistor devices with 2D Bi2S3 channel exhibit a good responsivity of 8 A W−1 and a maximum mobility of 28 cm2 V−1 s−1.
Telemonitoring involves remotely monitoring patients' vital signs. It is an innovative and promising development in the care of people with heart failure that may reduce hospital admissions and the ...burden on the NHS, as well as improve patients' quality of life and clinical outcomes. This article describes what telemonitoring is and explores the evidence base for its use. The role of the nurse in telemonitoring is also discussed, with particular reference to dealing with and responding to alerts. The development and implementation of new technology is essential to improve the delivery of healthcare and optimise patient outcomes, and telemonitoring may play an important role in the future of heart failure services.
Abstract
2D materials with high in‐plane anisotropy are rapidly emerging as a tantalizing class of nanomaterials with promising applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics since they provide ...an additional degree of freedom that can be exploited in device design. The large‐area synthesis of such materials remains however challenging since the anisotropic crystal structure renders identifying a suitable growth substrate to be difficult, while the nanosheets are usually too fragile for the exfoliation and transfer of macroscopic sheets. This work reports the scalable synthesis of highly crystalline, large‐area 2D Bi
2
S
3
nanosheets using a novel liquid‐metal‐based synthesis approach. Ultrathin bismuth oxide sheets are exfoliated from molten bismuth followed by tube furnace sulfurization. The strategy effectively separates the formation of layered structures from the process of anisotropic crystallization, overcoming the shortcomings of established techniques. The synthesized nanosheets feature a highly anisotropic orthorhombic crystal structure with intraplane van der Waals gaps and a direct bandgap of ≈2.3 eV. The nanosheets are found to be highly photoconductive with a photoresponsivity of 8 A W
−1
. Bi
2
S
3
channel‐based field effect transistors feature a maximum hole mobility of 28 cm
2
V
−1
s
−1
, highlighting the excellent electronic properties of the isolated nanosheets.
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