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ACS Omega 2021 Apr 22;6(13):9001-9012. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman 76169-13439, Iran.

Reservoir conformance control methods may significantly improve enhanced oil recovery technologies through reduced water production and profile correction. Excessive water production in oil and gas reservoirs leads to severe problems. Water shutoff and conformance control are, therefore, financially and environmentally advantageous for the petroleum industry. Read More

Mymensingh Med J 2021 Apr;30(2):267-273

Dr Mohammed Amdad Ullah Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Mymensingh Medical College (MMC), Mymensingh, Bangladesh; E-mail:

Pneumonia is an acute on chronic infection involving the pulmonary parenchyma. Most cases are caused by microbial pathogens usually bacteria or viruses and less often fungi or parasites. Hyponatraemia on admission is associated with greater risk of death and increased length of hospital stays. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

Exploiting precious-metal-free and high-activity oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts has been in great demands toward many energy storage and conversion processes, for example, carbon dioxide reduction, metal-air batteries, and water splitting. In this study, the simple solid-state method is employed for coupling Ni (electron donors) with lower-Fermi-level MoO or WO (electron acceptors) into donor-acceptor ensembles with well-designed interfaces as robust electrocatalysts for OER. The resulting Ni/MoO and Ni/WO electrocatalysts exhibit smaller overpotentials of 287 and 333 mV at 10 mA cm as well as smaller Tafel slopes of 51 and 65 mV/dec, respectively, with respect to the single Ni, MoO, WO, and even the benchmark RuO in 1 M KOH. Read More

Scand J Occup Ther 2021 Apr 5:1-16. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Research, Beitostølen Health Sport Centre, Beitostølen, Norway.

Background: Meta-synthesis can enhance our existing knowledge regarding experiences of participation in group-based programs designed for young people with disabilities.

Aim: This study aimed to identify the transactional relations between the social contexts in group programs and meaningful personal experiences and developmental processes for young people with disabilities.

Method: For this research, 4 electronic data-bases were searched, 3406 citations were reviewed, and 13 qualitative studies describing experiences of participation in specially designed group-based programs from the perspective of young people with disabilities were included. Read More

Opt Express 2021 Mar;29(6):9207-9216

Metasurfaces have attracted extraordinary interest in achieving novel, ultrathin and compact photonic devices. To date, however, the realization of electrically tunable high-speed metasurfaces remains a great challenge. In this work, we present an electro-optic (EO) polymer/silicon hybrid metasurface modulator with an estimated 3dB modulation bandwidth up to 118 GHz. Read More

Rev Sci Instrum 2021 Mar;92(3):033512

Nevada National Security Site, New Mexico Operations, Sandia Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA.

We have commissioned a new time-resolved, x-ray imaging diagnostic for the Z facility. The primary intended application is for diagnosing the stagnation behavior of Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) and similar targets. We have a variety of imaging systems at Z, both time-integrated and time-resolved, that provide valuable x-ray imaging information, but no system at Z up to this time provides a combined high-resolution imaging with multi-frame time resolution; this new diagnostic, called TRICXI for Time Resolved In-Chamber X-ray Imager, is meant to provide time-resolved spatial imaging with high resolution. Read More

Rev Sci Instrum 2021 Mar;92(3):033704

College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.

An elevated-temperature in situ microtomography apparatus that can measure internal damage parameters under tensile loads at high temperatures up to 1000 °C is developed using a laboratory x-ray source. The maximum resolution of the apparatus can reach 3 µm by a reasonable design. A high-temperature environment is accomplished by means of a heating chamber based on a radiation technique using four halogen lamps with ellipsoidal reflectors. Read More

Int Psychogeriatr 2021 Apr 5:1-14. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Professor, First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Background: The management of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in patients with dementia is a major challenge. Since no effective therapy has been found to date and drug treatments are associatedwith significant side effects, there seems to be a pressing need for alternative non-pharmacological interventions.

Objectives: The current study aims to investigate and compare the effect of different types of physical exercise on the NPS. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol X 2021 Apr 13;10:100125. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Research Unit for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense C, Denmark.

Objective: In the last decade, there has been an increased interest in exploring the impact of the physical birth environment on midwifery practice and women's birth experiences. This study is based on the hypothesis that the environment for birth needs greater attention to improve some of the existing challenges in modern obstetric practice, for example the increasing use of augmentation and number of interventions during delivery.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial was carried out to study the effect of giving birth in a specially designed "birth environment room" on the use of augmentation during labor. Read More

J Wrist Surg 2021 Apr 4;10(2):136-143. Epub 2020 Dec 4.

Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo/São Paulo Hand Center, São Paulo, Brazil.

 Distal radius fracture is one of the most common lesions in adults. Surgical techniques have evolved considerably with a clear tendency toward mini-invasive techniques.  Our aim is to push the limits to a 12 mm approach and evaluate its clinical and radiological results. Read More

Georgian Med News 2021 Feb(311):41-45

Vinnytsja National Pyrogov memorial Medical University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology №1, Ukraine.

The aim - to assess the body size of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome to study their somatotypes and component composition of body weight. To solve the goals and objectives, were prospectively examined 105 women aged 20 to 36 years of different morphotypes. These patients were interviewed according to a specially designed questionnaire and divided into groups: 50 women with multifollicular ovarian structure and 25 - women with polycystic ovary structure. Read More

Neural Netw 2021 Mar 26;139:246-254. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Automation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS), Shenzhen, China. Electronic address:

Slender objects are long and thin objects. Existing object detection networks are not specially designed for detecting slender objects. We propose a method to detect slender objects. Read More

Micromachines (Basel) 2021 Mar 21;12(3). Epub 2021 Mar 21.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.

To prevent electron leakage in deep ultraviolet (UV) AlGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Al-rich -type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) has been utilized. However, the conventional EBL can mitigate the electron overflow only up to some extent and adversely, holes are depleted in the EBL due to the formation of positive sheet polarization charges at the heterointerface of the last quantum barrier (QB)/EBL. Subsequently, the hole injection efficiency of the LED is severely limited. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2021 Mar 28;21(7). Epub 2021 Mar 28.

Department of Medical IT Convergence Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 350-27 Gumi-daero, Gumi 39253, Korea.

Ultrasound transducer devices have their own frequency ranges, depending on the applications and specifications, due to penetration depth, sensitivity, and image resolution. For imaging applications, in particular, the transducer devices are preferable to have a wide bandwidth due to the specific information generated by the tissue or blood vessel structures. To support these ultrasound transducer devices, ultrasound power amplifier hardware with a wide bandwidth can improve the transducer performance. Read More

Biol Sport 2020 Dec 31;37(4):443-448. Epub 2020 Dec 31.

Faculty of Physical Education, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of training of one side of the body on the muscle torques and power output on the trained and untrained side. Seventeen female and twenty-two male students were subject to a four-week knee joint power training regimen on a specially designed stand. The subjects were divided into two groups: a training group (female - N = 11 and male - N = 16) and a control group (female - N = 6 and male - N = 6). Read More

Opt Lett 2021 Apr;46(7):1656-1659

We determine the fundamental limit of microresonator field uniformity. It can be achieved in a specially designed microresonator, called a bat microresonator, fabricated at the optical fiber surface. We show that the relative nonuniformity of an eigenmode amplitude along the axial length of an ideal bat microresonator cannot be smaller than 13, where ,, and are its refractive index, eigenmode wavelength, and -factor, respectively. Read More

J Pediatr Surg 2021 Mar 19. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Fundación Hospitalaria Mother and Child Medical Center, Av. Crámer 4602. Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina, C1429AKL.

Background / Purpose: To report the implementation of a specially designed vacuometer for the ambulatory measurement of the exact negative pressure self-applied by the patient when using the vacuum bell for the treatment of pectus excavatum and to analyze patient satisfaction with the device, by conducting a survey.

Methods: Between October 2018 and June 2020, all patients with pectus excavatum who received a vacuum bell at our Pectus Clinic were provided with a specially designed pectus vacuometer for their personal use. We described the vacuometer, the fundamentals of its development, and the utilization protocol. Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2021 Mar 19;594:635-649. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Department of Chemistry/Applied Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan.

Utilization of heterogenous catalysts to trigger peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation is considered an efficient strategy for environmental decontamination. Herein, a tightly bonded flake-like 2D/2D BiOBr/MoS heterojunction was successfully designed through co-precipitation process. By virtue of matched energy levels and intimate interfacial coupling, the Type-II BiOBr/MoS heterojunction significantly expedited charge carrier transfer and thereby promoted the catalytic performance for organic dye oxidation and Cr(VI) reduction. Read More

Bioresour Technol 2021 Mar 17;331:124955. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass Research Group, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.

Superheated steam (SHS) has been used as a carrier gas for pressurized steam torrefaction, steam explosion or pyrolysis, but is barely used as a heat source. However, SHS is superior in thermal capacity and heat transfer coefficient resulting in even heating and fast heating rates. Therefore, this work applied SHS as the sole heat source for torrefaction at ambient pressure. Read More

J Prosthet Dent 2021 Mar 24. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Professor, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan.

Statement Of Problem: Insufficient information is available regarding the trueness and precision of artificial teeth in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) milled complete dentures fabricated from custom disks, including prefabricated teeth.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to determine the trueness and precision of the position of the artificial teeth arranged in CAD-CAM milled complete dentures manufactured by using a custom disk method and to compare the trueness and precision of different tooth types and the occlusal surface and entire surface of the teeth.

Material And Methods: The milling data were designed by using a CAD software program. Read More

Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 2021 Mar 26;17(1):34. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.

Rationale: The Environmental Exposure Unit (EEU), a controlled allergen exposure model of allergic rhinitis (AR), has traditionally utilized seasonal allergens. We sought to clinically validate the use of house dust mite (HDM), a perennial allergen, in the HDM-EEU, a specially designed facility within the larger EEU.

Methods: Forty-four HDM-allergic and eleven non-allergic participants were screened and deemed eligible for one of two 3-h exposure sessions in the HDM-EEU. Read More

Opt Express 2021 Feb;29(3):3694-3707

We present an ultrasensitive enhanced fabrication-tolerance refractometer utilizing the polarimetric interference of a tapered PANDA-air-hole fiber (PAHF). To obtain high birefringence and unique group birefringence, the PAHF is specially designed by introducing double air holes into the cladding. Ultrahigh sensitivity can be achieved by reducing the group birefringence difference to zero, defined as birefringent dispersion turning point (BDTP). Read More

Opt Express 2021 Feb;29(3):3147-3162

In this letter, a distributed optical fiber hydrophone (DOFH) based on Φ-OTDR is demonstrated and tested in the field. The specially designed sensitized optical cable with sensitivity up to -146 dB rad/µPa/m is introduced, and an array signal processing model for DOFH is constructed to analyze the equivalence and specificity of the distributed array of acoustic sensors. In the field test, a 104-meter-long optical cable and a Φ-OTDR system based on heterodyne coherent detection (Het Φ-OTDR) is utilized, and underwater acoustic signal spatial spectrum estimation, beamforming and motion trajectory tracking with high accuracy can be realized. Read More

J Exp Pharmacol 2021 15;13:291-302. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.

Introduction: Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are isoenzymes ubiquitously expressed in the lungs where they catalyse cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP), which are fundamental second messengers in asthma, thereby regulating the intracellular concentrations of these cyclic nucleotides, their signaling pathways and, consequently, myriad biological responses. The superfamily of PDEs is composed of 11 families with a distinct substrate specificity, molecular structure and subcellular localization. Experimental studies indicate a possible role in asthma mainly for PDE3, PDE4, PDE5 and PDE7. Read More

J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2020 Oct-Dec;32(Suppl 1)(4):S612-S617

Allama Iqbal Medical College/ Jinnah Burn and Reconstructive Surgery Centre Lahore.

Background: Presence of good size perforators are mandatory to design perforator based pedicelledflaps specially in lower limb as flap failure rate isrelativelyhigh. We have explored the use ofsmartphonebaseddynamic thermal imagingand compared it with doppler to devise a protocol forplanning and executionof pedicled perforator flaps anddescribedits use in deciding delay of flap. We have also compared the time required for detecting dominant perforators. Read More

J Int Med Res 2021 Mar;49(3):3000605211000985

Department of Ophthalmology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

keratitis (AK) is a rare but severe ocular infection with a significant risk of vision loss. Contact lens use is the main risk factor for AK. The orthokeratology (OK) lens, a specially designed contact lens, has been used worldwide as an effective method of myopia control. Read More

Analyst 2021 Mar 10. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, Shandong, P.R. China.

A novel ratiometric electrochemical biosensing strategy based on T7 exonuclease (T7 Exo)-assisted homogenous target recycling coupling hairpin assembly triggered dual-signal output was proposed for the accurate and sensitive detection of microRNA-141 (miRNA-141). Concretely, in the presence of target miRNA, abundant signal transduction probes were released via the T7 Exo-assisted homogenous target recycling amplification, which could be captured by the specially designed ferrocene-labeled hairpin probe (Fc-H1) on -electrode interface and triggered the nonenzymatic catalytic hairpin assembly (Fc-H1 + MB-H2) to realize the cascade signal amplification and dual-signal output. Through such a conformational change process, the electrochemical signal of Fc (IFc) and MB (IMB) is proportionally and substantially decreased and increased. Read More

Am J Surg 2021 Feb 23. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, USA.

Background: While often thought of as a diagnostic tool, ultrasound (US) can also potentially be used as a therapeutic modality. US applies mechanical stress on endothelial cells and induces nitric oxide synthase, which regulates the secretion of nitric oxide, a potent vasodilator. In animal ischemic models, US has been shown to improve hindlimb, myocardial, and cerebral perfusion. Read More

Emergencias 2021 Abr;33(2):93-99

Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad Católica de Murcia, España.

Objectives: The main objective was to describe physicians’ perception of their knowledge, skill, and safety before and after training to perform videolaryngoscopy while using the Intubox barrier system when managing the airway of a patient with the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19). The secondary objective was to assess the safety afforded by the barrier by means of visually evaluating particle dispersion during intubation.

Material And Methods: Single-arm clinical simulation trial. Read More

Contemp Clin Trials Commun 2021 Mar 11;21:100737. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.

The incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) continues to rise and there remains a critical need to develop non-pharmacological interventions for managing opioid withdrawal in newborns. Objective physiologic markers of opioid withdrawal in the newborn remain elusive. Optimal treatment strategies for improving short-term clinical outcomes and promoting healthy neurobehavioral development have yet to be defined. Read More