Recent advances and perspectives of zinc metal-free anodes for zinc ion batteries

Zinc-ion batteries(ZIBs) are recognized as potential energy storage devices due to their advantages of low cost, high energy density, and environmental friendliness. However, zinc anodes are subject to unavoidable zinc dendrites, passivation, corrosion, and hydrogen evolution reactions during the charging and discharging of batteries, becoming obstacles to the practical application of ZIBs. Appropriate zinc metal-free anodes provide a higher working potential than metallic zinc anodes, effectively solving the problems of zinc dendrites, hydrogen evolution, and side reactions during the operation of metallic zinc anodes. The improvement in the safety and cycle life of batteries creates conditions for further commercialization of ZIBs. Therefore, this work systematically introduces the research progress of zinc metal-free anodes in “rocking chair” ZIBs. Zinc metal-free anodes are mainly discussed in four categories: transition metal oxides,transition metal sulfides, MXene(two dimensional transition metal carbide) composites, and organic compounds, with discussions on their properties and zinc storage mechanisms. Finally, the outlook for the development of zinc metal-free anodes is proposed. This paper is expected to provide a reference for the further promotion of commercial rechargeable ZIBs.

Assessment of public perspectives and barriers towards dengue preventive practices using the Health Belief Model in Puducherry,India:A cross-sectional study

Objective:To assess the perspectives and barriers towards dengue preventive practices among the residents of Puducherry,India.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 300 households in Puducherry,using a population-proportionate(7:3)distribution from urban and rural areas by grid sampling.One adult interview per household was conducted and the participants were selected using a KISH grid.A semi-structured questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model(HBM)with additional questions on knowledge assessment was used.Knowledge was assessed based on the correctness of answers and the HBM scores were calculated on a 5-point Likert scale.Participants were categorized based on the median score under each domain.Logistic regression was used for adjusted analysis and models were built to predict the performances in each domain.Results:Four percent of the participants lacked basic knowledge regarding dengue transmission.While 208(69.3%)participants did not consider themselves at risk of contracting dengue within the next year,majority perceived dengue as a disease with low severity.Around 49.3%(148)were skeptical about the benefit of time and money spent on dengue prevention.Inadequate government efforts were stated as the major barrier(47.0%)and frequent reminders(142,47.3%)as the major cue to action.Age above 50 years(aOR 1.78,95%CI 1.04-3.06,P=0.037)and rural locality(aOR 2.68,95%CI 1.52-4.71,P=0.001)were found to be significantly associated with poor knowledge scores.Urban participants had a significantly higher chance to perceive low susceptibility as compared to the rural counterparts(aOR 1.74,95%CI 1.05-2.9,P=0.03).Participants with less than a high school education had low perceived benefits(aOR 2.46,95%CI 1.52-3.96,P<0.001)and low self-efficacy scores(aOR 2.66,95%CI 1.61-4.39,P<0.001).Conclusions:This study identifies key gaps in dengue prevention,including low perceived susceptibility,mild disease perception,limited knowledge of breeding sites,and overreliance on government efforts.Tailoring interventions to community needs,stratified to factors influencing the community perspectives can significantly improve dengue prevention efforts.

Current perspectives of viral hepatitis

Viral hepatitis represents a major danger to public health,and is a globally leading cause of death.The five liver-specific viruses:Hepatitis A virus,hepatitis B virus,hepatitis C virus,hepatitis D virus,and hepatitis E virus,each have their own unique epidemiology,structural biology,transmission,endemic patterns,risk of liver complications,and response to antiviral therapies.There remain few options for treatment,in spite of the increasing prevalence of viral-hepatitiscaused liver disease.Furthermore,chronic viral hepatitis is a leading worldwide cause of both liver-related morbidity and mortality,even though effective treatments are available that could reduce or prevent most patients’complications.In 2016,the World Health Organization released its plan to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by the year 2030,along with a discussion of current gaps and prospects for both regional and global eradication of viral hepatitis.Today,treatment is sufficiently able to prevent the disease from reaching advanced phases.However,future therapies must be extremely safe,and should ideally limit the period of treatment necessary.A better understanding of pathogenesis will prove beneficial in the development of potential treatment strategies targeting infections by viral hepatitis.This review aims to summarize the current state of knowledge on each type of viral hepatitis,together with major innovations.

Mistreatment during Childbirth: Impact on Maternal Outcomes and Importance of Provider Perspectives

Background: Dying in childbirth is one of the most common causes of death for women. While maternal mortality rates, defined as deaths per 100,000 live births, have been steadily dropping in most countries worldwide, maternal mortality rates have doubled in the United States in the last twenty years. This commentary examines the various contributing factors to this trend. Methods: A literature review was performed using the keywords: maternal mortality, United States, disrespectful maternity care, obstetric violence, provider perspectives, and disparities. Maternal mortality statistics were obtained from the World Health Organization website. Results: Medical factors associated with maternal mortality include increased maternal age and cardiovascular conditions. Social factors include barriers to healthcare access, delays in receiving medical care, reduction in reproductive health services in some states, and non-obstetrical deaths such as accidents, domestic violence, and suicide. Racial inequities and disparities of care are reflected in higher maternal mortality rates for minorities and people of color. Disrespectful maternity care or obstetric violence has been reported worldwide as a factor in delay of lifesaving obstetrical care and reluctance by a pregnant person to access the healthcare system. About one in five US women has reported experiencing mistreatment, varying from verbal abuse to lack of privacy, from coerced procedures to neglect during childbirth. Conclusion: This commentary highlights the importance of inclusion of providers in research on respectful maternity care. Provider burnout, moral distress, limited time, and burden of clinical responsibilities are known challenges to respectful and comprehensive medical care. The association of disrespectful care with poor maternal outcomes needs to be studied. Exploring root causes of disrespectful childbirth care can empower nurses, midwives, and physicians to improve their environment and find solutions to reduce a potential cause of maternal mortality.

Surgeon Perspectives on Anastomotic Leaks and FluidAI’s StreamTM Platform: Integrating Qualitative Insights for Technological Innovation

Purpose: This article investigates the critical importance of integrating surgeons’ direct input into the development of innovative technologies that address gaps in surgical care, including those aimed at reducing anastomotic leaks (AL), a major complication in gastrointestinal surgery. While traditional quantitative research methods are prevalent, they often overlook the invaluable insights of the surgeons who manage these complications firsthand. Subjects and Methods: This study employs a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 40 surgeons from various specialties, including general, bariatric, colorectal, trauma, hepato-biliary, and thoracic surgery. The interviews were designed to probe the needs of surgeons, challenges currently faced, and gaps in clinical practice, research, and technology for detection and/or management of AL. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which revealed significant gaps in current technologies for early detection and prevention of leaks. Results: Surgeons expressed strong interest in FluidAI’s Stream™ Platform, a non-invasive medical device designed to monitor postoperative drainage fluid in real-time, providing continuous data on AL risk. The ability of this platform to offer early prediction through pH and electrical conductivity analysis was particularly appealing to participants, who emphasized the importance of timely interventions in improving patient outcomes. The study’s findings highlight not only the clinical challenges but also the emotional toll that AL takes on surgeons, underlining the need for innovations that are both data-driven and humanistic. Conclusion: By centering surgeons’ perspectives, this research advocates for a human-centered approach to technological advancement, ensuring that new tools are both clinically effective and aligned with the real-world needs of surgical practitioners.

Online International Peer Interaction:An Exploration of Impacts on Comprehensive Competencies,Global Perspectives,and Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

With the increasing trend of globalization and the rapid advancement of information technology,online learning platforms such as Zoom are becoming increasingly influential in the field of education.The focus of this study was the online international peer interaction based on the Zoom platform,detailing how such interaction programs are conducted and exploring in depth the specific impacts of this interaction mode on students’comprehensive competencies,global perspectives,and cross-cultural communication skills.This research not only provides new practical references for online learning and international education but also offers new research perspectives and directions for educators and researchers.

Past, Present and Future Perspectives of Rice Production in Tanzania

Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L. and Oryza. glaberrima) is one of the most important food crops in the world. World rice production has increased three times since the green revolution. However, climate change and global warming effects as well as ever increasing world population will require the world to produce more rice without increasing area under rice production in order to meet those demands. The best option to overcome these challenges includes adoption of climate-smart technologies and sustainable solutions to rice production. Rice was probably introduced in Tanzania over 1000 years ago by Asian traders during trade contacts between Asia and East Africa Coast through Indian Ocean. Rice cultivation had been restricted to coastal area until 19th century when it started spreading to interior areas of Tanzania. During colonial period (1880s-1960s), the emphasis was to produce cash crops as raw materials for industrialized world. After independence production of rice increased significantly. Currently, rice is the second most important food crop in Tanzania after maize and Tanzania is the leading producer of rice in East African countries. It ranks 4th and 22nd in Africa and World respectively in terms of rice production. In this paper, the rice history, ecosystems, challenges and future perspective for sustaining rice production in Tanzania is reviewed.

Appreciation of Chinese Garden Composition from Multiple Perspectives

This article observes the composition of Chinese gardening arts in light of philosophy,aesthetics of painting,stylistics and culture,and tries to explore the correlation between artistic composition and garden composition.

Advanced gastric cancer:Current treatment landscape and future perspectives

Gastric cancer currently ranks fourth in cancer-related mortality worldwide. In the western world, it is most often diagnosed at an advanced stage, after becoming metastatic at distant sites. Patients with advanced disease(locally advanced or metastatic) have a somber prognosis, with a median overall survival of 10-12 mo, and palliative chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment. In recent years, novel approaches using inhibition of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2) have demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free and overall survival, compared with chemotherapy alone, in first-line treatment of patients with overexpression of HER2. In addition, both second-line chemotherapy and treatment with the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-inhibitor ramucirumab demonstrated significant benefits in terms of overall survival, compared with best supportive care, in randomized studies. Moreover, ramucirumab in combination with chemotherapy demonstrated further significant benefits in terms of progression-free and overall survival, compared with chemotherapy alone, in second-line treatment for patients with metastatic gastric cancer. A recently published molecular classification of gastric cancer is expected to improve patient stratification and selection for clinical trials and provide a roadmap for future drug development. Nevertheless, despite these developments the prognosis of patients with advanced gastric cancer remains poor. In this review we discuss current standards of care and outline major topics of drug development in gastric cancer.

Ebola Virus Disease: General Characteristics, Thoughts, and Perspectives

In December 2013, a new round of Ebola virus disease （EVD） first occurred in a remote countryside of Guinea and then spread in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria of West Africa. EVD, caused by Ebolavirus and previously known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is an acute infectious disease with fatality rates up to 90%. As of August 22, 2014, the number of suspected and confirmed cases was 2615, causing 1427 deaths[I]. On August 8, 2014, World Health Organization announced the current outbreak in West Africa as an international public health emergency. The global epidemic tendency remains ambiguous to date. In recent years, China closely collaborates with West Africa in labor, business, overseas education, and also sends aid medical team there. Thus, the risk of importing the disease cannot be ignored. We conduct this literature review of epidemiology, pathogen, prophylaxis, and treatment to provide evidence for controlling the risk and carrying out effective interventions.

Wave Energy Study in China: Advancements and Perspectives

The history and current status of research and development of wave energy in the world is briefly introduced. The main problems existing in these studies are pointed out. The description is focused on the current status and the advancements achieved in China. After analysis of the wave energy resources and practical situations in China, it is pointed out that the studies on wave energy should be not only concentrated on the conversion efficiency and costs of wave energy devices, but also focused on the technology of independent operation and stable output of electricity. Finally, the perspectives of application of wave energy in China are discussed.

Outcomes and patients' perspectives of transition from paediatric to adult care in inflammatory bowel disease

AIM: To describe the disease and psychosocial outcomes of an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) transition cohort and their perspectives.METHODS: Patients with IBD, aged &#x0003e; 18 years, who had moved from paediatric to adult care within 10 years were identified through IBD databases at three tertiary hospitals. Participants were surveyed regarding demographic and disease specific data and their perspectives on the transition process. Survey response data were compared to contemporaneously recorded information in paediatric service case notes. Data were compared to a similar age cohort who had never received paediatric IBD care and therefore who had not undergone a transition process.RESULTS: There were 81 returned surveys from 46 transition and 35 non-transition patients. No statistically significant differences were found in disease burden, disease outcomes or adult roles and responsibilities between cohorts. Despite a high prevalence of mood disturbance (35%), there was a very low usage (5%) of psychological services in both cohorts. In the transition cohort, knowledge of their transition plan was reported by only 25/46 patients and the majority (54%) felt they were not strongly prepared. A high rate (78%) of discussion about work/study plans was recorded prior to transition, but a near complete absence of discussion regarding sex (8%), and other adult issues was recorded. Both cohorts agreed that their preferred method of future transition practices (of the options offered) was a shared clinic appointment with all key stakeholders.CONCLUSION: Transition did not appear to adversely affect disease or psychosocial outcomes. Current transition care processes could be optimised, with better psychosocial preparation and agreed transition plans.

Exosomes in neurological disease, neuroprotection, repair and therapeutics: problems and perspectives

Exosomes：Exosomes are a sub-population of micro-vesicles ranging from 40–100 nm that were earlier thought as artefacts under electron microscope.They recently came into attention for their storage of biological information,cell-to-cell communication,serving as biomarkers and potential use in neural protection and regeneration （Kalani et al., 2013, 2014a）.

Cancer Therapy with Phytochemicals: Present and Future Perspectives

Recently, a wide range of food-derived phytochemical compounds and their synthetic derivatives have been proposed for cancer treatment. Unfortunately, data available in related literature focus on the anti-cancer properties of compounds derived from edible plants, while very little is known about those derived from non-edible plants. And thus, the underlying mechanisms of their anti-cancer effects are yet to be elucidated. This review collates the available data on the anti-cancer activities of six phytochemical-derived compounds from edible and non-edible plants, i.e.

State-of-the-Art and Perspectives in the Field of Particulate Nanostructured Materials

A great attention has been paid to the research and development of nanostructured materials.The main preparation methods of ultrafine particles and nanostructured materials have been summarized. The applications of zone typical nanostructured materials have also been reviewed.The peculiar characteristics and properties. such as density, grain size, hardness, superplasticity,magnetic and catalytic properties have been discussed

Blood-brain barrier modeling: challenges and perspectives

The blood-brain barrier （BBB） forms a highly selective inter- face between blood and brain. Extensive research efforts have completely changed our view of the BBB in the last years, from a static, impermeable barrier to a dynamic, highly regulated and specific cellular system. The BBB ultrastructurally consists of specialized brain microvascular endothelial cells （BMEC） characterized by low pinocytic activity,

Perspectives on neuroreparative therapies for treating multiple sclerosis

A need to develop neuroreparative therapies for multiple sclerosis（MS）：MS is the most common neurological disease of young Caucasian adults.This disease is characterized by inflammatory demyelination of the central nervous system（CNS）and involves activation of key inflammatory cells of both the adaptive and innate immune systems,which target and destroy both myelin and oligodendrocytes （the my- elin-forming glial cells in the CNS）. Key pathological features of the disease include autoimmune inflammation, axonal degeneration and demyelination （myelin loss）, latter of which can occur in both white matter and gray matter. The key cell type damaged in MS is oligodendrocytes, which produce the insulating myelin sheath surrounding many axons in the CNS. Myelin and oligodendrocytes have critical roles.

A powerful HUPAN on a pan-genome study: significance and perspectives

Recently,a report explaining the construction of a Human Pangenome ANalysis(HUPAN)system attracted wide attention in the biomedicine community.The original article was published in Genome Biology,a leading international journal in genomics1.Many researchers,particularly those conducting basic medical research.

Environmental perspectives of COVID-19 outbreaks:A review

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,caused by the novel virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),began in December 2019 in China and has led to a global public health emergency.Previously,it was known as 2019-nCoV and caused disease mainly through respiratory pathways.The COVID-19 outbreak is ranked third globally as the most highly pathogenic disease of the twenty-first century,after the outbreak of SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2002 and 2012,respectively.Clinical,laboratory,and diagnostic methodology have been demonstrated in some observational studies.No systematic reviews on COVID-19 have been published regarding the integration of COVID-19 outbreaks(monitoring,fate and treatment)with environmental and human health perspectives.Accordingly,this review systematically addresses environmental aspects of COVID-19 outbreak such as the origin of SARS-CoV-2,epidemiological characteristics,diagnostic methodology,treatment options and technological advancement for the prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks.Finally,we integrate COVID-19 outbreaks(monitoring,fate and treatment)with environmental and human health perspectives.We believe that this review will help to understand the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as a multipurpose document,not only for the scientific community but also for global citizens.Countries should adopt emergency preparedness such as prepare human resources,infrastructure and facilities to treat severe COVID-19 as the virus spreads rapidly globally.

Role of transcribed ultraconserved regions in gastric cancer and therapeutic perspectives

Gastric cancer(GC)is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death.The occurrence and development of GC is a complex process involving multiple biological mechanisms.Although traditional regulation modulates molecular functions related to the occurrence and development of GC,the comprehensive mechanisms remain unclear.Ultraconserved region(UCR)refers to a genome sequence that is completely conserved in the homologous regions of the human,rat and mouse genomes,with 100%identity,without any insertions or deletions,and often located in fragile sites and tumour-related genes.The transcribed UCR(T-UCR)is transcribed from the UCR and is a new type of long noncoding RNA.Recent studies have found that the expression level of T-UCRs changes during the occurrence and development of GC,revealing a new mechanism underlying GC.Therefore,this article aims to review the relevant research on T-UCRs in GC,as well as the function of T-UCRs and their regulatory role in the occurrence and development of GC,to provide new strategies for GC diagnosis and treatment.