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Development of efficient catalysts for selective electroreduction of CO 2 to high-value products is essential for the deployment of carbon utilization technologies. Here we present a scalable method for preparing Cu electrocatalysts that favor CO 2 conversion to C 2+ products with faradaic efficiencies up to 72%. Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction data confirms that anodic halogenation of electropolished Cu foils in aqueous solutions of KCl, KBr, or KI creates surfaces of CuCl, CuBr, or CuI, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy studies show that significant changes to the morphology of Cu occur during anodic halogenation and subsequent oxide-formation and reduction, resulting in catalysts with a high density of defect sites but relatively low roughness. This work shows that efficient conversion of CO 2 to C 2+ products requires a Cu catalyst with a high density of defect sites that promote adsorption of carbon intermediates and C–C coupling reactions while minimizing roughness. Selective reduction of carbon dioxide to high-value products is key for advancing carbon capture and utilization technologies. Here the authors prepare a copper catalyst for electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to C 2+ products with enhanced selectivity that is attributed to a high density of surface defects.

Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (Rgnef/p190RhoGEF), a RhoA-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor, has been implicated in cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but little is known about its role in bone. Here we investigate the roles of Rgnef in bone metabolism using Rgnef-deficient and overexpressing mice. Compared with littermate wildtype mice, Rgnef-deficient mice had increased bone mass owing to lower osteolysis and higher osteogenesis, and Rgnef-overexpressing transgenic mice had the opposite bone phenotype. Rgnef deficiency inhibited osteoclast formation and resorptive function and promoted osteoblast differentiation and mineralization, whereas Rgnef overexpression had the reverse effect. Mechanistically, Rgnef promotes osteoclastogenesis by enhancing the activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinases and AKT through the activation of RhoA and Rac1 and attenuates osteoblastogenesis through the RhoA/Rac1-mediated NF-κB activation. Moreover, Rgnef-deficient mice were protected from bone loss caused by lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation or ovariectomy. Thus, Rgnef is a crucial regulator of bone metabolism and could serve as a potential new target for treating bone diseases. Rgnef regulates bone metabolism and osteoclast activity Bone health relies on a balance between bone breakdown by cells called osteoclasts and bone building by cells called osteoblasts. Researchers explored the role of a protein called Rgnef in bone health. They found that Rgnef affects both osteoclasts and osteoblasts by controlling proteins called RhoA and Rac1, which are involved in cell movement and structure. In their study, they used mice that either lacked Rgnef or had extra amounts of it. Mice without Rgnef had stronger bones, whereas those with extra Rgnef had weaker bones. This was because Rgnef influences how well osteoclasts break down bone and how well osteoblasts build it. Researchers used various lab techniques to study these effects, including examining bone cells under a microscope and measuring specific proteins. Findings suggest that targeting Rgnef could be a new way to treat bone diseases. This summary was initially drafted using artificial intelligence, then revised and fact-checked by the author.

Quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are ideal for large-panel displays because of their excellent efficiency, colour purity, reliability and cost-effective fabrication 1 – 4 . Intensive efforts have produced red-, green- and blue-emitting QD-LEDs with efficiencies of 20.5 per cent 4 , 21.0 per cent 5 and 19.8 per cent 6 , respectively, but it is still desirable to improve the operating stability of the devices and to replace their toxic cadmium composition with a more environmentally benign alternative. The performance of indium phosphide (InP)-based materials and devices has remained far behind those of their Cd-containing counterparts. Here we present a synthetic method of preparing a uniform InP core and a highly symmetrical core/shell QD with a quantum yield of approximately 100 per cent. In particular, we add hydrofluoric acid to etch out the oxidative InP core surface during the growth of the initial ZnSe shell and then we enable high-temperature ZnSe growth at 340 degrees Celsius. The engineered shell thickness suppresses energy transfer and Auger recombination in order to maintain high luminescence efficiency, and the initial surface ligand is replaced with a shorter one for better charge injection. The optimized InP/ZnSe/ZnS QD-LEDs showed a theoretical maximum external quantum efficiency of 21.4 per cent, a maximum brightness of 100,000 candelas per square metre and an extremely long lifetime of a million hours at 100 candelas per square metre, representing a performance comparable to that of state-of-the-art Cd-containing QD-LEDs. These as-prepared InP-based QD-LEDs could soon be usable in commercial displays. A method of engineering efficient and stable InP/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) has improved their performance to the level of state-of-the-art cadmium-containing QD-LEDs, removing the problem of the toxicity of cadmium in large-panel displays.

Oxide ceramic electrolytes for realization of high-energy lithium metal batteries typically require high-temperature processes to achieve the desired phase formation and inter-particle sintering. However, such high-temperature processing can lead to compositional changes or mechanical deformation, compromising material reliability. Here, we introduce a disorder-driven, sintering-free approach to synthesize garnet-type solid electrolyte via the creation of an amorphous matrix followed by a single-step mild heat-treatment. The softened mechanical property (yield pressure, P y  = 359.8 MPa) of disordered base materials enables the facile formation of a dense amorphous matrix and the preserving of inter-particle connectivity during crystallization. The formation of the cubic-phase garnet is triggered at a lowered temperature of 350 °C, achieving a Li + ionic conductivity of 1.8 × 10 –4 S/cm at 25 °C through a single-step mild heat treatment at 500 °C. The disorder-driven garnet solid electrolyte exhibits electrochemical performance comparable to conventional garnet solid electrolyte sintered at >1100 °C. These findings will promote the fabrication of uniform, thin, and wide solid electrolyte membranes, which is a significant hurdle in the commercialization of oxide-based lithium metal batteries, and demonstrate the untapped capabilities of garnet-type oxide solid electrolytes. Oxide ceramic electrolytes for Li-metal batteries often require high-temperature processing, which can compromise material reliability. Here, the authors present a sintering-free approach to synthesize disorder-driven garnet-type solid electrolytes, achieving performance comparable to traditional sintered materials.

The obesity problem has reached a critical level and is threatening not only personal health but also public health systems around the world. Obesity in young adults is especially rapidly growing and many studies have confirmed that the best prevention is developing healthy eating habits with the improvement of food and health promotion literacy competencies. In this context, this study diagnoses the present levels of food literacy and health promotion literacy among young adults and explores the relationships between both literacies and their healthy eating habits. A total of 325 young adults in South Korea participated in this research, and the results are as follows. First, all food literacy components, which are food and nutrition knowledge, food skills, and resilience, are positively associated with healthy eating habits. Second, health promotion literacy is also positively associated with young adults’ healthy eating habits. Lastly, unlike the primary information sources, gender has a moderating effect on the relationships between both literacies and healthy eating habits. This indicates that the government and educational sectors should propose more policy supports and solid education systems in order to help young adults develop their food and health promotion literacies for overall well-being in the future.

Fall-related injury is a common cause of mortality among the elderly. Hip fractures are especially dangerous and can even be fatal. In this study, a threshold-based preimpact fall detection algorithm was developed for wearable airbags that minimize the impact of falls on the user’s body. Acceleration sum vector magnitude (SVM), angular velocity SVM, and vertical angle, calculated using inertial data captured from an inertial measurement unit were used to develop the algorithm. To calculate the vertical angle accurately, a complementary filter with a proportional integral controller was used to minimize integration errors and the effect of external impacts. In total, 30 healthy young men were recruited to simulate 6 types of falls and 14 activities of daily life. The developed algorithm achieved 100% sensitivity, 97.54% specificity, 98.33% accuracy, and an average lead time (i.e., the time between the fall detection and the collision) of 280.25 ± 10.29 ms with our experimental data, whereas it achieved 96.1% sensitivity, 90.5% specificity, and 92.4% accuracy with the SisFall public dataset. This paper demonstrates that the algorithm achieved a high accuracy using our experimental data, which included some highly dynamic motions that had not been tested previously.

BACKGROUNDPemphigus, a rare autoimmune bullous disease mediated by antidesmoglein autoantibodies, can be controlled with systemic medication like rituximab and high-dose systemic corticosteroids combined with immunosuppressants. However, some patients continue to experience chronically recurrent blisters in a specific area and require long-term maintenance systemic therapy.METHODSSkin with chronic blisters was obtained from patients with pemphigus. Immunologic properties of the skin were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining, bulk and single-cell RNA and TCR sequencing, and a highly multiplex imaging technique known as CO-Detection by indEXing (CODEX). Functional analyses were performed by flow cytometry and bulk RNA-Seq using peripheral blood from healthy donors. Intralesional corticosteroid was injected into patient skin, and changes in chronically recurrent blisters were observed.RESULTSWe demonstrated the presence of skin tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) with desmoglein-specific B cells in chronic blisters from patients with pemphigus. In the skin TLSs, CD4+ T cells predominantly produced CXCL13. These clonally expanded CXCL13+CD4+ T cells exhibited features of activated Th1-like cells and downregulated genes associated with T cell receptor-mediated signaling. Tregs are in direct contact with CXCL13+CD4+ memory T cells and increased CXCL13 production of CD4+ T cells through IL-2 consumption and TGF-β stimulation. Finally, intralesional corticosteroid injection improved chronic blisters and reduced skin TLSs in patients with pemphigus.CONCLUSIONThrough this study we conclude that skin TLSs are associated with the persistence of chronically recurrent blisters in patients with pemphigus, and the microenvironmental network involving CXCL13+CD4+ T cells and Tregs within these structures plays an important role in CXCL13 production.TRIAL REGISTRATIONClinicalTrials.gov NCT04509570.FUNDINGThis work was supported by National Research Foundation of South Korea (NRF-2021R1C1C1007179) and Korea Drug Development Fund, which is funded by Ministry of Science and ICT; Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy; and Ministry of Health and Welfare (grant RS-2022-00165917).

Many safety accidents can occur in industrial sites. Among them, falls from heights (FFHs) are the most frequent accidents and have the highest fatality rate. Therefore, some existing studies have developed personal wearable airbags to mitigate the damage caused by FFHs. To utilize these airbags effectively, it is essential to detect FFHs before collision with the floor. In this study, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor attached to the seventh thoracic vertebrae (T7) was used to develop an FFH detection algorithm. The vertical angle and vertical velocity were calculated using the inertial data obtained from the IMU sensor. Forty young and healthy males were recruited to perform non-FFH and FFH motions. In addition, experiments using a human mannequin and dynamics simulations were performed to obtain FFH data at heights above 2 m. The developed algorithm achieved 100% FFH detection accuracy and provided sufficient lead time such that the airbags could be inflated completely before collision with the floor.

Autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBDs) are a group of life-threatening blistering diseases caused by autoantibodies that target proteins in the skin and mucosa. Autoantibodies are the most important mediator in the pathogenesis of AIBDs, and various immune mechanisms contribute to the production of these pathogenic autoantibodies. Recently, significant progress has been made in understanding how CD4 + T cells drive autoantibody production in these diseases. Here, we review the critical role of CD4 + T cells in the production of pathogenic autoantibodies for the initiation and perpetuation of humoral response in AIBDs. To gain an in-depth understanding of CD4 + T-cell pathogenicity, antigen specificity, and mechanisms of immune tolerance, this review covers comprehensive mouse and human studies of pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid. Further exploration of pathogenic CD4 + T cells will potentially provide immune targets for improved treatment of AIBDs.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to significantly affect patients with lung cancer, owing to its rapid progression and high mortality. Studies on lung cancer diagnosis and treatment during an epidemic are lacking. We analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer diagnosis in Korea, where lung cancer incidence continues to rise. Methods The number of newly diagnosed lung cancer cases in three university-affiliated hospitals during the pandemic and their clinical features were compared with lung cancer cases diagnosed during the same period in the past 3 years. The effectiveness of measures taken by the study hospitals to prevent nosocomial transmission was reviewed. Results A total of 612 patients were diagnosed with lung cancer from February through June, 2017–2020. During the pandemic, the number of patients who sought consultation at the division of pulmonology of study hospitals dropped by 16% from the previous year. Responding to the pandemic, the involved hospitals created physically isolated triage areas for patients with acute respiratory infection symptoms. Wide-range screening and preventive measures were implemented, thus minimizing the delay in lung cancer diagnosis. No patient acquired COVID-19 due to hospital exposure. The proportion of patients with stage III–IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) significantly increased (2020: 74.7% vs. 2017: 57.9%, 2018: 66.7%, 2019: 62.7%, p  = 0.011). The number of lung cancers diagnosed during this period and the previous year remained the same. Conclusions The proportion of patients with advanced NSCLC increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.