Solar cell substrates require high optical transparency but also prefer high optical haze to increase the light scattering and consequently the absorption in the active materials. Unfortunately, there is a trade-off between these optical properties, which is exemplified by common transparent paper substrates exhibiting a transparency of about 90% yet a low optical haze (<20%). In this work, we introduce a novel transparent paper made of wood fibers that displays both ultrahigh optical transparency (∼ 96%) and ultrahigh haze (∼ 60%), thus delivering an optimal substrate design for solar cell devices. Compared to previously demonstrated nanopaper composed of wood-based cellulose nanofibers, our novel transparent paper has better dual performance in transmittance and haze but also is fabricated at a much lower cost. This high-performance, low-cost transparent paper is a potentially revolutionary material that may influence a new generation of environmentally friendly printed electronics.

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BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice. There is increasing evidence that inflammation and oxidative stress contribute to the pathogenesis of AF, but their role remains poorly defined. Furthermore, it is unclear if inflammation and oxidative stress are associated with particular types of AF. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to define the role of inflammation and oxidative stress in AF. METHODS Using a case-control study design, 305 patients with AF were compared to 150 control patients. AF was categorized into lone and typical AF, and further sub-categorized as paroxysmal, persistent or permanent AF. Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTpBNP) and urinary F2-isoprostanes, a measure of oxidative stress, were measured. RESULTS IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, MCP1, VEGF and NTpBNP concentrations were independently associated with AF (all P values <0.05), but F2-isoprostane excretion was not elevated (P=0.50). There was a graded increase in TNF-α (median [interquartile range (IQR)]: 6.8 [3.4–11.3], 8.0 [5.6–10.9], 10.1 [5.7–12.4] pg/ml, P<0.05) and NTpBNP (170.6 [67.3–481.9], 681.39 [310.3–1439.0], 1179.9 [653.1–2096.0] pg/ml, P<0.001) among the subgroups of paroxysmal, persistent and permanent AF, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that inflammatory biomarkers were significantly increased in patients with AF, supporting a strong association between inflammation and the arrhythmia. Surprisingly, urinary F2-isoprostanes, a sensitive index of systemic oxidative stress in vivo, were not increased in AF overall, or in different subtypes of AF.

Changes in heart rate variability associated with acute stress may represent one pathway to disturbed sleep. Stress-related changes in heart rate variability during sleep may also be important in association with chronic stressors, which are associated with significant morbidity and increased risk for mortality.

Reported here is the first highly selective conversion of various waste plastics into C2 fuels under simulated natural environment conditions by a sequential photoinduced C−C cleavage and coupling pathway, where single‐use bags, disposable food containers, food wrap films, and their main components of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride can be photocatalytically transformed into CH3COOH without using sacrificial agents. As an example, polyethylene is photodegraded 100 % into CO2 within 40 h by single‐unit‐cell thick Nb2O5 layers, while the produced CO2 is further photoreduced to CH3COOH. Various methods and experiments disclose that O2 and .OH radicals trigger the oxidative C−C cleavage of polyethylene to form CO2, while other investigations show that the yielded CH3COOH stems from CO2 photoreduction by C−C coupling of .COOH intermediates. This two‐step plastic‐to‐fuel conversion may help to simultaneously address the white pollution crisis and harvest highly valuable multicarbon fuels in natural environments.

Background-Few studies have investigated the disease burden and genetic diversity of human rhinoviruses (HRV) in developing countries.

Objectives Drug repurposing, which finds new indications for existing drugs, has received great attention recently. The goal of our work is to assess the feasibility of using electronic health records (EHRs) and automated informatics methods to efficiently validate a recent drug repurposing association of metformin with reduced cancer mortality.Methods By linking two large EHRs from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Mayo Clinic to their tumor registries, we constructed a cohort including 32 415 adults with a cancer diagnosis at Vanderbilt and 79 258 cancer patients at Mayo from 1995 to 2010. Using automated informatics methods, we further identified type 2 diabetes patients within the cancer cohort and determined their drug exposure information, as well as other covariates such as smoking status. We then estimated HRs for all-cause mortality and their associated 95% CIs using stratified Cox proportional hazard models. HRs were estimated according to metformin exposure, adjusted for age at diagnosis, sex, race, body mass index, tobacco use, insulin use, cancer type, and non-cancer Charlson comorbidity index.Results Among all Vanderbilt cancer patients, metformin was associated with a 22% decrease in overall mortality compared to other oral hypoglycemic medications (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.69 to 0.88) and with a 39% decrease compared to type 2 diabetes patients on insulin only (HR 0.61; 95% CI 0.50 to 0.73). Diabetic patients on metformin also had a 23% improved survival compared with non-diabetic patients (HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.71 to 0.85). These associations were replicated using the Mayo Clinic EHR data. Many site-specific cancers including breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate demonstrated reduced mortality with metformin use in at least one EHR.Conclusions EHR data suggested that the use of metformin was associated with decreased mortality after a cancer diagnosis compared with diabetic and non-diabetic cancer patients not on metformin, indicating its potential as a chemotherapeutic regimen. This study serves as a model for robust and inexpensive validation studies for drug repurposing signals using EHR data.

ObjectiveTo examine the financial impact health information exchange (HIE) in emergency departments (EDs).Materials and MethodsWe studied all ED encounters over a 13-month period in which HIE data were accessed in all major emergency departments Memphis, Tennessee. HIE access encounter records were matched with similar encounter records without HIE access. Outcomes studied were ED-originated hospital admissions, admissions for observation, laboratory testing, head CT, body CT, ankle radiographs, chest radiographs, and echocardiograms. Our estimates employed generalized estimating equations for logistic regression models adjusted for admission type, length of stay, and Charlson co-morbidity index. Marginal probabilities were used to calculate changes in outcome variables and their financial consequences.ResultsHIE data were accessed in approximately 6.8% of ED visits across 12 EDs studied. In 11 EDs directly accessing HIE data only through a secure Web browser, access was associated with a decrease in hospital admissions (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.27; p<0001). In a 12th ED relying more on print summaries, HIE access was associated with a decrease in hospital admissions (OR=0.48; p<0001) and statistically significant decreases in head CT use, body CT use, and laboratory test ordering.DiscussionApplied only to the study population, HIE access was associated with an annual cost savings of $1.9 million. Net of annual operating costs, HIE access reduced overall costs by $1.07 million. Hospital admission reductions accounted for 97.6% of total cost reductions.ConclusionAccess to additional clinical data through HIE in emergency department settings is associated with net societal saving.