A novel in-plane pore engineering strategy to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance of Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene is demonstrated, achieving higher electrochemical activity, lower charge transfer resistance, and improved stability, while further boosting performance via localized surface plasmon resonance under near-infrared laser irradiation.

Extremely preterm newborns who weigh less than 3.3 pounds have immature lungs that often require high levels of ventilation oxygen in the hospital. This contributes to the chronic lung disease bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or BPD, the most common cause of death for these tiny infants. BPD exacts a devastating toll on the immature lung. In one of the most extensive studies of the microorganisms in the intestines of very preterm infants, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Tennessee Health Science Center researchers show that the gut composition of fungi in the second week of life predicts the later development of BPD, weeks to months before diagnosis of that disease. They analyzed gut fungi in the first true non-meconium stool produced before two weeks of life and found that the fungal intestinal microbiome — known as the mycobiome — of infants who later developed BPD differed in community diversity, composition and interconnectivity from the infants who never got BPD, as measured by the most up-to-date bioinformatic techniques.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led team investigated whether participation in community gathering places reduces the risk of LOI among older adults, including those with mild disability.