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Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are one of the standard treatments for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Some patients may opt for Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) of their own free will. However, there is no real-world evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of CHM. We aimed to explore the effectiveness of CHM for DKD in comparison to ARBs. We enrolled 732 DKD patients (72 used only CHM and 661 used ARBs) from 2007 to 2016, and all patients were followed until December 2016 at China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan. A total of 355 ARB users and 71 CHM users were analyzed after propensity score matching. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) after treatment was 84.9 ± 28.1 ml/min/1.73 m2in CHM users, which was higher than that (67.8 ± 35.4 ml/min/1.73 m2) in ARB users (p < 0.001). The change in the eGFR was −6.0 ± 21.4 ml/min/1.73 m2in CHM users and −12.9 ± 24.8 ml/min/1.73 m2in ARB users (p = 0.029). The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels of patients taking CHM were 22 ± 16 mg/dl and 0.9 ± 0.4 mg/dl, respectively, and were lower than those (30 ± 28 mg/dl and 1.7 ± 2.0 mg/dl) of patients taking ARBs (p = 0.025 and p = 0.003). Using linear regression with adjustments for age, sex, BMI, baseline eGFR, and HbA1c levels, we found that the declines in the eGFR/baseline eGFR and changes in the urine albumin–creatinine ratio (ACR) were comparable between the two groups (p = 0.86 and 0.73). This study suggests that CHM may have comparable effectiveness to ARBs, which provides insights for further investigations.

Many consistent changes take place across code clones in software, and this has emerged as a severe issue for software security. If the developers forget to modify the relevant clones consistently, such modifications will introduce consistent-defect. Researchers leverage machine learning techniques to predict clone consistent-defect by representing these changes with the designed attributes. Meanwhile, deep learning technology has demonstrated tremendous potential in characterizing source code. As such, we explore whether deep learning technology can enhance the effectiveness of clone consistent-defect prediction. In this study, we investigate various neural networks for modeling clone consistent change. Specifically, our approach models code clones and their evolution to capture the semantic properties automatically from the perspectives of clone fragment, clone group, and clone evolution, as opposed to manually generated attributes. To evaluate the effectiveness of our approach, we conduct an experiment on the dataset collected from 8 open-source projects. The results demonstrate that our neural network models are efficient both in cross-project and within-project scenarios, with F-measures of around 80% and recalls of around 90%. We conclude that deep learning technology may successfully assist developers in predicting clone consistent-defect, so helping to improve the security of code clones by alerting developers to confirm their consistency. • We make an empirical study to employ the neural network with attention mechanism for clone consistent-defect prediction. • We explore the different neural networks in capturing features from clone group and evolution. • We employ the attention mechanism at the levels of clone group and evolution representations. • We conducted experiments to assess the effectiveness of prediction on open-source projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose and demonstrate a cost-effective C-band 50-Gb/s downstream 4-ary pulse amplitude modulation passive optical network system implementable by using a 2-bit digital-to-analog converter and a linear electrical equalizer. The waveform distortions induced by band-limitation of opto-electronic devices and fiber chromatic dispersion are compensated by using an electrical and optical pre-equalizers realized by a high-pass filter (HPF) and a dispersion-compensation module (DCM), respectively. To facilitate easy operation and management of the system, the amounts of pre-equalization are all fixed regardless of transmission distance up to 20 km. At the receiver, a linear feed-forward equalizer is employed to compensate for the remaining waveform distortions adaptively to transmission distance. Also, a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is used as an optical pre-amplifier to increase the power budget. We determine the system parameters through experiment to maximize the power budget of the system. The experimental results show that the proposed system is capable of securing the power budget of 29.2 dB.

Contact engineering of two-dimensional semiconductors is a central issue for performance improvement of micro-/nanodevices based on these materials. Unfortunately, the various methods proposed to improve the Schottky barrier height normally require the use of high temperatures, chemical dopants, or complex processes. This work demonstrates that diffused electron beam energy (DEBE) treatment can simultaneously reduce the Schottky barrier height and enable the direct writing of electrical circuitry on van der Waals semiconductors. The electron beam energy projected into the region outside the electrode diffuses into the main channel, producing selective-area n-type doping in a layered MoTe2(or MoS2) field-effect transistor. As a result, the Schottky barrier height at the interface between the electrode and the DEBE-treated MoTe2channel is as low as 12 meV. Additionally, because selective-area doping is possible, DEBE can allow the formation of both n- and p-type doped channels within the same atomic plane, which enables the creation of a nonvolatile and homogeneous MoTe2p–n rectifier with an ideality factor of 1.1 and a rectification ratio of 1.3 × 103. These results indicate that the DEBE method is a simple, efficient, mask-free, and chemical dopant-free approach to selective-area doping for the development of van der Waals electronics with excellent device performances.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of an investigation on degradation of seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) columns damaged by reinforcement corrosion. A total of 13 reinforced concrete circular [...]

Mechanoreceptors are essential components of the somatosensory system that convert received mechanical signals into electrical signals that can be sent to the brain. These receptors provide the ability to sense a variety of stimuli from the external environment, including touch, vibration, and heat. Mechanoreceptors do not convert signals monotonically; in addition, several fundamental characteristics are embedded in mechanoreceptors, including thresholds and adaptation properties. In this study, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated a van der Waals stacking field-effect transistor (VS-FET), which was inspired by an FET with a floating gate structure, to realize the important characteristics of mechanoreceptors. The VS-FET can not only demonstrate the fundamental biological functions but also produce other unique properties such as fatigue and accommodation. We also integrated an artificial touch receptor with an array of the proposed VS-FET to demonstrate the feasibility of these devices experimentally in artificial humanoid systems.

A family of chiral nanographenes bearing [6]helicene units has been synthesized via the classical Scholl reaction. Inserting the [6]helicene unit into the parent nanographene skeleton can result in different structural topologies and optoelectric properties. Moreover, the isolated enantiomers exhibit attractive chiroptical properties.

Near net shaped Ti−45Al−7Nb−0.3W alloy (at.%) parts were manufactured by hot isostatic pressing (HIP). The microstructure and high-temperature mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that at a temperature of 700 °C, the peak yield stress (YS) and ultimate tensile stress (UTS) of alloy are 534 and 575 MPa, respectively, and the alloy shows satisfactory comprehensive mechanical properties at 850 °C. The alloy exhibits superplastic characteristics at 1000 °C with an initial strain rate of 5×10−5s−1. When the tensile temperature is below 750 °C, the deformation mechanisms are dislocation movements and mechanical twinning. Increasing the tensile temperature above 800 °C, grain boundary sliding and grain rotation occur more frequently due to the accumulation of dislocations at grain boundary.

Flexible manipulation of the carrier transport behaviors in two-dimensional materials determines their values of practical application in logic circuits. Here, we demonstrated the carrier-type manipulation in field-effect transistors (FETs) containing α-phase molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) by a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process in dry air for hole-dominated and electron-beam (EB) treatment for electron-dominated FETs. EB treatment induced a distinct shift of the transfer curve by around 135 V compared with that of the FET-processed RTA treatment, indicating that the carrier density of the EB-treated FET was enhanced by about 1 order of magnitude. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the atomic ratio of Te decreased from 66.4 to 60.8% in the MoTe2channel after EB treatment. The Fermi level is pinned near the new energy level resulting from the Te vacancies produced by the EB process, leading to the electron-dominant effect of the MoTe2FET. The electron-dominated MoTe2FET showed excellent stability for more than 700 days. Thus, we not only realized the reversible modulation of carrier-type in layered MoTe2FETs but also demonstrated MoTe2channels with desirable performance, including long-term stability.

The oxygen (O2)-dependent resistance change of multilayered molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) channels was characterized. A variation of the channel resistance could reproducibly determine relative O2content (denoted as the O2index). We found that Joule heating in a layered MoTe2field-effect transistor caused the O2index to decrease drastically from 100 to 12.1% in back gate modulation. Furthermore, Joule heating caused effective O2desorption from the MoTe2surface and repeatable O2detection by multilayered MoTe2channels was realized. This work not only explored the influence of O2on the electrical properties of multilayered MoTe2channels but also revealed that MoTe2channels are promising for sensing O2in an environmental condition.

In this study, we investigate the effect of the polymerization rate, mainly mediated by the initiator concentration, on the nanoparticle dispersion in the nanocomposite films formed by poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and [3-(methacryloyloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane-modified silica nanoparticles (M-SiO2) via free radical polymerization of the precursory solution, that is, 15.5 wt % M-SiO2nanoparticles dispersed in the methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer, in which the tethered silanes at the particle surface bearing the reactive vinyl groups were capable of polymerizing with the MMA monomer. At slower polymerization, the nanoparticles self-organized to form a large-length scale network structure with the mass fractal of average dimension of 2.7; contrarily, the nanoparticles exhibited better dispersion when the polymerization proceeded at a faster rate. According to the scenario of perturbed polymerization kinetics in the presence of nanoparticles, we propose a possible mechanism through which the MMA monomers at a lower polymerization rate may constitute longer “multiple grafted PMMA chains” along particle surfaces by an optimal balance between the polymerization of the monomer and the grafting reaction of the monomer onto the particle surface, forming the M-SiO2-rich clusters by interparticle bridging; the multiple grafting reaction also occurred in between any two neighboring M-SiO2nanoparticles situated respectively at the two adjoining clusters to induce the intercluster bridging, thereby leading to a hierarchical fractal network. However, both the polymerization and the grafting reaction of MMA monomers at a higher polymerization rate formed the shorter free and grafted PMMA chains, providing steric stabilization to retain better dispersity of nanoparticles.

An insufficient amount of detection antibodies bound to their antigens usually limits the sensitivity of immunoassays. Here, we describe a simple method to improve the detection limit and sensitivity of various immunoassays by mixing detection antibodies with a soluble poly protein G (named 8pG). 8pG was developed by fusing eight repeated fragment crystallizable (Fc) binding domains of streptococcal protein G to a linear polymer. Simply mixing detection antibodies with 8pG to form an antibody/8pG complex largely increased the accumulation of detection antibody to target molecules, which dramatically enhanced the sensitivity in direct ELISA, sandwich ELISA, Western blot, and flow cytometry systems, separately. The detection limit of Western blot for low-abundance PEGylated interferon (Pegasys) and recombinant human CTLA4 (rhCTLA4) improved by at least 13-fold and 31-fold, respectively, upon mixing detection antibodies with 8pG. Moreover, the nanoscale size of the antibody/8pG complex did not influence the granularity and dimension of target cells in the flow cytometry system. Collectively, we provide a quick and easy-to-operate method to make various immunoassays to sensitively detect low-abundance target molecules by just mixing their detection antibodies with 8pG.

In this research, a composition optimized In718 superalloy powder suitable for additive manufacturing has been developed by using the vacuum induction melting gas atomization (VIGA) and the powder sieving process. VIGA which combines the vacuum induction melting (VIM) and gas atomization (GA) processes uses high pressure inert gas to atomize the metal melt formed by VIM to form metal droplets. These metal droplets are solidified to form metal powders during the falling process in the atomized chamber. After the sieving process, the mean particle size D50 of the powder is less than 35 μm and the particle size distribution (PSD) ranges from 10 to 55 μm (D10~D90). Besides, the produced powder has high flowability (ICarr ≦15), which is suitable for selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing (AM). After the SLM process, the tensile tests are conducted at room temperature and high temperature of 650°C. The results show that the high temperature properties of the optimized In718 superalloy are superior to the commercial In718 superalloy.

Our previous works have disclosed a thermodynamically stable ordered bicontinuous double diamond (OBDD) structure and the order–order transition (OOT) between OBDD and ordered bicontinuous double gyroid (OBDG) phases in a stereoregular diblock copolymer, syndiotactic polypropylene-block-polystyrene (sPP-b-PS). Here we investigate the effect of blending with a small amount of sPP homopolymer (h-sPP) on the stability of the OBDD phase, where h-sPP formed the dry-brush mixture with the minority sPP block chains in the network microdomains due to their comparable molecular weights. The OBDD structure developed in the blend was found to exist over a broader temperature window than that formed in the neat sPP-b-PS. Nevertheless, the OBDD–OBDG transition displayed by the neat diblock was no longer observed in the blends; instead, the OBDD phase transformed into the hexagonally packed cylinder (HEX) structure on heating, indicating that HEX superseded OBDG upon blending with h-sPP. According to the experimentally observed conservation of the lattice parameter across the OBDD–HEX transition, we propose a possible kinetic pathway through which the OBDD tetrapods may reorganize and merge into a cylinder along the direction of the space diagonal in a unit cell; the cylinders developed from different unit cells subsequently shifted and fused at their ends for reducing the interfacial free energy and the packing frustration of the majority blocks, thereby turning into the hexagonal packing.

IMPORTANCE: Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is an important cause of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children. However, residual OSA and abnormal polysomnographic findings have been reported in up to 75% of cases after adenotonsillectomy. Other anatomical and functional factors that influence upper airway structures, including the lateral pharyngeal wall, have rarely been studied in children with OSA. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the upper airway structures can be evaluated using head and neck ultrasonography and if there is an association between the ultrasonographic measurements for these structures and severity of OSA seen on polysomnography in children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective, single-center, observational study of 82 children younger than 18 years with a diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing (20 with primary snoring, 62 with OSA, as determined by the apnea-hypopnea index) and admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital for adenotonsillectomy. EXPOSURES: Ultrasonography and polysomnography. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Ultrasonographic measurements of upper airway structures. RESULTS: Of the 82 children studied, 62 (76%) were boys; mean (SD) age, 7.7 (6.2). There was no significant difference found in tonsillar dimensions or volume between the children with OSA and those with primary snoring. However, the mean (SD) total lateral pharyngeal wall and the total neck thicknesses at the retropalatal level were both greater in children with OSA than in those with primary snoring at rest (24.9 [4.4] mm vs 21.3 [2.6] mm; difference, 3.61 mm; 95% CI of difference, 1.48-5.74 mm for lateral pharyngeal wall; and 59.9 [14.4] mm vs 49.9 [11.2] mm; difference, 10.9 mm, 95% CI of difference, 3.8-17.9 mm for the total neck). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Estimated tonsillar volume measured using ultrasonography had no relationship with the apnea-hypopnea index in childhood sleep-disordered breathing. However, the lateral pharyngeal wall was significantly thicker in children with OSA than in those with primary snoring at rest.

Because of relative low investment cost on the installation of equipment and extensive product quality with other advantages, roll forming process has been broadly applied to produce profiles from steel strip bands and has gradually replaced aluminum profiles made by hot extrusion. Moreover, a lightweight design is the trend for reducing carbon emissions and waste. Therefore, a lightweight design of structures with local thinning used the roll forming production will make metal profiles more market competitiveness. In this study, the commercial Finite Element software DEFORM is used to investigate the rolling process preparing the metal strips with local thinning feature for the subsequent roll forming process to form a lightweight metal profile. Two kinds of roll configuration are used in this study, namely symmetrical and non-symmetrical. The symmetrical rolling process has the same diameter for the upper and the lower roll, while the non-symmetrical rolling process has different diameter in both rolls. As the process parameters, the roll speed ratio between the upper and the lower roll is used for the symmetrical rolling process, while the distance between the axis of the upper and lower roll is used for the non-symmetrical rolling process. As a result, the rolled thinning feature has its sidewalls flaring outwards, so that it has a narrow bottom and a wide opening. Furthermore, it can be regarded as defect that the thickness of the rolled thinning feature is not thinned enough as required and a raising at the opening is observed. In general, increasing the roll diameter or keeping the speed of the two rolls as the same can have a better thinning result for the symmetric rolling. In the non-symmetric rolling, increasing the roll diameter can improve the thickness, but no significant effect can be found by changing the roll diameter ratio.

Background This study was conducted to evaluate the risk of developing acute pancreatitis (AP) and the fatality from AP in hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, using the claims data of Taiwan National Health Insurance.Methods From patients with newly diagnosed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 2000–2010, we identified a PD cohort (N= 9,766), a HD cohort (N= 18,841), and a control cohort (N= 114,386) matched by sex, age, and the diagnosis year of the PD cohort. We also established another 2 cohorts with 9,744 PD patients and 9,744 propensity score-matched HD patients. The incident AP and fatality from AP were evaluated for all cohorts by the end of 2011.Results The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of acute pancreatitis were 5.68 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.05 – 6.39), 4.91 (95% CI = 4.32 – 5.59), and 7.47 (95% CI = 6.48 – 8.62) in the all dialysis, HD, and PD patients, compared with the controls, respectively. Peritoneal dialysis patients had an adjusted HR of 1.41 (95% CI = 1.21 – 1.65) for AP, compared with propensity score-matched HD patients. Peritoneal dialysis patients under icodextrin treatment had a lower incidence of AP than those without the treatment, with an adjusted HR of 0.59 (95% CI = 0.47 – 0.73). There was no significant difference in the 30-day mortality from AP between HD and PD patients.Conclusions Peritoneal dialysis patients were at a higher risk of developing AP than HD patients. Icodextrin solution could reduce the risk of developing AP in PD patients.

Studies suggest that a low level of circulating human endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) is a risk factor for ischemic injury and coronary artery disease (CAD). Consumption of S-allylcysteine (SAC) is known to prevent CAD. However, the protective effects of SAC on the ischemic injury are not yet clear. In this study, we examined whether SAC could improve blood flow recovery in ischemic tissues through EPC-mediated neovasculogenesis. The results demonstrate that SAC significantly enhances the neovasculogenesis of EPCs in vitro. The molecular mechanisms for SAC enhancement of neovasculogenesis include the activation of Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase signaling cascades. SAC increased the expression of c-kit, β-catenin, cyclin D1, and Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) proteins in EPCs. Daily intake of SAC at dosages of 0.2 and 2 mg/kg body weight significantly enhanced c-kit protein levels in vivo. We conclude that dietary consumption of SAC improves blood flow recovery and prevents ischemic injury by inducing neovasculogenesis in experimental models.

The objective of the study was to determine whether chronic osteomyelitis (COM) is associated with increased risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF).

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In this paper, a novel anti-bacterial agent of Ag-deposited silica-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles was prepared by a template-activated strategy, which possess a silica coated magnetic core and silver nanoparticles on the outer shell. The as-synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The obtained products exhibited dispersibility and high magnetization, which also show a good recycling antibacterial activity, and the antibacterial rates against Escherichia coli was all 100 % for 3 cycles.

The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula Ento-PB containing Periplaneta americana(Linnaeus) (Blattidae) and Taraxacum mongolicumHand.-Mazz. (Compositae) has great potential for treating inflammation. This study explored the effects of Ento-PB on ulcerative colitis (UC). The UC model was induced with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) by enema. Male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 32) were divided into four groups: (1) control group that received 2.5 mL/kg normal saline, (2) TNBS group that received 2.5 mL/kg normal saline, (3) Ento-PB low-dose group that received 100 mg/kg Ento-PB, and (4) Ento-PB high-dose group that received 200 mg/kg Ento-PB. Rats were administered drugs via enema for 14 days after modeling. The disease activity index (DAI), colon mucosa damage index (CMDI), histopathological score (HS), levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum, contents of IL-2, myeloperoxidase (MPO), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the colon, and abundance of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Bacteroides, and Escherichia coliwere assessed. Ento-PB administration showed a significant reduction in DAI, CMDI, and HS, contents of IL-2, IL-8, IL-17, TNF-α, CRP, and MPO, and a significant increase in the levels of IL-10, TGF-β1, and EGF. Compared with the TNBS-administered group, the abundance of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus,and E. colidecreased, while an obvious increase in the proportion of Bacteroideswas found in the Ento-PB-administered groups. Ento-PB alleviated inflammation in UC by regulating the equilibrium of Th1/Th17/Treg cytokines and recovering the imbalance between the gut microbiota. Applying Ento-PB in treating UC could be suggested.

Neuromorphic electronics with two-dimensional van der Waals materials meet the ever-increasing demands of both the semiconductor industry and biological engineering, such as miniaturization, structure flexibility, multifunctionality, and low power consumption. However, the majority of reported electronic devices achieve multifarious memory storage states or synaptic plasticity through regulation of an electrical or an optical signal. Herein, we propose an innovative touch-modulated device based on an indium selenide/hexagonal boron nitride/graphene van der Waals heterostructure coupled with a triboelectric nanogenerator. The device is prepared utilizing a simple copper grid shadow mask instead of the expensive and cumbersome electron beam lithography process, exhibits high mobility of 829 cm2V−1s−1, low voltage, and low power consumption. Nonvolatile memory with self-writing power, durability and multibit data storage is achieved through mechanical modulation without an additional gate-voltage supply. Moreover, by adjusting the distance between the two friction layers, essential synaptic plasticity, including short-term and long-term potentiation/depression and paired-pulse facilitation/depression, are successfully imitated in the device. Most importantly, we achieve ultralow power consumption of 165 aJ in tribotronic synapses owing to the ultra-high mobility of InSe. Our tribotronic synapse with self-writing power has great potential to simulate the low-power-consuming neuromorphic bioelectronic devices with multiple functions and lays the foundation for future advanced neuromorphic systems and artificial intelligence.

In this work, we successfully developed a process to fabricate dual-channel polymeric waveguide filters based on an asymmetric Bragg coupler using holographic interference techniques, soft lithography, and micro molding. At the cross- and self-reflection Bragg wavelengths, the transmission dips of approximately –16.5 and –11.7dB relative to the 3dB background insertion loss and the 3dB transmission bandwidths of approximately 0.6 and 0.5nm were obtained from an ABC-based filter. The transmission spectrum overlaps when the effective index difference between two single waveguides is less than 0.0025.

Andrographolide (1), an active constituent of Andrographis paniculata,decreased tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression and adhesion of HL-60 cells onto human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), which are associated with inflammatory diseases. Moreover, 1abolished TNF-α-induced Akt phosphorylation. Transfection of an activated Akt1 cDNA vector increased Akt phosphorylation and ICAM-1 expression like TNF-α. In addition, 1and LY294002 blocked TNF-α-induced IκB-α degradation and nuclear p65 protein accumulation, as well as the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB. Compound 1exhibits anti-inflammatory properties through the inhibition of TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 expression. The anti-inflammatory activity of 1may be associated with the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway and downstream target NF-κB activation in HUVEC cells.

The solid-state synthesis, phase evolution, and nucleus growth of the barium titanate (BaTiO3, BT) powder were investigated in this study. Rapid nucleus growth and precursor phase formation of BT were observed at a relatively low temperature of 600 °C by mixing BaCO3(2 m2/g) and TiO2(7 m2/g) with a high-energy bead mill. The decomposition of BaCO3and the formation of the Ba2TiO4phase were identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). On the basis of this observation, the weight loss observed at 600 °C in the derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curve could also be explained. Furthermore, with increasing calcination temperature, single cubic BT with less than 80 nm fine nuclei/crystallites was observed at 900 °C, and tetragonal BT ($c/a > 1.008$) with an average particle size of 0.4 μm was obtained at 1000 °C. With regard to the dielectric properties of sintered ceramics, the relative permittivity ($\varepsilon_{\text{r}}$) increased with calcination temperature, and the Curie point also shifted to a progressively higher temperature. However, BT nucleus samples (with low calcination temperatures of 800 and 900 °C) could not satisfy the X7R requirement (Electric Industries Association Standard, the tolerance of capacitance from $-55$ to +125 °C is $\pm 15$%) until calcination temperature increased to 1000 °C.

A method termed liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction (LLLME) was utilized to extract 4‐t‐butylphenol, 4‐t‐octylphenol, 4‐n‐nonylphenol, and bisphenol‐A from water. The extracted target analytes were separated and quantified by high‐performance liquid chromatography using a fluorescence detector. In LLLME, the donor phase (i.e. water sample) was made weakly acidic by adding monobasic potassium phosphate (KH2PO4); the organic phase adopted was 4‐chlorotoluene; the acceptor phase (i.e. enriched extract) was 0.2 M tetraethylammonium hydroxide dissolved in ethylene glycol. This study solves a problem associated with the surface activity of long‐chain alkylphenolate ions, permitting LLLME to extract long‐chain alkylphenols. Experimental conditions such as acceptor phase composition, organic phase identity, acceptor phase volume, sample agitation, extraction time, and salt addition were optimized. The relative standard deviation (RSD, 2.0–5.8%), coefficient of determination (r20.9977–0.9999), and detection limit (0.017–0.0048 ng/mL) of the proposed method were achieved under the selected optimized conditions. The method was successfully applied to analyses of lake and tap water samples, and the relative recoveries of target analytes from the spiked lake and tap water samples were 92.8–106.3 and 93.6–105.6%, respectively. The results obtained with the proposed method confirm this microextraction technique to be reliable for the monitoring of alkylphenols and bisphenol‐A in water samples.

Existing therapies for symptoms related to painful clicking of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) have rarely met with complete success and predicting prognosis remains difficult. Few studies have reported the efficacy of maxillary flat occlusal splints (MFOSs) for the treatment of painful clicking of the TMJ, and few studies have evaluated the predisposing factors that influence the clinical outcomes of MFOSs. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment efficacy of MFOSs for painful clicking of the TMJ, and to determine the factors influencing TMJ therapy with MFOSs. We conducted a retrospective study of 109 patients suffering from unilateral clicking concurrent with preauricular area pain for at least 2 months between 2004 and 2008. Seventy‐five patients were treated with an MFOS, while 34 patients did not receive MFOS therapy. Clicking score, pain‐free maximal mouth opening, pain score, duration of the clicking sounds, age and bruxism were recorded during treatment and involved into the reviews. The degree of joint clicking was determined by a stethoscope placed in the anterolateral area of the external auditory canal and was divided into four grades. Data were analyzed using a Mann‐Whitney Utest, Fisher's exact test, and Student's ttest. Results showed statistically significant differences in treatment outcomes between the MFOS‐treated and control groups in clicking index, maximal mouth opening, pain and complete remission rates of symptoms within 1 year. Furthermore, for patients treated with MFOS, there were statistically significant differences in the clinical outcomes between those with a high clicking index and those with a low index before treatment. Factors significantly correlated with successful outcomes of MFOS included nocturnal bruxism, patient age and duration of clicking. MFOSs can be used to treat patients with painful clicking of the TMJ and related symptoms. The severity of clicking, bruxism, age and duration of clicking are all important factors influencing treatment outcomes with MFOSs.

Objective End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are associated with an increasing mortality risk on hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD). The aim of this study was to compare patient survival between HCV-positive patients undergoing PD versus HD.Methods We reviewed 78 PD and 78 HD patients with chronic hepatitis C infection in China Medical University Hospital from 1996 to 2006. The HD patients were selected using the propensity score matching method. Kaplan–Meier analysis with log-rank test was used to compare patient survival between patients treated with PD and those treated with HD. Possible prognostic factors were analyzed using multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression with adjustments for age, sex, and propensity score.Results Mortality rate was 50% (39/78) for PD and 41% (32/78) for HD (chi-square test p= 0.26). Diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease were present in 43.6%, 25.6%, and 14.1% of patients, respectively. Kaplan–Meier estimate and univariate Cox regression with adjustments for age and propensity score showed that HCV patients treated with PD had a similar survival to those treated with HD (p= 0.381 and p= 0.363). In forward stepwise Cox regression, positivity for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (p< 0.001), diabetes (p= 0.009), and serum albumin (p= 0.032) were independently associated with higher mortality.Conclusion Patient survival is not different between ESRD patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with PD and those treated with HD. In ESRD patients positive for HCV, being positive for hepatitis B virus is an important prognostic factor.

AbstractThe antibacterial effects of roselle calyx aqueous and ethanol extracts and protocatechuic acid against food spoilage bacteria Salmonella typhimuriumDT104, Escherichia coliO157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus,and Bacillus cereuswere examined. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of roselle calyx aqueous and ethanol extracts and protocatechuic acid against these bacteria were in the range of 112–144, 72–96, and 24–44 μg/mL, respectively. Protocatechuic acid content in roselle calyx aqueous and ethanol extracts was 2.8 ± 0.7 and 11.9 ± 1.2 mg/g, respectively. Antibacterial activity of roselle calyx ethanol extract and protocatechuic acid was not affected by heat treatments from 25° to 75°C and 25° to 100°C, respectively. After 3 days storage at 25°C, the addition of roselle calyx extracts and protocatechuic acid exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory effects against test bacteria in ground beef and apple juice, in which the roselle calyx ethanol extract showed greater antibacterial effects than the aqueous extract. These data suggest that roselle calyx ethanol extract and protocatechuic acid might be potent agents as food additives to prevent contamination from these bacteria.

Background Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is highly prevalent among patients in end-stage renal disease. The ankle–brachial index (ABI) is believed to be highly correlated with the subclinical PAD of lower extremities but little is known about the associated risk factors and outcome for PAD and ABI in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD).Methods We performed a cohort study of 153 patients from a single center receiving stable PD for more than 3 months. These patients were screened for subclinical PAD using the ABI measurement. The ABI was measured and a ratio of <0.9 was considered abnormal. Clinical outcomes included actuarial patient and technique survival in this study.Results 30 patients were classified into a subclinical PAD group. The prevalence of PAD (subclinical and overt) in our PD center was 19.61% (30/153). Advanced age, preexisting diabetes, preexisting cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular disease (CVD), lower renal Kt/V urea, lower renal creatinine clearance (WCrCl), lower serum albumin level, and higher serum triglyceride level were risk factors for PAD in our PD center. Bivariate analysis showed that ABI was positively correlated with residual renal Kt/V urea and WCrCl, but was not correlated with peritoneal Kt/V urea and WCrCl. Patient and technique survival rates were significantly lower in the low ABI group than in the normal ABI group.Conclusions ABI is highly correlated with advanced age, preexisting diabetes, preexisting CVD, serum albumin, serum triglyceride, and residual renal clearance in PD patients. Also, lower ABI is independently associated with a high risk of patient mortality and PD technique failure.

Poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) valveless micropumps with single chambers and double chambers, based on a reciprocation principle, are fabricated in this work. A drive test of a piezoelectric valveless PDMS micro pump is conducted and the influence on the flow behavior of water is investigated. Applied voltage and frequency are major factors that affect the flow rate of the micropump. The flow rate of the micropump increases with applied voltage due to the increase of piezoelectric-disk deflection. The flow rate of the micropump is found to be when the applied voltage frequency matches the first range of the resonant frequency of the PDMS micropump filled with water at 15 to 25 Hz. The maximum flow rate and the backpressure of the micropump are about 10.51 ml/min and 274.5 Pa when applying 120 Volts at 15 Hz. The maximum flow rate of the double chamber micropump at 120 Volts and 15 Hz is 2.74 ml/min which is less than the single chamber pump. When pumping at the second range of the resonant frequency of 860-1230 Hz, the flow rate of the micropump approaches zero because a lot of air bubbles are sucked into the chamber and interfere the flow of water. Experimental measurements of generation of bubbles at a wide span of frequencies that have not previously appeared in the literature are presented and discussed.

Objective The published mortality data for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and being treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) are not available. The aim of this study was to determine the mortality of HCV patients undergoing PD.Methods We retrospectively reviewed 538 PD patients in our hospital from 1996 to 2005. Of these patients, 75 (13.9%) were anti-HCV positive at the beginning of PD. We used Kaplan–Meier analysis to compare mortality between patients with and patients without HCV infection. The association between HCV infection and mortality was analyzed using multivariate Cox regression with adjustment for age, gender, residual renal function, and cardiovascular disease.Results A total of 157 patients (39 HCV positive, 118 HCV negative) died during the 10-year follow-up period. The mortality rate (52%, 39/75) of HCV-positive patients was significantly higher than that of HCV-negative patients (25.5%, 118/463; p< 0.001). Cardiovascular mortality was 57.6% (68/118) among HCV-negative patients and 56.4% (22/39) among HCV-positive patients. Kaplan–Meier estimate showed that patients with HCV infection had higher mortality than those without (p< 0.001, log-rank). The result of Cox regression suggested that chronic HCV infection, independent of diabetes, was associated with 10-year mortality. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of HCV infection and diabetes for mortality were 2.195 (95% CI: 1.486 – 3.243, p< 0.001) and 2.242 (95% CI: 1.533 – 3.277, p< 0.001).Conclusion Our results show that the HCV-positive PD patients had a higher 10-year mortality rate than the HCV-negative PD patients. The association between HCV infection and mortality was independent of diabetes. Cardiovascular mortality, infection, and arrhythmia were the leading causes of death among the PD patients with HCV infection.

AbstractBackground: Vascular access thrombosis (VAT) is one of the most common morbidity in hemodialysis patients. The development of arteriovenous fistula thrombosis is associated with vascular intimal hyperplasia. Some studies suggested that serum C-reactive protein (CRP) predicts the development of vascular intima hyperplasia that conduces vascular access stenosis and thrombosis. This study aimed to access the clinical usefulness of CRP in predicting VAT in hemodialysis patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all prevalent hemodialysis patients with native arteriovenous fistula (nAVF) between November 2001 and November 2004. The CRP levels and relation to the development of VAT was analyzed with Kaplan-Meier analysis in four groups of patients divided according to their serum CRP levels. Besides serum CRP levels, other factors possibly influencing vascular access thrombosis were also considered: gender, age, diabetes, aspirin, smoking, statin, serum albumin, hematocrit, cholesterol >200 mg/dl, Calcium-phosphate product, and intact parathyroid hormone >200 pg/ml. Results: We retrospectively reviewed 223 chronic hemodialysis patients. 198 patients with forearm nAVF and 25 with upper arm nAVF were included. Of the above 223 patients, 51 experienced one or more VAT episodes. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, patients with serum CRP levels >0.8 mg/dl were prone to develop VAT (log-rank, p < 0.001). In a multivariate Cox regression model, serum CRP greater than 0.8mg/dl was confirmed to be an independent predictor of VAT with a relative risk of 16.6 times (95% CI, 7.85–35.1). The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve of CRP >0.8 mg/dl in predicting VAT events is 0.785 (95% CI, 0.712–0.858; p < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity of CRP (>0.8 mg/dl) in predicting VAT were 80.4 and 72.7%. Conclusions: The serum CRP levels not only predict cardiovascular disease and mortality in hemodialysis patients but also predict the development of vascular access thrombosis in chronic hemodialysis patients.Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Uraemic pruritus is a common problem in end-stage renal failure patients. Traditional therapies produce marginal or no results. Acupuncture has been reported to be effective. The aim of this randomized, controlled study was to validate a single acupoint for relieving uraemic pruritus.

An immunoelectrochemical method coupled with immunomagnetic separation was developed for rapid detection of SalmonellaTyphimurium in chicken carcass wash water. Samples of chicken carcass wash water were inoculated with SalmonellaTyphimurium at different cell numbers. Possible nonspecified inhibitors in the wash water were minimized by filtration and centrifugation. An approximately 9.4% loss of Salmonellacells was found after filtration (P< 0.01). The samples were mixed with anti-Salmonella-coated magnetic beads (ASCMB) and alkaline phosphatase–labeled anti-Salmonella(APLAS) to form ASCMB–Salmonella–APLAS conjugates. The conjugates were separated from the solution using a magnetic separator and then incubated with phenylphosphate substrate to produce phenol. The number of Salmonellawas determined by measuring the phenol concentration using an amperometric tyrosinase carbon paste electrode in a flow injection analysis system. Under optimized parameters (1mM MgCl2, 0.2 μg/ml APLAS, and 1mM phenylphosphate in pH 7.0 Tris buffer solution), SalmonellaTyphimurium in chicken carcass wash water could be identified and enumerated within 2.5 h with a detection limit of 5 × 103CFU/ml. A linear relationship on a log-log scale was found between Salmonellacell number and the peak current ratio for Salmonellaconcentrations ranging from 103to 107CFU/ml (R2= 0.963). The peak currents of multibacteria samples, containing SalmonellaTyphimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter jejuni, were not significantly different from Salmonella-only samples (P> 0.01).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) in senile plaques, contributing to oxidative stress, mitochondrial diseases, and synaptic atrophy, consequently leading to the deterioration of brain function. Adlay (Coix lacryma-jobiL.) is an annual botanical. Here, a 95% ethanol extract of adlay hull (AHEE) was partitioned by ethyl acetate (AHEAE), n-butanol (AHBUE), and water (AHWE), and the effects of these extracts on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells and Aβ-induced PC12 cells, as experimental models of neurotoxicity, were evaluated. The expression of anti-inflammatory and antiapoptosis-related proteins was investigated and AHEE, AHEAE, and AHWE were found to exert anti-inflammatory effects. AHWE exhibited antiapoptotic effects and inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide production. We investigated the protective effects of AHWE against Aβ-induced neurotoxicity in dPC12 cells and explored the underlying mechanism. Pretreatment with AHWE significantly attenuated cell death and Aβ-mediated increase in B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2/Bax ratio. AHWE significantly inhibited Aβ and enhanced protein kinase B (Akt) level in dPC12 cells, suggesting that its protective effect against Aβ-induced apoptosis in dPC12 cells was mediated through upregulation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. These extracts and its bioactive compound K36–21 may be potentially useful to treat neurodegenerative disorders.

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the ninth most prevalent malignancy worldwide. Noninvasive and efficient biomarkers with high accuracy are imperative for the surveillance and diagnosis of UC. CKD patients were enrolled as a control group in this study for the discovery of highly specific urinary protein markers of UC. An iTRAQ-labeled quantitative proteomic approach was used to discover novel potential markers. These markers were further validated with 501 samples by ELISA assay, and their diagnostic accuracies were compared to those of other reported UC markers. BRDT, CYBP, GARS, and HDGF were identified as novel urinary UC biomarkers with a high discrimination ability in a population comprising CKD and healthy subjects. The diagnostic values of the four novel UC markers were better than that of a panel of well-known or FDA-approved urinary protein markers CYFR21.1, Midkine, and NUMA1. Three of our discovered markers (BRDT, HDGF, GARS) and one well-known marker (CYFR21.1) were finally selected and combined as a marker panel having AUC values of 0.962 (95% CI, 0.94–0.98) and 0.860 (95% CI, 0.83–0.89) for the discrimination between UC and normal groups and UC and control (healthy + CKD) groups, respectively.

Modern technology allows us to mimic biological functions with artificial devices. The human brain, including numerous neural cells that connect via synapses, enables us to handle complex tasks with ultra-low power consumption, which is one of the most important biological components that eager to emulate. Here, we propose and build a simple indium selenide (InSe)-based photonic synaptic device with unique gate tunable behaviours such as time-varying output current, auto-depression rate, and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF). A new inverse PPF behaviour is observed, characterized by the positive correlations to the time interval, which is opposite of those negative ones in previous studies. To unveil the origin of this new finding, both the substrate-dependent persistent photocurrent examination and low-frequency noise (LFN) measurements are performed to investigate the electric-controlled charge trapping/detrapping processes between the InSe and SiO2interface. Furthermore, we systematically demonstrate such the specific evolution of the flexible plasticity within a low-operation voltage and a wide range of visible spectra. Interestingly, the inverse PPF can be employed to emulate more detailed characteristics of a biological brain such as the age-related changes of synaptic plasticity in real human brains. Thus, we believed that our findings provide a proof-of-concept for systematically mimicking the brain plasticity and advancing the development of energy-efficient artificial brains.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of intestinal tract, and Periplaneta americanahas been found to be effective in the treatment for UC. The purpose of the study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of Periplaneta americanaextract Ento-A on UC in rats induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) and to explore its mechanism. The Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal control group; TNBS-treated group; sulfasalazine (SASP) treated group; Ento-A low- (50 mg/kg), medium- (100 mg/kg), and high-dose (200 mg/kg) groups, respectively. The UC model of rats was induced via TNBS. Disease activity index (DAI) was used to evaluate the severity of UC in rats. The macroscopic and microscopic damages of colon were accessed by colon mucosa damage index (CMDI) and histopathological score (HS), respectively. The levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-17 (IL-17), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in serum and the contents of myeloperoxidase (MPO), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in colonic mucosa were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared with the normal control group, the TNBS-treated group showed increase in DAI, CMDI, HS, IL-17, TNF-α, IFN-γ as well as MPO and decrease in the levels of IL-4, EGF, and TGF-β1. However, Ento-A-administrated groups reversed the changes in the DAI, CMDI, HS, and the cytokines caused by TNBS. The study indicates that Periplaneta americanaextract Ento-A can effectively alleviate the inflammation in TNBS-induced UC of rats, and the mechanism of that may be related to restoring the balance of T helper 1 (Th1)/Th2/Th17/T regulatory (Treg) cytokines.

Topiramate, a newer anticonvulsant, has a modulating effect on voltage-dependent sodium and calcium ion channels, potentiates GABA neurotransmitters and blocks kainiteAMPA glutamate receptors. We describe the use of topiramate in the treatment of fetishism, a paraphilic sexual disorder. A 23-year-old male had developed sexual fantasies and urges towards women's feet and shoes from childhood onwards. The patient would masturbate with women's shoes, which he had bought or stolen from others. He would feel sexually excited by seeing andor smelling female feet and shoes. He had received individual psychotherapy because of his unusual sexual expressions, marked distress and interpersonal difficulty. However, the psychotherapy was not effective and his symptoms of fetishism did not abate until he had been treated with topiramate (200 mg per day). He has been on the dose of this medication for more than 6 months and his symptoms of fetishism have since diminished. In addition, he has not experienced any significant side-effect with this medication. Experience with our patient suggests that topiramate may be effective in treating paraphilic sexual disorders. Further controlled studies are required to confirm its efficacy in patients of this type.