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Aim Materials and Methods Results Conclusions To investigate whether cardiovascular health (CVH) is associated with periodontitis.We used data from the 2009 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We quantified CVH using Life's Essential 8, which includes four health behaviours (diet, smoking, physical activity and sleep) and four health factors (body mass index, blood cholesterol, glucose and pressure). We categorized scores as low (0–49), moderate (50–79) and high (80–100). We calculated subscores of health behaviours and factors and categorized them as low, moderate and high. We used logistic regression to assess the association of CVH with periodontitis, adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, poverty index, marital status and health insurance. We computed odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).This study included 9296 adults ≥30 years old. Multivariable‐adjusted models showed that subjects with moderate (OR, 0.62; 95% CI: 0.52–0.74) or high (OR, 0.43; 95% CI: 0.33–0.57) CVH had significantly lower odds of periodontitis compared to those with low CVH. These results were consistent in the health behaviours model, but the estimates in the health factors model were not significant.Improving CVH may help prevent periodontitis. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological advancements led to the development of various plasma-based technologies for post-packaging modifications. The purpose of the present preclinical in vivo study was to assess the safety and efficacy of a novel chairside nonthermal gas plasma treatment for enhancing osseointegration of titanium implants. Six male mixed foxhounds underwent extraction of mandibular premolars and first molars, and the sockets healed for 42 days. Canine mandibles were randomized to receive either plasma-treated (test) or non-plasma-treated (control) dental implants. A total of 36 implants were placed in six animals, and they were sacrificed at 2 weeks (two animals), 4 weeks (two animals), and 6 weeks (two animals) after the implant surgery. When the radiographic analysis was performed, the changes in bone level were not statistically significant between the two groups at 2 weeks and 4 weeks. The difference became significant at 6 weeks (p = 0.016), indicating more bone loss from baseline to 6 weeks for the control group. The bone-to-implant contact (BIC) appeared to be higher for the test groups at all time points, and the BIC was significantly higher for the test group at 4 weeks (p = 0.046). In conclusion, this study underscored the potential of nonthermal plasma treatment in enhancing implant osseointegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft tissue sealing around zirconia (ZrO2) abutment is critical for the long-term stability of dental implants. The goal of the study is to develop a strong basal lamina (BL)-mediated epithelial attachment to ZrO2 via a novel physicochemical immobilization method. An electrophoretic fusion (EPF) method was applied to fuse a phosphonic acid (PA) linker to ZrO2 discs. Bindings of the PA linker and the following protease activated receptor 4 (PAR4) were verified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FITR). Then, ZrO2 discs were doped in platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) was measured to assess platelet activation. PRP-doped discs were subsequently co-cultured with human gingival epithelial cells (OBA9) to evaluate establishment of basal lamina-mediated epithelial attachment. The EPF method achieved robust immobilization of the PA linker and PAR4 onto the ZrO2 surface. The resultant PAR4-coupled ZrO2 successfully induced platelet aggregation and activation. Furthermore, a BL-mediated epithelial attachment was established. The results are significant for clinical application to minimize the risk of developing peri-implant diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine lubricants' ability of dispersing Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) can be quantitatively observed and evaluated with an efficient and economic method: heating capillary video microscopy. Effects on HFO dispersion included those of surfactants' type, over-basing level and temperature, while also discussing what Carbon chain lengths can be expected to perform better. For same-chain-length surfactants, samples with higher concentration of base showed lower ability of dispersing HFO. Samples with medium surfactants chain length and no overbased particles, dispersed up to 81% of the HFO at 100 °C in 200 seconds. Dispersion of HFO happened mostly at the beginning of its introduction to lubricant oils, while undispersed HFO remained almost intact even after days. Discussion is provided on the possible asphltene dispersing action of surfactants, reflecting on Total Base Number (TBN) and surfactant chain length, which are important parameters in optimizing lubricant formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of zirconia for implants and abutments has become more prevalent in implant dentistry as an alternative to the commonly used titanium implants, and peri-implant disease can still affect them. The erbium, chromium-doped:yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er, Cr:YSGG) laser has emerged as a promising treatment modality. The purposes of this in vitro study were to (1) determine the effects of the laser on the surface roughness of zirconia discs; (2) determine the extent of removal of a single species biofilm, E. coli, on the zirconia discs after applying the laser; (3) determine the amount of cell adhesion and proliferation utilizing fibroblasts on zirconia discs after treatment with the laser. All treatments will be compared with the commonly used ultrasonic instrumentation and hand scalers. For the first aim, gross examination revealed noticeable surface damage on the discs when using ultrasonic and scalers but not for the laser group. For surface roughness, the mean roughness was Pa= 0.623±0.185 μm, 0.762±0.421 μm, 0.740±0.214 μm, and 0.724±0.168 μm for control discs, and discs treated with either the Er,Cr:YSGG laser, ultrasonic instrumentation, and hand scalers respectively. There was no statistical significance among the groups (p=0.628). For bacteria decontamination, there was a statistical significance among the groups (p< 0.0001). Statistical significance was seen between the control group and each of the three treatment groups, favoring the treatment groups (p< 0.0001). Statistical significance was seen when comparing ultrasonic instrumentation and hand scalers (p= 0.000) as well as when comparing the Er,Cr:YSGG laser to hand scalers (p= 0.007), favoring both the ultrasonic instrumentation and Er,Cr:YSGG laser. No significance between the Er,Cr:YSGG laser group and the ultrasonic instrumentation group was noted (p =0.374). When comparing the cell attachment following treatment in each of the three groups and also without treatment (control), there was a statistical significance among the groups (p<0.0001) in terms of total cell count, favoring the control and the laser groups. Further evaluations with SEM showed differences in cell morphology indicating more adherent cells on Er,Cr:YSGG laser–treated surfaces. In conclusion, gross examination of the discs show clear surface changes when using ultrasonic instrumentation and hand scalers compared to the Er,Cr:YSGG laser group. The Er,Cr:YSGG laser was able to effectively ablate bacteria from zirconia disc. Fibroblast attachment on the surfaces of the zirconia discs shows more adherence when treated with Er,Cr:YSGG laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irinotecan inhibits cell proliferation and thus is used for the primary treatment of colorectal cancer. Metabolism of irinotecan involves incorporation of β-glucuronic acid to facilitate excretion. During transit of the glucuronidated product through the gastrointestinal tract, an induced upregulation of gut microbial β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity may cause severe diarrhea and thus force many patients to stop treatment. We herein report the development of uronic isofagomine (UIFG) derivatives that act as general, potent inhibitors of bacterial GUSs, especially those of Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. The best inhibitor, C6-nonyl UIFG, is 23,300-fold more selective for E. coli GUS than for human GUS (Ki = 0.0045 and 105 μM, respectively). Structural evidence indicated that the loss of coordinated water molecules, with the consequent increase in entropy, contributes to the high affinity and selectivity for bacterial GUSs. The inhibitors also effectively reduced irinotecan-induced diarrhea in mice without damaging intestinal epithelial cells. Hsien-Ya Lin, Chia-Yu Chen, Ting-Chien Lin and colleagues perform structure-guided modifications of the compound uronic isofagomaine in order to engineer a highly specific and potent inhibitor of gut bacterial β-glucuronidases (GUSs). The authors present eight crystal structures and demonstrate in vivo efficacy of the optimised C6-alkyl derivative inhibitor in mice models. This study may enhance the development of inhibitors of microbial GUS for use in colorectal cancer therapy to minimize the undesired side effects of irinotecan treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In pancreatic cancer, toxicities associated with current chemotherapeutic regimens remain concerning. A modified combination of gemcitabine, S-1, and leucovorin (GSL) was used as the first-line treatment for newly diagnosed locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients. Methods: GSL was administered every 2 weeks—intravenous gemcitabine 800 mg/m2 at a fixed-dose rate of 10 mg/m2/min on day 1 and oral S-1 (80–120 mg/day) plus leucovorin 30 mg twice daily on days 1–7. We retrospectively analyzed the feasibility of GSL and patient outcomes in three medical centers in Taiwan. Results: Overall, 49 patients received GSL with a median follow-up of 24.9 months from May 2015 to March 2019. The median patient age was 68 years (range, 47–83 years), with a marginally higher number of females (57.1%). Among the 44 patients who underwent image evaluation, 13 demonstrated a partial response (29.5%) and 17 presented with stable disease (38.6%). The partial response rate and stable disease rate was 26.5% and 34.7%, respectively, in the intent-to-treat analysis. The median time-to-treatment failure was 5.79 months (95% C.I., 2.63–8.94), progression-free survival was 6.94 months (95% C.I., 5.55–8.33), and overall survival time was 11.53 months (95% C.I., 9.94–13.13). For GSL treatment, the most common grade 3 or worse toxicities were anemia (18.3%), neutropenia (6.1%), nausea (4.1%), and mucositis (4.1%). Treatment discontinuation was mostly due to disease progression (65.3%). Conclusions: The modified GSL therapy can be a promising and affordable treatment for patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer in Taiwan. A prospective trial of modified GSL for elderly patients is currently ongoing in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sulfuric-acid neutralization by motor oils in the presence of ethanol was investigated for the first time by quantitatively visualizing the fate of acid drops in five off-the-shelf commercial motor oils via capillary video-microscopy. For all the oils at room temperature, there was neutralization when ethanol was absent, whereas little neutralization was exhibited when ethanol was present. A very different behavior was exhibited at 100 °C, with rate of acid neutralization being much faster in the presence of ethanol than in absence. With 1% ethanol and temperature of 100 °C, acid droplets were neutralized in 2 min, whereas at room temperature droplets expanded ∼35% in diameter after 60 min with little neutralization. The reported phenomena may affect engine behavior and tribology. Highlights • Sulfuric acid droplet did not shrink with absence of ethanol at room temperature. • Sulfuric acid droplet expanded with presence of ethanol at room temperature. • Neutralization was faster with absence of ethanol for all oils at high temperature. • Acid droplet was totally neutralized much faster with presence of ethanol at 100 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract A model liquid hydrocarbon (n-hexadecane) was used to gain insight on the mobilization of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) trapped in porous formations, important for both enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and oil spill remediation in porous media. Food-grade surfactants lecithin from soy and tween 80 were compared to commercial dispersant Corexit 9500A, for their ability to mobilize the hydrocarbon originally trapped in a water-filled cryolite porous medium. Red dye was added to the n-Hexadecane to improve visualization, and the aqueous phase incorporated different ratios of the surfactants Lecithin and Tween 80 to seek synergistic benefits when the two surfactants are combined. Visual-microscopic flooding experiments carried on a miniature packed bed produced images which were then analyzed using grayscale image analysis. It was determined that a ratio 40:60 by weight of Lecithin to Tween 80 has the best performance in the mobilization of n-hexadecane from the porous media. Furthermore, any (non-optimal) mixture of lecithin and tween 80 exhibited a better (synergistic) performance in n-Hexadecane recovery from the porous media than when applying either surfactant separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work highlights the fabrication of nickel‑copper/titanium nitride (Ni-Cu/TiN) for the use in direct methanol fuel cells. Ni-Cu nanoparticles are coated on the surface of TiN film by electrochemical methods. The formation of Ni-Cu/TiN is confirmed by a variety of means such as field-emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The presence of Ni-Cu on TiN film is further confirmed by cyclic voltammetry. For the electrochemical oxidation of methanol, the electrocatalytic activity of the prepared Ni-Cu/TiN is higher than those of Cu/TiN, Ni/TiN, Ni-Mn/TiN, and Ni-Co/TiN. The stability for the electrochemical oxidation of methanol at Ni-Cu/TiN is better than that of Ni-Cu/glassy carbon electrode. The proposed Ni-Cu/TiN might be beneficial to develop high performance and low manufacturing cost of direct methanol fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive erosion rates from detrital zircon fission-track ages and cosmogenic nuclide concentrations from sediments from the modern rivers of eastern Taiwan in order to investigate how surface erosional processes vary in space and time across the young arc-continent collisional orogen of Taiwan. Taiwan is characterized by rapid rates of exhumation, a fluvial and landslide-dominated landscape, high seismicity, high relief and frequent typhoons. The obliquity between the convergence direction and the trend of the plate boundary provides a gradient in uplift and variations in longevity of orogenic activity with a young, immature orogen in the south, a mature orogen in central and northern Taiwan, and perhaps even the cessation of orogeny in the far north. The modern zircon fission-track detrital record is consistent with basement ages that show that much of the orogen is eroding at high rates with basin-wide mean zircon fission-track cooling ages as young as 0.9 Ma. The erosion rates derived from concentrations of cosmogenic nuclides ( 10 Be) provide erosion rates averaged over much shorter timescales, but these two proxies provide estimates of erosion rates that are within error of each other across most of the collisional belt. Erosion rates are lowest in the immature zone of the orogen (< 1 km/Ma) in southern Taiwan, and increase to values ≥ 4 km/Ma in central Taiwan. Geomorphic indices, in particular channel steepness, are also correlated with erosion rates, suggesting that fluvial erosion is the dominant exhumation process and that landscape evolution is reacting primarily to tectonic forcing, fast enough to keep the landscape in a state of quasi-equilibrium where erosion rates and rock uplift rates are nearly equal. We find no measurable effects due to rock erodibility or precipitation rate, but if these parameters co-vary with tectonic uplift rate, our data could not resolve the influence of each. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Population aging is set to increase the elder dependency ratio, causing a rapid increase in healthcare expenditures and financial burden on the government. This study aims to construct an aging score from age-related diseases and to perform longitudinal analyses to examine the association between personal income and aging. Methods A total of 86,838 subjects drawn from a community with 384,617 residents in northern Taiwan were examined. Personal income and aging-related diseases were measured from the National Health Insurance database during 1997–2010. Multiple linear regression and stratified analyses were used. Results Our results indicate that subjects with low personal income (defined as monthly income ≤610 USD) can have high aging scores as calculated by selected aging-related diseases. In stratified analyses, moreover, subjects with low personal income tended to have higher aging scores across different anthropometric groups. The association was particularly evident in subjects >60 years old, and they were noted across multiple strata, including those of catastrophic illness as well as type of primary care setting. Conclusions This study found evidence for association between low income and aging in a population with compulsory health insurance program, where accessibility barriers were low in terms of health care resources and personal socioeconomic status. The economic inequity causes difference in aging process, which deserves for future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the role of temperature in the degradation of GaN High-Electron-Mobility-Transistors (HEMTs) under high-power DC stress. We have identified two degradation mechanisms that take place in a sequential manner: the gate leakage current increases first, followed by a decrease in the drain current. Building on this observation, we demonstrate a new scheme to extract the activation energy ( E a ) of device degradation from step-temperature measurements on a single device. The E a ’s we obtain closely agree with those extracted from conventional accelerated life test experiments on a similar device technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate the net effect of climate change on natural populations, we must take into account the positive and negative effects of temperature oscillations and climate variability. Warming because of climate change will likely exceed the physiological optima of tropical insects, which currently live very close to their thermal optima. Tropical insects will be negatively affected if their optima are exceeded otherwise warming may affect them positively. We evaluate the demographic responses of the cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, to summer warming in subtropical and tropical Taiwan, and examine the effects of diel temperature oscillation on these responses. Aphids were reared at four temperatures (current summer mean, +1.4, +3.9 and +6.4 °C), the latter three simulating different levels of warming. At each average temperature, aphids experienced constant or oscillating (from −2.9 to +3.6 °C of each mean temperature) regimes. As the simulated summer temperatures increased, so did the negative effects on life-history traits and demographic parameters. Compared with aphids reared in constant temperatures, aphids reared in oscillating temperatures developed more slowly and had a longer mean generation time, but their net reproductive rate was higher. These findings demonstrate that climate warming will affect demographic parameters and life-history traits differentially. Studies that use constant temperatures are unlikely to accurately predict biotic responses to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In-situ 10Be derived erosion rates show a northward increasing trend. • The landscape in south Taiwan is evolving mainly in response to tectonic forcing. • Geomorphic metrics and erosion rates reveal divide migrations and river captures. • Basin reorganization affects spatial patterns of erosion rate at the small scale. • Eastward topographic advection will lead to disequilibrium in basin form. The southern Central Range of Taiwan is in an early stage of orogeny and the landscape has not yet reached a steady state. To reveal the nature of the transient landscape and its evolution towards a steady state during orogeny, we conducted an in-situ 10Be cosmogenic nuclide study together with geomorphic analyses to characterize the spatial pattern of erosion rate at the scale of individual catchments. Sediment samples were collected at outlets of major basins, and within nested sub-basins. Basin-wide erosion rates were estimated from 10Be concentrations and basin mean 10Be production rates. The erosion rates of major basins show a northward increasing trend, which is consistent with the pattern of mean basin channel steepness, reflecting the early stage of orogeny and indicating that the landscape is evolving in response to tectonic forcing. However, nested samples reveal significant spatial variability in erosion rate at the sub-basin scale. These spatial variations are consistent with predictions of divide motion from χ analysis and other geomorphic metrics including cross-divide asymmetry. These suggest that the main divide is moving towards the west in southernmost Taiwan. We also found evidence of internal basin reorganization with several cases of growing basins at the expense of neighboring basins. These findings imply that even though tectonic forcing dominates the large-scale patterns, basin reorganization is a significant process affecting spatial patterns of erosion rate at the smaller scale, so that topographic steady state is likely to be found only for the largest characteristics of the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Determined volume of Cry protein-solubilizing buffers imbibed by FAW larvae. • Buffer composition affected the volume of buffer imbibed by larvae. • Some buffers were phagostimulatory whereas others had antifeeding effects. • Cry protein-solubilizing buffers are compatible with droplet feeding assays in FAW. • Volume imbibed data will facilitate LD 50 assays of alkali-solubilized Cry proteins. The volumes of alkaline (pH > 10), Bacillus thuringiensis Cry protein-solubilizing buffers imbibed by fall armyworm larvae in droplet feeding assays were determined. The buffers differed in the presence or concentration of key ingredients, including buffering agents, chelating agents, reducing agents, and protease inhibitors. For both first and second instar larvae, the buffer used had a significant effect on the volume imbibed. The study showed that the droplet feeding method is compatible with Cry protein-solubilizing buffers, but that it is important to determine the volume imbibed for every buffer used in dose-dependent bioassays in order to reduce dose errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural teeth are supported by connective tissue collagen fibers that insert perpendicularly in the tooth cementum. Perpendicular insertion plays an important role in the maintenance of the junction between the oral epithelium and the periodontal connective tissue. Most titanium dental implant surfaces have no micro or macro structure to support perpendicularly oriented collagen attachment. Without this tight biologic seal to resist bacterial invasion and epithelial downgrowth, progressive bone loss in peri-implantitis is seen around dental implants. The purpose of this study was to establish the perpendicularly oriented collagen attachment to titanium oxide nanotube (TNT), and to assess its binding stability. TNT was prepared on the titanium-surface by anodization. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a regularly aligned TNT with an average 67 nm-diameter when anodized at 30 V for 3 h. Subsequently, collagen type I (CoI) was electrophoretically fused to anodic TNT in native polyacrylamide gel system where negatively charged CoI-C term was perpendicularly navigated to TNT. SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to analyze CoI on the TiO2 and TNT surface. Several tens of nanometers of CoI protrusion were recorded by AFM. These protrusions may be long enough to be priming sites for cell-secreted CoI. CoI laid parallel to the titanium surface when fused by a chemical linker. Binding resistance of CoI against drastic ultrasonication was measured by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR). The electrophoretically fused CoI in the titanium nanotube (TNT–CoIEPF) showed the significantly greatest binding resistance than the other groups (P < 0.01, a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post hoc test). Furthermore, TNT–CoIEPF surface rejected epithelial cell stretching and epithelial sheet formation. Chemically linked horizontal CoI on titanium oxide (TiO2) facilitated epithelial cell stretching and sheet formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: Immune and inflammatory responses are known to be major causes of preterm birth (PTB). The maternal genetic background plays an important role in the development of PTB. Interferon‐stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) is an interferon‐induced protein which can modulate immune cell activation and function. We aim to study if polymorphisms in the ISG15 gene are associated with spontaneous PTB (sPTB) risk in Taiwanese women. Method of study: ISG15 rs4615788 C/G, rs1921 G/A, and rs8997 A/G polymorphisms were genotyped in a hospital‐based study of 112 women with sPTB and 1120 term controls. The plasma concentrations of ISG15 were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Results: We found the ISG15 rs1921 G‐rs8997 A haplotype was associated with decreased risk for PTB (χ2 = 6.26, p =.01, pc =.04). The A/G genotype of ISG15 rs8997 polymorphism might have the potential to confer reduced risk of PTB women (χ2 = 4.09, p =.04, pc =.08). Spontaneous PTB women displayed higher plasma ISG15 levels compared to term controls (p <.001). The plasma ISG15 levels among pregnant women with rs8997 A/G genotype were found significantly lower compared to G/G genotype (p =.03). Conclusions: Women with the ISG15 rs1921 G‐rs8997 A haplotype may associate with spontaneous PTB. These findings provide new insights into the etiology of preterm birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Hypertension (HTN) can lead to heart and kidney damage. The gut microbiota has been linked to HTN, although it is difficult to estimate its significance due to the variety of other features known to influence HTN. In the present study, we used germ-free (GF) and colonized (COL) littermate mice to quantify the impact of microbial colonization on organ damage in HTN. Methods and results 4-week-old male GF C57BL/6J littermates were randomized to remain GF or receive microbial colonization. HTN was induced by subcutaneous infusion with angiotensin (Ang) II (1.44 mg/kg/day) and 1% NaCl in the drinking water; sham-treated mice served as control. Renal damage was exacerbated in GF mice, whereas cardiac damage was more comparable between COL and GF, suggesting that the kidney is more sensitive to microbial influence. Multivariate analysis revealed a larger effect of HTN in GF mice. Serum metabolomics demonstrated that the colonization status influences circulating metabolites relevant to HTN. Importantly, GF mice were deficient in anti-inflammatory faecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Flow cytometry showed that the microbiome has an impact on the induction of anti-hypertensive myeloid-derived suppressor cells and pro-inflammatory Th17 cells in HTN. In vitro inducibility of Th17 cells was significantly higher for cells isolated from GF than conventionally raised mice. Conclusion The microbial colonization status of mice had potent effects on their phenotypic response to a hypertensive stimulus, and the kidney is a highly microbiota-susceptible target organ in HTN. The magnitude of the pathogenic response in GF mice underscores the role of the microbiome in mediating inflammation in HTN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed an overlay coating of high-entropy alloy (HEA) NiCo 0.6 Fe 0.2 Cr 1.5 SiAlTi 0.2 (C3) via atmospheric plasma spraying. The as-deposited coating is a supersaturated BCC phase except some oxide stringers formed during the spray. However, a plenty of Cr 3 Si phase forms in the coating and cause a large increase of hardness and wear resistance when aged at 800 and 1100 °C. The oxidation weight gain test demonstrates that the coating exhibits oxidation resistance as good as typical NiCrAlY coating at 1100 °C due to the formation of a dense thermally grown oxide layer (TGO) comprising Al 2 O 3 and Cr 2 O 3 . This coating becomes a strong candidate for high-temperature protective layer requiring oxidation and wear resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the cancer incidence increase and population aging in Taiwan, we aimed to assess the cancer prevalence, to summarize the comorbidities of older patients with the five most common cancers (i.e., breast, colorectal, liver, lung, and oral), and to develop a Taiwan cancer comorbidity index (TCCI) for studying their actual prognosis. The linkage of the Taiwan Cancer Registry, Cause of Death Database, and National Health Insurance Research Database was used. We followed the standard statistical learning steps to obtain a survival model with good discriminatory accuracy in predicting death due to noncancer causes, from which we obtained the TCCI and defined comorbidity levels. We reported the actual prognosis by age, stage, and comorbidity level. In Taiwan, cancer prevalence nearly doubled in 2004–2014, and comorbidities were common among older patients. Stage was the major predictor of patients' actual prognoses. For localized and regional breast, colorectal, and oral cancers, comorbidities correlated with noncancer-related deaths. Compared with the US, the chances of dying from comorbidities in Taiwan were lower and the chances of dying from cancer were higher for breast, colorectal, and male lung cancers. These actual prognoses could help clinicians and patients in treatment decision-making and help policymakers in resource planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topography results from the interplay between rock uplift and erosion, and studying river responses to active tectonics may enable the rates and spatial distribution of rock uplift to be inferred. Normalized channel steepness index (k sn) is widely used to infer rock uplift rates, and rock erodibility plays a significant role in determining the variation of channel steepness in response to external forces. Various measures may be applied to evaluate rock erodibility; however, since they are essentially qualitative, it is difficult to quantify relationships between rock mass strength and channel forms. In this study, we inferred long-term rock uplift rates along the Futagawa fault, an active normal-dextral fault, and the Idenokuchi fault, an active normal fault, in southwestern Japan, based on morphological characteristics of rivers across substrates with contrasting erodibility. The widely used detachment-limited model predicts that, when the rock uplift rate is spatially uniform, the ratio of erodibility of different rock types can be written by an inverse ratio of their k sn values. We employed this theoretical prediction to quantitatively calibrate the effects of rock mass strength on channel steepness. Within the study area, channel steepness was larger in the eastern part where volcanic rocks were exposed than in the western part where less resistant sedimentary rocks predominated. We calculated ratios of substrate erodibility using drainage basins close to the Futagawa fault that experienced similar rock uplift. Calibrated k sn exhibited a clear difference between the eastern and the western part of the fault, suggesting that contrasting erodibility alone cannot explain the observed channel steepness. We also confirmed that the observed channel steepness could not be explained without differential rock uplift, even when considering the combined effects of channel width, precipitation, and erosion process. The distribution of long-term rock uplift rates inferred from calibrated k sn and vertical slip rates of the fault compiled from published papers agree with the distribution of vertical displacement of the earthquake that occurred on the fault in 2016, suggesting that earthquakes similar to the 2016 event have occurred repeatedly in the study area. • We calibrated channel steepness based on the erodibility of substrate materials. • Spatial distribution of long-term uplift is inferred from bedrock river morphology. • Long-term uplift is similar to the vertical displacement of the 2016 earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: This study evaluated the direct and interactive effects of regional-level and individual-level characteristics on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), after considering the individual characteristics in Taiwan. Methods: This study utilized a survey research method. Opioid-dependent patients who participated in the outpatient MMT program in 2009 and met the eligibility criteria were recruited from five hospitals. The impact of MMT on self-perceived health was assessed by using questionnaires. This study assessed the participants'' quality of life and treatment outcomes during 3-month follow-up visits, before evaluating the direct effects of regional and individual characteristics. Multilevel linear models were used to estimate whether regional levels influenced individual behavior and treatment outcomes. Results: Three hundred thirty-four opioid-dependent patients agreed to participate in this study. After the follow-up period, 127 participants completed the study (completion rate = 38%). Participants receiving MMT demonstrated significant improvements in psychological state, HIV risk-taking behavior, social functioning, and health. Regional characteristics, such as the lower than junior high school rate, low-income family rate, and related crime rates, of the study regions were negatively associated with improvements in drug abuse behavior. Conclusions: This study shows that MMT can significantly improve the HIV risk-taking behavior and health of the study participants. Disadvantaged regions, however, exhibit poor treatment outcomes. This study suggests actions to minimize the treatment variations between regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Evaluating several vital signs and chest X-ray (CXR) reports regularly to determine the recovery of the pneumonia patients at general wards is a challenge for doctors. A recent study shows the identification of pneumonia by the history of symptoms and signs including vital signs, CXR, and other clinical parameters, but they lack predicting the recovery status after starting treatment. The goal of this paper is to provide a pneumonia status prediction system for the early affected patient's discharge from the hospital within 7 days or late discharge more than 7 days. This paper aims to design a multimodal data analysis for pneumonia status prediction using deep learning classification (MDA-PSP). We have developed a system that takes an input of vital signs and CXR images of the affected patient with pneumonia from admission day 1 to day 3. The deep learning then classifies the health status improvement or deterioration for predicting the possible discharge state. Therefore, the scope is to provide a highly accurate prediction of the pneumonia recovery on the 7th day after 3-day treatment by the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanation), imputation, adaptive imputation-based preprocessing of the vital signs, and CXR image feature extraction using deep learning based on dense layers-batch normalization (BN) with class weights for the first 7 days' general ward patient in MDA-PSP. A total of 3972 patients with pneumonia were enrolled by de-identification with an adult age of 71 mean ± 17 sd and 64% of them were male. After analyzing the data behavior, appropriate improvement measures are taken by data preprocessing and feature vectorization algorithm. The deep learning method of Dense-BN with SHAP features has an accuracy of 0.77 for vital signs, 0.92 for CXR, and 0.75 for the combined model with class weights. The MDA-PSP hybrid method-based experiments are proven to demonstrate higher prediction accuracy of 0.75 for pneumonia patient status. Henceforth, the hybrid methods of machine and deep learning for pneumonia patient discharge are concluded to be a better approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wood-based furniture manufacturing industries prioritize quality of production to meet higher market demands. Identifying various types of edge-glued wooden panel defects are a challenge for a human worker or a camera. Several studies have shown that the detection of edge-glued defects with low, high, normal, overlong, short is identified but detection of residue and bluntness is highly challenging. Thus, the present model identifies defects of low, high, normal, overlong, short by computer vision and/or deep learning, whereas defects of residue and bluntness by deep learning based decide by pass for having better performance. The goal of this paper is to provide an improved defect detection solution for wood-based furniture manufacturing industries by process automation. Therefore, a system was designed that takes defect input images from a camera as raw image and laser-aligned image for defect detection of the edge-glued wooden panel. The process automation then performs computer vision-based image features extraction with deep learning for defect detection. The aim of this paper is to solve edge-glued defect detection problems by using design and implementation of edge-glued wooden defect detection, that can be stated as edge-glued wooden panel defect detection using deep learning (WDD-DL) for process automation by artificial intelligence and Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) consolidation. Possibly there exist several types of defects on the edges while edge-banding on the wooden panel in furniture manufacturing. Therefore, the scope is to achieve higher accuracy by raw image and laser-aligned image feature extraction using deep learning algorithms for final result defect classification in WDD-DL by AOI. The WDD-DL system uses Gabor, Harris corner, morphology, structured light detection and curvature calculation for pre-processing and InceptionResnetV2 Convolutional Neural Network algorithm to attain the best results. The applications of this work can be found in quality control of the furniture manufacturing industry for an edge, corner, joint defect detection of the wooden panels. The WDD-DL achieves best results as the precision, recall and F1 score are 0.97, 0.90 and 0.92, respectively. The experiments demonstrate higher accuracy achievement as compared to other methods with overkill and escape rate analysis. Ultimately, the discussion section provides an interesting experience sharing about the necessary factors for implementing the WDD-DL in real-time industrial operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With rapid development of the Internet, e-learning system has become more and more popular. Currently, to solve the issue of sharing and reusing of teaching materials in different e-learning system, Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is the most popular standard among existing international standards. In SCORM standard, the Sequencing and Navigation (SN) defines the course sequencing behavior, which controls the sequencing, selecting and delivering of a course, and organizes the content into a hierarchical structure, namely Activity Tree (AT). However, the structures with complicated sequencing rules of Activity Tree (AT) in SCORM make the design and creation of course sequences hard. Therefore, how to provide a user-friendly authoring tool to efficiently construct SCORM compliant course becomes an important issue. However, before developing the authoring tool, how to provide a systematic approach to analyze the sequencing rules and to transform the created course into SCORM compliant are our concerns. Therefore, in this paper, based upon the concept of Object Oriented Methodology (OOM), we propose a systematic approach, called Object Oriented Course Modeling (OOCM), to construct the SCORM compliant course. High-Level Petri Nets (HLPN), which is a powerful language for system modeling and validation, are applied to model the basic sequencing components, called Object-Oriented Activity Tree (OOAT), for constructing the SCORM course with complex sequencing behaviors. Every OOAT as a middleware represents a specific sequencing behavior in learning activity and corresponding structure with associated sequencing rules of AT in SCORM. Thus, these OOATs can be efficiently used to model and construct the course with complex sequencing behaviors for different learning guidance. Moreover, two algorithms, called PN2AT and AT2CP, are also proposed to transform HLPN modeled by OOATs into a tree-like structure with related sequencing rules in Activity Tree (AT) and package the AT and related physical learning resources into a SCORM compliant course file described by XML language, respectively. Finally, based upon the OOCM scheme, a prototypical authoring tool with graphical user interface (GUI) is developed. For evaluating the efficiency of the OOCM approach compared with existing authoring tools, an experiment has been done. The experimental results show that the OOCM approach is workable and beneficial for teachers/instructional designers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acinetobacter baumannii is a prevalent pathogen that can rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics. Indeed, multidrug-resistant A. baumannii is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections and has been recognised by the World Health Organization as one of the most threatening bacteria to our society. Resistance-nodulation-division (RND) type multidrug efflux pumps have been demonstrated to convey antibiotic resistance to a wide range of pathogens and are the primary resistance mechanism employed by A. baumannii. A component of an RND pump in A. baumannii, AdeT1, was previously demonstrated to enhance the antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli. Here, we report the results of experiments which demonstrate that wild-type AdeT1 does not confer antimicrobial resistance in E. coli, highlighting the importance of verifying protein production when determining minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) especially by broth dilution. Nevertheless, using an agar-based MIC assay, we found that propionylation of Lys280 on AdeT1 renders E. coli cells more resistant to erythromycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy complication associated with placental oxidative stress and impaired trophoblast migration. The mechanism of defective trophoblast migration remains unknown. Forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) is a transcription factor. Integrin β3 is involved in cell motility. We hypothesized that FOXO1 mediates expression of trophoblast integrin β3, which could be impaired by oxidative stress and have implications in preeclampsia. The expressions of FOXO1 and integrin β3 were significantly reduced in preeclamptic placentas (n = 15) compared to that of controls (n = 15; p < 0.01). HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 trophoblasts were transfected to express wild-type FOXO1-WT or constitutively-expressed nuclear mutant form, FOXO1-AAA. The FOXO1 in HTR-8/SVneo and 3A-Sub-E trophoblasts was silenced by small interfering RNA. AKT-mediated phosphorylation inactivated FOXO1, but FOXO1-AAA was not phosphorylated. The expression of trophoblast integrin β3 was significantly elevated by FOXO1 overexpression and inhibited by FOXO1 knockdown. FOXO1 regulates integrin β3 at the transcriptional level via binding to the putative FOXO1 response element site between position −1154 to −1139 (TGAGATGTTTTGAAAG) in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblasts. The level of phosphorylated FOXO1 was decreased, and the FOXO1 level was increased in trophoblasts treated with AKT inhibitor MK2206, leading to upregulation of integrin β3. The capabilities of trophoblast adhesion and migration were enhanced by FOXO1-overexpression or MK2206, and inhibited by silencing FOXO1 or oxidative stress with H 2 O 2 . These results suggest that FOXO1 enhances trophoblast integrin β3 expression, and mediates cell adhesion and migration. By affecting the expression of FOXO1 and cell motility in trophoblasts, oxidative stress plays a role in the development of preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effects of nitrous oxide plasma treatment on the negative bias temperature stress of indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO) and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) were reported. ITZO TFTs were more suitable for the back channel etched-type device structure because they could withstand both Al- and Cu-acid damage. The initial threshold voltage range could be controlled to within 1 V. The root cause of poor negative bias temperature stress for ITZO was likely due to a higher mobility (∼3.3 times) and more carbon related contamination bonds (∼5.9 times) relative to IGZO. Finally, 65″ active-matrix organic light-emitting diode televisions using the ITZO and IGZO TFTs were fabricated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research proposed a situational learning system to help elementary school students practice and improve their English as a foreign language (EFL) writing skills. Students carried out assigned writing tasks using the support of mobile devices in situations deemed to be familiar to the students, such as on the school playground, within classroom facilities, and at lunch. The study recruited 59 sixth-grade students from two separate EFL classes. A class of 28 students was identified as the experimental group, and another class of 31 students was assigned as the control group. The students of the experimental group carried mobile devices to carry out EFL writing assignments within specific and familiar subject environments, stimulating real-life situations or contexts. The results of the experiment indicated a significant difference in learning achievement between the two groups. Students in the experimental group perceived the designed activities to be fun; thus, they were more inclined to maintain interest in situated learning scenarios. Furthermore, based on interviews with participating students from both groups, we found that the activities presented within familiar contexts, and supported by our proposed EFL writing system, inspired students to not only write more sentences, but to describe the target objects clearly and thoroughly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammary analogue secretory carcinoma (MASC) is a recently described malignancy of the salivary glands characterized by an ETV6-NTRK3 (EN) fusion gene. Morphologically, MASC is sometimes difficult to distinguish from acinic cell carcinoma. Consequently, identifying the chromosomal translocation is essential for diagnosis. We present a case of parotid gland MASC in a 13-year-old boy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest case reported in the literature. Histologic evaluation showed a tumor composed of microcysts, tubular structures, solid nests, or papillary architecture, with secretions within the lumens of the cysts or tubules. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells showed diffuse positive staining of S-100 protein, cytokeratin 19, and vimentin. ETV6 rearrangement was detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization and EN fusion transcripts were verified by reverse transcription (RT-PCR) assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the fabrication of polyaniline and graphene oxide aerogel composite (PGA) thin film-based sensors for H 2 S gas sensing application. The optical and morphological properties of these composite films were characterised correspondingly by UV–visible spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. To prepare the gas sensors, thin films of PANI and PGA composites were deposited onto interdigitated electrodes by spin coating method. The response of these sensors towards H 2 S gas was evaluated by monitoring the change in electrical conductivity at room temperature under two relative humidity values of 60% RH and 80% RH. The PGA composite thin film-based gas sensors showed a higher response compared with the pure PANI-based sensor. The gas sensor made of PGA-3 showed a good response of 3.87 in 67 s (60% RH), which is 4.6 times higher than that of pure PANI and 2.5 times higher than that of PGA-1 at 1 ppm. The first-principles simulations were carried out to investigate the H 2 S sensing mechanism of PGA heterostructure. The adsorption of H 2 S at different locations of pure PANI and PGA composites was analysed. The band gap for PGA showed more significant change after adsorption than that of pure PANI, which indicated the higher sensitivity for detecting H 2 S. [Display omitted] • First study for polyaniline(PANI)-Graphene oxide aerogel (GOA) composite (PGA) applied in H 2 S gas sensing. • First study to give comparative view on H 2 S gas sensing properties of two carbon fillers i.e. carbon aerogel (CA) and Graphene oxide aerogel (GOA). • H 2 S gas sensing properties were studied at room temperature at two different relative humidity i.e. RH 60% and RH 80%. • The first-principles simulations were carried out to investigate the H 2 S sensing mechanism of PGA heterostructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic structures and band topology of a single Sb(111) bilayer in the buckled honeycomb configuration are investigated using first-principles calculations. A nontrivial topological insulating phase can be induced by tensile strain, indicating the possibility of realizing the quantum spin Hall state for Sb thin films on suitable substrates. The presence of buckling provides an advantage in controlling the band gap through an out-of-plane external electric field, making a topological phase transition with six spin-polarized Dirac cones at the critical point. With a tunable gap and reversible spin polarization, Sb thin films are promising candidates for spintronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates degradation behavior induced by the self-heating effect for InGaZnO (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). Both the surrounding oxide and other thermal insulating materials, as well as the low thermal conductivity of the InGaZnO layer itself, cause the self-heating effect in InGaZnO TFTs. The heated channel layer enhances the threshold voltage shift, and the evolution of threshold voltage shift is found to be dominated by charge-trapping effects. Moreover, a nonuniform distribution of channel carrier concentration leads to an uneven temperature distribution throughout the IGZO active layer, which results in the asymmetrical degradation behavior after the self-heating operation. Further verifications indicate that the degree of the threshold voltage shift is only dependent on stress power, regardless of stress Vg, Vd, and channel length. Further, two-stage dependence of the threshold voltage shift on dynamic stress frequency is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We have successfully fabricated large sized amorphous indium–gallium–zinc-oxide based active-matrix liquid-crystal displays, which uses Molybdenum/Aluminum/Titanium as source/drain electrode. In this study, an oxygen-rich etch stop layer acts as the oxygen atom supplier and converts the titanium layer into titanium oxide layer, which is found to induce instability of the device. Sample without titanium oxide has an initial threshold voltage shift is less than ±0.1V after the repeatedly measuring over a period of two weeks. In addition, the IGZO based device demonstrated superior transfer characteristic. This paper established that the stability of the amorphous indium–gallium–zinc-oxide based active-matrix liquid-crystal display can be predicted by Stretched-Exponential model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This letter investigates asymmetrical degradation behavior induced by the self-heating effect in InGaZnO thin-film transistors. Both the surrounding oxide and other thermal insulating material, as well as the low thermal conductivity of the InGaZnO layer itself, cause the self-heating effect in InGaZnO thin-film transistors. The heated channel layer enhances threshold voltage shift, and the evolution of threshold voltage shift is found to be dominated by charge-trapping effect. Moreover, a non-uniform distribution of channel carrier concentration leads to an uneven temperature distribution through the InGaZnO active layer and results in the asymmetrical degradation behavior after self-heating operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plasma-process-induced damage (PPID) of low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) during the etching of the poly-Si film was investigated in this paper. The results reveal the relationship between the device degradation and the PPID during TFT liquid-crystal-display fabrication. This degradation is caused in part by the damage at the edge of the poly-Si film in plasma exposure. The trapped-state densities Ntrap are measured to clarify the relationship between instability and plasma etching damages. The plasma-process condition substantially affects the PPID of the poly-Si etching process. The main mechanism is the generation of charge trapping states at the poly-Si grain boundary in the damaged edge of the TFT channel active region. The electrical recovery from the plasma damage is also studied with various postetching treatments. Hydrogen-base plasma treatment and laser anneal process are revealed to improve the device characteristics due to reduction of charge trapping states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The importance of the amino acid sequence in the C-terminal domain of penicillin-binding protein 5 (PBP5) and the levels of PBP5 expression to ampicillin resistance of Taiwan clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium were studied. Sequence data revealed the existence of 12 amino acid sequence variants within the C-terminal domain of PBP5 in the 33 tested isolates (ampicillin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) 1mg/L to >256mg/L). Western blot analyses of the levels of PBP5 showed that, with few exceptions, lower amounts of PBP5 were present in the susceptible strains than in the resistant strains. More importantly, a significant correlation (P =0.004, Fisher''s exact test) between the expression of PBP5 and ampicillin resistance was detected. Point mutations in PBP5, including addition of aspartic acid or serine after position 466 and change of methionine to alanine or threonine at position 485, alanine or isoleucine to threonine at position 499 and glutamate to valine at position 629, were found to be significantly associated with ampicillin resistance. A significant correlation was obtained for the combined mutation (alleles 10 and 11), suggesting that combined mutation of PBP5 can be a marker for ampicillin resistance of E. faecium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have previously demonstrated that a UVC-induced tumorigenic HeLa x skin fibroblast cell line could be induced to form a more normal phenotypic state (‘reversion’), including loss of IAP expression. We have now used the loss of IAP expression to monitor the enhancement of this reversion in the cervical cancer cell line, HeLa, by a traditional Chinese herb medicine (TCM), Yigan Kang (YGK). IAP level decreased, and the reversion frequency increased, in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of YGK of more than 10mg. YGK significantly repressed E6/E7 oncogenes at the transcriptional level, with subsequent reactivation of p53 and p21 expression (P<0.01). YGK had little effect on the cell cycle of HeLa cells and slightly increased the apoptotic cell death between 20 and 40mg. In vivo, tumorigenicity studies were performed using six different animal experimental protocols, which demonstrated that YGK was effective at inducing reversion of the tumorigenic phenotype, with YGK-treated HeLa cells showing much less aggressive tumor growth than untreated cells. YGK may raise the possibility of the continuing management of some cancers as a chronic condition in which the malignant behavior of the tumor cells is constrained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Antinuclear antibody pattern recognition is vital for autoimmune disease diagnosis but labor-intensive for manual interpretation. To develop an automated pattern recognition system, we established machine learning models based on the International Consensus on Antinuclear Antibody Patterns (ICAP) at a competent level, mixed patterns recognition, and evaluated their consistency with human reading. Methods: 51,694 human epithelial cells (HEp-2) cell images with patterns assigned by experienced medical technologists collected in a medical center were used to train six machine learning algorithms and were compared by their performance. Next, we choose the best performing model to test the consistency with five experienced readers and two beginners. Results: The mean F1 score in each classification of the best performing model was 0.86 evaluated by Testing Data 1. For the inter-observer agreement test on Testing Data 2, the average agreement was 0.849 (κ) among five experienced readers, 0.844 between the best performing model and experienced readers, 0.528 between experienced readers and beginners. The results indicate that the proposed model outperformed beginners and achieved an excellent agreement with experienced readers. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the developed model could reach an excellent agreement with experienced human readers using machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cdk1 (cyclin-dependent kinase 1) is critical regulator of the G2-M checkpoint. Cyclin-dependent kinase pathways are considered possible targets for cancer treatment; however, the prognostic role of Cdk1 in colorectal cancer is still controversial. Therefore, we attempted to determine the impact of Cdk1 on the clinical outcome of colorectal cancer patients to further identify its role in colorectal cancer.Methods: Cdk1 immunoreactivity was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 164 cancer specimens from primary colorectal cancer patients. The medium follow-up time after surgery was 3.7 years (range: 0.01 to 13.10 years). The prognostic value of Cdk1 on overall survival was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard models.Results: All samples displayed detectable Cdk1 expression with predominant location in the cytoplasm and nucleus. A high Cdk1 nuclear/cytoplasmic (N/C) expression ratio was correlated with poor overall survival (5-year survival rate: 26.3% vs 46.9%, N/C ratio ≥1.5 vs N/C ratio <1.5, log-rank p = 0.027). Accordingly, a Cdk1 N/C expression ratio ≥1.5 was identified as an independent risk factor by multivariate analysis (hazard ratio = 1.712, P = 0.039).Conclusions: We suggest that Cdk1 N/C expression ratio determined by IHC staining could be an independent prognostic marker for colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the degradation mechanism under self-heating stress for InGaZnO thin film transistor. The apparent positive threshold voltage (Vt) shift and on-current degradation indicate that the combination of trap states generation and electron trapping effect occur during stress. Furthermore, the asymmetric degradation behavior in the Id-Vg saturation measurement demonstrates that the trap states location is near the source side since the relative vertical electrical field is higher than drain side. Moreover, the Joule heating generated by self-heating operation can enhance electron trapping effect and cause larger Vt shift in comparison with the gate-bias stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]