Search

In this paper, a side-by-side, dual-nozzle electrospinning process was used to prepare a flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) material with excellent stretchable properties. A highly stable electrical conductivity was also imparted to the resulting membrane electrodes using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and carbon-based nanomaterials of different structures. The AgNP/carbon-based nanomaterials were coated onto bicomponent polymer nanofibers (composed of polyurethane (PU) and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF)) on the nanofiber membrane. The FHE nanofiber electrodes were finally integrated into clothing designed to accurately measure human body sensing signals (e.g., electrocardiography (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) signals). To effectively increase the high electrical conductivity, a polymer-type dispersant (polyisobutylene

The aim of the present study was to investigate how frailty/pre-frailty in combination with subjective memory complaints predicts all-cause mortality in community dwelling cognitively unimpaired older adults. There were 1904 community-dwelling cognitively unimpaired persons aged 65 years or older who participated in the 2013 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey with a 5-year follow-up. Frailty was determined based on the fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illness, and loss of weight (FRAIL) scale. Two questions (“Do you have difficulties with your memory or attention?” and “Do you have difficulties with your memory only or attention only or both?”) were used to screen for subjective memory complaints (SMC). In this study, 11.9% of participants had both frailty/pre-frailty and SMC. A total of 239 deaths were recorded after 9009.5 person-years of follow-up. After adjustment for other factors, compared with participants who were physically robust with no SMC, participants who reported either SMC alone (HR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.60–1.27) or were frail/pre-frail alone (HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.90–1.92) had no significantly increased mortality risk. However, coexisting frailty/pre-frailty and SMC was associated with a significantly increased hazard ratio for mortality of 1.48 (95% CI = [1.02–2.16]). Our results highlight the high prevalence of co-occurring frailty/pre-frailty and SMC and that this co-occurrence is associated with an increased risk of mortality among cognitively unimpaired older adults.

BACKGROUND Mobile voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV has been carried out to improve the targeting of at-risk populations and HIV case detection for men who have sex with men (MSM). However, the HIV-positive detection rate using this screening strategy has declined in recent years. This may imply unknown changes in risk-taking and protective features jointly influencing the testing results. These changing patterns in this key population remain unexplored. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify the nuanced group classification of MSM who underwent mobile VCT using latent class analysis (LCA), and to compare the difference in characteristics and testing results between subgroups. METHODS A cross-sectional research design and purposive sampling were applied between May 21, 2019, and December 31, 2019. Participants were recruited by a well-trained research assistant through social networking platforms, including the most popular instant messenger app Line, geosocial network apps dedicated to MSM, and online communities. Mobile VCT was provided to participants at an assigned time and place. Demographic characteristics and risk-taking and protective features of the MSM were collected via online questionnaires. LCA was used to identify discrete subgroups based on four risk-taking indicators—multiple sexual partners (MSP), unprotected anal intercourse (UAI), recreational drug use within the past 3 months, and history of sexually transmitted diseases—and three protective indicators—experience of postexposure prophylaxis, preexposure prophylaxis use, and regular HIV testing. RESULTS Overall, 1018 participants (mean age 30.17, SD 7.29 years) were included. A three-class model provided the best fit. Classes 1, 2, and 3 corresponded to the highest risk (n=175, 17.19%), highest protection (n=121, 11.89%), and low risk and low protection (n=722, 70.92%), respectively. Compared to those of class 3, class 1 participants were more likely to have MSP and UAI within the past 3 months, to be ≥40 years of age (odds ratio [OR] 2.197, 95% CI 1.357-3.558; P=.001), to have HIV-positive results (OR 6.47, 95% CI 2.272-18.482; PP=.04). Class 2 participants were more likely to adopt biomedical preventions and have marital experience (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.033-6.277; P=.04). CONCLUSIONS LCA helped derive a classification of risk-taking and protection subgroups among MSM who underwent mobile VCT. These results may inform policies for simplifying the prescreening assessment and more precisely recognizing those who have higher probabilities of risk-taking features but remain undiagnosed targets, including MSM engaging in MSP and UAI within the past 3 months and those ≥40 years old. These results could be applied to tailor HIV prevention and testing programs.

Family caregivers of persons with cognitive impairment experience changes in reductions in leisure engagement, which can decrease their subjective wellbeing (leisure satisfaction, negative affect and positive affect). We recruited 100 dyads of patients with cognitive impairment and family caregivers by convenience sampling from outpatient memory clinics and daycare centers in northern Taiwan. Hierarchical regression analysis tested the mediating effects of leisure engagement on the relationship between caregiving stress and subjective wellbeing. Results indicated that the restorative experience of event/tourism activities (β = 0.23, p .05) significantly mediated between caregiving stress and leisure satisfaction. In addition, the only significant mediator between caregiving stress and negative affect was leisure barriers (β = 0.21, p .05). Both of the regression models explained 27% of the variance. Future development of leisure interventions should focus on reducing leisure barriers and providing event and tourism activities to the dyads. (146 words).

Intrusion detection system (IDS) is becoming more and more important for detecting network intrusions, anomalies or attacks. This paper proposes a method that first uses adaptive synthetic (ADASYN) sampling to oversample data in small-size class, then uses deep learning models, such as the variational autoencoder (VAE), long short-term memory (LSTM) network, and deep neural network (DNN), for network intrusion detection. The well-known NSL-KDD dataset is applied to evaluate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.

High entropy alloys (HEAs) have drawn lots of attentions from researchers and industries because of their outstanding properties, such as high hardness, and good corrosion resistance. Particularly, the refractory high entropy alloy is characterized by its high temperature strength and stable thermal properties. We conducted the magnetron co-sputtering process to grow one V-Nb-Mo-Ta-W and three V-Nb-Mo-Ta-W-Cr-B refractory HEA coatings. The BCC phase of V-Nb-Mo-Ta-W HEA coating was changed into the amorphous-like structures when Cr and B elements were added into the coatings. Oxidation reactions occurred and very complex refractory metal oxides were produced on all HEA coatings when the oxidation was held at 800 °C in air for 1 h. The addition of Cr and B constituents into the V-Nb-Mo-Ta-W coating can provide good oxidation resistance and anti-corrosion performance. The highest hardness of 18.4 ± 0.5 GPa, an excellent corrosion resistance at room temperature, a high hardness of 15.9 ± 1.1 GPa and good thermal stability after 500 °C oxidation test were obtained for the V10.4Nb10.5Mo10.5Ta11.2W10.5Cr16.3B28.6 refractory HEA coating in this study.

Chia-Lin Li,1,2 Fiona F Stanaway,3 Jen-Der Lin,2 Hsing-Yi Chang4 1Department of Health Care Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan; 2Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Linkou, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan; 3Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia; 4Division of Preventive Medicine and Health Service Research, Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Maoli 350, Taiwan Purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of frailty and its relationship with health care use among community-dwelling older adults with diabetes.Methods: We analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of people aged 65 years and above (n=3,203) participating in the 2013 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. Atotal of 719 participants had a history of self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes. The presence of frailty was determined based on the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illness, and Loss of weight (FRAIL) scale proposed by the International Association of Nutrition and Aging. FRAIL scores range from 0 to 5 and are categorized as frail (3–5), pre-frail (1–2), and robust (0). Participants were asked whether they had been hospitalized or had visited an emergency department in the past year.Results: Among community-dwelling older adults with diabetes, 9.4% of participants were frail and 35.3 % were pre-frail. After adjustment for other factors, being frail was significantly associated with hospitalization during the past year (OR =5.31, 95% CI =1.87–15.10), whereas being pre-frail was not associated with hospitalization. Both being pre-frail and frail were significantly associated with emergency department visits during the past year (OR =2.64, 95% CI =1.35–5.17 and OR =4.05, 95% CI =1.31–12.49, respectively) after adjustment for other factors.Conclusion: Our results highlight the high prevalence of frailty in community-dwelling older adults with diabetes. Furthermore, being frail is associated with a greater burden of hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, elderly, frailty, health care use, Taiwan&nbsp

The adhesion of platelet cells is viewed as a first step in thrombus formation, and cancer cell attachment can lead to cancer seeding. In this study, we examined the feasibility of utilizing Zr53Cu33Al9Ta5 thin film metallic glass (TFMG) to minimize the adhesion of human cancer cells (breast cancer cell, colon cancer cell, and esophageal cancer cell), human and animal platelets. TFMG and pure titanium (Ti) were respectively grown on glass substrates to a thickness of 200 nm using magnetron sputtering. TFMG was shown to reduce surface roughness of approximately 27% than Ti coating did on glass samples. The concentrations of all major ions released from the TFMG were well below toxic levels. TFMG surfaces were more effective than Ti in increasing the contact angle of water, phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and blood from different animal species. The application of TFMG to bare surfaces was shown to reduce the attachment area of human platelets by 77% and that of pig platelets by 63%. TFMG also reduced the attachment of cancer cells by up to ~87%. These characteristics can be attributed to a low surface free energy of TFMG-coated surfaces (31.89 mN/m), which is far below that of Ti-coated (39.25 mN/m) and bare glass (47.80 mN/m). These findings demonstrate the considerable potential of TFMG coatings in the fabrication of medical instruments aimed at preventing the adhesion of platelet and cancer cells.

A novel fluorescence probe (L) was prepared and its sensing behavior toward metal ions was investigated. Probe L exhibited colorimetric response toward Hg2+ and fluorescence enhancement with an obvious blue shift toward Cu2+ in CH3CN/H2O (v/v, 9:1). The association constant for probe L-Hg2+ and probe L-Cu2+ in CH3CN/H2O (v/v, 9:1) was determined as 1.5 × 104 M−1 and 5.3 × 108 M−2, respectively. The detection limit of probe L for the analysis of Hg2+ and Cu2+ was determined as 22.69 ppb and 155.53 ppb, respectively.

The amorphous thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs) have been studied widely due to their unique properties and ease of fabrication as compared with the bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). Among the many TFMG systems, the W-based TFMG remains unstudied. In this work, a series of ternary W-Zr-Si TFMGs containing various W content ranging from 49.3 to 66.5 at.% were fabricated using a magnetron co-sputtering system. Increasing the W content of W-Zr-Si TFMG rendered an increase of Young's modulus up to 182 ± 4 GPa with the highest W content of 66.5 at.%. The film hardness was 13 GPa, independent of the W concentration in the as-deposited W-Zr-Si TFMGs. The influence of post-annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of TFMGs was studied by a vacuum thermal treatment ranging from 450 to 750 °C under various holding times. The surface roughness increased with increasing annealing temperature, with the sample annealed at the supercooled liquid region exhibited the lowest surface roughness of 1.14 nm. The hardness of TFMGs increased with increasing annealing temperature and longer holding time due to annealing-induced crystallization with a highest hardness of 16.8 ± 0.5 GPa. However, the indentation toughness decreased upon annealing and the lowest value was achieved for the hardest film due to the increasing amount of short range ordered (SRO) clusters.

A novel colorimetric probe (L) was prepared and its metal ion sensing properties were investigated. Probe L exhibited obvious colorimetric response toward Hg2+ in water. The association constant for probe L-Hg2+ in water containing 0.5% DMSO (v/v) was determined as 1.77 × 105 M−1. The detection limit of probe L for the analysis of Hg2+ was determined as 21.72 ppb. Moreover, probe L can be used for selective sensing of Hg2+ based on the obvious color changes in real samples. Further, the interaction between the probe L and Hg2+ was investigated by 1H NMR titration and the probable structure of probe L-Hg2+ complex was predicted by B3LYP method.

Objectives The main aim of this study was to examine how physical activity in combination with physical frailty and cognitive impairment affects risk of mortality in older adults. Study Design A national sample of community-dwelling Taiwanese aged 65 years or older (n=2678) was followed for 5 years. Main outcome measures Frailty was determined based on the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illness, and Loss of weight (FRAIL) scale. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to assess cognitive impairment. Information on self-reported physical activity was collected at baseline. The study cohort was followed until the date of death or the end of the study period (31 December 2018). Deaths were confirmed by the computerized data files of the National Register of Deaths. Results A total of 417 deaths were recorded after 12415.2 person-years of follow-up. After adjustment for other factors, compared with active participants who were physically robust with normal cognition, inactive participants who were with either frail/pre-frail or cognitively impaired had hazard ratios for mortality of 2.65 (95% CI=[1.88-3.74]) and 3.09 (95% CI=[2.08-4.59]), respectively. Inactive participants with coexisting frailty/pre-frailty and cognitive impairment had the highest hazard ratio for mortality of 3.85 (95% CI=[2.73-5.45]). Being active was associated with a mortality reduction of 31%, 38%, and 42% in physically robust participants with normal cognition, those who were frail/pre-frail only, and those with cognitive impairment only, respectively. Conclusions Having a physically active life style has beneficial effects on survival in older persons with either frailty/pre-frailty or cognitive impairment.

In this work, the effects of rare-earth element Ce addition on the microstructures and mechanical properties of (CoCrNi)100-xCex (x = 0, 1.05, 2.61, 4.2, 5.96) medium entropy alloy films (MEAFs) were investigated. A series of (CoCrNi)100-xCex MEAFs was fabricated by radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering. The XRD and TEM results showed that the structure transformed from FCC to FCC + HCP at x = 2.61. Also, as Ni precipitated with Ce to form CeNi5 HCP phase, the localized depletion of Ni would encourage CoCrNi to transform from FCC to HCP phase. With the further increase in Ce content, Ce4.2 film became mixed nanocrystalline and amorphous structures and Ce5.96 film was fully amorphous. The nanoindentation and micro-pillar compression tests were conducted to study the mechanical properties of films. Both the hardness and Young's modulus showed an initial increase, reached the maxima of ~10 GPa and ~200 GPa, respectively, at x = 1.05, and then decreased with the increasing Ce content. The trends of yield strength and ultimate strength versus Ce content were similar to hardness. These results demonstrated that small amounts of Ce addition could strengthen CoCrNi MEAFs due to solid solution strengthening. However, excessive Ce addition would reduce the grain size to below ~10 nm and weaken the CoCrNiCe system due to the inverse Hall-Petch effect.

A colorimetric probe (L) was prepared and its metal ion sensing properties were investigated. Probe L exhibited obvious colorimetric response toward Hg2+ and Cu2+ with different color changes in water. The association constant for probe L-Hg2+ and probe L-Cu2+ in water containing 0.5% DMSO (v/v) was determined as 5.62 × 107 M−1 and 1.26 × 107 M−1, respectively. The detection limit of probe L for the analysis of Hg2+ and Cu2+ was determined as 0.19 ppm and 0.39 ppm, respectively. Moreover, probe L can be used for selective sensing of Hg2+ and Cu2+ based on the distinct color changes in real samples.

Aims The aims of the present study were to investigate the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment in community dwelling older adults with diabetes and its relationship with specific diabetes self-care behaviors. Methods We analyzed data from two national samples of older adults (65 years or older) with self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes (N = 1034), who participated in the 2005 or 2009 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to assess cognitive function. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. The study assessed self-care behaviors including medication adherence, exercise, healthy diet, and self-monitoring of blood glucose. Results In this study, 8.8% of participants with diabetes had both depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. After adjusting for other factors, participants with both cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were less likely to exercise (Prevalence Ratios (PR) = 0.66; 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = [0.47–0.91]; P-value = 0.011), and have a healthy diet (PR = 0.82; 95%CI = [0.70–0.96]; P-value = 0.012). Conclusions Our results illustrate the high prevalence of combined depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment and that this combination is associated with worse self-care behaviors in older adults with diabetes. These findings highlight the difficulty that some older adults with diabetes may have in maintaining self-care behaviors in the presence of depressed mood and cognitive impairment, particularly in the areas of diet and exercise. The results emphasize the importance of providing more support for these aspects of self-care to such older adults.

This study measured the notch toughness of Zr- and W-based thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs), and compared the results with those data obtained from crystalline Ti and TiN thin films as well as bulk metallic glass (BMG). Deflection testing was conducted using microcantilevers fabricated by focused ion beam machining. The resulting load vs. deflection curves revealed that Zr-based TFMG, BMG, and Ti films exhibited non-linear curves after yielding, which represented the ductile deformation characteristics. Higher notch toughness values of 3.84 and 5.13 MPa m for Zr- and W-based TFMGs, respectively, than TiN (2.15 MPa m ) and Ti (0.74 MPa m ) films were obtained. Thus, at micro-scales, metallic glasses present relatively better fracture behavior than do crystalline materials. This paper presents a direct comparison of works related to the notch toughness of amorphous and crystalline materials.

Aims and objectives To explore risk factors for a single fall and multiple falls in the first and second postoperative years among older hip fracture patients. Background Older hip fracture patients have a high probability of falling again after a fall incident. Risk factors for postoperative falls among older hip fracture patients in Taiwan remain to be confirmed. Design Secondary analysis. Methods Data collected from control groups of two clinical trials conducted during 2001-2004 and during 2005-2009 were selected. Overall, 181 older adults who underwent hip fracture surgery were assessed at predischarge and postdischarge. Participant data were collected through home visits. Results Decline in unaffected limb quadriceps muscle endurance was a crucial predictor of a single fall in the first postoperative year for older hip fracture patients. Advanced age and more severe depressive symptoms were the crucial predictor for multiple falls. Engagement in activities of daily living was the crucial predictor for falls during the first to second postoperative years among older hip fracture patients. Conclusion In Taiwan, postoperative falls that occur within 1-2 years of a hip fracture are associated with a high incidence of single and multiple falls in older people. The crucial predictors of falls in the first and second year after a hip fracture include unaffected limb quadriceps endurance, age, depression status and postdischarge activities of daily livings in older people. Relevance to clinical practice The identified factors associated with subsequent falls within one and two years of a hip fracture should be incorporated into clinical strategies and taught in nursing courses. Early postoperative lower extremity muscular endurance rehabilitation must be provided. Furthermore, as part of the healthcare plan before hospital discharge, it must be ensured that the community where the older adults live has nutritional education, cognitive screening and psychological support.

CoCrFeMnNiAlx (x = 0, 0.07, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0, 1.3) high-entropy alloy films (HEAFs) were processed by co-sputtering of CoCrFeMnNi alloy and Al targets. The effects of Al content on the microstructures and mechanical properties of HEAFs were studied. The XRD results indicated that the crystalline structure changed from the single face-centered cubic (FCC) phase for x = 0 and 0.07 to duplex FCC + body-centered cubic (BCC) phases for x = 0.3 and 0.6, and eventually, to a single BCC phase for x = 1.0 and 1.3, which agreed with the corresponding selected-area electron diffraction patterns. Also, nanotwins were observed in the FCC phase. Mechanical properties of films were studied using nanoindentation and micropillar compression tests. The hardness increased from 5.71 GPa at x = 0 to 8.74 GPa at x = 1.3. The compressive yield strength increased from 1.59 GPa to 3.73 GPa, however, the fracture strain decreased from 20.91% (no fracture) to 13.78% with the increasing Al content. Both nanotwins and BCC phase contributed to the strengthening effects for CoCrFeMnNiAlx HEAFs. Also, compared to the bulk CoCrFeMnNiAlx counterpart, the film exhibited much higher hardness and strength because of the much smaller grain size and the presence of nanotwins.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, and acute care utilization of community dwelling disabled older adults with an absence of help for activities of daily living (ADL). Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data from a nationally representative sample of people aged 65 years and over (n = 2904) participating in the 2009 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. Disability was defined as self-reporting a lot of difficulty or complete inability to carry out one or more ADL tasks. Participants with disability were asked whether they received help in the form of personal assistance or assistive devices to complete ADL tasks, with a yes response indicating the presence of help and a no response indicating the absence of help. Hospitalization and emergency department visits was assessed as a dichotomous variable (any or none), respectively. Results An absence of available help for ADL disability was reported in 16.6% of disabled older adults. Disabled older adults reporting an absence of help were more likely to be female. After adjustment for other factors, compared to older adults without disability, older adults with disability not receiving help for ADL tasks were highly related to hospitalization (OR = 4.57; 95%CI = [1.51–13.82]) and emergency department visits (OR = 3.52; 95%CI = [1.15–10.76]) during the past year, respectively. Conclusions We found that there is high prevalence of absence of help to perform ADL tasks in older adults with disability, and that this absence of help for ADL disability is associated with a greater burden of acute care utilization than those without disability.

We have used nanoindentation to investigate mechanical properties of 200-nm-thick amorphous multilayer consisting of alternating layers of Zr-based thin film metallic glass (TFMG) and holmium scandium oxide (HSO). Nanoindentation results show that TFMG/HSO multilayer exhibits the high hardness and Young's modulus. Owing to its high hardness, smooth surface, and good adhesion properties, TFMG/HSO multilayer is then employed as a protective coating to improve the four-point bending fatigue properties of 316L stainless steel. With coating, the fatigue life is increased from 2.4×10 5 to 4.9×10 6 cycles, at the stress of 700 MPa. A crack retardation mechanism has been proposed to explain the role of TFMG/HSO multilayer in improving fatigue properties of 316L stainless steel substrate.

The phase evolution, microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrFeMnNiTix (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 in molar ratio, denoted as Tix hereafter) high entropy alloy films (HEAFs) were studied in this work. The films were prepared by co-sputtering of CoCrFeMnNi alloy and Ti targets. Abundant nanotwins were observed in the Ti0 and Ti0.2 films and the crystalline structures of both films were identified to be a single FCC phase. In Ti0.4 and Ti0.6, the matrix exhibited an amorphous structure, and both the nanocrystalline grains and nanotwins were embedded in the amorphous matrix. With further addition of Ti, the Ti0.8 film transformed to an amorphous structure. As a result, there was a phase transition from a single FCC to an amorphous structure with the increasing Ti content. Furthermore, nanoindentation tests showed that the hardness of the films increased from 6.62 GPa in Ti0 to 8.99 GPa in Ti0.8. Micropillar compression tests showed that the fracture strain decreased from >19.42% (no fracture) to 7.78% with the increasing Ti content. The best mechanical properties in compression were observed in Ti0.4, and the compressive yield and fracture strengths were 2.82 and 4.44 GPa, respectively, with the fracture strain of 12.4%, which was achieved by a balanced amount of nanocrystalline grains in the amorphous matrix.

CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy films (HEAFs) manifest excellent properties as the potential structural materials in the microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS). In this work, we systematically investigated the growth, microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrFeMnNi HEAFs with thicknesses varying from 300 to 1400 nm. The film growth study revealed that ~300 nm of the amorphous layer, ~250 nm of the crystalline layer, and the preferred orientation layer grew sequentially during the deposition process. Results from nanoindentation with dynamic mechanical analyses showed that the mechanical properties of CoCrFeMnNi HEAFs depended on the film thickness. Both the hardness and Young's modulus decreased first and then increased with the increasing film thickness. The mechanical properties were related to the microstructures of the three layers. The nonuniform structure of the 750 nm-thick film could lead to the low and uneven mechanical properties. However, the abundant nanotwins in the 1400 nm-thick film resulted in the strengthening effect. Our findings not only provide insight into understanding the thickness-dependence of the mechanical properties of CoCrFeMnNi HEAFs, but also offer clues for the MEMS to design high performance HEAFs at small-scales.

Development of film materials has been limited by the hardness-fatigue resistance trade-off. The purpose of the present study was to obtain films with a combination of both high hardness and strong fatigue resistance. To achieve this, CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy films (HEAFs) were fabricated with three different structures: amorphous, high-density nanotwinned crystal structure with twin spacings of 2.2–5.6 nm, and ultrahigh-density nanotwinned columnar grains with twin spacings of 1.2–2.5 nm. Nanoindentation with dynamic mechanical analysis was used to measure the hardness and perform the fatigue tests. While higher twin densities could dissipate more energy by detwinning during fatigue loading to enhance the fatigue resistance, twin spacings larger than and small than 2 nm could, respectively, result in hardening and softening. Our results showed a high hardness of ~9 GPa and fair fatigue resistance (~104 cycles) for both amorphous and high-density nanotwinned crystalline layers. For the ultrahigh-density nanotwinned columnar grain structure, a high hardness of ~8.5 GPa and an excellent fatigue resistance (~106 cycles) were obtained. The outstanding fatigue resistance and high hardness were attributed to the synergistic effect of strain hardening and detwinning of ultrahigh-density nanotwins. The results not only enable CoCrFeMnNi HEAFs with a predominant combination of hardness and fatigue resistance, but also shed light on a new perspective for overcoming the conflict between hardness and fatigue resistance in film materials for microelectromechanical applications.

In the present work, CoCrFeMnNiVx (x = 0, 0.07, 0.3, 0.7, 1.1) high entropy alloy films were fabricated by magnetron co-sputtering. For low contents of V, typical face-centered cubic (fcc) peaks were identified in X-ray diffraction patterns. With the increasing V content, the diffraction peaks became broadened and the formation of an amorphous phase was promoted. TEM observations showed abundant nanotwins in the films with low V contents and the transition from fcc to the amorphous structure with the increasing V content. Mechanical properties of the films were studied using nanoindentation and micro-pillar compression tests. The films exhibited a high hardness ranging from 6.8 to 8.7 GPa. The serrated flow associated with shear banding showed in the stress-strain curves for films with x ≥ 0.3. When x = 0.07, the excellent yield strength of 3.79 GPa and ultimate compressive strength of 4.93 GPa were achieved with little sacrifice in ductility. The presence of nanotwins contributed to the strain hardening effect.

Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate the combined association of frailty/pre-frailty and cognitive impairment with health related quality of life (HRQOL) among community dwelling older adults. Methods Data came from a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years or older, who participated in the 2013 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. Frailty was determined based on the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illness, and Loss of weight (FRAIL) scale proposed by the International Association of Nutrition and Aging. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to assess cognitive function. HRQOL was measured using the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) that assesses three levels of functioning for the dimensions of mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Poisson regression models were performed to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95 % Confidence Intervals (95 % CI) for health problems in all EQ-5D domains. Results In this study, 11.0 % of participants aged 65 years and older had co-occurring frailty/pre-frailty and cognitive impairment. After adjustment for other factors, compared with participants who were physically robust with normal cognition, participants with co-occurring frailty/pre-frailty and cognitive impairment had PRs of 10.38 (95 % CI 7.56–14.26), 9.66 (95 % CI 6.03–15.48), 9.37 (95 % CI 6.92–12.68), 3.04 (95 % CI 2.53–3.64), and 5.63 (95 % CI 3.83–8.28) for reporting problems with mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, respectively. Conclusions There is a high prevalence of co-occurrence of frailty/pre-frailty and cognitive impairment in older adults, and this co-occurrence was strongly associated with self-reported health problems across all EQ-5D domains.

In this study, AlCoCrFeNi high entropy alloy (HEA) powders were fabricated by gas atomization process, and the effects of annealing heat treatment on phase evolution and mechanical properties were investigated. The as-atomized powders have pure BCC phase with a spherical shape and equal composition distribution, and then the FCC and sigma phase sequentially generated after annealing. The mechanical property such as hardness was evidently enhanced, which was caused by precipitation hardening effect. After the raw powders were annealed at 600 °C, the FCC (Al–Ni) phase began to precipitate, the its phase intensity raised with the annealing temperature. Then, the sigma phase (Fe–Cr) formed as the annealing temperature reached 800 °C. Both mechanical properties and lattice constant were influenced by heating effect. According to the results, the lattice became loose with the increasing temperature. In summary, the mechanical properties and phase constitutions of gas-atomized AlCoCrFeNi HEA powders can be adjusted via annealing process, resulting in precipitation hardening effect.

The solubilized form of aluminum, Al3+, is present under acid soil conditions and toxic to both animals and plants. Detecting and quantifying Al3+ is vital for both chemistry and biology. A new Schiff-based fluorescent turn-on sensor (probe L) for the selective detection of the Al3+ ion was synthesized by coupling 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde and 2-aminoisoindoline-1,3-dione, and the structure was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The probe L exhibited an excellent selective and sensitive response to the Al3+ ion over other metal ions in DMSO-H2O (1:9 v/v). Fluorescence quantification revealed that probe L was promising for the detection and accumulation of Al3+. Treating rice seedlings with Al3+ at 25–200 μM inhibited their growth. Al3+ treatment produced reactive oxygen species in rice roots. Practical applications of the fluorescent probe for the quantification of Al3+ in water samples and rice seedlings are demonstrated. Detecting the Al3+ ion with the probe L is easy and a potential alternative to existing analytical methods. The method can be used for detecting the Al3+ content of aqueous solution and plant systems. The novel fluorescent probe L has good potential for monitoring Al3+ content in the environment and biological systems.

While thin film metallic glass (TFMG) materials have been studied widely due to their easy fabrication process and unique properties, the W-based or W-containing TFMGs have yet to be explored extensively. In this work, four W-containing Zr–W–Ti TFMGs were fabricated by a magnetron co-sputtering system. The power of W target was adjusted to obtain TFMGs with different W concentrations. The amorphous phase of TFMG was determined by X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. In cross-sectional morphologies, a vein fracture pattern was observed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Although the hardness of W-containing Zr–W–Ti TFMG was not very high, the hardness of coating increased with increasing W content to reach 7.6 GPa. Good adhesion quality and adequate corrosion resistance were also obtained for each Zr–W–Ti TFMGs.

In this investigation Zr-based (Zr 51 Cu 31 Al 3 Ni 5 ) and Ti-based (Ti 40 Zr 10 Cu 8 Nb 7 Co 7 ) thin-film metallic glass (TFMG), in different thickness, were used to improve the tribological properties of 7075 aluminum alloy substrates with different surface patter. Wear tests were performed in refrigerator oil to evaluate the effect of thin film adhesion strength and surface pattern on the wear resistance. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), nanoindenter and scratch tester were used to analyze the metallurgical and mechanical properties of the specimens. The stress distribution of TFMG on the 7075 aluminum alloy substrates under line contact condition was evaluated by ANSYS. According to the experiment results, wear resistance of the sample that was coated with a 200nm-thick Ti-based was better than the other coated samples, because surface texture can increase mechanical locking effect to enhance adhesive strength, and Ti-based thin film coating can improve tribological performance and reduce wear loss.

Thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs) represent a class of promising engineering materials for structural applications. Despite the effort that has been made in the development of TFMG materials, the iron-based thin film metallic glasses fabricated by sputtering have gained limited attention. In this work, five iron-based Fe–Zr–Ti thin film metallic glasses with different Fe contents ranging from 37.6 to 49.8 at.% were prepared by magnetron co-sputtering system using pure Fe, Zr and Ti targets. Through XRD and TEM analyses, the amorphous phase was confirmed for each coating. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and crystallization temperature (Tx) of TFMG increased with increasing Fe content and reached 963 K and 989 K, respectively, when Fe content was 49.8 at.%. The supercooled liquid region was around 26.3 to 51.6 °C, which was shown to be unrelated to Fe concentration. The hardness, elastic modulus, and H/E ratio of TFMGs increased with increasing Fe concentration. Based on the HRC-DB test, adequate adhesion quality was obtained for all TFMGs. The corrosion resistance of TFMGs also increased with increasing Fe content and spontaneous passivation behavior was discovered due to the large content of Zr and Ti valve metals. Nevertheless, the corrosion resistance of Fe–Zr–Ti TFMGs was strongly influenced by surface defects. A series of high hardness Fe–Zr–Ti thin film metallic glasses with good adhesion property and adequate corrosion resistance was reported in this study.

Zr 46 Ti 26 Ni 28 thin film metallic glass was fabricated by radio frequency magnetron single target sputtering on Si and stainless steel substrates. The as-deposited film was found to be fully amorphous with high glass transition and crystallization temperatures of 466 °C and 502 °C, respectively. Its hardness progressively increased from 6.2 GPa to as high as 11.1 GPa when subjected to annealing near the glass-transition temperature at 450 °C. It was also of good adhesive strength and scratch resistance after the annealing treatment at 400 °C. Transmission electron microscopy results revealed annealing-induced nanocrystals that accounted for such superior mechanical properties. With the above unique properties, Zr–Ti–Ni thin film metallic glass has the potential for the fabrication of high strength micro parts and protective coating.

The main aim of the present study was to determine whether geriatric conditions independently predict hospital utilizations after controlling for chronic diseases and disability among community dwelling older adults. We analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of older adults aged 65 years and above by linkage of 2005 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey data (including demographic characteristics, chronic diseases, disability, and geriatric conditions such as depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, falls, and urinary incontinence), and 2006 National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data (including hospital admissions and hospital bed days). A total of 1598 participants who consented to data linkage, were successfully linked to NHI data, and had complete data for geriatric conditions were eligible for analysis. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, falls, and urinary incontinence were 20.6%, 26.1%, 21.3% and 23.9%, respectively. Overall, 18.2% (291/1598) of participants had at least one hospital admission during 2006. After adjustment for demographics, prior hospitalization, chronic diseases and functional disability, participants with geriatric conditions had significantly more hospital admissions (incidence rate ratio = 1.34; 95% confidence interval = [1.02–1.75]) and more hospital bed days (incidence rate ratio = 1.72; 95% confidence interval = [1.11–2.66]) than participants without geriatric conditions. Our results highlight the high prevalence (56.3%) of one or more geriatric conditions and their independent association with excess hospital utilizations. Thus, it is of critical importance to develop programs aimed at preventing or improving these conditions to reduce hospital use in this population.

Metallic glasses with the disordered atomic structure have unique properties of high strength, high toughness, good corrosion and abrasion resistances. These materials are thus potentially useful for medical application. In this work, we evaluate the antibacterial property and durability of materials sputter-coated with Zr-based (Zr53Cu33Al9Ta5) and Cu-based (Cu48Zr42Ti4Al6) thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs). Good adhesive coating of Zr-based TFMG on the dermatome gives rise to blade sharpness improvement of ~ 27%, substantial surface roughness reduction of ~ 66% and smoother incised wound on the pig skin. As compared to 48.8° on the bare Si wafer, the water contact angles of 119.5° and 106.6° for Zr- and Cu-based TFMGs, respectively, reveal the hydrophobic characteristic of the coated surfaces. The bacterial adhesion of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to both Zr- and Cu-based TFMGs is hindered to different extents.