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ObjectivesThis study was conducted to explore the association between pneumoconiosis and pneumothorax.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingNationwide population-based study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database.ParticipantsA total of 2333 pneumoconiosis patients were identified (1935 patients for propensity score (PS)-matched cohort) and matched to 23 330 control subjects by age and sex (7740 subjects for PS-matched cohort).Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe incidence and the cumulative incidence of pneumothorax.ResultsBoth incidence and the cumulative incidence of pneumothorax were significantly higher in the pneumoconiosis patients as compared with the control subjects (pConclusionsOur study revealed a higher risk of pneumothorax in pneumoconiosis patients and suggested potential risk factors in these patients. Clinicians should be aware about the risk of pneumothorax in pneumoconiosis patients.

Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, despite many advances being made in recent decades. Changes in the tumor microenvironment, including dysregulated immunity, may contribute to carcinogenesis and cancer progression. The cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) pathway is involved in several signal pathways, having various functions in different tissues. We summarized major findings of studies about the roles of the CysLT pathway in cancer. Many in vitro studies suggested the roles of CysLTs in cell survival/proliferation via CysLT1 receptor (CysLT1R). CysLT1R antagonism decreased cell vitality and induced cell death in several types of cancer cells, such as colorectal, urological, breast, lung and neurological malignancies. CysLTs were also associated with multidrug resistance of cancer, and CysLT1R antagonism might reverse chemoresistance. Some animal studies demonstrated the beneficial effects of CysLT1R antagonist in inhibiting tumorigenesis and progression of some cancer types, particularly colorectal cancer and lung cancer. The expression of CysLT1R was shown in various cancer tissues, particularly colorectal cancer and urological malignancies, and higher expression was associated with a poorer prognosis. The chemo-preventive effects of CysLT1R antagonists were demonstrated in two large retrospective cohort studies. In summary, the roles of the CysLT pathway in cancer have been delineated, whereas further studies are still warranted.

In this paper, we have demonstrated an oxygen-vacancy-based bipolar RRAM on a pure logic 14-nm-node HKMG FinFET platform. A unit cell of the memory consists of a control transistor (FinFET) and a storage transistor (a second FinFET). The later performs as a bipolar RRAM. This unit cell can be integrated in an AND-type memory array. The memory cell has an ON/OFF ratio equal to 200 and 400 for the n-type and p-type FinFET RRAMs, respectively, endurance larger than 400 and 1000 times for n- and p-type devices, respectively, and the retention test for over 1 month under 125 °C temperature environment. To analyze the array performance of the AND-type FinFET RRAM at the circuit level, we have further discussed the issues of the sneak path and disturbance, in which an active-fin isolation of FinFET in an AND-type array has been suggested to minimize the leakage current induced by sneak paths. The results have shown a large window with up to 103 ON/OFF ratio, 30% standby power reduction, and 90% active power reduction with reference to the conventional AND-type array. As a result, the bipolar FinFET RRAM exhibits great potential for the embedded memory applications, in particular it can be extended to 28-nm HKMG and the FinFET platform beyond 14-nm technology node, to fill the Moore’s gap between the high-performance logic and the embedded memory.

An increased incidence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) among patients with sleep apnea (SA) has been reported. However, the association between TMD and SA has not been demonstrated in a large-scale study. This population-based cohort study with the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database aimed to understand the association between SA and TMD. We identified adult patients with suspected SA (identified with diagnostic codes) and excluded those diagnosed with TMD prior to SA. Patients with SA diagnosis after polysomnography were also identified as probable SA patients. The index dates were the dates of their initial SA diagnosis. Ten control subjects were matched, by age and sex, to each SA patient, and were assigned the same index dates as the SA patients. In total, 10,408 suspected SA patients (including 4105 probable SA patients) matched to 104,080 control subjects (including 41,050 subjects matched to the probable SA patients) in this study. The TMD incidence rate was significantly higher in the SA patients than in the control subjects (2.8 vs. 1.0 per thousand-patient-year in probable SA patients vs. the corresponding control subjects, with an adjusted incidence rate ratio [95% confidence interval] = 2.5 [2.3&ndash, 2.7], p &lt, 0.0001). SA patients significantly showed a higher cumulative incidence of TMD than the corresponding control subjects (p &lt, 0.0001). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed SA as an independent risk factor for the development of TMD (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.5 [1.7&ndash, 3.7], p &lt, 0.0001). In summary, this study confirmed an increased TMD incidence in the SA patients. While treating TMD patients, dentists should pay careful attention to the potential underlying SA.

For high sensitive pH sensing, an electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor (EIS) device with a samarium oxide (Sm2O3) sensing membrane fabricated by reactive sputtering and the subsequent post-deposition annealing (PDA) treatment was proposed. In this work, the effect of thermal annealing (700, 800, and 900 °C) on the structural characteristics of Sm2O3 membranes was investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The observed structural properties were then correlated with the resulting pH sensing performances. For enzymatic field-effect-transistors-based urea biosensing, a hybrid configuration of the proposed Sm2O3 membrane with urease-immobilized alginate film attached was established. The EIS device with the Sm2O3 membrane annealed at 700 °C exhibited a higher detection sensitivity of 56.2 mV/pH, a lower hysteresis voltage of 6.2 mV, and a lower drift rate of 1.29 mV/h compared to those at other annealing temperatures. These results are attributed to the formation of a thinner low-k interfacial layer at the oxide/Si interface and the higher surface roughness. Furthermore, the presented urea biosensor was proved to be able to detect urea with good linearity (R2 = 0.99) and reasonable sensitivity of 2.457 mV/mM in the urea concentration range of 5–40 mM.

This paper presents the results of a series of laboratory tests investigating on physical properties and hydraulic conductive behaviors of a mudstone material obtained from southwestern Taiwan. The Atterberg limits and particle-size distribution examinations showed the liquid limit=34.1%, the plasticity index=15.2%, the percentage fines (< No. 200 sieve)≥95.1%, the percentage of clay (< μm)≥30%, and the activity=0.5. These characteristics perfectly satisfied the essential requirements for soil properties of landfill liner. Based on the column experiments using two different grain sizes of beads to simulate the mudstone liner constructed on the gravel and the sandy soil, the hydraulic conductivity≤1x10 -7 cm/s could be achieved if the hydraulic gradient is less than 13.9 (gravel) and 17.8 (sand), respectively. However, the hydraulic conductivity rose with an increase in hydraulic gradient. It was attributed to the fine granular mudstone penetrated through the simulated beads and led to the fine granular mudstone that could not fill up the void of beads. Moreover, the results of permeability tests performed using the rigid-wall and flexible-wall permeameters revealed that all of the hydraulic conductivities were less than 1x10 -7 cm/s for the mudstone with water contents from 17% to 37% (rigid-wall) and 14% to 29% (flexible-wall). Thus, it was confidently expected that this mudstone material could be applied on landfill soil liner.

The purpose of this research is to probe the slaking property of the mudstone meeting with water. The elemental, crystalline, and morphologic changes in the mudstone with three different water contents were characterized using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), semi-dynamic leach test, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) techniques. The XRF and chemical composition analyses indicated that the mudstone contains high concentrations of silicon and aluminum and low concentrations of calcium, iron, potassium, and sodium. The XRD examination showed large amount of quartz and illite, minor calcium aluminate hydrate and calcium silicate hydrate, and small amount of unidentifiable peaks. The result of semi-dynamic leach test showed that the release of sodium is very rapid initially and the released calcium species increase largely in the final subsequent extractions. The microanalysis using SEM/EDAX indicated that the petal-like structures increase with the moisture content of the mudstone. Thus, it was inferred that the possible mechanisms of the mudstone meeting with water to lead to the slaking phenomenon are stated as follows. The sodium sulfate will rapidly dissolve from the mudstone, and the sulfate species and calcium aluminate hydrate form the platelet-like solid solution of 3CaO–Al 2 O 3 –CaSO 4 ·12H 2 O making the mudstone lose its cementing reaction.

In this paper, the physical and sensing properties of physical vapor deposition Pr2O3 dielectrics deposited on Si substrate were explored. A 30 nm Pr2O3 dielectric was grown on the p-type Si (100) wafer by reactive RF sputtering from a praseodymium target with a argon-to-oxygen (Ar/O2) flow ratio of 10/4. Post deposition annealing of the samples was carried out using a conventional rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system in O2 ambient for 30-s at different temperatures. A 300-nm Al was deposited on the backside of Si wafer by thermal evaporator. The sensing area was defined by a photosensitive epoxy. The pH sensitivities of Pr2O3 sensing films were all extracted by capacitance-voltage (C-V) curves of EIS structures. C-V curves for various pH buffer solutions of Merck Inc. were measured through Ag/AgCl reference electrode by Hewlet-Packard 4284A.

Apoptosis is an essential part of normal embryonic development in vertebrates, and it is involved in sculpturing organs and controlling cell populations. In previous studies, we identified two novel proteins, zfBLP1 and zfMcl-1a, which are similar to those of the Bcl-2 family as a group of evolutionarily conserved proteins that regulate cellular anti-apoptosis. To evaluate the effect of dysregulated hepatocyte apoptosis during zebrafish hepatogenesis, we demonstrate the transgenic overexpression of either zfBLP1 or zfMcl-1a in zebrafish larval liver. Results showed that 18%–43% of larvae overexpressed zfBLP1 and that 16%–37% of larvae overexpressed zfMc1-1a in the liver leading to liver hyperplasia in 5-day postfertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae. Histologically, zebrafish larvae exhibiting liver hyperplasia displayed a normal type of hepatocyte and the same cell numbers in their two liver buds compared with only one liver bud of wild-type larvae. Of interest, the expression of cyclin genes (A2, B, D1, and E), hepatocyte nuclear factor genes (HNF-1α, β, -3β, and 4α), and oncogenic markers (P53, c-myc, β-catenin, N-ras, and gankyrin) were up-regulated, while the expression of C/EBP-α was down-regulated in a zfMcl-1a–mediated anti-apoptotic process of the liver. Increased cell death and proliferation was found in both hepatic cells of zebrafish larvae overexpressing either zfBLP1 or zfMcl-1a. However, those zebrafish larvae with liver hyperplasia only lived approximately 10 days. (This finding may have been due to liver abnormalities that led to failure of liver function.) In conclusion, transgenic overexpression of zfBLP1 or zfMcl-1a in zebrafish larvae interrupts regulation of the homeostatic balance between cell proliferation and programmed cell death during hepatogenesis and leads to liver hyperplasia. Developmental Dynamics 235:515–523, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

This paper describes the physical properties and sensing characteristics of Yb 2 O 3 sensing membranes grown on Si(100) substrates by reactive sputtering. The structural and morphological features of these films with annealing at various temperatures were studied by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. We found that Yb 2 O 3 films annealed at 800°C exhibit a high sensitivity of 55.5 mV/pH, a low hysteresis voltage of 3.76 mV, and a small drift rate of 1.54 mV/h. The good performance resulting from this annealing condition can be ascribed to the well-crystallized Yb 2 O 3 structure, the thin silica layer, and the large surface roughness.