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Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of adolescents' use of smartphone applications and educational booklets in an educational programme about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Design: Non-equivalent control-group time-series design. Setting: The study was conducted in two public high schools located in two urban areas of South Korea. Methods: The following measures were developed using Roger's protection-motivation theory as the study's conceptual framework: STI knowledge, STI vulnerability, STI prevention self-efficacy and STI prevention intentions. Data from 88 senior students were analysed: 47 students in the smartphone application group (experimental) and 41 in the educational booklet group (control). The procedures consisted of a face-to-face lecture plus self-study and a period of self-study only. Participants were tested at three time points: pre-test, post-test 1 (immediately after the programme's completion) and post-test 2 (5 weeks after the programme's completion). Results: Significant group differences were found at different times in STI knowledge, vulnerability, prevention self-efficacy and prevention intentions. Smartphone applications were more effective in sustaining the effects of the educational programme than the educational booklets. Conclusion: Researchers and educators should examine the role of relevant learning materials in the promotion of adolescents' development of self-study skills and their knowledge acquisition.

The interpretation of radiation dose is an important procedure for both radiological operators and persons who are exposed to background or artificial radiations. Dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) is one of the representative methods of dose estimation that discriminates the aberration in chromosomes modified by radiation. Despite the DCA-based automated radiation dose estimation methods proposed in previous studies, there are still limitations to the accuracy of dose estimation. In this study, a DCA-based automated dose estimation system using deep learning methods is proposed. The system is comprised of three stages. In the first stage, a classifier based on a deep learning technique is used for filtering the chromosome images that are not appropriate for use in distinguishing the chromosome; 99% filtering accuracy was achieved with 2,040 test images. In the second stage, the dicentric rate is evaluated by counting and identifying chromosomes based on the Feature Pyramid Network, which is one of the object detection algorithms based on deep learning architecture. The accuracies of the neural networks for counting and identifying chromosomes were estimated at over 97% and 90%, respectively. In the third stage, dose estimation is conducted using the dicentric rate and the dose-response curve. The accuracies of the system were estimated using two independent samples; absorbed doses ranging from 1– 4 Gy agreed well within a 99% confidential interval showing highest accuracy compared to those in previous studies. The goal of this study was to provide insights towards achieving complete automation of the radiation dose estimation, especially in the event of a large-scale radiation exposure incident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novelarchitecture consisting of Si nanowires internally grownfrom porous graphite is synthesized by etching of graphite with alamellar structure via a VLS (vapor–liquid–solid) process.This strategygives the high electrode density of 1.5 g/cm3, which iscomparable with practical anode of the Li-ion battery. Our productdemonstrates a high volumetric capacity density of 1363 mAh/cm3with 91% Coulombic efficiency and high rate capability of568 mAh/cm3even at a 5C rate. This good electrochemicalperformance allows porous graphite to offer free space to accommodatethe volume change of Si nanowires during cycling and the electrontransport to efficiently be improved between active materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by new applications including electric vehicles and the smart grid, interest in advanced lithium ion batteries has increased significantly over the past decade. Therefore, research in this field has intensified to produce safer devices with better electrochemical performance. Most research has focused on the development of new electrode materials through the optimization of bulk properties such as crystal structure, ionic diffusivity, and electric conductivity. More recently, researchers have also considered the surface properties of electrodes as critical factors for optimizing performance. In particular, the electrolyte decomposition at the electrode surface relates to both a lithium ion battery’s electrochemical performance and safety. In this Account, we give an overview of the major developments in the area of surface chemistry for lithium ion batteries. These ideas will provide the basis for the design of advanced electrode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hydrothermally prepared 100nm-sized LiCoO2 with a plate morphology packed in a crucible resulted in 40μm-sized particles that consisted of aggregated <1 micron-sized particles after annealing at 900°C for 3h. In the condition where the optimized electrode pore volume was 20%, 4.1g/cc of electrode density was obtained, which corresponded to 3Wh/cc, which is the highest value among the cathode materials. Furthermore, the LiCoO2 showed excellent capacity retention of 78% after 290cycles in a Li-ion cell under 7C rate cycling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: This study explored health beliefs and behaviours related to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from the perspective of juvenile offenders with STIs in three urban cities. Methods: Data were collected using observations and in‐depth interviews between July and November, 2014. Under the supervision of probation officers, 24 juvenile offenders with STIs were interviewed. Leininger's four‐step method guided the data analysis. Findings From participants' perspectives, poor hygiene and a promiscuous lifestyle caused the STIs. The diseases were considered an adult disease with distinct symptoms and deformities, no cure, and therefore fatal. STIs were shameful for juveniles because their presence revealed sexually active behaviours. The juveniles' health‐related behaviours included neglecting their STI symptoms because they did not know they were infected, mistaking STIs for other health conditions, choosing to suffer rather than revealing their diagnosis, and keeping their genitals clean. Conclusion: A large gap emerged between juveniles' beliefs and behaviours related to STIs. Policies and education are needed to provide accurate STI information for this population. SUMMARY STATEMENT: What is already known about the topic? Juvenile offenders are at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).Juvenile offenders are likely to engage in inappropriate behaviours to manage their STIs. What this paper adds? Juvenile offenders believed poor hygiene and a promiscuous lifestyle caused STIs, which were viewed as adult, fatal, deformity‐causing, and shameful diseases.STI symptoms were neglected at first or mistaken for other health conditions due to limited knowledge on STI symptom presentation.Juvenile offenders refused health care for STIs to avoid shame and kept their genitals clean as an STI treatment. The implications of this paper: Policies to provide STI screening for juvenile offenders should be developed considering the high prevalence rates of STIs and low awareness of STI symptoms in this population.Use of social media managed by health professionals could increase accessibility to STI management information among juvenile offenders.Nurse‐led clinics that focus on juveniles' sexual health could lower barriers to health care for the juvenile population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]