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The thermal entanglement in the two-qubit Ising spin chain in the presence of the Dzyaloshinski-Moriya(DM) anisotropic antisymmetric interaction in a nonuniform magnetic field is investigated. The influences of the DM coupling constant D, the temperature T, the uniform external magnetic field B and the nonuniform magnetic field h on the thermal entanglement measured by the concurrence C are studied in detail. The results show that both the increasing T and |B| decrease the C, but the increasing D develops the C, and D can also heighten the values of the threshold magnetic field |Bt| and the temperature Tt above which the thermal entanglement vanishes. And for a definite D, the increasing T makes the |Bt| become bigger as well. By comparison, before and after the critical temperature Tc, the h has different effects on C. Within a certain temperature range, the increasing h makes the C rise firstly and then fall. What’s more, as the h increases, the key temperature Tk at which the C reaches the maximum value increases. As a result, the thermal entanglement can be controlled by adjusting the values of B, h, D and T in various terrible environment, such as in strong external magnetic field, or high temperature environment, which will be useful in the research of quantum information in solid systems.

Yi-Chia Wei,1– 4 Li-Yuan Huang,1,2,5 Chemin Lin,1,2,6 Yu-Chiau Shyu,1,7 Chih-Ken Chen1,2,6 1Community Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan; 2College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan; 4Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan; 6Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan; 7Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chih-Ken ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, No. 200 Lane 208, Jijin 1st Road, Anle District, Keelung City, 204, TaiwanTel +886-2-24329292-2725Fax +886-2-24315931Email kenchen@cgmh.org.twBackground: Major depressive disorder (MDD) presents with emotional and somatic symptoms and sometimes subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs). This study developed a collaborative method to integrate SCC assessment for evaluating late-life MDD.Methods: Residents aged > 50 years in the Community Medicine Research Center of Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan during 2017– 2018 were prospectively recruited in this study. The participants were asked to report their depressive tendency and SCCs using the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ) and the AD8, respectively, and were administered psychiatric evaluation through the Mini–International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The participants were divided into elderly (age≥ 65 years) and older adult (age 50– 65) groups. The MDD predictive powers were assessed using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.Results: Of the 118 enrolled participants (mean age: 64.81± 4.99, female-to-male ratio: 1.62), 9, 21, and 88 were categorized as those with current MDD, past MDD, and non-MDD on the basis of the MINI results, respectively. After adjustments for age, sex, and sleep quality, the TDQ score (odds ratio: 1.152, p=0.003) and AD8 score (odds ratio: 1.710, p=0.020) were used individually to predict current MDD. Overall, the TDQ individually predicted current MDD well with area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.835 (p=0.001). However, in the elderly group (N=63), the TDQ score did not identify current MDD well (AUC: 0.780, p=0.063). After co-considering SCCs, the linear combination of the sum of the TDQ score and four folds of the AD8 score could effectively distinguished elderly people with current MDD from those without it (AUC: 0.875, p=0.013)—with the cutoff of the aforementioned combined score being ≥ 32.Conclusion: The self-reported response to the TDQ is a feasible approach of identifying MDD in community-dwelling people. Combining TDQ and AD8 scores further improved depression detection in elderly people.Keywords: geriatric depression, major depressive disorder, Taiwanese Depression Questionnaires, subjective cognitive complaint, AD8

This study is aimed at defining the relationship between a set of environmental factors and childhood HFMD and then at estimating the related effect. The 16 environmental factors included meteorological, air pollution, and sunspot. A traditional TSR modified by using susceptible-infectious-recovery models and distribution lag nonlinear model was applied to estimate the short-term effects of daily environmental factors on children HFMD occurrence in 2014–2018 with adjustment of potential confounding factors. A total of 70,027 children aged 0–15 years with HFMD were enrolled. No significant effect was observed for daily sunspot numbers and average visibility. We found positive effects of the ambient average temperature, with an approximately m-shaped curve of the overall cumulative relationship, peaking at 25.6 °C with a relative risk (RR) of 1.45 (95% confidence intervals 1.21–1.73). The largest RR value of hot effect was achieved on the current day and then decreased by 2 days (total group, male group, and scatter group) or 1 day (female group and nursery group), and the effect lasted about 6 to 8 days from the lag 4 or lag 6 day. A greater association of temperature with HFMD for the female group and the scattered group was observed. This study suggests that ambient average temperature might be a risk factor for children HFMD in Tianjin. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

In this study, novel green in situ quaternary-ammonium-functionalized magnetic chitosan microspheres (IQMCM) were synthesised. The resulting adsorbent was characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. The characterization results indicated that the IQMCMs possessed spherical morphology and superior specific thermal stability, magnetic properties, and surface charges. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that the adsorption capacities of the IQMCM microspheres to Congo red (CR) was 630.21 mg/g at a dosage of 0.15 g/L, temperature of 333 K, pH of 5.0, and initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, and the corresponding removal rate reached 94.53 %. According to the kinetics, adsorption isotherms, and thermodynamics experiment results, the adsorption of CR dye coincided with a spontaneous endothermic monolayer chemisorption process. After saturated adsorption, this magnetic adsorbent could be rapidly separated from water and reused with little adsorption capacity loss. Overall, these results show that IQMCMs are potentially applicable in wastewater treatment.

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is one of the early warning signs of objective cognition impairment and dementia. Methods: This cross-sectional study screened SCD and studied multiple domains of mental health, lifestyle, and life quality of the community-dwelling people in the northern coastal region of Taiwan. Results: Among 426 valid AD8 questionnaires, a cutoff of score 2 divided subjects into 115 with SCD (SCD+) and 311 without SCD (SCD–). Analysis of age, sex, body compositions, and blood tests revealed an older age (60.7 ± 10.9 years) of the SCD+ group than the SCD– group (57.6 ± 12.0 years, p < 0.05). Further exclusion of subjects younger than 50 years eliminated age differences and left 100 with SCD (SCD+_50) and 229 without (SCD–_50). Multidomain comparisons of the SCD+_50 group over the SCD–_50 group were made: the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire found a higher likelihood of depression; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index revealed suboptimal sleep quality; the SF-36 showed inferior function of all 8 aspects of quality of life; the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile documented a less health-seeking lifestyle of nutrition, self-actualization, and stress management. Conclusions: Aging increased the SCD risk. People with SCD had suboptimal performance in mental health and life quality in addition to subjective cognition problems.

Background Depression presents with emotional and somatic symptoms, and sometimes cognitive complaints. On the other hand, depression is one of the important psychiatric symptoms of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.Methods Residents who were older than 50 years reported their depressive tendency using the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ) and cognitive complaints using the AD8 questionnaire and were assessed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and for objective cognitive evaluation using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).Results TDQ score (OR 1.154, p = 0.003) and AD8 score (OR 1.769, p = 0.018) were statistically significant in predicting current major depressive disorder (MDD) when adjustment were made for age, sex, sleep quality and cognitive performance. However, in elderly people with age ≥ 65, TDQ score failed to distinguish a diagnosis of current MDD from no such diagnosis (AUC 0.780, p = 0.063). A linear combination of TDQ and AD8 scores provided a new predictive score that successfully separated elderly people with MDD from those without it (AUC 0.875, p = 0.013). Finally, decision-tree learning was used to generate a classification tree for classifying people with and without current MDD. At the first decision level, value less than 29 from the sum of TDQ score and 4 folds of AD8 score 100% excluded people without current MDD.Conclusions The self-reported response to the TDQ is a feasible way to identify MDD in community-dwelling people. Combining TDQ and AD8 scores further improved detecting depression in older people in communities.

A series of highly robust nano-micro hybrid materials based on meso-tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl) porphyrins (M = H, Pd, Zn) and titanium dioxide (denoted as THPP-TiO2, THPP-Pd-TiO2, and THPP-Zn-TiO2) have been prepared by a facile sol-gel method for the first time. When Pt nanoparticles are incorporated in these hybrids, Pt/THPP-Pd-TiO2 achieves good H2 production activity (2025.4 &mu, mol g&minus, 1 h&minus, 1 and 12.03 &mu, mol m&minus, 2 h&minus, 1), higher than that of Pt/THPP-Zn-TiO2 (1239.8 &mu, 1 and 7.46 &mu, 1) and Pt/THPP-TiO2 (576.8 &mu, 1 and 4.02 &mu, 1), owing to the different central metal ions in porphyrins. The best activity of Pt/THPP-Pd-TiO2 would be attributed to the two-center catalysis from coordination Pd metal ions and Pt nanoparticles, while the higher activity of Pt/THPP-Zn-TiO2 than Pt/THPP-TiO2 could be ascribed to the more effective light harvesting and electron transfer between THPP-Zn and TiO2. In addition, the hybridized Pt/THPP-Pd-TiO2 catalyst exhibits unattenuated hydrogen production stability even after recycling the experiment 10 times (cumulative turnover number of 5111 after 50 h), far superior to that of the surface-sensitized Pt/THPP-Pd/TiO2 catalyst with analogous components, due to the more stable Ti-O bonds between four phenols in porphyrins and TiO2 for the hybrid system. The present study provides a promising approach for constructing stable organic&ndash, inorganic hybrid systems with unique hierarchical structures for efficient light absorption and electron transfer.

Two analogues of capsule-like fluorescent cages have been constructed by dimerization of terpyridine-containing calixarene derivatives utilizing a MII–terpyridine (M = Zn and Cd) interaction. 1H NMR spectral studies show that the self-assembled molecular capsules Zn4L12 and Cd4L12 have a highly symmetrical D4h-structure. The encapsulation of the anticancer drug mercaptopurine in their cavities has been documented by NMR, ESI-TOF-MS, fluorescence switching, and molecular simulation, indicating that strong S–π and π–π interactions between drug and cage are of importance for the host–guest binding. The nanoscale cages exhibit excellent behaviors to control the release of mercaptopurine in phosphate buffered saline solution (pH = 7.4). These results further highlight the potential of self-assembled Zn4L12 cages for drug-carrier applications.

Periodontitis is a highly prevalent infectious disease associated genetically with coronary heart disease (CHD). The effects of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a critical regulator of CHD, on periodontitis have not been studied to date. Here, we found that PCSK9 expression was increased in periodontitis patients and Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg)-infected mice. Loss of PCSK9 attenuated Pg-induced periodontal bone loss in mice. First, PCSK9 deficiency reduced the release of inflammation-associated cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β, in vitro and in vivo. Second, its deficiency enhanced Pg and endotoxin clearance during Pg invasion in part by upregulating CD36 and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), respectively. However, after berberine treatment, periodontal bone regeneration in the PCSK9 knockout group was significantly lower than that in wild-type. This was because PCSK9 overexpression promoted osteogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLCs) prechallenged by TNF-α. Furthermore, PCSK9 could rescue PDLC osteogenesis by repressing the NF-κB signaling pathway by interacting with TRAF2. These results suggest that PCSK9 may be a potent drug target for treating periodontitis.

A new naphthol derivative, [F-18]FEONM, has been designed to be a new Tau protein PET imaging molecule for detecting Tau tangle status of Alzheimer's disease in a transgenic mouse model. In order to synthesize this molecule, 2-acetyl-6-methoxynaphthalene was the starting compound and needed five steps preparation to bonding functional and leaving group for preparing the precursor. Radiofluorination on the precursor was carried out by a modified [F-18]FDG autosynthesizer. After half an hour processing, it yielded more than 99% chemical and radiochemical purity product at up to 60% yield. Radiofluorination kinetic study showing 80% [F-18]FEONM would be produced within the first 5 min. The radiofluorination gap function factor is 0.122 for 150 min reaction. Recovery yield of crude [F-18]FEONM could be up to 60% by semi-preparative HILIC HPLC column purification with 95% ethanol elution. Brain glioma tumor mice PET imaging were performed after tail vein injecting [F-18]FEONM. Binding in mice brain tumor reached steady state after 30 min injection and shows 30–70% higher uptake compared to normal mouse. The static brain tumor uptake showed the summation accumulation binding rate was 60% faster than normal mouse. In vitro postmortem AD patient brain slice binding showed 70% higher uptake than normal brain. The uptake of spherical stem cells also showed higher association with neuronal differentiation and PET imaging of Tau and ABeta transgenic mice also showed visualized difference. The specific binding ratio of hippocampus to cerebellum of control mouse is 46.56%, cortex to cerebellum is 11.08% in a 12-month-old P301S Tau transgenic mouse; hippocampus to cerebellum is 106.66%, cortex to cerebellum is 82.48%. Relative ratio of hippocampus to cerebellum of a P301S mouse to control mouse is 2.29, cortex to cerebellum is 7.44.

Metabolic syndrome, a widespread condition in Taiwan, increases the risks of cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death in Taiwan after cancer. Thus, this health problem is a priority issue of concern.To study the effects of active intervention of interdisciplinary health education on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in community residents.This longitudinal study was conducted from 2014 to 2015 on 661 participants who were all over 30 years old and living in four towns in northern Taiwan. The data were collected into two steps. In the first step, participants completed a blood study, body measurement, and pretest questionnaires and participated in the entire course of metabolic syndrome health education. The results of the blood test and body measurement were blinded to the experienced metabolic physicians before and after the education courses. In the second step, one year after administering the interdisciplinary health education course, the participants repeated the blood study, body measurement, and posttest questionnaires.1. The participants had a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome. However, gender and marital status had no significant correlation with metabolic syndrome. Higher education levels were associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome. 2. The average scores for literacy rose from 2.30 pretest to 5.65 posttest. There were significant correlations (p.05) between pretest and posttest health education. 3. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in this study changed from 215 participants (32.5%) to 170 participants (25.7%) between pretest and posttest (p.05). 4. active health education had significant and positive effects on the cessation of smoking and chewing betel nut (p.05).The active interdisciplinary health education intervention used in this study significantly decreased the smoking and betel-nut chewing habits and decreased the overall risk of metabolic syndrome in participants. Therefore, providing active health education on metabolic syndrome holds the potential to significantly decrease the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in at-risk populations. In addition, healthcare providers should make appropriately targeted health education more accessible to elderly patients who are prone to metabolic syndrome. Finally, the cessation of chewing betel nut should be seen as a major factor in the prevention and alleviation of metabolic syndrome.跨領域健康教育介入對降低社區居民代謝症候群盛行率之成效探討—以北台灣四鄉鎮為例.代謝症候群是盛行於台灣地區的慢性疾病，易增加罹患心血管疾病的風險。由於心血管疾病已成為台灣十大死因之第二位，非常接近首位惡性腫瘤的死亡率，是值得被正視的健康問題。.探討跨領域代謝症候群健康教育方案介入措施對降低社區居民代謝症候群盛行率之成效。.以2014-2015年北台灣四鄉鎮30歲以上民眾為研究對象，採分層隨機抽樣，完成全程試驗共計661人。資料收集分二階段，第一階段：研究對象須接受採血、體位測量及填寫前測問卷，血液檢查與體位測量結果於上課前由醫師個別對研究對象說明；第二階段：經跨領域健康教育介入後，預約研究對象採血日期、體位測量與後測問卷填寫，前、後測間隔一年。.1.年齡越高者越容易發生代謝症候群，性別、婚姻狀況與代謝症候群盛行率並未具顯著相關，教育程度越高者代謝症候群盛行率越低。2.健康教育介入前、後研究對象的代謝症候群認知具有顯著差異性（p.05）。「前測」平均數由2.30分提升至「後測」平均數5.65分。3.研究對象診斷為代謝症候群者由215人（32.5%）減少至170人（25.7%），代謝症候群盛行率改善具顯著性（p.05）。4.健康教育介入與研究對象戒菸、戒食檳榔的相關性具顯著性（p.05）。.跨領域代謝症候群健康教育介入，能減少研究對象吸菸、嚼食檳榔比例，進而減少罹患代謝症候群危險因子，降低代謝症候群盛行率；因此，若能將代謝症候群健康教育積極在各社區推廣與落實，應能有效降低國人代謝症候群盛行率。此外，基於高齡者易發生代謝症候群，因此建議衛教策略宜注意淺顯易懂及生活化，而戒嚼檳榔也應列為代謝症候群防治工作的重點項目。.

Two analogues of capsule-like fluorescent cages have been constructed by dimerization of terpyridine-containing calixarene derivatives utilizing a M

Earthquake-triggered faulting frequently causes fracture zone due to shearing along both sides of the fault. Fracture zone is then becoming the flow path of groundwater, resulted from weak and loose material properties inside. However, low permeability of fault gouge also becomes barrier easily to lift groundwater to the soil and rock interface in the fracture zone. Slope located at the fracture zone is unstable and easily causes disaster. In this paper, remediation of a tea product factory, located at a fault fracture zone in Taipei that failed due to slope failure is reported. The characteristics of the fault fracture zone and the slope sliding mechanism are investigated first. The remediation of the failed slope is then introduced. Effectiveness of the remediation is then checked by observation of the ground displacement. It is expected that this example can provide a good reference for future similar practical cases.

A simple model is designed to simulate, by using the mean free path method, the probability of Higgs boson production at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The probability that the colliding particles could get close to a given distance with different colliding energies is discussed in this model. Calculated results imply that the probability of producing a Higgs boson is near zero according to the existing theoretical mechanism for Higgs boson production.

The mechanisms and characteristics of hot carrier stress-induced drain leakage current degradation in thin-oxide n-MOSFETs are investigated. Both interface trap and oxide charge effects are analyzed. Various drain leakage current components at zero V/sub gs/ such as drain-to source subthreshold leakage, band-to-band tunneling current, and interface trap-induced leakage are taken into account. The trap-assisted drain leakage mechanisms include charge sequential tunneling current, thermionic-field emission current, and Shockley-Read-Hall generation current. The dependence of drain leakage current on supply voltage, temperature, and oxide thickness is characterized. Our result shows that the trap-assisted leakage may become a dominant drain leakage mechanism as supply voltage is reduced. In addition, a strong oxide thickness dependence of drain leakage degradation is observed. In ultra-thin gate oxide (30 /spl Aring/) n-MOSFETs, drain leakage current degradation is attributed mostly to interface trap creation, while in thicker oxide (53 /spl Aring/) devices, the drain leakage current exhibits two-stage degradation, a power law degradation rate in the initial stage due to interface trap generation, followed by an accelerated degradation rate in the second stage caused by oxide charge creation.