Room temperature housing results in premature cancellous bone loss in growing female mice: implications for the mouse as a preclinical model for age-related bone loss.

UNLABELLED: Room temperature housing (22 °C) results in premature cancellous bone loss in female mice. The bone loss was prevented by housing mice at thermoneutral temperature (32 °C). Thermogenesis differs markedly between mice and humans and mild cold stress induced by standard room temperature housing may introduce an unrecognized confounding variable into preclinical studies. INTRODUCTION: Female mice are often used as preclinical models for osteoporosis but, in contrast to humans, mice exhibit cancellous bone loss during growth. Mice are routinely housed at room temperature (18-23 °C), a strategy that exaggerates physiological differences in thermoregulation between mice (obligatory daily heterotherms) and humans (homeotherms). The purpose of this investigation was to assess whether housing female mice at thermoneutral (temperature range where the basal rate of energy production is at equilibrium with heat loss) alters bone growth, turnover and microarchitecture. METHODS: Growing (4-week-old) female C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ mice were housed at either 22 or 32 °C for up to 18 weeks. RESULTS: C57BL/6J mice housed at 22 °C experienced a 62 % cancellous bone loss from the distal femur metaphysis during the interval from 8 to 18 weeks of age and lesser bone loss from the distal femur epiphysis, whereas cancellous and cortical bone mass in 32 °C-housed mice were unchanged or increased. The impact of thermoneutral housing on cancellous bone was not limited to C57BL/6J mice as C3H/HeJ mice exhibited a similar skeletal response. The beneficial effects of thermoneutral housing on cancellous bone were associated with decreased Ucp1 gene expression in brown adipose tissue, increased bone marrow adiposity, higher rates of bone formation, higher expression levels of osteogenic genes and locally decreased bone resorption. CONCLUSIONS: Housing female mice at 22 °C resulted in premature cancellous bone loss. Failure to account for species differences in thermoregulation may seriously confound interpretation of studies utilizing mice as preclinical models for osteoporosis.

Diabetes telemonitoring reduces the risk of hypoglycaemia during Ramadan: a pilot randomized controlled study.

AIM: This pilot study evaluated the short-term benefits of a telemonitoring-supplemented focused diabetic education compared with education alone in participants with Type 2 diabetes who were fasting during Ramadan. METHODS: In this pilot mixed-method study, we identified 37 participants and randomly allocated them to either a telemonitoring group (n = 18) or a group receiving Ramadan-focused pre-education only (usual care; n = 19). The telemonitoring group received goal-setting and personalized feedback. RESULTS: The telemonitoring group was less likely to experience hypoglycaemia than the usual care group (odds ratio: 0.1273; 95% confidence interval: 0.0267-0.6059). No significant differences were noted in glycaemic control at the end of study. Participants viewed telemedicine as a more convenient alternative although technological barriers remain a concern. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study reinforce the need for monitoring as well as educational initiatives for Muslims with diabetes who fast during Ramadan. Telemonitoring offers an attractive option requiring further research. (Clinical Trial Registry No. NCT02189135).

Laparoscopic Heller's cardiomyotomy achieved lesser recurrent dysphagia with better quality of life when compared with endoscopic balloon dilatation for treatment of achalasia.

Achalasia is a rare primary motility disorder of esophagus; treatments include endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) and laparoscopic Heller's cardiomyotomy (LC). This study compared EBD versus LC for treatment of achalasia with focus on quality of life (QoL) and prevalence of post-treatment gastroesophageal reflux disease. This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients diagnosed with achalasia older than 16 treated with either EBD or LC from January 1998 to April 2008. Patients' demographic data, comorbidities, postintervention GERD symptoms, QoL, recurrence of dysphagia, reintervention rate, hospital stay, and time to resumption of diet were collected. Sixty-eight patients were recruited into the study (EBD n= 50; LC n= 18). A significant improvement in QoL was found in patients undergoing LC (0.917 vs. 0.807, P= 0.006). A higher proportion of patients treated with EBD developed post-treatment gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (60.5% vs. 43.8%) when compared with LC, although statistically insignificant (P= 0.34). Patients treated with balloon dilatation had a greater percentage of recurrence of dysphagia (55.1% vs. 26.7%; P= 0.235) and need of reintervention (42.1% vs. 9.1%; P= 0.045). However, these patients had a shorter median hospital stay (1d [range 0-4]) and earlier resumption of diet (0d [range 0-3]). Although EBD is associated with a quicker perioperative recovery, LC accomplished a better QoL, lower incidence of recurrence of dysphagia, and need of reintervention after treatment for achalasia.

Reducing gut microbiome-driven adipose tissue inflammation alleviates metabolic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The gut microbiota contributes to macrophage-mediated inflammation in adipose tissue with consumption of an obesogenic diet, thus driving the development of metabolic syndrome. There is a need to identify and develop interventions that abrogate this condition. The hops-derived prenylated flavonoid xanthohumol (XN) and its semi-synthetic derivative tetrahydroxanthohumol (TXN) attenuate high-fat diet-induced obesity, hepatosteatosis, and metabolic syndrome in C57Bl/6J mice. This coincides with a decrease in pro-inflammatory gene expression in the gut and adipose tissue, together with alterations in the gut microbiota and bile acid composition. RESULTS: In this study, we integrated and interrogated multi-omics data from different organs with fecal 16S rRNA sequences and systemic metabolic phenotypic data using a Transkingdom Network Analysis. By incorporating cell type information from single-cell RNA-seq data, we discovered TXN attenuates macrophage inflammatory processes in adipose tissue. TXN treatment also reduced levels of inflammation-inducing microbes, such as Oscillibacter valericigenes, that lead to adverse metabolic phenotypes. Furthermore, in vitro validation in macrophage cell lines and in vivo mouse supplementation showed addition of O. valericigenes supernatant induced the expression of metabolic macrophage signature genes that are downregulated by TXN in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings establish an important mechanism by which TXN mitigates adverse phenotypic outcomes of diet-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome. TXN primarily reduces the abundance of pro-inflammatory gut microbes that can otherwise promote macrophage-associated inflammation in white adipose tissue. Video Abstract.

The fabrication of vertically aligned and periodically distributed carbon nanotube bundles and periodically porous carbon nanotube films through a combination of laser interference ablation and metal-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition.

Scalable fabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles is essential to future advances in several applications. Here, we report on the development of a simple, two-step method for fabricating vertically aligned and periodically distributed CNT bundles and periodically porous CNT films at the sub-micron scale. The method involves laser interference ablation (LIA) of an iron film followed by CNT growth via iron-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition. CNT bundles with square widths ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 µm in width, and 50-200 µm in length, are grown atop the patterned catalyst over areas spanning 8 cm(2). The CNT bundles exhibit a high degree of control over square width, orientation, uniformity, and periodicity. This simple scalable method of producing well-placed and oriented CNT bundles demonstrates a high application potential for wafer-scale integration of CNT structures into various device applications, including IC interconnects, field emitters, sensors, batteries, and optoelectronics, etc.

A combined etching process toward robust superhydrophobic SiC surfaces.

Large-scale porous SiC was fabricated by a combination of Pt-assisted etching and reactive ion etching. It was found that the surface roughness of combined etchings increased dramatically in comparison with metal-assisted etching or reactive ion etching only. To reduce the surface energy, the porous SiC surface was functionalized with perfluorooctyl trichlorosilane, resulting in a superhydrophobic SiC surface with a contact angle of 169.2° and a hysteresis of 2.4°. The superhydrophobicity of the SiC surface showed a good long-term stability in an 85 °C/85% humidity chamber. Such superhydrophobicity was also stable in acidic or basic solutions, and the pH values showed little or no effect on the SiC surface status. In addition, enhancement of porosity-induced photoluminescence intensity was found in the superhydrophobic SiC samples. The robust superhydrophobic SiC surfaces may have a great potential for microfluid device, thermal ground plane, and biosensor applications.

Automated dispersion and orientation analysis for carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites.

The properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites are strongly dependent on the dispersion and orientation of CNTs in the host matrix. Quantification of the dispersion and orientation of CNTs by means of microstructure observation and image analysis has been demonstrated as a useful way to understand the structure-property relationship of CNT/polymer composites. However, due to the various morphologies and large amount of CNTs in one image, automatic and accurate identification of CNTs has become the bottleneck for dispersion/orientation analysis. To solve this problem, shape identification is performed for each pixel in the filler identification step, so that individual CNTs can be extracted from images automatically. The improved filler identification enables more accurate analysis of CNT dispersion and orientation. The dispersion index and orientation index obtained for both synthetic and real images from model compounds correspond well with the observations. Moreover, these indices help to explain the electrical properties of CNT/silicone composite, which is used as a model compound. This method can also be extended to other polymer composites with high-aspect-ratio fillers.

Validation study of the Chinese Identification Pain Questionnaire for neuropathic pain.

OBJECTIVES: For diagnosing neuropathic pain, a simple 6-item patient-completed identification pain questionnaire has been validated among Caucasians. We aimed to study the validity and reliability of this questionnaire among Hong Kong Chinese patients. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey. SETTING: Two pain clinics and two neurology clinics in Hong Kong. PATIENTS: Patients with either neuropathic pain or nociceptive pain were recruited randomly from the four clinics. The patients completed the questionnaire themselves and the diagnosis of neuropathic pain and nociceptive pain was made by the pain specialists. We determined the optimal cutoff, positive and negative predictive values, sensitivity, specificity, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and test-retest reliability of the translated version. RESULTS: Among the 92 participants, 60 (65%) had neuropathic pain and 32 (35%) had nociceptive pain. At an optimal cutoff score of 3 or higher, the positive predictive value was 87% while the negative predictive value was 55%, and it correctly classified 71% of cases. The specificity and sensitivity were 81% and 65%, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.78 (P<0.001). Test-retest reliability in the 10 randomly selected patients showed a good intraclass correlation of 0.72. CONCLUSION: The Chinese Identification Pain Questionnaire is a valid and reliable scale that may be used as an initial diagnostic tool for neuropathic pain among Hong Kong Chinese patients.

Silicon surface structure-controlled oleophobicity.

Superoleophobic surfaces display contact angles >150 degrees with liquids that have lower surface energies than does water. The design of superoleophobic surfaces requires an understanding of the effect of the geometrical shape of etched silicon surfaces on the contact angle and hysteresis observed when different liquids are brought into contact with these surfaces. This study used liquid-based metal-assisted etching and various silane treatments to create superoleophobic surfaces on a Si(111) surface. Etch conditions such as the etch time and etch solution concentration played critical roles in establishing the oleophobicity of Si(111). When compared to Young's contact angle, the apparent contact angle showed a transition from a Cassie to a Wenzel state for low-surface-energy liquids as different silane treatments were applied to the silicon surface. These results demonstrated the relationship between the re-entrant angle of etched surface structures and the contact angle transition between Cassie and Wenzel behavior on etched Si(111) surfaces.

Mechanically robust superhydrophobicity on hierarchically structured Si surfaces.

Improvement of the robustness of superhydrophobic surfaces is critical in order to achieve commercial applications of these surfaces in such diverse areas as self-cleaning, water repellency and corrosion resistance. In this study, the mechanical robustness of superhydrophobic surfaces was evaluated on hierarchically structured silicon surfaces. The effect of two-scale hierarchical structures on robustness was investigated using an abrasion test and the results compared to those of superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated from polymeric materials and from silicon that contains only nanostructures. Unlike the polymeric and nanostructure-only surfaces, the hierarchical structures retained superhydrophobic behavior after mechanical abrasion.

A facile chemical approach for preparing a SERS active silver substrate.

This communication describes a new surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active silver substrate prepared by iodination of the evaporated silver foil. After iodination, the morphology of the silver substrate undergoes a self-evolution process in which it displays accordingly the UV-vis absorption shift as well as the AFM topological test. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) is used as the probe molecule to evaluate the enhancement efficiency of the silver substrate at different self-evolution time intervals. The SERS intensity of R6G increases up to ∼29-fold and reaches a maximum after the substrate evolved for 24 h. This method is feasible for the production of an efficient SERS silver substrate.

MICROELECTRONICS: Flip the Chip.

As integrated circuit fabrication advances rapidly and the market for faster, lighter, smaller, yet less expensive electronic products accelerates, electronic packaging faces its own challenges. In this Perspective, Wong, Luo, and Zhang describe recent advances in flip chip packaging. This technology has many advantages over the conventional wire bonding technology and offers the possibility of low-cost electronic assembly for modern electronic products.

Self-assembled monolayer-assisted chemical transfer of in situ functionalized carbon nanotubes.

A low-temperature flexible process, named "chemical transfer", was developed to assemble well-aligned carbon nanotube (ACNT) structures onto various substrates. The technology was featured by (1) in situ functionalization of ACNTs with reactive functional groups during the CVD process and (2) covalently bonded interface with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of conjugated thiol molecules as the bridging ligand and conduction path at the ACNT/gold interface. The effectiveness of the in situ functionalization was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). I-V response and the interfacial strength of the chemically transferred structure were studied. Results showed an Ohmic contact, low electrical resistivity, and improved CNT-substrate adhesion. This novel technique shows promising applications for positioning ACNTs as electrical interconnects or thermal interface materials on temperature-sensitive substrates.

A Brief Survey on Six Basic and Reduced eHealth Indicators in Seven Countries in 2017.

BACKGROUND: Holistic, ubiquitous support of patient-centered health care (eHealth) at all health care institutions and in patients' homes through information processing is increasingly supplementing institution-centered care. While eHealth indicators may measure the transition from institution-centered (e.g., hospital-centered) information processing to patient-centered information processing, collecting relevant and timely data for such indicators has been difficult. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to design some basic eHealth indicators, which are easily collected and measure how well information processing supports holistic patient-centered health care, and to evaluate penetrance of patient-centered health as measured by the indicators internationally via an expert survey. METHODS: We identified six basic indicators that measure access of health care professionals, patients, and caregivers to the patient's health record data and the ability of providers, patients, and caregivers to add information in the patient's record. In a survey of international informatics experts, these indicators' penetrance were evaluated for Austria, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States in the summer of 2017. RESULTS: The eHealth status measured by the indicators varied significantly between these seven countries. In Finland, most practices measured by the indicators were fully implemented whereas in Germany only one practice was partially realized. CONCLUSION: Progress in the implementation of practices that support patient-centered care could mainly be observed in those countries where the "political will" focused on achieving patient-centered care as opposed to an emphasis on institution-centered care. The six eHealth indicators seem to be useful for measuring national progress in patient-centered care. Future work will extend the number of countries analyzed.

Different valence Sn doping - A simple way to detect oxygen concentration variation of ZnO quantum dots synthesized under ultrasonic irradiation.

An ultrasonic method is employed to synthesize the Sn doped Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots with green light emission. Sn2+ and Sn4+ ions are used to create different optical defects inside Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots and the changing trend of oxygen concentration under different ultrasonic irradiation power are investigated. The photoluminescence spectra are employed to characterize the optical defects of Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots. The UV-vis spectra are used to study the band gap of Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots, which is influenced by their sizes. The results indicate that ultrasonic power would influence the size of Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots as well as the type and quantity of defects in ZnO quantum dots. Changing trends in size of Sn2+ and Sn4+ doped Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots are quite similar with each other, while the changing trends in optical defects types and concentration of Sn2+ and Sn4+ doped Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots are different. The difference of the optical defects concentration changing between Sn2+ doped Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots (VO defects) and Sn4+ doped Zn0.95Sn0.05O quantum dots (OZn and Oi defects) shows that the formation process of ZnO under ultrasonic irradiation wiped oxygen out.

Self-Patterning of Silica/Epoxy Nanocomposite Underfill by Tailored Hydrophilic-Superhydrophobic Surfaces for 3D Integrated Circuit (IC) Stacking.

As microelectronics are trending toward smaller packages and integrated circuit (IC) stacks nowadays, underfill, the polymer composite filled in between the IC chip and the substrate, becomes increasingly important for interconnection reliability. However, traditional underfills cannot meet the requirements for low-profile and fine pitch in high density IC stacking packages. Post-applied underfills have difficulties in flowing into the small gaps between the chip and the substrate, while pre-applied underfills face filler entrapment at bond pads. In this report, we present a self-patterning underfilling technology that uses selective wetting of underfill on Cu bond pads and Si3N4 passivation via surface energy engineering. This novel process, fully compatible with the conventional underfilling process, eliminates the issue of filler entrapment in typical pre-applied underfilling process, enabling high density and fine pitch IC die bonding.

Recombinant adenovirus vaccine encoding a chimeric T-cell antigen receptor induces protective immunity against a T-cell lymphoma.

Vaccination using recombinant tumor-derived T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) protein induces a protective, idiotype-specific immune response against a murine T-cell tumor. However, the technically demanding task of producing patient-specific, recombinant TCR protein restricts the translation of TCR vaccines for clinical use. We report here the development of an effective recombinant TCR adenovirus vaccine. Individual adenoviruses were constructed to encode a chimeric TCR derived from either tumor Valpha or Vbeta regions fused to xenogeneic human constant regions. Coinjection of the chimeric alpha- and the beta-TCR adenoviruses protected mice against tumors. The level of protection was comparable to that achieved by an optimized regimen of recombinant TCR protein vaccines. Tumor immunity induced by TCR adenoviruses required the xenogeneic constant regions and was mediated by CD8+ T cells. Independent vaccines consisting of adenovirus expressing either chimeric alpha- or beta-TCR chain also stimulated a protective immune response. Immunization with TCR adenovirus may offer a new efficacious, protein-free vaccination approach for the treatment of T-cell malignancies.

1D Ni-Co oxide and sulfide nanoarray/carbon aerogel hybrid nanostructures for asymmetric supercapacitors with high energy density and excellent cycling stability.

The fabrication of supercapacitor electrodes with high energy density and excellent cycling stability is still a great challenge. A carbon aerogel, possessing a hierarchical porous structure, high specific surface area and electrical conductivity, is an ideal backbone to support transition metal oxides and bring hope to prepare electrodes with high energy density and excellent cycling stability. Therefore, NiCo2S4 nanotube array/carbon aerogel and NiCo2O4 nanoneedle array/carbon aerogel hybrid supercapacitor electrode materials were synthesized by assembling Ni-Co precursor needle arrays on the surface of the channel walls of hierarchical porous carbon aerogels derived from chitosan in this study. The 1D nanostructures grow on the channel surface of the carbon aerogel vertically and tightly, contributing to the enhanced electrochemical performance with ultrahigh energy density. The energy density of NiCo2S4 nanotube array/carbon aerogel and NiCo2O4 nanoneedle array/carbon aerogel hybrid asymmetric supercapacitors can reach up to 55.3 Wh kg-1 and 47.5 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 400 W kg-1, respectively. These asymmetric devices also displayed excellent cycling stability with a capacitance retention of about 96.6% and 92% over 5000 cycles.

Study on mono-dispersed nano-size silica by surface modification for underfill applications.

In order to improve the rheological behavior of the nanosilica composite no-flow underfill, filler surface treatment using silane coupling agents was investigated to reduce the filler-filler interaction and to achieve the mono-dispersity of the nanosilica in the underfill resin. The experimental conditions of the surface treatment were investigated in a design of experiment (DOE) in terms of the pre-treatment methods, coupling agent types, concentrations, and treatment durations. The particle dispersion after treatment was evaluated by the laser particle analyzer and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A mono-dispersed nanosilica solution in the polar medium was achieved using optimal experimental condition. The surface chemistry of the nanosilica was studied using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The wettability of underfill resin and water on the silane treated glass slides was studied using a goniometer. Based on the investigations, the silane-treated nanosilica fillers were incorporated into an underfill resin to formulate a nanocomposite no-flow underfill. It was found that the proper filler treatment could significantly reduce the viscosity of the nanocomposite.

Development of an automated model to predict the risk of elderly emergency medical admissions within a month following an index hospital visit: a Hong Kong experience.

OBJECTIVES: To develop an automated risk prediction model to identify elderly patients at high risk of emergency admission to medical wards within 28 days following an index hospital visit. METHODS: A retrospective data analysis of 41 hospitals and 48 specialist outpatient clinics in Hong Kong. The study subjects were elderly patients aged 65 years or above, who had index hospital visit(s) in the year of 2005, which included hospitalizations at medical wards and attendances at the accident and emergency departments or specialist outpatient clinics for medical conditions. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of emergency medical admission in 28 days after an index hospital visit. Model validation was performed against the complete cohort in 2006. RESULTS: Over a million of episodes were included in the derivation cohort. A total of 14 predictor variables included patient socio-demographics, service utilization in the previous year, presence and number of chronic diseases and type of index episode. The model has a good discriminative ability with the area under receiver-operating characteristic curve at 0.819 and 0.824 for the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. The model has a sensitivity of 70.3 per cent, specificity of 78.4 per cent, positive predictive value of 21.7 per cent and negative predictive value of 96.9 per cent. CONCLUSION: This simple, accurate and objective risk prediction model has been computerized into an automated screening tool to recruit high-risk elderly patients discharged from all public hospitals in Hong Kong into the Community Health Call Centre service with an aim to prevent avoidable hospitalizations.