Effects of photobiomodulation as an adjunctive treatment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a narrative review.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation and remodeling and lung parenchymal inflammation and destruction, which result in many pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations. The anti-inflammatory effect of photobiomodulation (PBM) has been reported in previous studies. This review was conducted to evaluate the direct effect of PBM on lung inflammation in COPD. The other effects of PBM on modulation of peripheral and respiratory muscle metabolism and angiogenesis in lung tissues were also discussed. The databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched to find the relevant studies. Keywords included PBM and related terms, COPD-related signs, and lung inflammation. A total of 12 articles were selected and reviewed in this study. Based on the present review, PBM is helpful in reducing lung inflammation through decreasing the inflammatory cytokines and chemokines at multiple levels and increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, PBM also improves both peripheral and respiratory muscle metabolism and promote angiogenesis. This review demonstrated that PBM is a promising adjunctive treatment modality for COPD management which merits further validation.

Dual Salt Cation-Swing Process for Electrochemical CO2 Separation.

Electrochemical CO2 separations, which use electricity rather than thermal energy to reverse sorption of CO2 from concentrated point sources or air, are emerging as compelling alternatives to conventional approaches given their isothermal, ambient operating conditions, and ability to integrate with renewable energy inputs. Despite several electrochemical approaches proposed in previous studies, further explorations of new electrochemical CO2 separation methods are crucial to widen choices for different emissions sources. Herein, we report an electrochemical cation-swing process that is able to reversibly modulate the CO2 loading on liquid amine sorbents in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent. The process exploits a reversible carbamic acid-to-carbamate conversion reaction that is induced by changing the identity of Lewis acid cations (e.g. K+, Li+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Zn2+) coordinated to the amine-CO2 adduct in the electrolyte. Using ethoxyethylamine (EEA) as a model amine, we present NMR-based speciation studies of carbamic acid-to-carbamate conversion as a function of amine/salt concentrations and cation identity. The reaction is further probed using gas-flow reaction microcalorimetry, revealing the energetic driving forces between cations and the amine-CO2 adduct that play a key role in the described re-speciation. A prototype electrochemical cell was further constructed comprising a Prussian white (PW) potassium (K+) intercalation cathode, zinc (Zn) foil anode, and EEA/DMSO electrolyte containing a dual KTFSI/Zn(TFSI)2 salt. A low CO2 separation energy of ∼22-39 kJ/mol CO2 (0.1-0.5 mA cm-2) was achieved with a practical CO2 loading delta of ∼0.15 mol CO2/mol amine. Further optimizations in electrolyte design and cell architectures toward continuous CO2 capture-release are expected to enhance rate performance while retaining favorable separation energies.

Idiopathic humeral head osteonecrosis mimicking rotator cuff disorders: Two challenging diagnostic case reports.

RATIONALE: Shoulder pain is a common complaint among patients, and rotator cuff disorders are the most common diagnoses. Humeral head osteonecrosis is easily masked by other more common diagnoses and concomitant conditions. PATIENT CONCERNS: This challenging diagnostic report consists of 2 cases. Case 1 was that of a 59-year-old man who presented with right shoulder pain that had lasted for >1 year. Case 2 was that of a 52-year-old man who complained of right shoulder pain lasting for 6 months. They both presented with chronic right shoulder pain without relevant trauma history, and the physical examination showed a tenderness point over the right greater tuberosity. DIAGNOSIS: These 2 patients were diagnosed with osteonecrosis involving the right greater tuberosity region via magnetic resonance imaging. INTERVENTIONS: In case 1, the patient underwent cord decompression and artificial bone grafting with C-arm guidance. In case 2, the patient refused surgical intervention and decided to continue receiving physical therapy for symptom control. OUTCOMES: In case 1, the patient responded well to cord decompression and artificial bone grafting. After the surgery, the active range of motion was restored and the pain in the right shoulder diminished further. In case 2, conservative treatment helped alleviate the patient's shoulder pain but did not entirely eliminate it. LESSONS: Physicians should always have a high index of suspicion for osteonecrosis, especially when treating chronic shoulder pain, regardless of whether there are typical symptoms/known risk factors or not.

Transparent Cobalt Selenide/Graphene Counter Electrode for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Co2+/3+-Based Redox Couple.

In this study, we demonstrate a facile, one-pot, and low-temperature (∼85 °C) chemical bath method for the preparation of a composite of cobalt selenide/graphene (Co0.85Se/Gr) as the electrocatalyst for the counter electrode (CE) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with a cobalt-based electrolyte. The Co0.85Se/Gr composite film was envisaged to have the advantages of both components, that is, the high electrochemical surface area of Co0.85Se and the straight paths for electron transfer from Gr. The DSSCs with Co0.85Se/Gr exhibited a power conversion efficiency (η) of 11.26%. According to the results of the rotating disk electrode, the film of Co0.85Se/Gr showed a high electrocatalytic surface area (Ae) and an extremely large intrinsic heterogeneous rate constant (k0). Furthermore, the composite film of Co0.85Se/Gr exhibits a high transparency in the wavelength region of 400-800 nm (>82%), which implied that the corresponding electrode shall be a potential CE in rear-side illuminated DSSCs. The photovoltaic parameters of the DSSCs with Pt, Co0.85Se, Gr, and Co0.85Se/Gr were obtained for rear-side illumination and additionally for front- and rear-side illuminations (AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm2) using different electrolytes. As the cobalt-based electrolyte of [Co(bpy)3]2+/3+ exhibited a low light absorption and low overpotential for dye regeneration, a rear-side illuminated DSSC with a cobalt-based electrolyte showed the highest efficiency of 9.43 ± 0.02%, which is greater than that of the DSSC with an I-/I3--based electrolyte (η = 7.63 ± 0.04%).

Synthesis of Surfactant-Free and Morphology-Controllable Vanadium Diselenide for Efficient Counter Electrodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this study, a transition-metal selenide, vanadium diselenide (VSe2), with various morphologies was synthesized by employing a surfactant-free hydrothermal method under varied temperature conditions (190-220 °C). Although the physical properties of VSe2 have been studied before, only limited morphological change or application were explored. This study, for the first time, applied VSe2 as the electrocatalytic counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and showed an attractive cell efficiency. The mechanism of forming the tunable VSe2 morphologies is proposed. The evaluation of solar cell efficiency shows the correlation between morphology and electrocatalytic properties. It was further shown that VSe2-200 with the cauliflower-like morphology shows the highest cell performance of DSSC with an efficiency of 9.23 ± 0.07% under 1 sun irradiance, superior to that of the Pt-based DSSC (8.48 ± 0.08%). An electrochemical technique equipped with a rotating disk electrode system was introduced to confirm the high electrocatalytic performance with this particular morphology. The optimized VSe2 demonstrated good long-term stability with 78% retention after 500 cycles of the consecutive cyclic voltammetry, compared to 60% for the Pt CE. The control in morphology in vanadium diselenide synthesis and its usage in Pt-free CE DSSC have advanced the progress in electrochemistry.

Domestic violence against people with disabilities: prevalence and trend analyses.

The present study analyzed national data from "Domestic Violence Report System" derived primarily from the Council of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assaults Prevention, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan, to describe the reported prevalence of domestic violence in people with disabilities and to examine the time-effect on the prevalence from years 2006 to 2009. The annual reported prevalence of domestic violence victims in people with disabilities was slightly lower than the general population. However, the reported rate changed significantly in people with disabilities over the period of 2006-2009, the victim number and rate (per ten-thousand) of reported cases in different years were 1260 (12.84), 1725 (16.90), 2163 (20.79) and 3157 (29.48). People with voice or speech disability, chronic psychosis and intellectual disability were the most domestic violence reported prevalence among the disabilities in the study. Those disabilities, such as chronic psychosis, intellectual disability, vision disability, hearing disability and multi-disabilities show increased significantly in annual reported rate in curve estimation for linear model over the period of 2006-2009. Finally, we found the average increase rate of annual reported prevalence in people of disabilities was 3.7 times of the general population (9.79% vs. 36.08%). Intellectual disability (41.52%), vision or speech disability (38.59%) and chronic psychosis (37.96%) were the most increasing disability type in average of annual reported prevalence of domestic violence among disabilities during the period of 2006-2009. The present study suggests health and welfare authorities should play vital roles in identifying and providing appropriate services for people with disabilities who encounter domestic violence.

Sexual assault of people with disabilities: results of a 2002-2007 national report in Taiwan.

Sexual violence against people with disabilities is widespread and linked to negative public health and social outcomes. The objectives of the present study were to describe and analyze and thus provide an overview of the current state of affairs concerning sexual assault among people with disabilities, including reported prevalence and trends, over the period from 2002 through 2007 in Taiwan. The present study analyzed nationwide data from the 2002-2007 "Sexual assaults report system" derived primarily from the Council of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assaults Prevention, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan. The data took into account the number of cases and disability type in persons reported to have been sexually assaulted, and to analyze the reported rate of sexual assaults among this section of the population in Taiwan. In addition, the study used a linear estimation model to examine with time (2002-2007) in the rate of reported sexual assaults. The rate of increase of sexual assault reported among people with disabilities was 2.7 times that of the general population (469-173%) during the period of 2002-2007. Government statistics showed that intellectually disabled persons accounted for the largest proportion (>50%) of reported sexual assault cases among the disabled, followed by persons with chronic psychosis, who accounted for one-third of the reported sexual assault cases among the disabled population. The reported rate of sexual assault increased from 0.9 to 2.42 per ten-thousand people in the general population and from 1.24 to 5.74 per ten-thousand disabled persons. Intellectual disability, chronic psychosis and voice and speech impairments were consistently associated with a higher prevalence of sexual assault than the general population. The line of best fit estimated from a linear model showed a significant change over the study period in the reported number of sexual assault cases among disabled people. The results highlight the requirement for further study to explore the needs of people with disabilities with regards to education and other strategies to prevent sexual assault, particularly in the most vulnerable group-those with intellectual disability.

Staffing trends of disability care institutions in Taiwan during the period 2002-2007.

The objectives of this study were to examine trends related to the staffing of disability welfare institutions caring for people with disabilities in Taiwan. Nationwide data from the 2002 to 2007 "Service Manpower in Disability Welfare Institutions" report, which are derived mainly from the Department of Statistics, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan, were analyzed. The data included number of workers, job type and gender distribution of staff working in welfare institutions catering for the disabled. We also used the disabled population and those who had been admitted to institutional care to analyze the service load per staff member. Based on analyses of current governmental statistics, the results showed that staff numbers in institutions for the disabled increased from 6191 to 7820 (20.8% increase), and the female/male ratio these staff increased from 4.18 to 4.51 from 2002 to 2007. Educator/training personnel (33.3-36.7%) accounted for a higher proportion of staff than other job categories, and each staff member served 5.8-6.3 persons with disabilities on average. The second largest group was living assistant (18.4-20.5%; 9.9-11.8), and the remaining personnel were administrative staff (13.5-14.6%; 13.9-15.9), nursing staff (6.4-8.7%; 24.9-32.0), social workers (6.2-7.5%; 28.8-32.8), and counseling staff (3.8-6.3%; 21.9-57.1). Curve estimation tests showed a significant change over the period of the study in the number of disabled people attended to on average by administrative staff, social workers, nurses and other staff. The results highlight the requirement for further study to explore the needs of the majority service provider--female staff--to provide them with adequate professional or psychological support to enable them to work with people with disabilities in institutions. In addition, further analysis should focus on a review of staff numbers for different types of institutions, to examine their adequacy.