Socioeconomic Disparities in Cardiovascular Health in South Korea: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: To improve the cardiovascular health of those with socioeconomic disadvantages, the nature of their disparities must be explored to inform targeted interventions for this group. However, these efforts have been scarce in all areas of nursing research and practice in South Korea. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to examine the nature of socioeconomic disparities in cardiovascular health in South Korea. METHODS: Multiple electronic databases including PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Cochrane (2009-2019.06) were searched. A total of 42 articles published in English or Korean that examined socioeconomic disparities in cardiovascular health in South Korea were selected, reviewed, and analyzed using a narrative synthesis. RESULTS: Socioeconomic disparities existed in cardiovascular health among Korean populations across the disease continuum from risk factors to mortality. The magnitudes, directions, and significance of the observed associations between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular health varied by socioeconomic status indicators, gender, and age groups. Five studies (12%) explained the mediation and moderation of multiple factors to the associations. CONCLUSION: This body of knowledge will serve as a basis to inform strategies, interventions, or policies to reduce disparities in cardiovascular health.

Accumulation and toxicity of intravenously-injected functionalized graphene oxide in mice.

Graphene and its functionalized derivatives have recently emerged as interesting nanomaterials with promising applications in biomedicine. In this study, the long-term in vivo biodistribution of intravenously injected nanographene oxide (NGO) functionalized with poly sodium 4-styrenesulfonate (PSS) was systematically examined and the potential toxicity over 6 months of NGO-PSS nanoparticles was investigated. Our results showed that the nanoparticles mainly accumulate in the lung, liver and spleen, where they persist for at least 6 months. These nanoparticles result in acute liver injury and chronic inflammation of the lung, liver and spleen, as evidenced by blood biochemistry results and histological examinations.

Electron field emission enhancement of vertically aligned ultrananocrystalline diamond-coated ZnO core-shell heterostructured nanorods.

Enhanced electron field emission (EFE) behavior of a core-shell heterostructure, where ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) form the core and ultrananocrystalline diamond needles (UNCDNs) form the shell, is reported. EFE properties of ZNR-UNCDN core-shell heterostructures show a high emission current density of 5.5 mA cm(-2) at an applied field of 4.25 V µm(-1) , and a low turn-on field of 2.08 V µm(-1) compared to the 1.67 mA cm(-2) emission current density (at an applied field of 28.7 V µm(-1) ) and 16.6 V µm(-1) turn-on field for bare ZNRs. Such an enhancement in the field emission originates from the unique materials combination, resulting in good electron transport from ZNRs to UNCDNs and efficient field emission of electrons from the UNCDNs. The potential application of these materials is demonstrated by the plasma illumination measurements that lowering the threshold voltage by 160 V confirms the role of ZNR-UNCDN core-shell heterostructures in the enhancement of electron emission.

Mediatorless N(2) incorporated diamond nanowire electrode for selective detection of NADH at stable low oxidation potential.

The electrocatalytic properties of a N2 incorporated diamond nanowire (N-DNW) unmodified electrode towards the oxidation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) was critically evaluated. The electrochemical behavior of the N-DNW unmodified electrode was examined and compared with that of boron-doped diamond, glassy carbon electrode, and graphite electrodes. The N-DNW electrode had high selectivity and high sensitivity for the differential pulse voltammetric detection of NADH in the presence of ascorbic acid at the lower and stable oxidation potential. Moreover, it exhibited strong stability after prolonged usage. The oxidation peak potential at the N-DNW electrode remained unchanged even after exposure to the solution, followed by washing, drying, and storage in laboratory air for 20 days, with minimization of surface contamination. Therefore, the N-DNW unmodified electrode shows promise for the detection of NADH and is attractive for use in a dehydrogenase based biosensor and other analytical applications.

Risk and Protective Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Against Chinese Women: A Systematic Review.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global health challenge leading to various detrimental health outcomes. Chinese women are a vulnerable population often overlooked in IPV research. Guided by the social-ecological model, this systematic review aims to synthesize literature on the risk and protective factors for IPV among Chinese women. A comprehensive search was conducted in nine major English and Chinese databases for articles with data collected since 2006 on adult Chinese women, leading to 29 papers in the final analysis. Risk and protective factors associated with IPV identified in this review include factors at the individual level such as demographics (e.g., a younger age, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, having children, and migration), socioeconomic status (e.g., income and partners' education level), attitudinal factors (e.g., attitudes justifying IPV and traditional beliefs about gender roles), behavioral factors (e.g., alcohol use of women, partners' alcohol use and frequency, and partners' high frequency of gambling), adverse childhood experiences (e.g., witnessed violence in childhood), and other personal characteristics (e.g., chronic illness and good health status). Factors at the relationship level include conflicts, power in intimate relationships, and social capital (e.g., the size of social networks, network participation of women and their partners, and social control). Community-level factors related to geographic locations were also explored while no factors were identified at the societal level. None of the included studies examined the intersections of factors within the same level or across different levels. Recommendations for future research, practice, and policy are also discussed.

Dipole moment as the underlying mechanism for enhancing the immobilization of glucose oxidase by ferrocene-chitosan for superior specificity non-invasive glucose sensing.

Non-invasive methods for sensing glucose levels are highly desirable due to the comfortableness, simplicity, and lack of infection risk. However, the insufficient accuracy and ease of interference limit their practical medical applications. Here, we develop a non-invasive salivary glucose biosensor based on a ferrocene-chitosan (Fc-Chit) modified carbon nanotube (CNT) electrode through a simple drop-casting method. Compared with previous studies that relied mainly on trial and error for evaluation, this is the first time that dipole moment was proposed to optimize the electron-mediated Fc-Chit, demonstrating sturdy immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) on the electrode and improving the electron transfer process. Thus, the superior sensing sensitivity of the biosensor can achieve 119.97 µA mM-1 cm-2 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution over a wide sensing range of 20-800 µM. Additionally, the biosensor exhibited high stability (retaining 95.0% after three weeks) and high specificity toward glucose in the presence of various interferents, attributed to the specific sites enabling GOx to be sturdily immobilized on the electrode. The results not only provide a facile solution for accurate and regular screening of blood glucose levels via saliva tests but also pave the way for designing enzymatic biosensors with specific enzyme immobilization through fundamental quantum calculations.

Human Exhalation CO2 Sensor Based on the PEI-PEG/ZnO/NUNCD/Si Heterojunction Electrode.

Gas sensors based on semiconductors have outstanding sensitivity compared with the oxide-based devices; however, the high operation temperature greatly hinders its development in practical applications. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the patients with severe COPD with or without exacerbation tend to have airflow obstruction, which results in an increase of CO2 concentration and subsequent hypercapnic respiratory failure. At present, COPD detection relies on professional operation; however, the patients suffer great discomfort during the arterial blood sampling. All these facts reduce patient's willingness to test their physical health. Thus, noninvasive monitoring of CO2 levels is crucial for the early diagnosis of high-risk COPD patients. A nitrogen-incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond (NUNCD) film exhibits excellent properties in biosensing and polyetherimide-polyethylene glycol (PEI-PEG) polymer possesses a great capability of CO2 capturing. By incorporating NUNCD into PEI-PEG film, this work focuses on ameliorating the sensitivity and selectivity of the present semiconductor CO2 sensor. From the theoretical regression analyses of the experimental results, it is found that the excellent performance of the PEI-PEG/ZnO/NUNCD/Si electrode is contributed by two main reaction layers, the adsorption layer (PEI-PEG) and the electric transfer layer (ZnO/NUNCD). The selectivity is dominated by the PEI-PEG adsorption layer and the sensitivity is directly related to the changes in the work function of the ZnO/NUNCD interface. The high aspect ratio (>10) of the flower-like ZnO structure, growth from ZnO nanoparticles, can provide a more active adsorption area, as a result, extremely enhancing the sensitivity of the CO2 sensor.

One-dimensional germanium nanostructures--formation and their electron field emission properties.

Ge nanostructures were synthesized by reduction of GeO(2) in H(2) atmosphere at various temperatures. Entangled and straight Ge nanowires with oxide shells were grown at high temperatures. Ge nanowires with various numbers of nodules were obtained at low temperatures. Ge nanowires without nodules exhibited remarkable field emission properties with a turn-on field of 4.6 V µm(-1) and field enhancement factor of 1242.

Flexible Supercapacitors Prepared Using the Peanut-Shell-Based Carbon.

In this work, we report the fabrication and performance of supercapacitors made from carbonized peanut shells, which are renewable materials with a huge annual yield and are usually discarded directly by people. With proper treatment, peanut shells could be used for many applications. Herein, we demonstrate that the peanut shells treated with carbonization and activation processes not only possess an extremely high surface area but also provide a hierarchical structure for energy storage. The performance of the electrode can be further improved by nitrogen doping and adding graphene oxide to the electrode. The electrode shows a specific capacitance of 289.4 F/g, which can be maintained at an acceptable level even at a high scanning rate. In addition, a good capacitance retention of 92.8% after 5000 test cycles demonstrates that the electrode possesses an excellent electrochemical property.

Enhancing the Efficiency of a Forward Osmosis Membrane with a Polydopamine/Graphene Oxide Layer Prepared Via the Modified Molecular Layer-by-Layer Method.

Water scarcity is one of the most critical problems that humans have to face. Working toward solving this problem, we have developed a thin-film composite (TFC) membrane using the modified molecular layer-by-layer (modified mLBL) method to fabricate polyamide (PA) active layers on different substrates. Besides, it has been found that graphene oxide (GO) contains abundant functional groups such as hydroxyl and epoxide groups, which are able to improve both the physical and chemical properties of the forward osmosis (FO) membrane. Thus, we have employed graphene oxide (GO) as the substrate and used the modified mLBL method to prepare active polydopamine/graphene oxide (PDA/GO) layers to enhance the water flux of the forward osmosis (FO) membrane. PDA/GO-coated layers could enhance the hydrophilic nature of the substrate and lower its surface roughness, which would facilitate the formation of the PA layer. Moreover, the PDA/GO coating can be applied to all substrates because of the high degree of adhesion of PDA to different substrates. In this study, the highly hydrophilic poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane is superior in FO properties, with a water flux of 17.32 LMH and a reverse solute flux of 4.34 gMH. In addition, an excellent performance of 60.15 LMH and 14.88 gMH can be achieved when the pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) test mode with a draw solution concentration of 2.0 M is used in the test. It shows that the membrane prepared using the novel method showed excellent FO performance, which has high potential in industrial applications such as desalination.

Applications of Long-Length Carbon Nano-Tube (L-CNT) as Conductive Materials in High Energy Density Pouch Type Lithium Ion Batteries.

Lots of lithium ion battery (LIB) products contain lithium metal oxide LiNi5Co2Mn3O2 (LNCM) as the positive electrode's active material. The stable surface of this oxide results in high resistivity in the battery. For this reason, conductive carbon-based materials, including acetylene black and carbon black, become necessary components in electrodes. Recently, carbon nano-tube (CNT) has appeared as a popular choice for the conductive carbon in LIB. However, a large quantity of the conductive carbon, which cannot provide capacity as the active material, will decrease the energy density of batteries. The ultra-high cost of CNT, compared to conventional carbon black, is also a problem. In this work, we are going to introduce long-length carbon nano-tube s(L-CNT) into electrodes in order to design a reduced-amount conductive carbon electrode. The whole experiment will be done in a 1Ah commercial type pouch LIB. By decreasing conductive carbon as well as increasing the active material in the positive electrode, the energy density of the LNCM-based 1Ah pouch type LIB, with only 0.16% of L-CNT inside the LNCM positive electrode, could reach 224 Wh/kg and 549 Wh/L, in weight and volume energy density, respectively. Further, this high energy density LIB with L-CNT offers stable cyclability, which may constitute valuable progress in portable devices and electric vehicle (EV) applications.

Green Treatment of Phosphate from Wastewater Using a Porous Bio-Templated Graphene Oxide/MgMn-Layered Double Hydroxide Composite.

Excessive phosphorus in water is the primary culprit for eutrophication, which causes approximately $2.2 billion annual economic loss in the United States. This study demonstrates a phosphate-selective sustainable method by adopting Garcinia subelliptica leaves as a natural bio-template, where MgMn-layered double hydroxide (MgMn-LDH) and graphene oxide (GO) can be grown in situ to obtain L-GO/MgMn-LDH. After calcination, the composite shows a hierarchical porous structure and selective recognition of phosphate, which achieves significantly high and recyclable selective phosphate adsorption capacity and desorption rate of 244.08 mg-P g-1 and 85.8%, respectively. The detail variation of LDHs during calcination has been observed via in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM). Moreover, the roles in facilitating phosphate adsorption and antimicrobial ability of chemical constituents in Garcinia subelliptica leaves, biflavonoids, and triterpenoids have been investigated. These results indicate the proposed bio-templated adsorbent is practical and eco-friendly for phosphorus sustainability in commercial wastewater treatment.

Detecting HER2 on cancer cells by TiO2 spheres Mie scattering.

This work is the first to describe a bioimaging method that uses highly uniformly sized TiO(2) submicrometer and micrometer spheres based on Mie scattering. Transmembrane proteins (HER2) located on the surface of cancer cells were detected by bonded antibody-linked TiO(2) spheres using optic microscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. A particular HER2 bond on cancer cells, which has a weaker binding affinity than the biotin/avidin interaction, can be identified between TiO(2) spheres that are linked to anti-HER2 antibodies and those that are linked to nonspecific mouse IgG antibodies by observing the cells under an optical microscope or by measuring absorbance from a UV-vis spectrum. The TiO(2) spheres used in this work was prepared by reacting TTIP with carboxylic acid, as described elsewhere and the uniformity of the TiO(2) sphere was further improved by adjusting the amount of water used. The water content was inversely related to particle size and the size distribution: as more water was used, smaller spheres with a narrower size distribution were obtained. The most uniform sphere obtained had a diameter of about 1 microm with a size variation of 3%.

Measurement of Socioeconomic Position in Research on Cardiovascular Health Disparities in Korea: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: The validity of instruments measuring socioeconomic position (SEP) has been a major area of concern in research on cardiovascular health disparities. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the current status of the methods used to measure SEP in research on cardiovascular health disparities in Korea and to provide directions for future research. METHODS: Relevant articles were obtained through electronic database searches with manual searches of reference lists and no restriction on the date of publication. SEP indicators were categorized into compositional, contextual, composite, and life-course measures. RESULTS: Forty-eight studies published from 2003 to 2018 satisfied the review criteria. Studies utilizing compositional measures mainly relied on a limited number of SEP parameters. In addition, these measures hardly addressed the time-varying and subjective features of SEP. Finding valid contextual measures at the organizational, community, and societal levels that are appropriate to Korea's context remains a challenge, and these are rarely modeled simultaneously. Studies have rarely focused on composite and life-course measures. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should develop and utilize valid compositional and contextual measures and appraise social patterns that vary across time, place, and culture using such measures. Studies should also consider multilevel influences, adding a focus on the interactions between different levels of intertwined SEP factors to advance the design of research. More attention should be given to composite and life-course measures.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carbon Nanocoils Three-Dimensionally in Carbon Fiber Cloth for All-Carbon Supercapacitors.

An Au/K bicatalyst-assisted chemical vapor deposition process using C2H2(g) to grow high-density carbon nanocoils (CNCs) uniformly on the fibers in carbon fiber cloth substrates three-dimensionally was developed. An as-deposited substrate (2.5 × 1.0 cm2) showed a high electrochemical active surface area (16.53 cm2), suggesting its potential usefulness as the electrode in electrochemical devices. The unique one-dimensional (1D) helical structure of the CNCs shortened the diffusion pathways of the ions in the electrolyte and generated efficient electron conduction routes so that the observed serial resistance R s was low (3.7 Ω). By employing two-electrode systems, a liquid-state supercapacitor (SC) in H2SO4(aq) (1.0 M) and a solid-state SC with a polypropylene (PP) separator immersed in H2SO4(aq) (1.0 M)/polyvinylalcohol were assembled and investigated by using CNC-based electrodes. Both devices exhibited approximate rectangular shape profiles in the cyclic voltammetry measurements at various scan rates. The observations indicated their electric double-layer capacitive behaviors. From their galvanostatic charge/discharge curves, the specific capacitances of the liquid SC and the solid SC were measured to be approximately 137 and 163 F/g, respectively. In addition, the solid-state CNC-based SC possessed excellent energy density (15.3 W h/kg) and power density (510 W/kg). The light weight solid SC (0.1965 g, 2.5 × 1.0 cm2) was bendable up to 150° with most of the properties retained.

Vapor-Solid Reaction Growth of Rutile TiO2 Nanorods and Nanowires for Li-Ion-Battery Electrodes.

A new synthetic method to grow O-deficient rutile TiO2(s) nanorods (NRs) and nanowires (NWs) by a vapor-solid reaction growth method is developed. TiCl4(g) was employed to react with commercially supplied CaTiO3(s) (size 2-4 µm) at 973 K under atmospheric pressure to generate TiO2(s) NRs (diameters 80-120 nm, lengths 1-4 µm). The reaction employing TiCl4(g) and CaO(s) at 973 K also generated CaTiO3(s) (size 4-13 µm) as the intermediate which reacted further with TiCl4(g) to produce NWs (diameters 80-120 nm, lengths 4-15 µm). This is the first report of 1D rutile TiO2(s) nanostructure with such a high aspect ratio. Both of the NRs and the NWs, with compositions TiO1.81 and TiO1.65, respectively, were single crystals grown in the [001] direction. Their morphology was affected by the reaction temperature, the concentration of TiCl4(g), and the particle size of CaTiO3(s). The NRs and the NWs were investigated as anode materials for Li+-ion batteries. At constant current rates 1, 2, and 5 C (1 C = 170 mA g-1) for 100 cycles, the cycling (1.0-3.0 V) performance data of the NRs were 146, 123, and 104 mA h g-1, respectively. On the other hand, the cycling performance data of the NWs were 120, 80, and 52 mA h g-1, respectively. This is attributed to the high Li+ ion diffusion rate (D Li+ ) of the NRs (29.52 × 10-15 cm2 s-1), which exceeds that of the NWs (8.61 × 10-15 cm2 s-1). Although the [001] growth direction of the NR crystals would provide the fastest channels for the diffusion of Li+ ions and enhance the battery capacity, the extremely long channels in the NWs could hamper the diffusion of the Li+ ions. The O-deficiency in the structure would increase the conductivity of the electrode material and improve the stable cycling stability of the batteries also. The long-term cycling test at 2 C for the battery constructed from the NRs retained 121 mA h g-1 after 200 cycles and 99.2 mA h g-1 after 800 cycles. The device has an excellent long-term cycling stability with a loss of only 0.04% per cycle.

Electrochemical Cycling-Induced Spiky Cu x O/Cu Nanowire Array for Glucose Sensing.

The glucose level is an important biological indicator for diabetes diagnosis. In contrast with costly and unstable enzymatic glucose sensing, oxide-based glucose sensors own the advantages of low fabrication cost, outstanding catalytic ability, and high chemical stability. Here, we fabricate a self-supporting spiky Cu x O/Cu nanowire array structure by electrochemical cycling treatment. The spiky Cu x O/Cu nanowire is identified to be a Cu core passivated by a conformal Cu2O layer with extruded CuO petals, which provides abundant active sites for electrocatalytic reaction in glucose detection. An interruptive potential sweeping experiment is presented to elucidate the growth mechanism of the spiky Cu x O/Cu nanostructure during the potential cycling treatment. The spiky Cu x O/Cu nanowire array electrode exhibits a sensitivity of 1210 ± 124 µA·mM-1·cm-2, a wide linear detection range of 0.01-7 mM, and a short response time (<1 s) for amperometric glucose sensing. The study demonstrates a route to modulate oxide phase, crystal morphology, and electrocatalytic properties of metal/oxide core-shell nanostructures.

Enhanced Photocatalysis from Truncated Octahedral Bipyramids of Anatase TiO2 with Exposed {001}/{101} Facets.

In this study, we develop a new synthetic method to grow anatase TiO2 crystals composed of truncated octahedral bipyramids (TOBs) with exposed {001} and {101} facets by a vapor-solid reaction growth (VSRG) method. The VSRG method employs TiCl4(g) to react with CaO(s)/Ca(OH)2(s) at 823-1043 K under atmospheric pressure. The O-deficient pale-blue TOB TiO2 crystals display high amount of both {001} and {101} facets. Together, they decompose methylene blue photocatalytically under UV-visible (UV-vis) light irradiation. The most-efficient TOB catalyst VT923 (grown at 923 K, average edge length 400 nm, average thickness 200 nm, and surface area 4.20 m2/g) shows a degradation rate constant k, 0.0527 min-1. This is close to that of the P25 standard 0.0577 min-1. However, the surface area of P25 (46.8 m2/g) is about 12 times that of VT923. The extraordinary performance of VT923 is attributed to the presence of high amount of coexisting {001} and {101} facets to form effective surface heterojunctions. They would separate photogenerated electrons and holes effectively on {101} and {001} surfaces, respectively. For VT923, the {001}/{101} ratio is 0.764, which is close to 1, the highest value observed for all TOB samples grown in this study. The surface heterojunctions prolong the electron-hole separation so that VT923 demonstrates the excellent photocatalytic capability. In addition, residual Cl atoms on the exposed faces are easily removed to show clean TiO surface layers with sufficient amount of O-deficient sites in the current samples.

Nitrogen-Incorporated Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Electrodes for Dopamine Determination.

In this paper, nitrogen incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond (NUNCD) films were fabricated for use as electrodes to detect dopamine. The NUNCD electrodes achieved high sensitivity, great selectivity, and excellent detection limits for dopamine sensing. The NUNCD electrode, fabricated as a potential sensitive biosensor for dopamine without any catalyst or mediators, demonstrated good activity for the direct detection of dopamine by simply putting the bare NUNCD electrode into a dopamine solution. Furthermore, the marked selectivity of the NUNCD electrode is very favorable for the determination of dopamine (DA) concentration (0.32 µM) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). Considering dopamine detection in real biological fluid samples, the NUNCD electrode performed excellently with a detection limit of 0.39 µM and a high recovery ranging from 90-120%, revealing that NUNCD electrodes have promising use in the sensing of dopamine.

Considerable humidity response of a well-aligned SOMS micro-wire flexible sensor by moisture-induced releasing of trapped electrons.

Sandia Octahedral Molecular Sieves micro-wires (SOMS MWs) that exhibit ultra-high response to moisture and a short response time can be produced easily in an environmentally friendly mass production process. They are excellent candidate materials for use in humidity sensors. SOMS MWs were synthesized using niobium pentoxide as a precursor in concentrated sodium hydroxide solution. To fabricate humidity-sensing devices, electrophoresis was utilized to align the SOMS MWs on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The degree of alignment of SOMS MWs can be tuned by controlling the electric field during electrophoresis. Both well-aligned SOMS MWs (S-1.00) and randomly distributed SOMS MWs (S-0.00) exhibit maximum sensitivities to humidity (RRH/RDRY) of almost 104 and 107 respectively, and both exhibit short response times (34 and 38 s) and recovery times (7 and 10 s); these MWs outperform metal oxide ceramic-based materials in sensing humidity. Furthermore, the humidity response of S-1.00 exceeds that of S-0.00 by three orders of magnitude, and this result cannot be explained with reference to the Grotthuss mechanism. Therefore, the moisture-induced carriers from trapped electrons contribute significantly to the humidity response of SOMS MWs. In addition, with outstanding humidity sensing-performance under extreme bending conditions and superior durability after being bent hundreds of times, the well-aligned SOMS MW sensor is a favorable candidate for emerging multifunctional electronic-skin.