Bedaquiline and delamanid for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a multicentre cohort study in Korea.

Relatively little is known about the efficacy and safety of the programmatic use of bedaquiline and delamanid in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment.This study evaluated 61 patients with MDR-TB treated with bedaquiline (n=39), delamanid (n=11) or both, either sequentially (n=10) or in coadministration (n=1), for >1 month, combined with a World Health Organization-recommended regimen.Of these, 49 (80.3%) were male and 12 (19.7%) were female. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) age was 53 (38.5-61.0) years. 42 (68.9%) patients had fluoroquinolone-resistant MDR-TB and 16 (26.2%) had extensively drug-resistant TB. The median (IQR) duration of treatment with bedaquiline and/or delamanid was 168 (166.5-196.5) days, with 33 (54.1%) receiving linezolid for a median (IQR) of 673 (171-736) days. Of the 55 patients with positive sputum cultures at the start of bedaquiline and/or delamanid treatment, 39 (70.9%) achieved sputum culture conversion within a median of 119 days. Treatment was halted in four patients (6.6%) because of prolonged Fridericia's corrected QT interval.Bedaquiline and delamanid were effective and safe for treating MDR-TB, with initial evidence of sequential administration of these two drugs as a viable treatment strategy for patients when an adequate treatment regimen cannot be constructed.

The use of deep learning technology in dance movement generation.

The dance generated by the traditional music action matching and statistical mapping models is less consistent with the music itself. Moreover, new dance movements cannot be generated. A dance movement generation algorithm based on deep learning is designed to extract the mapping between sound and motion features to solve these problems. First, the sound and motion features are extracted from music and dance videos, and then, the model is built. In addition, a generator module, a discriminator module, and a self-encoder module are added to make the dance movement smoother and consistent with the music. The Pix2PixHD model is used to transform the dance pose sequence into a real version of the dance. Finally, the experiment takes the dance video on the network as the training data and trained 5,000 times. About 80% of the dance data are used as the training set and 20% as the test set. The experimental results show that Train, Valid, and Test values based on the Generator+Discriminator+Autoencoder model are 15.36, 17.19, and 19.12, respectively. The similarity between the generated dance sequence and the real dance sequence is 0.063, which shows that the proposed model can generate a dance more in line with the music. Moreover, the generated dance posture is closer to the real dance posture. The discussion has certain reference value for intelligent dance teaching, game field, cross-modal generation, and exploring the relationship between audio-visual information.

Analysis of the Influence of Geographical Environment on Chinese Ethnic Folk Dance, Taking the Development of Dance Curriculum in Huaihua No. 1 Middle School as an Example.

Among the treasures of Chinese art, ethnic dance is an important part. As a key form of expression of national art and emotion, dance has strong regional and gender characteristics for those affected by different ethnic groups and regions. The unique characteristics of the region are the driving force for the masses of all ethnic groups in China to continuously promote the prosperity and development of ethnic and folk dances living alone in different living conditions and living environments. In the analysis of ethnic and folk dances, environmental elements have a profound impact on the rapid development of dance. The main reason for folk dance is the relationship between the costumes of the dance, the connotation of the dance, and the laws of nature, resulting in the derivation of the environment. The article will also focus on a more in-depth discussion and analysis of the characteristics of Chinese folk dance. Scientific research on the regionality of ethnic dance plays a vital role in understanding and inheriting ethnic and folk dances.

Synthesis and characterization of stannane-terminated poly(silole-co-germole) for the evaluation of luminescent polymeric light-emitting diode.

Codehydrocoupling (with various inorganic hydrides) followed by stannane-capping (with Ph2SnHCI) of 1,1-dihydrotetraphenylsilole (1) and 1,1-dihydrotetraphenylgermole (2) (9:1 mol ratio) produces electroluminescent stannane-terminated poly(silole-co-germole)s (3) in high yield. The polymerization yield and molecular weight with Selectride increase in the order L-Selectride < N-Selectride < K-Selectride. The molecular weights increase in the order L-Selectride < Red-Al < N-Selectride < K-Selectride < Super-Hydride. The copolymer 3, a good candidate for PLED fabrication, emits at 523 nm and are electroluminescent at 521 nm. The fluorescence quantum yield of 3 in toluene is (1.61 +/- 0.29) x 10(-2). The emission color is green. The maximum brightness of the device is 3,750 cd/m2 with a luminous power efficiency of 0.67 Im/W.

Efficient synthesis and structural characterization of silver nanoparticle/ bis(o-phenolpropyl)silicone composites.

Silver nanoparticle/bis(o-phenolpropyl)silicone composites have been synthesized by the reduction of silver nitrate with bis(o-phenolpropyl)silicone BPPS [(o-phenolpropyl)2(SiMe2O)n, n = 2, 3, 8, 236]. TEM and FE-SEM data clearly show that the silver nanoparticles with the size of < 20 nm are well dispersed throughout the BPPS matrix in the composites. XRD patterns are consistent with those for multicrystalline silver. The size of silver nanoparticles increased with increasing the relative molar concentration of silver salts added. It was found that in the absence of BPPS, most of the silver nanoparticles undergo macroscopic precipitation by agglomeration, indicating that BPPS is essential to stabilize the silver nanoparticles.

One-pot synthesis and characterization of poly(alkoxysilane)s promoted by silver colloidal nanoparticles.

Si-Si/Si-O dehydrocoupling of hydrosilanes with alcohols (1:1.5 mole ratio), catalyzed by AgNO3 which converted to Ag(0) colloidal nanoparticles, gave poly(alkoxysilane)s in one-pot in moderate to high yield. The hydrosilanes include p-X-C6H4SiH3 (X = H, CH3, OCH3, F), PhCH2SiH3, and (PhSiH2)2. The alcohols include MeOH, EtOH, (i)PrOH, PhOH, and CF3(CF2)2CH2OH. The weight average molecular weight and polydispersity of the poly(alkoxysilane)s were in the range of 1,600 approximately 8,000 Dalton and 1.4 approximately 3.5. The dehydrocoupling reactions of phenylsilane with ethanol (1:3 mole ratio) in the presence of the silver nanocolloid catalyst produced only triethoxyphenylsilane as product.

Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Thickness-Modulated Block Copolymer Thin Films for Controlling Nanodomain Orientations inside Bare Silicon Trenches.

We study the orientation and ordering of nanodomains of a thickness-modulated lamellar block copolymer (BCP) thin film at each thickness region inside a topological nano/micropattern of bare silicon wafers without chemical pretreatments. With precise control of the thickness gradient of a BCP thin film and the width of a bare silicon trench, we successfully demonstrate (i) perfectly oriented lamellar nanodomains, (ii) pseudocylindrical nanopatterns as periodically aligned defects from the lamellar BCP thin film, and (iii) half-cylindrical nanostructure arrays leveraged by a trench sidewall with the strong preferential wetting of the PMMA block of the BCP. Our strategy is simple, efficient, and has an advantage in fabricating diverse nanopatterns simultaneously compared to conventional BCP lithography utilizing chemical pretreatments, such as a polymer brush or a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The proposed self-assembly nanopatterning process can be used in energy devices and biodevices requiring various nanopatterns on the same device and as next-generation nanofabrication processes with minimized fabrication steps for low-cost manufacturing techniques.

Smart particles for noble drug delivery system.

Optically encoded smart particles were prepared for noble drug delivery materials. Distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) porous silicon (PSi) was generated by applying a computer-generated pseudo-square wave current waveform. This DBR PSi film was lifted off from the Si substrate and thermally oxidized to convert PSi to porous silicon dioxide (PSD). DBR PSD film was derivatized with 20(S)-Camptothecin (CPT) and fractured by ultrasono-method to give smart particles. DBR PSD smart particles exhibited a sharp photonic band gap in the optical reflectivity spectrum. Optical characteristic of PSD smart particles retained DBR photonic property in aqueous buffer solution. The release of CPT and change of reflection wavelength were measured by UV-vis and reflectance spectrometer, respectively. The intensity of differential peak from reflection resonances of the smart particles was increased with a drug release. The blue shift of reflection peak resulted in the decrease of refractive index of PSD smart particles during the drug release. The concentration of released drug exhibited an linear relationship with a release time.

Morphology and vulcanizate properties of ethylene-propylene-diene rubber/ styrene-butadiene rubber blends.

Morphology and vulcanizate properties of EPDM/SBR blends were investigated. AAHR (a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon resins) was used as a compatibilizer and bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide (TESPT) was used as a coupling agent. The vulcanizate properties and the morphological studies revealed that EPDM and SBR were incompatible, and the addition of AAHR was very effective to enhance the compatibility between EPDM and SBR. The weight percent of bound rubbers was increased with increasing SBR contents. The addition of an AAHR increased the amounts of bound rubbers, and hence the vulcanizate properties such as tear strength and fatigue resistance of the EPDM/SBR blends were improved. The dynamic mechanical analysis and the morphological studies revealed that the addition of TESPT increased the weight of bound rubbers and provided better dispersion of carbon black, resulting in good mechanical properties such as tear strength and fatigue resistance of the vulcanized EPDM/SBR blends. The smaller particle of zinc oxide (i.e., 50 nm > 100 nm > 1000 nm) yielded to the better blending properties of the polymer blend.

Synthesis and characterization of poly(alkoxysilane)s catalyzed by Co/Ni colloidal nanoparticles.

Si-Si/Si-O dehydrocoupling of hydrosilanes with alcohols (1:1.5 mole ratio), catalyzed by group VIII metallocenes Cp2M' (M' = Co, Ni) which converted to Co(O)/nickel(O) colloidal nanoparticles, produced poly(alkoxysilane)s in one-pot in high yield. The hydrosilanes include p-X-C6H4SiH3 (X = H, CH3, OCH3, F), PhCH2SiH3, and (PhSiH2)2. The alcohols include MeOH, EtOH, 'PrOH, PhOH, and CF3(CF2)2CH2OH. The weight average molecular weight of the poly(alkoxysilane)s were in the range of 600 to 8100. The dehydrocoupling reactions of phenylsilane with ethanol (1:3 mole ratio) in the presence of the nanocolloid catalyst gave only triethoxyphenylsilane as product.

Catalytic sol-gel co-polycondensation of para-substituted phenylsilanes and bis(silyl)phenylene to robust organosilicas using colloidal nickel nanoparticles.

The dry sol-gel co-polycondensation at toluene in ambient air atmosphere of p-X-C6H4SiH3 (X = H, CH3, CH3O, F, Cl) and p-H3Si-C6H4SiH3 (9:1 mole ratio) to co-silicas (p-X-C6H4SiO1.5)9(p-O1.5Si-C6H4SiO1.5)1 in high yield, catalyzed by colloidal nickel nanoparticles in-situ generated from nickelocene(II) is described. The co-gels (p-X-C6H4SiO1.5)9(p-O1.5Si-C6H4SiO1.5)1 with higher molecular weights and TGA residue yield were obtained when compared to the homogels p-X-C6H4SiO1.5 Some degree of unreacted Si-H bonds still remained in the gel matrix because of steric bulkiness. All the insoluble gels adopt an amorphous structure with a smooth surface. A plausible mechanism for the dry sol-gel reaction was provided.

Dehydropolymerization of 1,1-dihydrotetraphenylsilole and 1,1-dihydrotetraphenylgermole to optoelectronic copolymers catalyzed by colloidal silver nanoparticles.

The co-dehydrocoupling at ambient air atmosphere of 1,1-dihydrotetraphenylsilole 1 and 1,1-dihydrotetraphenylgermole 2 (9:1 mole ratio) with 2 mol% of AgNO3 in toluene at 90 degrees C produces optoelectronic poly(silole-co-germole)s 3 in high yield. The copolymer mainly has Si-Si bonds (and Si-Ge/Ge-Ge bonds in minor) along with the small portion of Si-O/Ge-O bonds in the polymer backbone chain. While Ag2SO4 is also a good catalyst as AgNO3 for the co-dehydrocoupling, AgI is a moderate catalyst. However, CP2Co, Cp2Ni, Cp2ZrCl2/Red-Al, AgX (X = F, Cl, Br) and AgI@MWCNT do not show appreciable catalytic activity. The silver complexes (AgNO3, Ag2SO4, AgI) transformed to colloidal silver nanoparticles during the catalytic reaction. The co-dehydrocoupling of 1 and 2 with AgNO3 even at dry nitrogen atmosphere is occurred, supporting that the oxidation of NO3- ion to NO2 is only the possible oxygen source, but not from the adventitious moisture in air. All cyclodextrins (sigma, beta, and gamma forms) considerably deteriorated the co-dehydrocoupling of 1 and 2 probably by forming toluene-insoluble inclusion complexes and by encapsulating SiH2 moiety. The resulting copolymer emits green light at 521 nm and is electroluminescent at 523 nm, which is similar to the polysilole.

Efficient preparation and characterization of silver-polyphenylsilane nanocomposites.

Silver-polyphenylsilane nanocomposites have been effectively prepared by the dehydrocoupling reaction of phenylsilane (PS, PhSiH3) to polyphenylsilane (PPS, [PhSiH]n) in the presence of silver nitrate. The one-step reduction of Ag(+1) nitrate to stable Ag(0) nanoparticles is mediated by PS, resulting in the formation of Ag-PPS composites. The Ag-PPS nanocomposites were characterized by various analytical techniques such as XRD, TEM, FE-SEM, and solid-state UV-vis. TEM and FE-SEM data clearly show that the silver nanoparticles with the size of < 20 nm are well dispersed throughout the PPS matrix in the nanocomposites. XRD patterns are consistent with those for fcc crystalline silver. The size of silver nanoparticles increased with increasing the relative molar concentration of silver salts added. It was found that in the absence of PS, most of the silver nanoparticles undergo macroscopic precipitation by aggregation, indicating that PPS is essential to stabilize the silver nanoparticles by the complexation of Si-H to the silver metal centers.

Convenient synthesis and characterization of silver/poly(p-Cl-phenylsilane) nanocomposites.

The one-pot preparation and structural characterization of silver/poly(p-Cl-phenylsilane) nanocomposites have been performed. The one-step transformation of silver(I) salt to stable silver(0) nanoparticles is mediated by poly(p-Cl-phenylsilane), Cl-PPS having both reactive Si-H bonds in the polymer backbone and C-Cl bonds in the substituents. XRD, TEM, and FE-SEM, and solid-state UV-vis analytical techniques were used to analyze the interesting metal/inorganic polymer hybrid nanocomposites. TEM and FE-SEM data show the formation of hybrid composites in which large number of silver nanoparticles (less than 30 nm of size) are dispersed throughout the Cl-PPS matrix. XRD patterns are consistent with that for fcc-typed silver. The elemental analysis for Cl atom and the polymer solubility confirm that the appreciable cleavage of C-Cl bond and the Si-Cl dative bonding were not occurred. The size and processability of such nanoparticles depend on the ratio of metal to Cl-PPS. In the absence of Cl-PPS, most of the silver particles undergo macroscopic aggregation, which indicates that the polysilane is absolutely necessary for stabilizing the silver nanoparticles.

Multi-encoded rugate porous silicon as nerve agents sensors.

The nanostructured rugate porous silicons (PSi) containing multiple photonic band gaps have been generated by an electrochemical etching through applying a composite waveform summed three computer-generated pseudo-sinusoidal current waveforms. They exhibit three sharp photonic band gaps in the optical reflectivity spectrum, corresponding to the each of the sine components varied from 0.42, 0.36, and 0.30 Hz, with a spacing of 0.06 Hz between each sine component. The sensing experiments using multi-encoded rugate PSi for the detection of nerve agents such as triethyl phosphate (TEP), diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP), dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), and diethyl ethylphosphonate (DEEP) have been achieved. Capillary condensation in the pores causes the reflectivity of rugate PSi to shift to longer wavelengths due to an increase in refractive indices of the porous medium.

Photonic polymer replicas from distributed Bragg reflectors structured porous silicon.

Well defined 1-dimentional (1-D) photonic crystals of polymer replicas have been successfully obtained. DBR porous silicon containing nanometer-scale pores are prepared by an anodic electrochemical etch of p(++)-type silicon wafer. The resulting DBR porous silicon film removed from the substrate by applying an electropolishing current has been thermally oxidized in the furnace at 400 degrees C for 3 h. Oxidized DBR PSi/polystyrene composite films are prepared by casting of polymer solution onto a free-standing porous silicon photonic crystal layer. Flexible photonic polymer replicas have been prepared after the removal of oxidized DBR PSi matrix in HF/H2O mixture solution. Polymer replicas exhibit a sharp resonance in the reflectivity spectrum. Optical characteristics of photonic polymer replica indicate that the surface of polymer film has a negative structure of DBR PSi. This replica is stable in aqueous solutions for several days without any degradation.

Photoluminescence Enhancement of Silole-Capped Silicon Quantum Dots Based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer.

Photoluminescent porous silicon were prepared by an electrochemical etch of n-type silicon under the illumination with a 300 W tungsten filament bulb for the duration of etch. The red photoluminescence emitting at 650 nm with an excitation wavelength of 450 nm is due to the quantum confinement of silicon quantum dots in porous silicon. HO-terminated red luminescent PS was obtained by an electrochemical treatment of fresh PS with the current of 150 mA for 60 seconds in water and sodium chloride. As-prepared PS was sonicated, fractured, and centrifuged in toluene solution to obtain photoluminescence silicon quantum dots. Dichlorotetraphenylsilole exhibiting an emission band at 520 nm was reacted with HO-terminated silicon quantum dots to give a silole-capped silicon quantum dots. The optical characterization of silole-derivatized silicon quantum dots was investigated by UV-vis and fluorescence spectrometer. The fluorescence emission efficiency of silole-capped silicon quantum dots was increased by about 2.5 times due to F6rster resonance energy transfer from silole moiety to silicon quantum dots.

Synthesis and Characterization of Microwave-Exfoliated Graphene Oxide-Wrapped Silicon Nanowire via Hydrosilylation.

Single-crystalline silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were fabricated by using an electroless metal-assisted etching of bulk silicon wafers with silver nanoparticles obtained by wet electroless deposition. The etching of SiNWs is based on sequential treatment in aqueous solutions of silver nitrate followed by hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Free-standing SiNWs were then obtained using ultra-sono method in toluene. Graphene oxide was prepared using the modified Hummers' process. Activated microwave-exfoliated graphite oxide (MEGO) was prepared and used for composition of silicon nanowires and graphene oxide via hydrosilylation. The silicon nanowire-graphene composite materials were characterized using XPS and FE-SEM.

Single Nodular Pulmonary Amyloidosis: Case Report.

Amyloidosis is defined as the presence of extra-cellular deposits of an insoluble fibrillar protein, amyloid. The pulmonary involvement of amyloidosis is usually classified as tracheobronchial, parenchymal nodular, or diffuse alveolar septal. A single nodular lesion can mimic various conditions, including malignancy, pulmonary tuberculosis, and fungal infection. To date, only one case of nodular pulmonary amyloidosis has been reported in Korea, a case involving multiple nodular lesions. Here, we report and discuss the case of a patient having single nodular amyloidosis.

Endovascular stenting as a first choice for the palliation of superior vena cava syndrome.

To assess the effectiveness of endovascular stenting for the palliation of superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome, endovascular stent insertion was attempted in 10 patients with symptomatic occlusion of the SVC. All the patients had known malignant disease of the thorax. Eight patients had been treated previously with chemotherapy and radiotherapy (n=5), chemotherapy alone (n=2), or pneumonectomy and radiotherapy (n=1). After developing SVC syndrome, all the patients were stented before receiving any other treatment. After single or multiple endovascular stents were inserted, five of eight patients were treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy (n=2) or chemotherapy alone (n=3). Resolution of symptoms was achieved in nine patients within 72 hr (90%). In one patient, the symptoms did not disappear until a second intervention. At follow up, symptoms had recurred in two of ten patients (20%) after intervals of 15 and 60 days. Five patients have died from their cancers, although they remained free of symptoms of SVC occlusion until death. In conclusion, endovascular stent insertion is an effective treatment for palliation of SVC syndrome. Endovascular stent insertion can be considered the first choice of treatment, due to the immediate relief of symptoms and excellent sustained symptomatic relief.