Risk of Obesity Among Children Aged 2-6 Years Who Had Prolonged Screen Time in Taiwan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of obesity in preschool children with prolonged screen time in Taiwan. Methods: Using a nationwide survey with random sampling, we collected information on 8378 preschool children aged 2-6 years among 206 preschools in Taiwan from 2016 to 2019. Socioeconomic data, body mass index, and lifestyle of the preschool children and their caregivers were compared among the groups of preschool children who had moderate and prolonged daily screen time. We used multiple log-binomial regression models to calculate the adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of obesity associated with prolonged screen time. Results: The prevalence of obesity in the preschool children was 13.1%, and the average screen time was 104.6 minutes. Children's age, sleep hours, outdoor play time, sugar intake, snack eating before dinner, sleep disturbance, and obesity, as well as caregiver's sex, age, education, screen time, exercise time and parent obesity were factors related to high screen time for preschool children. Compared with children with moderate screen time, children with prolonged screen time had a higher risk of obesity (PR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.18-1.79). With a 60-minute increase in screen time, the risk of obesity increased, with an PR of 1.10 (95% CI, 1.03-1.17). Conclusion: Preschool children with prolonged screen time had an increased risk of obesity in Taiwan. Interventions may be needed for this very susceptible population.

Using Exciton/Trion Dynamics to Spatially Monitor the Catalytic Activities of MoS2 during the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

The adsorption and desorption of electrolyte ions strongly modulates the carrier density or carrier type on the surface of monolayer-MoS2 catalyst during the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The buildup of electrolyte ions onto the surface of monolayer MoS2 during the HER may also result in the formation of excitons and trions, similar to those observed in gate-controlled field-effect transistor devices. Using the distinct carrier relaxation dynamics of excitons and trions of monolayer MoS2 as sensitive descriptors, an in situ microcell-based scanning time-resolved liquid cell microscope is set up to simultaneously measure the bias-dependent exciton/trion dynamics and spatially map the catalytic activity of monolayer MoS2 during the HER. This operando probing technique used to monitor the interplay between exciton/trion dynamics and electrocatalytic activity for two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides provides an excellent platform to investigate the local carrier behaviors at the atomic layer/liquid electrolyte interfaces during electrocatalytic reaction.

Exposure to polystyrene microplastics impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has become a serious environmental issue worldwide, but its potential effects on health remain unknown. The administration of polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) to mice for eight weeks impaired learning and memory behavior. PS-MPs were detected in the brain especially in the hippocampus of these mice. Concurrently, the hippocampus had decreased levels of immediate-early genes, aberrantly enhanced synaptic glutamate AMPA receptors, and elevated neuroinflammation, all of which are critical for synaptic plasticity and memory. Interestingly, ablation of the vagus nerve, a modulator of the gut-brain axis, improved the memory function of PS-MPs mice. These results indicate that exposure to PS-MPs in mice alters the expression of neuronal activity-dependent genes and synaptic proteins, and increases neuroinflammation in the hippocampus, subsequently causing behavioral changes through the vagus nerve-dependent pathway. Our findings shed light on the adverse impacts of PS-MPs on the brain and hippocampal learning and memory.

Transparent, Flexible Plasmonic Ag NP/PMMA Substrates Using Chemically Patterned Ferroelectric Crystals for Detecting Pesticides on Curved Surfaces.

Transparent and flexible surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates have attracted much interest for the detection of probe molecules on the curved surfaces of real samples, but a facile route to fabricate such substrates is still lacking. Herein, we present a rationally designed, high-performance flexible SERS substrate fabricated using a simple drop and peel-off technique for the ultrasensitive detection of pesticides. The proposed SERS substrate consists of a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) film anchored with plasmonic silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), which are photoreduced using chemically patterned ferroelectric templates. The photoreduced Ag NPs extracted onto the PMMA film offer strong electromagnetic enhancement and produce intensive hotspots for the effective enhancement of the Raman signal. They provide superior SERS performance for the detection of parathion (PT) and fenitrothion (FNT) at trace-level concentrations of 10-9 M and 10-10 M with excellent enhancement factors in the order of 108 and 109, respectively. Moreover, the Ag NP/PMMA SERS substrate has good spot-to-spot uniformity and batch-to-batch reproducibility with the reservation of high detection sensitivity even after the mechanical deformation of bending and torsion up to 50 cycles. The multiplex detection ability is also investigated for the simultaneous detection of PT and FNT. To ensure the practical feasibility, the in-situ, real-time detection of PT and FNT on the curved surfaces of tomato and lemon using a fiber-coupled Raman probe is performed with limits of detection of 4.24 × 10-8 M and 2.74 × 10-9 M. The proposed Ag NP/PMMA flexible SERS substrate possesses unique features, such as easy fabrication through a simple, economical, rapid process, and facilitates straightforward implementation of in-situ SERS detection on curved fruit/vegetable surfaces.

Management of incontinence-associated dermatitis with topical antibiotics and antifungal medication.

OBJECTIVE: The primary goals of managing incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) are to control the incontinence and to stop the progress of dermatitis. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using a combination of topical antibiotic and topical antifungal medication to manage IAD. METHOD: Patients with grade 2 IAD treated with a combination of topical antibiotic Biomycin (CBC Biotechnological and Pharmaceutical, Taiwan) and antifungal clotrimazole (Sinphar Group, Taiwan) between January 2017 and January 2019 were included in this retrospective study. Data collected included patients' age, sex, diagnosis, body mass index, comorbidities and surface area involved. Patients were reviewed fortnightly until the wounds had healed, the patient was discharged or had died. RESULTS: A total of 76 patients were included. There were 39 men and 37 women with a mean age of 74 years. In 58 (76%) patients, the surface area involved was >50cm2, in 13 (17%) patients the involved area was 20-50cm2 and in five (7%) patients the area involved was <20cm2. The mean number of days treated was 10.3 (range: 1-53). A total of 46 (61%) patients showed total healing of their IAD, 17 (22%) patients showed improvement of >50% of the involved area, seven (9%) patients showed improvement of 0-50%, five (7%) patients showed no improvement and one (1%) patient showed an increase in the area involved. CONCLUSION: This combination of treatment was effective in the management of IAD. It was cheap, easy to apply, easy to remove and easily accessible. It could be used efficiently by the hospital staff and the patient's family.

Giant Zeeman Splitting for Monolayer Nanosheets at Room Temperature.

Giant Zeeman splitting and zero-field splitting (ZFS) are observed in 2D nanosheets that have monolayers of atomic thickness. In this study, single-crystalline CdSe(ethylenediamine)0.5 and Mn2+-doped nanosheets are synthesized via a solvothermal process. Tunable amounts of Mn2+(0.5-8.0%) are introduced, resulting in lattice contraction as well as phosphorescence from five unpaired electrons. The exciton dynamics are dominated by spin-related electronic transitions (4T1 → 6A1) with long lifetimes (20.5, 132, and 295 µs). Temperature-varied EPR spectroscopy with spectral simulation reveals large ZFS (D = 3850 MHz) due to axial distortion of substituted Mn2+ (S = 5/2). In the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) measurements, we observed giant Zeeman splitting with large effective g values (up to 231 ± 21), which implies huge sp-d exchange interactions in 2D monolayer regimes, leading to diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) materials.

Dielectric nanosheet modified plasmonic-paper as highly sensitive and stable SERS substrate and its application for pesticides detection.

The interaction of plasmonic nanoparticles with a dielectric platform gives rise to unique optical behaviors and this can be maneuvered to improve the plasmonic/SERS performances of a substrate. Herein, dielectric modified plasmonic-paper SERS substrate is developed by assembling Ag@SiO2 nanocubes on Fe-TiO2 nanosheets (NS) modified paper. The Fe-TiO2 NS being visible light responsive significantly alters the optical property of the paper and serves as a dielectric underlay for the Ag nanocubes. Hence, the incident light reflected back from the dielectric nanosheets couples with the scattered light from the Ag nanocubes leading to spatially enhanced electromagnetic field improving the SERS enhancement. The prepared dielectric modified plasmonic-paper has an average enhancement factor (EF) of 1.49 × 107 using R6G as a probe molecule. This value is superior to unmodified plasmonic-paper highlighting the coupling effect of the dielectric nanosheets. The substrate shows robust detection performance for thiabendazole and achieves a limit of detection (LOD) of 19 µg/L, which is 4-fold more sensitive than unmodified plasmonic paper. Direct swabbing test of thiabendazole sprayed apple fruit shows a discernible Raman signal down to 15 ppb indicating the utility of the substrate for point-of-need applications in food safety.

Mind-body interactive qigong improves physical and mental aspects of quality of life in inpatients with stroke: A randomized control study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke, a medical condition that causes physical disability and mental health problems, impacts negatively on quality of life. Post-stroke rehabilitation is critical to restoring quality of life in these patients. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to evaluate the effect of a mind-body interactive qigong intervention on the physical and mental aspects of quality of life, considering bio-physiological and mental covariates in subacute stroke inpatients. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial with repeated measures design was used. A total of 68 participants were recruited from the medical and rehabilitation wards at a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan and then randomly assigned either to the Chan-Chuang qigong group, which received standard care plus a 10-day mind-body interactive exercise program, or to the control group, which received standard care only. Data were collected using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Short Form-12, stroke-related neurologic deficit, muscular strength, heart rate variability and fatigue at three time points: pre-intervention, halfway through the intervention (day 5) and on the final day of the intervention (day 10). RESULTS: The results of the mixed-effect model analysis showed that the qigong group had a significantly higher quality of life score at day 10 (p<0.05) than the control group. Among the covariates, neurologic deficit (p=0.04), muscle strength (p=0.04), low frequency to high frequency ratio (p=0.02) and anxiety (p=0.04) were significantly associated with changes in quality of life. Conversely, heart rate, heart rate variability (standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals, low frequency and high frequency), fatigue and depression were not significantly associated with change in quality of life (p >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the potential benefits of a 10-day mind-body interactive exercise (Chan-Chuang qigong) program for subacute stroke inpatients and provides information that may be useful in planning adjunctive rehabilitative care for stroke inpatients.

Evaluation of cost-effectiveness of peginterferon plus ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C treatment and direct-acting antiviral agents among HIV-infected patients in the prison and community settings.

BACKGROUND: In Taiwan, the majority of chronic hepatitis C carriers with HIV co-infection are intravenous drug users and inmates in correctional facilities. Peginterferon and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV) have been the standard-of-care for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection more than decades. We evaluated the estimated cost-effectiveness of PegIFN/RBV from the National Health Insurance Research Database, covering the population of Taiwan from 1998 to 2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an observational study, and study during was 2010-2016 and a total of 239 patients were treated with PegIFN/RBV. Of them, 156 patients were treated in the correctional facilities of Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Taitung prisons, and 83 patients were treated in communities. The cost-effectiveness was analyzed in regimens of PegIFN/RBV and direct-acting antiviral agents. RESULTS: By multivariate analysis, the patients completed PegIFN/RBV in prison (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 4.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.58-13.12, p = 0.005), HCV RNA level <800,000 IU/mL (aOR: 4.0, 95% CI: 1.27-12.66, p = 0.02) at baseline, and the presence of early virologic response (EVR) (aOR: 7.67, 95% CI: 1.89-31.06, p = 0.004) were independent predictors for sustained virologic response (SVR). For the subgroups of prisoners, HIV-infected prisoners and HIV-infected patients in communities, the SVR rate was 73.8%, 72.0% and 36.8%, and the average medical-care cost was US$7,701, $7,893, and $15,443 per SVR achieved, respectively. Also, the estimated medical-care cost for genotype 6 was US$9211. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic HCV/HIV co-infected patients with genotype 1 and 6 in the community setting could benefit from DAAs in Taiwan.

Self-Assembled Chiral Gold Supramolecules with Efficient Laser Absorption for Enantiospecific Recognition of Carnitine.

Stereospecific recognition of chiral molecules is ubiquitous in chemical and biological systems, thus leading to strong demand for the development of enantiomeric drugs, enantioselective sensors, and asymmetric catalysts. In this study, we demonstrate the ratio of d-Cys and l-Cys playing an important role in determining the optical properties and the structures of self-assembled Cys-Au(I) supramolecules prepared through a simple reaction of tetrachloroaurate(III) with chiral cysteine (Cys). The irregularly shaped -[d-Cys-Au(I)] n- or - [l-Cys-Au(I)] n- supramolecules with a size larger than 500 nm possessing strong absorption in the near-UV region and chiroptical characteristics were only obtained from the reaction of Au(III) with d-Cys or l-Cys. On the other hand, spindle-shaped -[d/l-Cys-Au(I)] n- supramolecules were formed when using Au(III) with mixtures of d/l-Cys. Our results have suggested that Au(I)···Au(I) aurophilic interactions, and stacked hydrogen bonding and zwitterionic interactions between d/l-Cys ligands are important in determining their structures. The NaBH4-mediated reduction induces the formation of photoluminescent gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) embedded in the chiral -[d-Cys-Au(I)] n- or -[l-Cys-Au(I)] n- supramolecules with a quantum yield of ca. 10%. The as-formed Au NCs/-[d-Cys-Au(I)] n- and Au NCs/-[l-Cys-Au(I)] n- are an enantiospecific substrate that can trap l-carnitine and d-carnitine, respectively, and function as a nanomatrix for surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS). The high absorption efficiency of laser energy, analyte-binding capacity, and homogeneity of the Au NCs/-[Cys-Au(I)] n- allow for quantitation of enantiomeric carnitine down to the micromolar regime with high reproducibility. The superior efficiency of the Au NCs/-[d-Cys-Au(I)] n- substrate has been further validated by quantification of l-carnitine in dietary supplements with accuracy and precision. Our study has opened a new avenue for chiral quantitation of various analytes through LDI-MS using metal nanocomposites consisting of NCs and metal-ligand complexes.

Publisher Correction: New noninvasive index for predicting liver fibrosis in Asian patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

In Situ Creation of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Active Au-AuO x Nanostructures through Electrochemical Process for Pigment Detection.

Roughing the metallic surface via oxidation-reduction cycles (ORC) to integrate the surface plasmon resonance and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is predominant in developing sensor systems because of the facile preparation and uniform distribution of nanostructures. Herein, we proposed a distinctive ORC process: the forward potential passed through the oxidation of Au and reached the oxygen evolution reaction, and once the potential briefly remained at the vertex, the various reverse rates were employed to control the reduction state. The created hybrid Au-AuO x possessed electromagnetic and chemical enhancements concurrently, wherein the rough surface provided the strong local electromagnetic fields and significant interaction between AuO x and molecule to improve the charge transfer. The synergistic effects significantly amplified the intensity of Raman signal with an enhancement factor of 5.5 × 106 under the optimal conditions. Furthermore, the prepared SERS substrate can simultaneously identify and quantify the mixed edible pigments, Brilliant Blue FCF and Indigo Carmine, individually. This result suggested that the development of SERS sensor based on the proposed SERS-activated methodology is feasible and reliable.

Trajectories of serum hepatitis B surface antigen kinetics in patients with chronic hepatitis B receiving long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The kinetics of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels during long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients remains unclear. We investigated the patterns of serum HBsAg kinetics and their association with therapeutic outcomes in genotype B- or C-infected CHB patients receiving long-term NA therapy. METHODS: We enrolled 329 treatment-naive CHB patients receiving NA therapy for >5 years to analyse the kinetic patterns by using group-based trajectory models (GBTMs). RESULTS: Most patients (82.4%) received entecavir therapy. The median treatment duration was 83.6 (68.5-89.7) months. The GBTMs revealed three groups for both the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive and -negative patients. The median annual decline in serum HBsAg levels during the first 5 years was significantly higher in Group 1 than in Groups 2 and 3 in HBeAg-positive (0.78 vs 0.10 vs 0.10 log10 IU/mL) and HBeAg-negative (0.71 vs 0.08 vs 0.09 log10 IU/mL) patients. HBsAg levels at the baseline and 12 months combined with an HBsAg decline from the baseline to 12 months of treatment predicted trajectory pattern 1 in HBeAg-positive (sensitivity, 77.8%; specificity, 99.1%; positive predictive value [PPV], 87.5%; and negative predictive value [NPV], 98.2%) and HBeAg-negative (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 99.5%; PPV, 88.9%; and NPV, 100%) patients. The trajectory patterns were significantly associated with HBeAg loss in the HBeAg-positive patients and the achievement of HBsAg <100 IU/mL or HBsAg loss in HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: The trajectory of serum HBsAg levels predicts HBsAg loss in CHB patients receiving long-term NA therapy.

New noninvasive index for predicting liver fibrosis in Asian patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

We developed an optimal noninvasive index comprising routine laboratory parameters for predicting cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. This study included 992 CHB patients and 1,284 CHC patients who received liver biopsy. We developed the new index, named modified Fibrosis-4 (mFIB-4) according to four independent variables of the model: age, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and platelet count. The formula of the mFIB-4 index is 10 × Age(years) × AST(U/L)/Platelet count(109/L) × AST(U/L). For predicting cirrhosis, the bootstrap areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for platelet count, AST/ALT ratio (AAR), AAR/platelet ratio index (AARPRI), AST/platelet ratio index (APRI), FIB-4, Pohl score, age-platelet (AP) index, Lok index, fibrosis quotient (FibroQ), and mFIB-4 were 0.7680, 0.7400, 0.8070, 0.6090, 0.7690, 0.6990, 0.7850, 0.7960, 0.8110, and 0.8070 in CHB patients, and 0.8170, 0.7210, 0.8400, 0.7310, 0.8310, 0.6730, 0.8220, 0.8440, 0.8570, and 0.8480 in CHC patients, respectively. FibroQ and mFIB-4 exhibited the highest diagnostic performance levels for liver cirrhosis in CHB and CHC despite the inclusion of the international normalised ratio in the formulation of FibroQ. Thus, mFIB-4 is a simple, inexpensive, and readily available method for assessing the liver fibrosis stage of Asian patients with CHB or CHC.

Metal carbonyl-gold nanoparticle conjugates for highly sensitive SERS detection of organophosphorus pesticides.

The binding of organometallic osmium carbonyl clusters onto the surface of gold nanoparticles (10OsCO-Au NPs) greatly enhanced the CO stretching vibration signal at ~2100cm-1, which is relatively free from interference due to the absorbance of biomolecules. By utilizing the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mediated hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine to thiocholine where the activity of AChE is inhibited by the presence of organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), the subsequent thiocholine-induced aggregation of 10OsCO-Au NPs can be monitored by the change in color of the NPs solution and the variation in intensity of the SERS CO signal. The change in color offers a fast pre-screening method, whereas monitoring via SERS is used for greater accuracy and lower limit of detection (0.1 ppb) for quantitative detection. Its potential as a quick and accurate method of OPPs monitoring in consumer products was demonstrated in the detection of OPPs in real spiked samples such as beer.

The effect of ligand-ligand interactions on the formation of photoluminescent gold nanoclusters embedded in Au(i)-thiolate supramolecules.

In this study, we prepared photoluminescent l-cysteine (Cys)-capped gold nanoclusters (Cys-Au NCs) via NaBH4-mediated reduction of aggregated coordination polymers (supramolecules) of -[Cys-Au(i)]n-. The -[Cys-Au(i)]n- supramolecules with interesting chiral properties were formed through simple reactions of chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) with Cys at certain pH values (pH 3-7). The -[Cys-Au(i)]n- polymers could self-assemble into -[Cys-Au(i)]n- supramolecules with irregular morphologies and diameters larger than 500 nm through stacked hydrogen bonding and zwitterionic interactions between Cys ligands and through Au(i)Au(i) aurophilic interactions in solutions with pH values ≤7. The photoluminescent Au NCs (quantum yield = 11.6%) dominated by a Au13 core were embedded in -[Cys-Au(i)]n- supramolecules after NaBH4-mediated reduction. The optical and structural properties of Cys-Au NCs/-[Cys-Au(i)]n- nanocomposites were investigated, revealing that the interaction between Cys ligands plays a critical role in the self-assembly of -[Cys-Au(i)]n- supramolecules and in the formation of photoluminescent Cys-Au NCs embedded in the supramolecules. To further demonstrate that the photoluminescence properties and structures of the nanocomposites are mediated by the intermolecular forces of thiol ligands, other thiol ligands (l-penicillamine, l-homocysteine, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, and l-glutathione) and a ligand-crosslinking agent [bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate; BS3] were used. We concluded that the electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding and steric effects dominate the polymer self-assembly into thiol-ligand-Au(i) supramolecules and thus the formation of Au NCs. Our study provides insights into the bottom-up synthesis of photoluminescent Au NCs from thiol-ligand-Au(i) complexes, polymers, and supramolecules. The hybrid Au NCs/-[Cys-Au(i)]n- nanocomposites can potentially be employed as drug carriers and bioimaging agents.

Optical Interference-Free Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering CO-Nanotags for Logical Multiplex Detection of Vascular Disease-Related Biomarkers.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), specifically MMP-2, MMP-7, and MMP-9, have been discovered to be linked to many forms of vascular diseases such as stroke, and their detection is crucial to facilitate clinical diagnosis. In this work, we prepared a class of optical interference-free SERS nanotags (CO-nanotags) that can be used for the purpose of multiplex sensing of different MMPs. Multiplex detection with the absence of cross-talk was achieved by using CO-nanotags with individual tunable intrinsic Raman shifts of CO in the 1800-2200 cm-1 region determined by the metal core and ligands of the metal carbonyl complex. Boolean logic was used as well to simultaneously probe for two proteolytic inputs. Such nanotags offer the advantages of convenient detection of target nanotags and high sensitivity as validated in the ischemia rat model.

Early hepatitis B surface antigen decline predicts treatment response to entecavir in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Early declines in serum hepatitis B surface (HBsAg) levels, their optimal cutoffs, and association with therapeutic endpoints in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients receiving entecavir treatment remain unclear. We prospectively enrolled 529 patients (195 hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]-positive and 334 HBeAg-negative) with a median treatment duration of 49.2 months. Median HBsAg levels declined significantly in both groups at Month 3, but only at Months 6-12 in the HBeAg-negative group. Both groups exhibited a significant HBsAg decline with each successive year of treatment. An HBsAg decline of ≥75% from baseline, assessed at Months 3 and 12 of treatment in the HBeAg-positive and -negative patients, respectively, independently predicted a virological response and HBeAg seroconversion in the HBeAg-positive patients, an HBsAg level of <100 IU/mL in the HBeAg-negative patients, and HBsAg loss in all the patients during treatment. HBsAg levels of <3,000 IU/mL at baseline combined with an HBsAg decline of ≥75% from baseline provided a predictive algorithm for HBsAg loss (positive and negative predictive values: 70% and 100%, respectively) during 5 years of treatment. The proposed cutoffs for defining an HBsAg decline may assist clinicians in early assessments of treatment responses in genotype B-infected or C-infected CHB patients receiving entecavir therapy.

Improved Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Performance of Highly Crystalline Hydrogenated TiO2 Nanofibers with Core-Shell Structure.

Hydrogenated titanium dioxide has attracted intensive research interests in pollutant removal applications due to its high photocatalytic activity. Herein, we demonstrate hydrogenated TiO2 nanofibers (H:TiO2 NFs) with a core-shell structure prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis and subsequent heat treatment in hydrogen flow. H:TiO2 NFs has excellent solar light absorption and photogenerated charge formation behavior as confirmed by optical absorbance, photo-Kelvin force probe microscopy and photoinduced charge carrier dynamics analyses. Photodegradation of various organic dyes such as methyl orange, rhodamine 6G and brilliant green is shown to take place with significantly higher rates on our novel catalyst than on pristine TiO2 nanofibers and commercial nanoparticle based photocatalytic materials, which is attributed to surface defects (oxygen vacancy and Ti3+ interstitial defect) on the hydrogen treated surface. We propose three properties/mechanisms responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic activity, which are: (1) improved absorbance allowing for increased exciton generation, (2) highly crystalline anatase TiO2 that promotes fast charge transport rate, and (3) decreased charge recombination caused by the nanoscopic Schottky junctions at the interface of pristine core and hydrogenated shell thus promoting long-life surface charges. The developed H:TiO2 NFs can be helpful for future high performance photocatalysts in environmental applications.