A Hierarchical Metal Nanowire Network Structure for Durable, Cost-Effective, Stretchable, and Breathable Electronics.

Polymer nanofiber-based porous structures ("breathable devices") have been developed for breathable epidermal electrodes, piezoelectric nanogenerators, temperature sensors, and strain sensors, but their applications are limited because increasing the porosity reduces device robustness. Herein, we report an approach to produce ultradurable, cost-effective breathable electronics using a hierarchical metal nanowire network and an optimized photonic sintering process. Photonic sintering significantly reduces the sheet resistance (16.25 to 6.32 Ω sq-1) and is 40% more effective than conventional thermal annealing (sheet resistance: 12.99 Ω sq-1). The mechanical durability of the sintered (648.9 Ω sq-1) sample is notably improved compared to that of the untreated (disconnected) and annealed (19.1 kΩ sq-1) samples after 10,000 deformation cycles at 40% tensile strain. The sintered sample exhibits ∼29 times less change in electrical performance compared to the thermally annealed sample. This approach will lead to the development of affordable and ultradurable commercial breathable electronics.

The clinical characteristics of the newly diagnosed early onset (< 40 years old) diabetes in outpatients' clinic.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in young adults and adolescents has increased in the last decade according to the increasing obese population. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus before the age of 40 years as compared with patients diagnosed at older ages. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, retrospective study using data from 350 diabetic patients who were diagnosed with diabetes in an outpatient setting between January 2005 and December 2007. Patients were diagnosed according to the criteria set forth by the American Diabetes Association. We examined the clinical characteristics and laboratory data of the patients through review of medical records and compared the early-onset diabetic patients (< 40 years old) and the usual-onset diabetic patients (>/= 40 years old). RESULTS: The frequency of early-onset diabetes and usual-onset diabetes were 31.1% (n=109) and 68.9% (n=241), respectively. The early-onset diabetic patients more often had a positive family history of diabetes; higher HbA1c, fasting glucose, and postprandial glucose levels; experienced typical symptoms more frequently; had microalbuminuria more frequently; and required insulin therapy as initial treatment more frequently as compared to usual-onset diabetic patients, and these differences were significant. Conversely, hypertension was significantly more common in the usual-onset diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: It could be concluded that we should control early onset diabetes more strictly to prevent its complication because early onset diabetic patients represented more severe hyperglycemia and had more prevalent microalbuminuria.

Normal range of alanine aminotransferase concentration is associated with carotid atherosclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether alanine aminotransferase (ALT), even within the reference range, is associated with atherosclerotic burden in apparently healthy adults. METHODS: This was an observational study performed on 830 healthy individuals with normal ALT concentration (