Bibliometric analysis of auriculotherapy research trends over the past 20 years.

OBJECTIVES: Auriculotherapy has long been used to treat various diseases. We analyzed and visualized auriculotherapy's geographical distribution, key contributors, and thematic trends over the past 20 years to provide current trends in auriculotherapy field and to offer recommendations for future research directions. DESIGN/SETTING: We searched for relevant studies in the Web of Science between January 10, 2003, and December 31, 2022. A bibliometric analysis was performed using VOSviewer for annual publications, journals, countries, institutions, authors, and keywords. RESULTS: A total of 800 studies were included in the analysis, and the number of studies steadily increased over the 20 examined years. In 2018, there was a noteworthy rise in publications, nearly twice as many as the preceding year. Integrative & complementary medicine was the most researched area, with most articles published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. China was the country with the most published research, and the most active organization was Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in China, followed by Kyung Hee University in South Korea. The most prolific author was Yeh Mei-ling, who reported the effects of auriculotherapy on dysmenorrhea and smoking cessation. Keyword analysis revealed four clusters: pain, mental health, obesity, and smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: Auriculotherapy research primarily focused on clinical studies related to pain, obesity, smoking cessation, and depression. Future research should place greater emphasis on verifying the mechanisms of auriculotherapy for specific ailments and may require efforts to enhance the robustness of clinical trials. Through visual analysis, our study may serve as a foundational resource, offering valuable insights into the trajectory of auriculotherapy research.

Hypoglycemic Effect of an Herbal Decoction (Modified Gangsimtang) in a Patient with Severe Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Refusing Oral Anti-Diabetic Medication: A Case Report.

There is growing interest in alternative therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because some patients refuse to receive conventional therapies. In East Asia, herbal medicines are often used to treat T2DM, and modified Gangsimtang (mGST) is prescribed to treat a condition called wasting thirst (), which resembles T2DM. This study reported the treatment of hyperglycemia using herbal medicines without oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin therapy. Case presentation: A 36-year-old man with obesity was diagnosed with T2DM four years prior to hospitalization and experienced blood glucose level reduction from 22.2-27.8 mmol/L (400-500 mg/dL) to 5.6-11.1 mmol/L (100-200 mg/dL) by using herbal medicines. He visited D Korean Medicine Hospital with chronic polydipsia and general weakness as chief complaints. He was diagnosed with T2DM on the basis of a hemoglobin A1c level of 11.7% and 2 h postprandial blood glucose level of >25.0 mmol/L (450 mg/dL). Moreover, he was diagnosed with a "dual deficiency of qi and yin" () because of ordinary symptoms (). During his 30-day inpatient treatment, the patient received mGST 120 mL thrice daily; as a result, his postprandial blood glucose level decreased from 25.3 mmol/L (455 mg/dL) to 8.6 mmol/L (154 mg/dL), polydipsia decreased (visual analog scale score decreased from six to one), and triglyceride levels decreased from 11.7 mmol/L (1031 mg/dL) to 2.0 mmol/L (174 mg/dL). Plasma glucose levels remained stable for 6 months after the treatment, and no adverse events were observed over 200 days. We administered an herbal decoction to decrease plasma glucose levels without using oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin. Conclusions: Herbal decoctions such as mGST can reduce hyperglycemia in patients with T2DM who refuse conventional therapy.

Efficiency enhancement in dye-sensitized solar cells using the shape/size-dependent plasmonic nanocomposite photoanodes incorporating silver nanoplates.

In this work, we describe the efficiency enhancement in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by using TiO2/silver nanoplate plasmonic nanocomposite photoanodes. The nanocomposite photoanodes with tunable plasmonic properties assembled from shape/size-selected silver (Ag) nanoplates were applied to enhance the light absorption for high-performance DSSCs. It was found that the localized surface plasmon resonance can be tuned over a range from 500 to 1000 nm, which is strongly dependent on the shape and size of Ag nanoplates and the refractive index of the surrounding dielectric. The effects of the size and shape of Ag nanoplates on the surface plasmonic resonance and the efficiency of DSSCs were evaluated experimentally. Furthermore, a three-dimensional finite element method was employed to investigate the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) for the shape and size effect of Ag nanoplates.

Multi-pulse flash light sintering of bimodal Cu nanoparticle-ink for highly conductive printed Cu electrodes.

In this work, bimodal Cu nano-inks composed of two different sizes of Cu nanoparticles (NPs) (40 and 100 nm in diameter) were successfully sintered with a multi-pulse flashlight sintering technique. Bimodal Cu nano-inks were fabricated and printed with various mixing ratios and subsequently sintered by a flash light sintering method. The effects of the flashlight sintering conditions, including irradiation energy and pulse number, were investigated to optimize the sintering conditions. A detailed mechanism of the sintering of bimodal Cu nano-ink was also studied via real-time resistance measurement during the sintering process. The sintered Cu nano-ink films were characterized using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. From these results, it was found that the optimal ratio of 40-100 nm NPs was found to be 25:75 wt%, and the optimal multi-pulse flash light sintering condition (irradiation energy: 6 J cm-2, and pulse duration: 1 ms, off-time: 4 ms, and pulse number: 5) was found. The optimally sintered Cu nano-ink film exhibited the lowest resistivity of 5.68 µΩ cm and 5B adhesion level.

Copper Nanoparticle/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Composite Films with High Electrical Conductivity and Fatigue Resistance Fabricated via Flash Light Sintering.

In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were employed to improve the conductivity and fatigue resistance of flash light sintered copper nanoparticle (NP) ink films. The effect of CNT weight fraction on the flash light sintering and the fatigue characteristics of Cu NP/CNT composite films were investigated. The effect of carbon nanotube length was also studied with regard to enhancing the conductivity and fatigue resistance of flash light sintered Cu NP/CNT composite films. The flash light irradiation energy was optimized to obtain high conductivity Cu NP/CNT composite films. Cu NP/CNT composite films fabricated via optimized flash light irradiation had the lowest resistivity (7.86 µΩ·cm), which was only 4.6 times higher than that of bulk Cu films (1.68 µΩ·cm). It was also demonstrated that Cu NP/CNT composite films had better durability and environmental stability than those of Cu NPs only.

A highly reliable copper nanowire/nanoparticle ink pattern with high conductivity on flexible substrate prepared via a flash light-sintering technique.

In this work, copper nanowires (NWs) and Cu nanoparticles (NPs) were employed to increase the reliability of a printed electrode pattern under mechanical bending fatigue. The fabricated Cu NW/NP inks with different weight fractions of Cu NWs were printed on a polyimide substrate and flash light-sintered within a few milliseconds at room temperature under ambient conditions. Then, 1000 cycles of outer and inner bending fatigue tests were performed using a lab-made fatigue tester. The flash light-sintered Cu NW/NP ink film with 5 wt % Cu NWs prepared under the flash light-sintering conditions (12.5 J·cm­2 irradiation energy, 10 ms pulse duration, and one pulse) showed a lower resistivity (22.77 µΩ·cm) than those of the only Cu NPs and Cu NWs ink (94.01 µΩ·cm and 104.15 µΩ·cm, respectively). In addition, the resistance change (ΔR·R0(­1)) of the 5 wt % Cu NWs Cu NW/NP film was greatly enhanced to 4.19 compared to the 92.75 of the Cu NPs film obtained under mechanical fatigue conditions over 1000 cycles and an outer bending radius of 7 mm. These results were obtained by the densification and enhanced mechanical flexibility of flash light-sintered Cu NW/NP network, which resulted in prevention of crack initiation and propagation. To characterize the Cu NW/NP ink film, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used.

Highly conductive copper nano/microparticles ink via flash light sintering for printed electronics.

In this study, the size effect of copper particles on the flash light sintering of copper (Cu) ink was investigated using Cu nanoparticles (20-50 nm diameter) and microparticles (2 µm diameter). Also, the mixed Cu nano-/micro-inks were fabricated, and the synergetic effects between the Cu nano-ink and micro-ink on flash light sintering were assessed. The ratio of nanoparticles to microparticles in Cu ink and the several flash light irradiation conditions (irradiation energy density, pulse number, on-time, and off-time) were optimized to obtain high conductivity of Cu films. In order to precisely monitor the milliseconds-long flash light sintering process, in situ monitoring of electrical resistance and temperature changes of Cu films was conducted during the flash light irradiation using a real-time Wheatstone bridge electrical circuit, thermocouple-based circuit, and a high-rate data acquisition system. Also, several microscopic and spectroscopic characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the flash light sintered Cu nano-/micro-films. In addition, the sheet resistance of Cu film was measured using a four-point probe method. This work revealed that the optimal ratio of nanoparticles to microparticles is 50:50 wt%, and the optimally fabricated and flash light sintered Cu nano-/micro-ink films have the lowest resistivity (80 µΩ cm) among nano-ink, micro-ink, or nano-micro mixed films.