How do nurses advocate for the remaining time of nursing home residents? A critical discourse analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Due to the global aging trend, the number of older people who will spend the last years of their lives in nursing homes is increasing. However, nursing homes have long confronted negative social and public discourses, including stigmas on dementia and life in such facilities. Nevertheless, the remaining time of residents with dementia holds significance, for them and their families, as they seek respect and the ability to make meaningful end-of-life decisions. OBJECTIVE: To explore how nursing home nurses advocate for the remaining lifetimes of residents with dementia. DESIGN: A qualitative research design. SETTING(S): Four nursing homes in Korea from January 2023 to February 2023. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty nurses who provide direct caregiving for residents with dementia and have a minimum of two years' experience in nursing homes were recruited. METHODS: This study employed a critical discourse analysis. Twenty interviews conducted with nursing home nurses were examined to explore the connections between the grammatical and lexical aspects of the language used by the nurses to construct their identities as advocates for residents with dementia and the broader sociocultural context. FINDINGS: Four discourses regarding nursing home nurses advocating for the value of life of residents with dementia were identified: (1) Bridging perspectives: I am a negotiator between medical treatment and residents' families with differing views; (2) Embracing a shared humanity: Residents are no different from me; they just need professional help; (3) Affirming belongingness: Residents still belong to their families, even when care has been delegated; and (4) Empowering voices for change: We are struggling to provide better care in a challenging reality. CONCLUSIONS: This paper highlights the importance of nursing advocacy in safeguarding the remaining time and dignity of individuals with dementia, challenging the stigma surrounding dementia and nursing homes and calling for greater societal and political recognition of the efforts nurses make to preserve the personhood and well-being of these older adults.

Nurses' Shared Subjectivity on Person-Centered Care for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Nursing Homes.

BACKGROUND: Person-centered care (PCC), an approach to healthcare that focuses on the individual needs, preferences, and values of patients, is particularly important in the context of caring for residents of nursing homes (NHs) with the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). However, implementing PCC in NHs varies widely due to individual staff, NH environment, and country factors, leading to heterogeneity in person-centered approaches. PURPOSE: This study was designed to explore and gain insight into the shared subjective perspectives of nurses on providing PCC to manage BPSD in NHs in order to elicit a deeper understanding of how nurses interpret and approach the provision of PCC. METHODS: Q methodology was applied to explore the subjective perspectives of nurses. Twenty-nine NH nurses with more than 3 years of experience in managing BPSD completed a Q-sorting task, categorizing 43 Q-samples into a normal distribution shape. Postsorting interviews were conducted after the participants had completed this task. The collected data were analyzed using centroid factor analysis and varimax rotation run within the PQMethod 2.35 program. Interpretation of the resulting factors was based on factor arrays, field notes, and interview data. RESULTS: Four factors from the shared subjective perspectives of nurses related to PCC were identified, including (a) sharing information focused on details to update care strategies, (b) monitoring until the true needs of residents are identified, (c) awareness of interactive cues in relationships, and (d) connecting an individual's life pattern to their current care. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings highlight that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable for all nurses and interventions, indicating that nurses should consider the applicable subjective frames to ensure the effectiveness of planned interventions. A need for PCC education that specifically addresses BPSD management is suggested, with the findings implying that a strong organizational climate with respect to PCC in managing BPSD should promote higher job satisfaction and commitment and reduce turnover rates among nurses in NHs. Facilitating the development of PCC interventions appropriate for BPSD management that encompass the various categories and ranges of NH settings and nursing phenomena is thus recommended.

Ways of interdisciplinary approaches to advocating for nursing home residents with dementia.

AIM: To explore how nursing home staff advocate for residents with dementia. DESIGN: Phenomenographic qualitative research. METHODS: Twenty nursing home staff from four disciplines (six nurses, four physical therapists, five social workers and five care workers) were purposively recruited from three different nursing homes. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted from February 2023 to March 2023, and the analysis followed the sequential steps of phenomenographic analysis. RESULTS: The analysis identified five categories of description: focusing on what happened, finding the gaps in perspectives, how to bridge for finding a common perspective, how to tailor care such that each resident receives equitable care and how to establish interdisciplinary sharing for a consistent advocative pattern. Their structural relationship was also identified as an outcome space. CONCLUSION: The cyclical advocacy structure illustrated that nursing home staff engage in an ongoing process of advocacy during conflict situations as part of interdisciplinary care, emphasizing continuity of care rather than separate occurrences of care. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: This study revealed that, in advocating for residents with dementia, nursing home staff adopted an approach that fosters consistent care and proactive prevention, achieved through the formation of shared knowledge applicable uniformly across similar situations. IMPACT: This study contributes significantly to the continuing education or training of interdisciplinary staff in nursing homes. The revelations of the study hold significance not only for the practical application but also for the theoretical advancement of concepts related to safeguarding the dignity, human rights and personhood of residents with dementia, with the ultimate goal of enhancing their quality of life within nursing homes. REPORTING METHOD: Reporting complied with the COREQ criteria for qualitative research. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Nursing home directors have contributed to the validation of data analysis and interpretation.

Care of patients undergoing withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments: an ICU nurse perspective.

BACKGROUND: Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses working in South Korea report experiencing uncertainty about how to care for patients undergoing withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments (WLT). A lack of consensus on care guidelines for patients with WLT contributes to uncertainty, ambiguity, and confusion on how to act appropriately within current law and social and ethical norms. To date, little has been discussed or described about how ICU nurses construct meaning about their roles in caring for dying patients in the context of wider social issues about end-of-life care and how this meaning interacts with the ICU system structure and national law. We aimed to better understand how ICU nurses view themselves professionally and how their perceived roles are enabled and/or limited by the current healthcare system in South Korea and by social and ethical norms. METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted using in-depth, semi-structured interviews and discourse analysis using Gee's Tools of Inquiry. Purposive sampling was used to recruit ICU nurses (n = 20) who could provide the most insightful information on caring for patients undergoing WLT in the ICU. The interviews were conducted between December 2021 and February 2022 in three university hospitals in South Korea. RESULTS: We identified four categories of discourses: (1) both "left hanging" or feeling abandoned ICU nurses and patients undergoing WLT; (2) socially underdeveloped conversations about death and dying management; (3) attitudes of legal guardians and physicians toward the dying process of patients with WLT; and (4) provision of end-of-life care according to individual nurses' beliefs in their nursing values. CONCLUSION: ICU nurses reported having feelings of ambiguity and confusion about their professional roles and identities in caring for dying patients undergoing WLT. This uncertainty may limit their positive contributions to a dignified dying process. We suggest that one way to move forward is for ICU administrators and physicians to respond more sensitively to ICU nurses' discourses. Additionally, social policy and healthcare system leaders should focus on issues that enable and limit the dignified end-of-life processes of patients undergoing WLT. Doing so may improve nurses' understanding of their professional roles and identities as caretakers for dying patients.

How do nursing home nurses conceptualize the management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia? A phenomenographic study.

The behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) present complex challenges for nursing home (NH) nurses, leading to confusion and difficulties in providing effective care. To address these issues, investigating how NH nurses perceive and manage the BPSD is crucial since it can lead to the development of tailored and effective care plans. This study therefore aimed to explore the ways in which NH nurses approach the management of the BPSD by using phenomenography. The study identified five categories of assessment and four categories of intervention in managing the BPSD, with their hierarchical structure represented as an outcome space. Each category's description provides a clear conceptualization of the complex and challenging nature of the BPSD care, offering insights into how NH nurses perceive the BPSD management. The study's findings can enhance NH nurse education and lead to effective care plans for residents with BPSD.

For the interprofessional management of the discomfort of long-term care facility residents with dementia.

Educating interprofessional practitioners in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) is critical for managing discomfort of residents with dementia, which is often unnoticed and undertreated. A framework of education on discomfort management that is applicable in various environments in different facilities is necessary. We developed a preliminary framework to educate interprofessional practitioners on discomfort management of dementia residents in LTCFs. We conducted a three-step research process: a literature review using topic modeling, in-depth interviews, and Delphi surveys. We derived four categories for an interprofessional approach toward discomfort management education in LTCFs: identifying visual and nonvisual signs to communicate among professionals, close observation using comparison and contrast to share information for discomfort care, harmony in interprofessional roles, and applying common and specific professional knowledge for discomfort management. The findings provide the first outline for an educational framework for interprofessional discomfort management in LTCFs for residents with dementia. We recommend interventions across different cultures to verify the framework in future research.

An e-Problem-Based Learning Program for Infection Control in Nursing Homes: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Infection is a significant factor adversely affecting the health of nursing home (NH) residents, potentially even leading to death. Therefore, educating NH staff to think critically is necessary to prevent and control infection. In this study, we developed an electronic problem-based learning (e-PBL) program using the Network-Based Instructional System Design model to enhance South Korean NH staff's critical thinking competencies; subsequently, its effectiveness was evaluated. This study utilized a quasi-experimental nonequivalent pretest-post-test design. The participants (n = 54) were randomly allocated into an experimental group (n = 28) and a control group (n = 26). The results indicate that the e-PBL program significantly improved the critical thinking disposition in the experimental group compared with in the control group.

How about an Educational Framework for Nursing Staff in Long-Term Care Facilities to Improve the Care of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia?

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common in residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs). In LTCFs, nursing staff, including nurses and care workers, play a crucial role in managing BPSD as those most in contact with the residents. However, it is ambiguous where their focus should be for effective BPSD care. Thus, this paper aims to reveal BPSD care competencies for nursing staff in LTCFs and to outline an initial frame of education. A multiphase mixed-methods approach, which was conducted through topic modeling, qualitative interviews, and a Delphi survey, was used. From the results, a preliminary educational framework for nursing staff with categories of BPSD care competence was outlined with the four categories of BPSD care competence: using knowledge for assessment and monitoring the status of residents, individualizing approaches on how to understand residents and address BPSD, building relationships for shared decision-making, and securing a safe environment for residents and staff in LTCFs. This preliminary framework illuminates specific domains that need to be developed for competent BPSD care in LTCFs that are centered on nursing staff who directly assess and monitor the changing and deteriorating state of residents in LTCFs.

Use of antimicrobial agents in actively dying inpatients after suspension of life-sustaining treatments: Suggestion for antimicrobial stewardship.

BACKGROUND: The role of antimicrobial treatment in end-of-life care has been controversial, whether antibiotics have beneficial effects on comfort and prolonged survival or long-term harmful effects on increasing antimicrobial resistance. We assessed the use of antimicrobial agents and factors associated with de-escalation in inpatients who suspended life-sustaining treatments (SLST) and immediately died. METHODS: We included 1296 (74.7%) inpatients who died within 7 days after SLST out of 1734 patients who consented to SLST on their own or family's initiative following a decision by two physicians, observing the "Life-sustaining Treatment Decision Act" between January 2020 and December 2020 at two teaching hospitals. De-escalation was defined as changing to narrower spectrum anti-bacterial drugs or stopping ≥ one antibiotic of combined treatment. RESULTS: 90.6% of total patients received anti-bacterial agents, particularly a combination treatment in 60.1% and use of ≥ three drugs in 18.2% of them. Antifungal and antiviral drugs were administered to 12.6% and 3.3% of the patients on SLST, respectively. Antibacterial and antifungal agents were withdrawn in only 8.3% and 1.3% of the patients after SLST, respectively. Anti-bacterial de-escalation was performed in 17.0% of patients, but 43.6% of them received more or broad-spectrum antibiotics after SLST. In multivariate regression, longer hospital stays before SLST, initiation of SLST in the intensive care unit, and cardiovascular diseases were independently associated with anti-bacterial de-escalation after SLST. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention for substantial antibiotic use in patients on SLST should be carefully considered as antimicrobial stewardship after decision by the will of the patient and proxy.

Human MicroRNAs Attenuate the Expression of Immediate Early Proteins and HCMV Replication during Lytic and Latent Infection in Connection with Enhancement of Phosphorylated RelA/p65 (Serine 536) That Binds to MIEP.

Attenuating the expression of immediate early (IE) proteins is essential for controlling the lytic replication of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The human microRNAs (hsa-miRs), miR-200b-3p and miR-200c-3p, have been identified to bind the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the mRNA encoding IE proteins. However, whether hsa-miRs can reduce IE72 expression and HCMV viral load or exhibit a crosstalk with the host cellular signaling machinery, most importantly the NF-κB cascade, has not been evaluated. In this study, argonaute-crosslinking and immunoprecipitation-seq revealed that miR-200b-3p and miR-200c-3p bind the 3'-UTR of UL123, which is a gene that encodes IE72. The binding of these miRNAs to the 3'-UTR of UL123 was verified in transfected cells stably expressing GFP. We used miR-200b-3p/miR-200c-3p mimics to counteract the downregulation of these miRNA after acute HCMV infection. This resulted in reduced IE72/IE86 expression and HCMV VL during lytic infection. We determined that IE72/IE86 alone can inhibit the phosphorylation of RelA/p65 at the Ser536 residue and that p-Ser536 RelA/p65 binds to the major IE promoter/enhancer (MIEP). The upregulation of miR-200b-3p and miR-200c-3p resulted in the phosphorylation of RelA/p65 at Ser536 through the downregulation of IE, and the binding of the resultant p-Ser536 RelA/p65 to MIEP resulted in a decreased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Overall, miR-200b-3p and miR-200c-3p-together with p-Ser536 RelA/p65-can prevent lytic HCMV replication during acute and latent infection.

Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Risk of Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a known risk factor for lung cancer. However, a detailed analysis of lung cancer type, age, sex, smoking, and TB burden associated with geographic and socioeconomic status has not been performed previously. We systematically appraised relevant observational studies reporting an association between pulmonary TB and lung cancer. All studies were included in the primary analysis, and studies that used robust TB diagnostic methods, such as validated medical diagnostic codes, were included in the secondary analysis. Thirty-two articles were included. The association between the history of pulmonary TB and diagnosis of lung cancer was statistically significant (OR 2.09, 95% CI: 1.62-2.69, p < 0.001). There was a high heterogeneity (I2 = 95%), without any publication bias. The analysis indicated a high association in advanced articles describing stringent pulmonary TB diagnosis (OR 2.26, 95% CI: 1.29-3.94, p = 0.004). The subgroup analyses suggested a significant association in countries with medium or high TB burdens, from East Asia and the Pacific region, and upper-middle income countries. Heterogeneity within the subgroups remained high in a majority of the subgroup analyses. A meta-regression analysis revealed that younger patients showed a significantly higher association between TB and lung cancer (regression coefficient = 0.949, p < 0.001). The history of pulmonary TB is an independent risk factor for lung cancer, especially in younger patients diagnosed with pulmonary TB. Clinicians should be aware of this association while treating young patients with a history of pulmonary TB.

Prediction of Bacteremia Based on 12-Year Medical Data Using a Machine Learning Approach: Effect of Medical Data by Extraction Time.

Early detection of bacteremia is important to prevent antibiotic abuse. Therefore, we aimed to develop a clinically applicable bacteremia prediction model using machine learning technology. Data from two tertiary medical centers' electronic medical records during a 12-year-period were extracted. Multi-layer perceptron (MLP), random forest, and gradient boosting algorithms were applied for machine learning analysis. Clinical data within 12 and 24 hours of blood culture were analyzed and compared. Out of 622,771 blood cultures, 38,752 episodes of bacteremia were identified. In MLP with 128 hidden layer nodes, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the prediction performance in 12- and 24-h data models was 0.762 (95% confidence interval (CI); 0.7617-0.7623) and 0.753 (95% CI; 0.7520-0.7529), respectively. AUROC of causative-pathogen subgroup analysis predictive value for Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia was the highest at 0.839 (95% CI; 0.8388-0.8394). Compared to primary bacteremia, AUROC of sepsis caused by pneumonia was highest. Predictive performance of bacteremia was superior in younger age groups. Bacteremia prediction using machine learning technology appeared possible for acute infectious diseases. This model was more suitable especially to pneumonia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii. From the 24-h blood culture data, bacteremia was predictable by substituting only the continuously variable values.

The current status of invasive alien insect species in South Korea.

We investigated the identity and distribution of the invasive alien insect species inhabiting Korean ecosystems, targeting 3,249 locations in nine regions between 2015 and 2018. In natural ecosystems, we identified 63 species in 43 families and nine orders of invasive alien insect species, respectively. We observed that the order Hemiptera exhibited the highest species diversity with 20 species. Gyeonggi-do was where the highest number of invasive alien insect species were identified (45 species). Species richness analysis revealed that Jeju-do showed the highest Dominance Index (0.8), whereas Gyeongsangnam-do had the highest Diversity Index (2.8). Corythuchamarmorata (Hemiptera: Tingidae), Lycormadelicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), Ophraellacommuna (Coleoptera: Chrysomeridae), Metcalfapruinosa (Say) (Hemiptera: Flatidae) and Pochaziashantungensis (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) were distributed in more than 300 locations of the country. Invasive alien insect species inhabited the roadsides (31.3%), farmlands (18.3%) and parks (16.6%). In this study, we list the invasive alien insect species in Korean ecosystems and provide a basis for selecting primary management target species.

No Change of Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multicenter Time-Series Analyses.

Consolidated infection control measures imposed by the government and hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp decline of respiratory viruses. Based on the issue of whether Pneumocystis jirovecii could be transmitted by airborne and acquired from the environment, we assessed changes in P. jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) cases in a hospital setting before and after COVID-19. We retrospectively collected data of PCP-confirmed inpatients aged ≥18 years (N = 2922) in four university-affiliated hospitals between January 2015 and June 2021. The index and intervention dates were defined as the first time of P. jirovecii diagnosis and January 2020, respectively. We predicted PCP cases for post-COVID-19 and obtained the difference (residuals) between forecasted and observed cases using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and the Bayesian structural time-series (BSTS) models. Overall, the average of observed PCP cases per month in each year were 36.1 and 47.3 for pre- and post-COVID-19, respectively. The estimate for residuals in the ARIMA model was not significantly different in the total PCP-confirmed inpatients (7.4%, p = 0.765). The forecasted PCP cases by the BSTS model were not significantly different from the observed cases in the post-COVID-19 (-0.6%, 95% credible interval; -9.6~9.1%, p = 0.450). The unprecedented strict non-pharmacological interventions did not affect PCP cases.

The Use of Conjunctival Staining to Measure Ocular Surface Inflammation in Patients With Dry Eye.

PURPOSE: To investigate the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines in the conjunctival epithelium and correlations with clinical parameters in dry eye disease (DED). METHODS: This study evaluated 28 patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS) DED, 28 patients with non-SS DED, and 10 controls. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-17, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) from conjunctival epithelium was investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. Correlations were evaluated between the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and clinical DED parameters such as ocular surface disease index score, Schirmer I value, tear film breakup time, and corneal and conjunctival staining scores. RESULTS: Patients with non-SS DED expressed significantly more IFN-γ, IL-6, and MMP9 genes in the conjunctival epithelium than the controls (P < 0.05), and all cytokine gene expression was significantly higher in patients with SS DED than in the controls (P < 0.01). Tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-17 gene expression was higher in patients with SS DED than in the non-SS DED group (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence staining of conjunctival epithelium demonstrated that positive cells with IL-6 or MMP9 were significantly higher in non-SS DED than in controls (P < 0.01) and much higher in SS DED than in non-SS DED (P < 0.05). Conjunctival staining scores significantly correlated with the expression of IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17, and MMP9 in both DED groups (P < 0.05 in non-SS DED and P < 0.01 in SS-DED). Interestingly, correlation coefficients of all cytokines were much higher in SS DED compared to non-SS DED. Corneal staining scores showed positive correlations with IFN-γ, IL-17, and MMP9 (P < 0.05), and correlation coefficients were lower than those of conjunctival staining scores. CONCLUSIONS: Conjunctival staining scores may be useful to measure ocular surface inflammation in SS and non-SS DED.

Genomewide Analysis of the Antimicrobial Peptides in Python bivittatus and Characterization of Cathelicidins with Potent Antimicrobial Activity and Low Cytotoxicity.

In this study, we sought to identify novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in Python bivittatus through bioinformatic analyses of publicly available genome information and experimental validation. In our analysis of the python genome, we identified 29 AMP-related candidate sequences. Of these, we selected five cathelicidin-like sequences and subjected them to further in silico analyses. The results showed that these sequences likely have antimicrobial activity. The sequences were named Pb-CATH1 to Pb-CATH5 according to their sequence similarity to previously reported snake cathelicidins. We predicted their molecular structure and then chemically synthesized the mature peptide for three putative cathelicidins and subjected them to biological activity tests. Interestingly, all three peptides showed potent antimicrobial effects against Gram-negative bacteria but very weak activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Remarkably, ΔPb-CATH4 showed potent activity against antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates and also was observed to possess very low hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity. ΔPb-CATH4 also showed considerable serum stability. Electron microscopic analysis indicated that ΔPb-CATH4 exerts its effects via toroidal pore preformation. Structural comparison of the cathelicidins identified in this study to previously reported ones revealed that these Pb-CATHs are representatives of a new group of reptilian cathelicidins lacking the acidic connecting domain. Furthermore, Pb-CATH4 possesses a completely different mature peptide sequence from those of previously described reptilian cathelicidins. These new AMPs may be candidates for the development of alternatives to or complements of antibiotics to control multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Graphene Oxide Hierarchical Patterns for the Derivation of Electrophysiologically Functional Neuron-like Cells from Human Neural Stem Cells.

Graphene has shown great potential for biomedical engineering applications due to its electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, flexibility, and biocompatibility. Topographical cues of culture substrates or tissue-engineering scaffolds regulate the behaviors and fate of stem cells. In this study, we developed a graphene oxide (GO)-based patterned substrate (GPS) with hierarchical structures capable of generating synergistic topographical stimulation to enhance integrin clustering, focal adhesion, and neuronal differentiation in human neural stem cells (hNSCs). The hierarchical structures of the GPS were composed of microgrooves (groove size: 5, 10, and 20 µm), ridges (height: 100-200 nm), and nanoroughness surfaces (height: ∼10 nm). hNSCs grown on the GPS exhibited highly elongated, aligned neurite extension along the ridge of the GPS and focal adhesion development that was enhanced compared to that of cells grown on GO-free flat substrates and GO substrates without the hierarchical structures. In particular, GPS with a groove width of 5 µm was found to be the most effective in activating focal adhesion signaling, such as the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin, thereby improving neuronal lineage commitment. More importantly, electrophysiologically functional neuron-like cells exhibiting sodium channel currents and action potentials could be derived from hNSCs differentiated on the GPS even in the absence of any of the chemical agents typically required for neurogenesis. Our study demonstrates that GPS could be an effective culture platform for the generation of functional neuron-like cells from hNSCs, providing potent therapeutics for treating neurodegenerative diseases and neuronal disorders.

Switchable water-adhesive, superhydrophobic palladium-layered silicon nanowires potentiate the angiogenic efficacy of human stem cell spheroids.

A switchable water-adhesive, super-hydrophobic nanowire surface is developed for the formation of functional stem cell spheroids. The sizes of hADSC spheroids are readily controllable on the surface. Our surface increases cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction, which improves viability and paracrine secretion of the spheroids. Accordingly, the hADSC spheroids produced on the surface exhibit significantly enhanced angiogenic efficacy.

Capillary force-induced glue-free printing of Ag nanoparticle arrays for highly sensitive SERS substrates.

The fabrication of well-ordered metal nanoparticle structures onto a desired substrate can be effectively applied to several applications. In this work, well-ordered Ag nanoparticle line arrays were printed on the desired substrate without the use of glue materials. The success of the method relies on the assembly of Ag nanoparticles on the anisotropic buckling templates and a special transfer process where a small amount of water rather than glue materials is employed. The anisotropic buckling templates can be made to have various wavelengths by changing the degree of prestrain in the fabrication step. Ag nanoparticles assembled in the trough of the templates via dip coating were successfully transferred to a flat substrate which has hydrophilic surface due to capillary forces of water. The widths of the fabricated Ag nanoparticle line arrays were modulated according to the wavelengths of the templates. As a potential application, the Ag nanoparticle line arrays were used as SERS substrates for various probing molecules, and an excellent surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) performance was achieved with a detection limit of 10(-12) M for Rhodamine 6G.