Standardization and quantification of backscattered electron imaging in scanning electron microscopy.

Backscattered electron (BSE) imaging based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been widely used in scientific and industrial disciplines. However, achieving consistent standards and precise quantification in BSE images has proven to be a long-standing challenge. Previous methods incorporating dedicated calibration processes and Monte Carlo simulations have still posed practical limitations for widespread adoption. Here we introduce a bolometer platform that directly measures the absorbed thermal energy of the sample and demonstrates that it can help to analyze the atomic number (Z) of the investigated samples. The technique, named Atomic Number Electron Microscopy (ZEM), employs the conservation of energy as the foundation of standardization and can serve as a nearly ideal BSE detector. Our approach combines the strengths of both BSE and ZEM detectors, simplifying quantitative analysis for samples of various shapes and sizes. The complementary relation between the ZEM and BSE signals also makes the detection of light elements or compounds more accessible than existing microanalysis techniques.

First Report of Tomato Leaf Curl Cebu Virus Associated with Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Golden Yellow Mosaic Disease in Taiwan.

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl, also known as snack weed, is an exotic plant in Taiwan. In April 2021, severe golden yellow mosaic leaves (Fig. S1) were observed on S. jamaicensis plants in Taichung City, Taiwan. Samples from eight symptomatic and two asymptomatic plants were collected from the public flowerbed. Total DNA was extracted from each of the collected samples by using a modified CTAB method (Echevarría-Machado et al. 2005). PCR with Begomovirus degenerate primers (PAL1v1978/PAR1c715; Rojas et al. 1993) was conducted. The expected 1.5-kb fragment was amplified only from the 8 symptomatic samples. Two randomly selected amplicons were cloned on pCRII-TOPO TA vector (Invitrogen Co., San Diego, CA, USA) and sequenced with the ABI3730 automatic sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Hammonton, NJ, USA) at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU). After NCBI BLASTn analysis, the sequences were shown to be most closely related to tomato leaf curl Cebu virus (ToLCCeV) isolates (EU487042, EU487025, KU946997), with 92.4-92.5% nucleotide sequence identity by using the CLUSTAL W method of MegAlign program (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, WI, USA). A ToLCCeV specific primer pair (FJJ2021-165 /166 5'-ACTTACAGGCCCATGTATCG-3' / 5'-GAATGGGTATCCGAGCACG-3') was designed to amplify and sequence the remaining half of viral DNA. The expected 1.6-kb amplicon was amplified only from the symptomatic samples. The full-length of DNA-A consisted of 2.7-kb nucleotides (ToLCCeV isolate stachy, ON525110 and ON525111) and contained six open reading frames (two in viral sense, V1 to V2 and four in the viral complementary sense, C1 to C4) and the conserved nonanucleotide motif (TAATATTAC). The full-length DNA-A of ToLCCeV stachy isolates shared 99.9% nucleotide identity to each other and 91.2-92.4% and 91.3-92.5% nucleotide identities to other ToLCCeV isolates (EU487042, EU487025, KU946997) available in NCBI GenBank. Besides, ToLCCeV is a monopartite begomovirus that harbors no DNA-B. Thus, there were no bands amplified from the degenerate primer pair for DNA-B (DNABLC2 / DNABLV2; Green et al. 2001). Furthermore, the infectious clone was constructed by using phi29 DNA polymerase (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA) for rolling circle amplification (RCA). The RCA product was partially digested with ApaI (NEB) and ligated into the binary vector pCambia0380 (AF234290). The resulting recombinant vector was transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58. A. tumefaciens C58, containing the infectious ToLCCeV-Stachy DNA-A vector, was grown overnight in LB broth containing kanamycine (50 µg/ml) at 28°C. S. jamaicensis and Nicotiana benthamiana (Nb, four to six leaf stage) plants were agroinoculated to confirm the infectivity of the ToLCCeV clone. The leaf curling and blister symptoms were observed on the Nb systemic leaves 17-day post inoculation (dpi) and the golden yellow mosaic symptom noticed on S. jamaicensis systemic leaves 30-dpi. The presence of the viral DNA in the inoculated plants was confirmed by PCR using the specific primer pair of ToLCCeV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the monopartite begomovirus, ToLCCeV, associated with golden yellow mosaic disease in S. jamaicensis in Taiwan. The existence of ToLCCeV might severely impact the tomato and pepper industry because they are the natural hosts of ToLCCeV (Tsai et al. 2011) and ToLCCeV may be transmitted by the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in Taiwan (Ko et al. 2005).

Time-resolved X-ray reflection phases of the nearly forbidden Si(222) reflection under laser excitation.

The covalent electron density, which makes Si(222) measurable, is subject to laser excitation. The three-wave Si(222)/(13 {\overline 1}) diffraction at 7.82 keV is used for phase measurements. It is found that laser excitation causes a relative phase change of around 4° in Si(222) in the first 100 ps of excitation and this is gradually recovered over several nanoseconds. This phase change is due to laser excitation of covalent electrons around the silicon atoms in the unit cell and makes the electron density deviate further from the centrosymmetric distribution.

Change in 1-year hospitalization of overall and older patients with major depressive disorder after second-generation antipsychotics augmentation treatment.

BACKGROUND: Studies on second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) augmentation treatment for older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) remain limited. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of SGA augmentation for overall and older patients with MDD inpatient history by assessing the change in 1-year hospitalization before and after SGA augmentation using the latest National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan. METHODS: The samples were MDD patients (ICD-9 CM code: 296.2 and 296.3) who had psychiatric inpatient history. A total of 2602 MDD patients including 430 elderly subjects (age ≥ 60 years) who received SGA augmentation for 8 weeks between January 1998 and December 2012 were included in this 1-year mirror-image study. Outcome measures included number and length of psychiatric and all-cause hospitalizations. RESULTS: After 8-week continuous SGA augmentation in the study subjects, the total number and days of psychiatric hospitalizations among overall patients reduced by 33.57% (p < .0001) and 18.24% (p < .0001), respectively; the total number and days of psychiatric hospitalizations among older patients (age ≥ 60) reduced by 44.52% (p < .0001) and 27.95% (p < .0001), respectively. Similarly, the total number and days of all-cause hospitalizations were significantly reduced. LIMITATIONS: MDD patients without inpatient history were not included due to data limitation; hence, the results may not be generalized to all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results support that SGA may be effective in reducing psychiatric and all-cause hospitalization among overall and elderly MDD patients. More studies focusing on the safety of SGA among older MDD patients is warranted.

High-resolution monochromator using a high-efficiency single-mode x-ray resonator at Laue incidence.

We report a high-resolution and high-efficiency monochromator with energy resolution, ΔE/E∼2.08*10-7, utilizing a hard x-ray single-mode Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator at Laue incidence at 14.4388 keV. Instead of using multiple-crystal diffraction via several asymmetric-cut crystals, a 3 meV single-peak is generated from the interference of a Si-made two-plate cavity with a thickness of 70 µm and a gap of 45 µm, where a (0-40) Laue reflection is used to excite the backreflection (12 4 0) for the enhancement of the FP efficiency. Due to the large angular acceptance of (12 4 0) and (0-40), the energy tunability can be achieved by changing the incident angle into the resonator. The application of x-ray resonators at Laue incidence as a monochromator can be further implemented to x-ray optics.

Sentinel Artery in Double Eyelid Blepharoplasty: Identification, Prevention, Management.

In double eyelid blepharoplasty, unexpected bleeding may cause intraoperative hematoma, swelling, and temporary ptosis, which could cause asymmetry and prolong recovery time. In 1725 patients (3450 eyes), double eyelid blepharoplasties were performed on Chinese patients from January 2014 to July 2016 by our senior author. In 36 eyes, the authors identified a variant artery, which the authors named the "sentinel artery," located in the inferolateral superficial orbital septum. The sentinel artery courses between the orbital septum and the levator palpebrae finally drain into the peripheral arcade. This artery is uncommon since only 1.04% of eyes have it. If the artery is severed accidentally, the cleaved arterial end will retract into the levator palpebrae and bleed causing a large hematoma to rapidly form posterior to the levator palpebrae. The authors actively avoided unexpected bleeding caused by tearing up this artery while opening the orbital septum during double eyelid blepharoplasty procedure.

The effect of cranioplasty in cognitive and functional improvement: Experience of post traumatic brain injury inpatient rehabilitation.

To investigate the effect of cranioplasty on rehabilitation of post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, 37 patients with TBI were arranged by retrospectively assessment study. Those TBI patients receiving in-hospital rehabilitation in the Department of Rehabilitation in a medical center of South Taiwan from 2010 to 2015 were assigned into two groups: A and B. All patients entered the multidisciplinary holistic in-patient rehabilitation training for about 1 month. Patients in Group A received decompressive craniectomy (DC), patients in Group B received DC and cranioplasty. All assessments were arranged right on admission and before discharge. The functional activity evaluation included muscle power and Barthel index (BI), and cognitive function evaluation, including the Rancho Los Amigo Scale, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Community Mental State Examination (CMSE), and the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Screening Test Short Form (LNNBS). The results showed that there were synergetic effects of cranioplasty on post-TBI patients with rehabilitation training, especially in the BI score, and cognitive improvement in CMSE and LNNBS.

Regulation of miR-21 expression in human melanoma via UV-ray-induced melanin pigmentation.

Excessive environmental ultraviolet (UV) radiation produces genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. This study was designed to assess the potential inhibitory activity of microRNA-21 (miR-21) on the UV irradiation-stimulated melanogenesis signal pathway in melanoma cells. The molecular mechanism of miR-21-induced inhibitory activity on UV-ray-stimulated melanogenesis-regulating proteins was examined in A375.S2 human melanoma and B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. UV irradiation for 30 min induced melanogenesis signal pathway by increasing melanin production and the number of A375.S2 cells. Similarly, UV radiation increased the expression of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) protein and decreased the melanogenesis-regulating signal, such as EGFR and Akt phosphorylation. Notably, miR-21 overexpression in UV-ray-stimulated A375.S2 cells decreased α-MSH expression and increased EGFR and Akt phosphorylation levels. Furthermore, miR-21 on UV-ray- induced melanogenesis was down-regulated by the Akt inhibitor and the EGFR inhibitor (Gefitinib). Results suggest that the suppressive activity of miR-21 on UV-ray-stimulated melanogenesis may involve the down-regulation of α-MSH and the activation in both of EGFR and Akt.

Adjunctive sarcosine plus benzoate improved cognitive function in chronic schizophrenia patients with constant clinical symptoms: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objectives Hypofunction of NMDA receptor is implicated in the pathophysiology, particularly cognitive impairment, of schizophrenia. Sarcosine, a glycine transporter I (GlyT-1) inhibitor, and sodium benzoate, a d-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) inhibitor, can both enhance NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission. We proposed simultaneously inhibiting DAAO and GlyT-1 may be more effective than inhibition of either in improving the cognitive and global functioning of schizophrenia patients. Methods This study compared add-on sarcosine (2 g/day) plus benzoate (1 g/day) vs. sarcosine (2 g/day) for the clinical symptoms, as well as the cognitive and global functioning, of chronic schizophrenia patients in a 12-week, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale every 3 weeks. Seven cognitive domains, recommended by the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Committee, were measured at weeks 0 and 12. Results Adjunctive sarcosine plus benzoate, but not sarcosine alone, improved the cognitive and global functioning of patients with schizophrenia, even when their clinical symptoms had not improved. Conclusions This finding suggests N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-enhancement therapy can improve the cognitive function of patients with schizophrenia, further indicating this pro-cognitive effect can be primary without improvement in clinical symptoms.

Sapphire hard X-ray Fabry-Perot resonators for synchrotron experiments.

Hard X-ray Fabry-Perot resonators (FPRs) made from sapphire crystals were constructed and characterized. The FPRs consisted of two crystal plates, part of a monolithic crystal structure of Al2O3, acting as a pair of mirrors, for the backward reflection (0 0 0 30) of hard X-rays at 14.3147 keV. The dimensional accuracy during manufacturing and the defect density in the crystal in relation to the resonance efficiency of sapphire FPRs were analyzed from a theoretical standpoint based on X-ray cavity resonance and measurements using scanning electron microscopic and X-ray topographic techniques for crystal defects. Well defined resonance spectra of sapphire FPRs were successfully obtained, and were comparable with the theoretical predictions.

RISK OF NEW ONSET TYPE II DM IN MDD PATIENTS RECEIVING SECOND-GENERATION ANTIPSYCHOTICS TREATMENT: A NATIONWIDE COHORT STUDY.

BACKGROUND: Second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) augmentation treatment has showed better efficacy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the association between SGA and diabetes mellitus (DM) in MDD patients deserves further investigation. The study aimed to examine the risk of new onset type II DM in MDD patients receiving SGA treatment. METHODS: From the Psychiatric Inpatient Medical Claim Dataset, MDD patients treated with SGA continuously for more than 8 weeks were analyzed in a 1:1 propensity score matched pair sample to 1,049 patients that had never been treated with SGA. Patients were followed up to 5 years based on ICD-9 CM codes indicating incident type II DM. Cumulative incidences of type II DM were calculated and the Cox proportional hazards model with competing risk was applied to determine the risk factors for type II DM onset. RESULTS: Cumulative incidences of new-onset type II DM between the two groups were similar. Use of SGA showed no significant increase in risk for new-onset type II DM (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.898; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.605-1.334; P-value = 0.596). Increased risk for type II DM was shown to be associated with aging (per year) (HR = 1.039; 95% CI, 1.026-1.053; P-value < 0.001) and history of hyperlipidemia (HR = 2.323; 95% CI, 1.469-3.675; P-value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that there is no significant difference in the risk of developing type II DM between MDD patients with and without SGA exposure. More studies focused on the benefit-risk assessment of SGA treatment in patients with MDD are warranted.

High-resolution interference-monochromator for hard X-rays.

An X-ray interference-monochromator combining a Fabry-Perot resonator (FPR) and a double-crystal monochromator (DCM) is proposed and realized for obtaining single-mode X-rays with 3.45 meV energy resolution. The monochromator is based on the generation of cavity interference fringes from a FPR and single-mode selection of the transmission spectrum by a DCM of a nearly backward symmetric reflection geometry. The energy of the monochromator can be tuned within 2500 meV(= ΔE) by temperature control of the FPR and the DCM crystals in the range of ΔT = 70 K at room temperature. The diffraction geometry and small size of the optical components used make the interference-monochromator very easy to be adapted in modern synchrotron beamlines and X-ray optics applications.

Single-mode selection for hard x-ray cavity resonance.

Single-mode selection is realized for hard x-ray cavity resonance using a three-mirror crystal device. The developed device consists of two coupled Si Fabry-Perot resonators (FPRs) and uses (12 4 0) backward diffraction to reflect back and forth the incident 14.4388 keV x-ray beam. The coupling between the two cavities gives an effective single-mode spectrum with a bandwidth of 0.81 meV. This method can be used to enhance the longitudinal coherent length without affecting transverse coherence, and is potentially useful in generating nearly total coherent beams in synchrotron or free-electron laser facilities.

Effectiveness of aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone augmentation treatment for major depressive disorder: a nationwide population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggested that antidepressants augmented with second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), including aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone, resulted in better treatment response or higher rates of remission in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, population-based study on SGA augmentation for patients with MDD remains limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of SGA augmentation for treatment of MDD using the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. METHOD: The subjects were patients with MDD (ICD-9-CM code: 296.2 and 296.3) who were initially admitted to psychiatric inpatient settings for the first time between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2007, and could be tracked until December 31, 2011. To assess the treatment effect of SGA augmentation, 993 MDD patients who received aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, or risperidone augmentation treatment for 8 weeks or more were included in this 1-year mirror-image study. Outcome measures included length of psychiatric hospitalization and number of psychiatric admissions and emergency room (ER) visits. RESULTS: After patients received SGA augmentation treatment, key psychiatric service use (including length of psychiatric hospitalization [P < .0001], number of psychiatric admissions [P < .0001], and ER visits [P = .0006]) due to MDD diagnosis was significantly reduced. Subgrouping analysis for each SGA drug also showed significant reduction in number of psychiatric admissions for MDD patients who received aripiprazole (P < .0001), olanzapine (P = .003), quetiapine (P < .0001), and risperidone (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The study provides support that aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone augmentation therapy could be effective in reducing psychiatric service utilization among MDD patients.

Inverse association between cancer risks and age in schizophrenic patients: a 12-year nationwide cohort study.

The association between schizophrenia and cancer risk is contentious in the clinical and epidemiological literature. Studies from different populations, tumor sites, or health care systems have provided inconsistent findings. In the present study, we examined a less well-investigated hypothesis that age plays a crucial role in cancer risk in schizophrenia. We conducted a nationwide cohort study using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 1995 and 2007. Overall, gender-, and age-stratified standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were used to investigate the pattern of cancer risk by age. Of the 102 202 schizophrenic patients, 1738 developed cancer after a diagnosis of schizophrenia (SIR = 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-0.96). However, the age-stratified SIR declined with age (e.g. SIR [95% CI] = 1.97 [1.85-2.33], 0.68 [0.65-0.78], and 0.36 [0.34-0.45] for those aged 20-29, 60-69, and ≥70 years, respectively) in both genders and for major cancers. Cancer risks in schizophrenic patients were lower for cancers that are more likely to develop at an older age in the general population (e.g. stomach cancer [SIR = 0.62; 95% CI 0.57-0.80], pancreatic cancer [SIR = 0.49; 95% CI 0.39-0.84], and prostate cancer [SIR = 0.35; 95% CI 0.29-0.58]). In contrast, cancer risks were higher for cancers that have a younger age of onset, such as cancers of the nasopharynx (SIR = 1.18; 95% CI 1.08-1.49), breast (SIR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.44-1.66) and uterine corpus (SIR = 2.15; 95% CI 1.98-2.74). The unique age structures and early aging potential of schizophrenia populations may contribute to the observed inverse relationship between age and cancer risk. Higher cancer comorbidity in young schizophrenic patients deserves more attention.

Tumor necrosis factor-α induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition of renal cell carcinoma cells via a nuclear factor kappa B-independent mechanism.

Chronic low dose of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulation promotes tumorigenesis by facilitating tumor proliferation and metastasis. The plasma levels of TNF-α are increased in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Furthermore, high-grade clear cell RCC cell lines secrete more TNF-α than low-grade ones, and allow low-grade cell lines' gain of invasive ability. However, the molecular mechanism of TNF-α in mediating progression of RCC cells remains unclear. In the present study, TNF-α induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of RCC cells by repressing E-cadherin, promoting invasiveness and activating matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 activity. RCC cells underwent promoted growth in vivo following stimulation with TNF-α. In addition, TNF-α induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and Akt in a time-dependent manner, and increased nuclear translocation and promoter activity of NF-κB. To investigate the role of NF-κB activation in TNF-α-induced EMT of RCC, we employed chemical inhibitors (NF-κB activation inhibitor and Bay 11-7082) and transfected dominant-negative (pCMV-IκBαM) and overexpressive (pFLAG-p65) vectors of NF-κB. While overexpression of NF-κB p65 alone could induce E-cadherin loss in RCC, EMT phenotypes and MMP9 expressions induced by TNF-α were not reversed by the inhibitors of NF-κB activation. These results suggest that the TNF-α signaling pathway is involved in the tumorigenesis of RCC. However, NF-κB activation is not crucial for invasion and EMT enhanced by TNF-α in RCC cells.

Tumor-derived tumor necrosis factor-alpha promotes progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal cell carcinoma cells.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are involved in promoting tumorigenesis by facilitating tumor proliferation and metastasis. The serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are significantly elevated in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the mechanisms of how these cytokines participate in the progression of RCC remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effects of tumor-derived cytokines on invasion and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of RCC cells. We found that expression of IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, hypoxia-inducible factor-alpha (HIF-1 alpha), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) were significantly elevated in high malignancy A498 cells compared to low malignancy 786-O cells. The invasion ability of A498 was three-fold higher than that of 786-O cells. The invasiveness of 786-O cells was markedly enhanced by adding conditioned medium derived from A498 cells. This phenomenon was significantly inhibited by immunodepletion of TNF-alpha followed by MMP2, IL-6, or IL-1 beta from A498 conditioned medium. Synergistic inhibition was also noted after simultaneous immunodepletion of TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6. RCC cell lines with higher malignancy produced more TNF-alpha, which was correlated with their stronger invasive ability. The invasiveness of 786-O cells was significantly promoted by TNF-alpha in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, TNF-alpha induced the EMT of 786-O cells by repressing E-cadherin, promoting vimentin expression, and activating MMP9 activity. Our findings demonstrate that pro-inflammatory cytokines, especially TNF-alpha, can enhance invasion and the EMT of renal cancer cells, which provides a therapeutic target to prevent and treat advanced RCC.

Acute renal failure after uterine artery embolization.

Renal failure is a potential complication of any endovascular procedure using iodinated contrast, including uterine artery embolization (UAE). In this report we present a case of acute renal failure (ARF) following UAE performed as a treatment for uterine fibroids. The likely causes of ARF in this patient are explored and the possible etiologies of renal failure in patients undergoing UAE are reviewed.