Tunable Color Coating of E-Textiles by Atomic Layer Deposition of Multilayer TiO2/Al2O3 Films.

We successfully fabricated a conductive E-textile and color-coated E-textile by depositing multilayer Al2O3/TiO2 on a conductive E-textile through atomic layer deposition (ALD). Pt was deposited on an E-textile as a conductive layer via low-temperature ALD. The color of the coated conductive E-textile could be tuned to violet, green, or pink by simply varying the thickness of the Al2O3 and TiO2 layers. Both experimental and simulation results revealed that seven different colors can be obtained with single-layer TiO2 and multilayer Al2O3/TiO2, depending on the film thickness and their refractive indices. This method is highly effective for enhancing the fastness of structural color on conductive E-textiles. Furthermore, the mechanical properties and chemical stability of the color-coated E-textiles were investigated. The color-coated E-textiles could withstand acidic and basic solutions, with almost negligible changes in their morphology; this in turn indicates their excellent chemical stability. These switchable stable color-based conductive E-textiles can be used as a platform to directly integrate future wearable electronics in textiles.

Relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Testosterone Deficiency according to Facial Flushes among Middle-Aged and Older Korean Men.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and total testosterone deficiency based on facial flushing among Korean men. METHODS: A total of 314 men were included in this study and divided into non-drinkers (n=78) and drinkers (n=236). Drinkers were also divided into flushers (n=96) and non-flushers (n=140). Flushers and non-flushers were separated into two groups based on the amount of alcohol consumed: moderate drinkers (≤8 standard drinks per week) and heavy drinkers (>8 standard drinks per week). Total testosterone <3.5 ng/mL was defined as testosterone deficiency. RESULTS: The risk of testosterone deficiency was significantly higher in heavy drinkers who flushed than in nondrinkers (odds ratio, 4.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-15.88; P=0.025). However, no significant difference was observed in the risk of testosterone deficiency in non-flushers, regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the risk of testosterone deficiency increases in heavy drinkers (>8 drinks per week) who flush compared to that in non-drinkers.

Association of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Alcohol Consumption on Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Men.

Background: This study aimed to examine the effect of both alcohol consumption and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean men. Methods: A cohort of 364 men included in this study was divided into four groups according to the amount of alcohol they consumed: the nondrinkers (ND), low moderate drinkers (LM, ≤7 standard drinks per week), high moderate drinkers (HM, 7 to 14 drinks per week), and heavy drinkers (HD, >14 drinks per week). Logistic regression analyses were performed after adjusting for age, exercise, and smoking. Results: The risk of MetS in the LM group with a high hsCRP level (1.0 or more mg/dL) was not significant. However, the risks of MetS were significantly higher in the HM and HD groups with high hsCRP levels than that in the ND group. The odds ratios of MetS in the HM and HD groups with high hsCRP levels were 3.44 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25−9.52) and 3.14 (95% CI, 1.07−9.23), respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that the risk of MetS is higher in men who consume more than seven drinks a week with high hsCRP levels than that in nondrinkers.

Hierarchical Nanoporous BiVO4 Photoanodes with High Charge Separation and Transport Efficiency for Water Oxidation.

To fabricate high efficiency photoanodes for water oxidation, it is highly required to engineer their nanoporous architecture and interface to improve the charge separation and transport efficiency. By focusing on this aspect, we developed hierarchical nanoporous BiVO4 (BV) from solution processed two-dimensional BiOI (BI) crystals. The orientation of the BI crystals was controlled by changing the solvent volume ratios of ethylene glycol (EG) to ethanol (ET), which resulted in different hierarchical and planar BV morphologies through a chemical treatment followed by thermal heating. The morphology with optimal particle dimension, connectivity, and porosity can offer a highly enhanced electrochemically active surface area (ECSA). The hierarchical BV owning a maximum ECSA showed the best photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance in terms of the highest photocurrent density and charge separation efficiency. However, to further improve the performance of the electrode, conformal and ultrathin SnO2 underlayers were deposited by a powerful atomic layer deposition technique at the interface to effectively block the defect density, which significantly improved the photocurrents as high as 3.25 mA/cm2 for sulfite oxidation and 2.55 mA/cm2 for water oxidation at 0.6 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The electrode possessed record charge separation efficiency of 97.1% and charge transfer efficiency of 90.1% at 1.23 VRHE among to-date reported BiVO4-based photoanodes for water oxidation. Furthermore, a maximum applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 1.61% was found at a potential as low as 0.6 VRHE, which is highly promising to make a tandem cell. These results indicate that the construction of the hierarchical nanoporous photoanode with an enhanced ECSA and its proper interface engineering can significantly improve the PEC performance.

Validation of the Simplified Palliative Prognostic Index to Predict Survival for Advanced Cancer Patients in Home Hospice Setting.

BACKGROUND: The simplified Palliative Prognostic Index (sPPI) substitutes a single item from the Communication Capacity Scale (CCS) for the delirium item of the original PPI. This study aimed to examine the validity of the sPPI for patients with advanced cancer in a home-based hospice care setting. METHODS: This study included 75 patients with advanced cancer who received home-based hospice care. We used medical records maintained by professional hospice nurses who had visited the patients in their homes. Based on their sPPI score, patients were divided into three groups-A (<4), B (≥4 and <6), and C (≥6)-to compare survival. Further, we investigated the sPPI's accuracy using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and sensitivity and specificity for 3- and 6-week survival. We used three sPPIs including different substitutions for the delirium item (two methods using the CCS and one using the Korean Nursing Delirium Screening Scale). RESULTS: The median survival was 60-61 days for group A, 27-30 days for group B, and 12-16 days for group C. The difference in survival was significant (P<0.05). The AUC was 0.814-0.867 for 3-week survival and 0.736-0.779 for 6-week survival. For 3- and 6-week survival, prognostic prediction showed sensitivities of 76.2%-90.9% and 76.3%-86.8%, and specificities of 64.2%-88.7% and 51.4%-70.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The sPPI, which is measured by professional hospice nurses, has acceptable validity to predict survival for patients with advanced cancer in a home hospice setting in South Korea.

Triplet Harvesting by a Fluorescent Emitter Using a Phosphorescent Sensitizer for Blue Organic-Light-Emitting Diodes.

The development of highly efficient blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with good stability is currently the most important issue in OLED displays and lighting. This paper reports an efficient blue fluorescent OLED based on a deep-blue-emitting phosphorescent sensitizer [(dfpysipy)2Ir(mpic)] and a conventional fluorescent emitter (TBPe). Efficient triplet harvesting by the fluorescent emitter occurs in the OLED because of sensitization even though the difference in the emission energy between the phosphorescent and fluorescent emissions was only 0.05 eV. These results clearly demonstrate the potential for realizing highly efficient blue fluorescent OLEDs using phosphorescent sensitizers without requiring ultraviolet-emitting phosphorescent dye.

Controlling Horizontal Dipole Orientation and Emission Spectrum of Ir Complexes by Chemical Design of Ancillary Ligands for Efficient Deep-Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

Deep-blue emitting Iridium (Ir) complexes with horizontally oriented emitting dipoles are newly designed and synthesized through engineering of the ancillary ligand, where 2',6'-difluoro-4-(trimethylsilyl)-2,3'-bipyridine (dfpysipy) is used as the main ligand. Introduction of a trimethylsilyl group at the pyridine and a nitrogen at the difluoropyrido group increases the bandgap of the emitter, resulting in deep-blue emission. Addition of a methyl group (mpic) to a picolinate (pic) ancillary ligand or replacement of an acetate structure of pic with a perfluoromethyl-triazole structure (fptz) increases the horizontal component of the emitting dipoles in sequence of mpic (86%) > fptz (77%) > pic (74%). The organic light-emitting diode (OLED) using the Ir complex with the mpic ancillary ligand shows the highest external quantum efficiency (31.9%) among the reported blue OLEDs with a y-coordinate value lower than 0.2 in the 1931 Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity diagram.

Analysis of Defect Recovery in Reduced Graphene Oxide and Its Application as a Heater for Self-Healing Polymers.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) obtained from graphene oxide has received much attention because of its simple and cost-effective manufacturing process. Previous studies have demonstrated the scalable production of RGO with relatively high quality; however, irreducible defects on RGO deteriorate the unique intrinsic physical properties of graphene, such as high-mobility electrical charge transport, limiting its potential applicability. Using the enhanced chemical reactivity of such defects, atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be a useful method to selectively passivate the defect sites. Herein, we analyzed the selective formation of Pt by ALD on the defect sites of RGO and investigated the effect of Pt formation on the electrical properties of RGO by using ultrafast terahertz (THz) laser spectroscopy. Time-resolved THz measurements directly corroborated that the degree of the defect-recovering property of ALD Pt-treated RGO appearing as Auger-type sub-picosecond relaxation, which is otherwise absent in pristine RGO. In addition, the conductivity improvement of Pt-recovered RGO was theoretically explained by density functional theory calculations. The ALD Pt-passivated RGO yielded a superior platform for the fabrication of a highly conductive and transparent graphene heater. By using the ALD Pt/RGO heater embedded underneath scratched self-healing polymer materials, we also demonstrated the effective recovery property of self-healing polymers with high-performance heating capability. Our work is expected to result in significant advances toward practical applications for RGO-based flexible and transparent electronics.

Highly Efficient, Conventional, Fluorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Extended Lifetime.

Highly efficient, yellow-fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes with a maximum external quantum efficiency exceeding 25.0% and extended lifetime are reported using iridium-complex sensitizers doped in an exciplex host. Energy transfer processes reduce the lifetime of the exciplex and excitons on the Ir complexes and enable an excited state to exist in a conventional fluorescent emitter, thereby increasing device lifetime. The device stability depends on the location of the excited state.

Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy with or without intraoperative parathyroid hormone for primary hyperparathyroidism.

PURPOSE: The improvement of intraoperative parathyroid hormone (IOPTH) assay and localization studies has enabled a minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) in primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). The aim of this study is to analyze the demographics, clinical presentations, and surgical outcomes of the pHPT patients who received surgical management with versus without IOPTH. METHODS: Analysis of a database was performed on 53 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for pHPT from 2004 to 2013. Preoperative localization was done by both sestamibi scan and ultrasonography. We divided the patients into two groups (without IOPTH versus with IOPTH) and analyzed the surgical outcomes statistically between two groups. RESULTS: The concordance rate of Technetium 99m sestamibi scan and ultrasonography was 73.6% and 90.6%, respectively. The overall cure rate of group 1 (without IOPTH) was 94.9% and that of group 2 (with IOPTH) was 100%. The decline of PTH at postoperative 5 minutes and 10 minutes was 75.2% ± 14.9% and 84.9% ± 8.6% in cured patients. On the other hand, that of noncured patients at 5 minutes and 10 minutes was 17.2% ± 9.7% and 8.2% ± 2.2%. There was a significant difference in the drop rate of IOPTH between cured and persistent patients (P < 0.01). Pathological examination showed adenoma in 41 of 53 patients (77.4%) and hyperplasia in 10 of 53 patients (18.9%). CONCLUSION: Even though the localization studies were successful, IOPTH monitoring is essential to avoid a surgical failure in MIP.

Treatment of Traumatic Esophagopleural Fistula Using the Over-the-Scope-Clip System.

Esophagopleural fistula (EPF) is a rare condition that is usually accompanied by severe infection and life-threatening morbidity. Here, we report the successful treatment of an EPF by closing an esophageal orifice using the over-the-scope-clip (OTSC) system without postprocedural complications. A 41-year-old man had serious thoracic and abdominal trauma due to a traffic accident. Computed tomography revealed findings suggestive of esophageal rupture due to Boerhaave syndrome. An emergent explorative operation was performed for primary repair with the insertion of a vacuum-assisted closure device. A postoperative upper gastrointestinal series revealed an EPF tract connecting the left pleural space and distal esophagus. We performed an endoscopic procedure using the "traumatic-type"OTSC to seal the EPF, and the esophageal orifice was completely healed 2 weeks postoperatively. The OTSC system might represent a safe and feasible modality for the treatment of EPF.