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Diets including pulses are associated with better cardiovascular profiles, including lipid, glycemia, and hemodynamics; however, evidence is lacking regarding the contributions of individual pulse varieties.

For a few years in the 1930s and then for another fifty-five years since 1963, greyhound racing was one of the attractions that helped boost Macau's repertoire as the Monte Carlo of the East. Adopting the Marxist framework of commodification of non-human animals, this study explores the shaping of human-animal interaction in the context of a gambling city. I argue that the cultural assigning of greyhound puppies to the purpose of dog racing not only resulted in the construction of a general understanding of greyhounds as objects that could only belong to a canidrome, but also tied their lives to the fluctuating dynamics of the city's gambling sector. Ultimately, this study calls for a reappraisal of the ways we have tied non-humans with labels such as ‘racers’ or ‘rescues’ and the place of non-human animals in the city beyond the framework of capitalism.

Laser-doped selective emitter diffusion techniques have become mainstream in solar cell manufacture covering 60% of the market share in 2022 and are expected to continue to grow to above 90% within the next five years (ITRPV). This was a very rapid uptake of technology, coming from only ∼10% penetration in 2018, and has enabled over 20 fA/cm2 front recombination current reductions on the dominant passivated emitter and rear cell concepts in the same short period. In this article, a broad overview of key concepts in relation to laser doping methods relevant to solar cell manufacturing is given. We first discuss the basic mechanisms behind laser doping along with the benefits over conventional doping methods. The main laser doping approaches reported in the literature are then discussed, along with implications for metallization strategy, particularly in relation to selective emitter and back surface field formation in the dominant passivated emitter and rear cell technology. Different cell concepts that have benefited from the application of laser doping are also discussed. In the last section, we discuss the main defects induced by laser processing of silicon which affect the finished devices, potential and debated causes, as well as some commonly applied treatments for their mitigation.

Healthy pancreatic β-cells are poised to respond rapidly and efficiently to acute changes in circulating nutrient availability to maintain metabolic homeostasis. However, it is well recognized that chronic exposure to [...], Stressors such as chronic hyperglycemia or hyperlipidemia may lead to insufficient insulin secretion in susceptible individuals, contributing to type 2 diabetes. The molecules mediating this effect are just beginning to be identified. Uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 may be one such negative modulator of insulin secretion. Accumulating evidence shows that β-cell UCP2 expression is upregulated by glucolipotoxic conditions and that increased activity of UCP2 decreases insulin secretion. Mitochondrial superoxide has been identified as a posttranslational regulator of UCP2 activity in islets; thus, UCP2 may provide protection to β-cells at one level while simultaneously having detrimental effects on insulin secretion. Interestingly, the latter appears to be the dominant outcome, because UCP2 knockout mice display an increased β-cell mass and retained insulin secretion capacity in the face of glucolipotoxicity.

Acute exposure to elevated free fatty acids (FFAs) in the plasma leads to enhanced insulin secretion from the pancreatic β-cells, which then promotes the uptake of nutrients into the peripheral [...], Oligonucleotide microarrays were used to define oleic acid (OA)-regulated gene expression and proteomic technology to screen protein kinases in MIN6 insulinoma cells. The effects of oxidative stress caused by OA and potential protective effects of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS), on global gene expression and β-cell function were investigated. Long-term exposure of MIN6 cells to OA led to a threefold increase in basal insulin secretion, a 50% decrease in insulin content, an inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), and a twofold increase in the level of ROS. The addition of NAC normalized both the OA-induced insulin content and ROS elevation, but it failed to restore GSIS. Microarray studies and subsequent quantitative PCR analysis showed that OA consistently regulated the expression of 45 genes involved in metabolism, cell growth, signal transduction, transcription, and protein processing. The addition of NAC largely normalized the expression of the OA-regulated genes involved in cell growth and differentiation but not other functions. A protein kinase screen showed that OA regulated the expression and/or phosphorylation levels of kinases involved in stress-response mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and cell cycle control pathways. Importantly, these findings indicate that chronic OA exposure can impair β-cell function through ROS-dependent and -independent mechanisms.

Oxidative metabolism in the β-cell produces NADH and FAD[H.sub.2], which donate electrons to the electron transport chain, leading to the generation of a proton-motive force that drives ATP production catalyzed [...], Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) may act as an important regulator of insulin secretion. In this study, β-cell function in UCP2-deficient mice was examined after a 45% high-fat diet (HFD) to assess its role during the development of diet-induced type 2 diabetes. HFD-fed UCP2 (-/-) mice have lower fasting blood glucose and elevated insulin levels when compared with wild-type (WT) mice. UCP2 (-/-) mice also have enhanced β-cell glucose sensitivity compared with WT mice after HFD, a result that is due in part to the deterioration of glucose responsiveness in WT mice. HFD-fed UCP2 (-/-) mice have increased insulin secretory capacity as a result of increased pancreatic β-cell mass and insulin content per islet. Islets from WT mice exposed to 0.5 mmol/l palmitate for 48 h have significantly reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP concentrations, and glucose responsiveness compared with UCP2 (-/-) islets, suggesting that elevated UCP2 in WT mice increases proton leak and decreases mitochondrial ATP production. Highly increased carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 gene expression in UCP2 (-/-) mice is suggestive of enhanced fatty acid oxidizing capacity, particularly after HFD stress. These results further establish UCP2 as a component in glucose sensing and suggest a possible new aspect of UCP2 function during the progression of type 2 diabetes.

In pancreatic β-cells, glucose metabolism signals insulin secretion by altering the cellular array of messenger molecules. ATP is particularly important, given its role in regulating cation channel activity, exocytosis, and [...]

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the association of miR-143 and miR-34a expression in human visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissues with insulin resistance (IR). Methods: VAT and SAT were obtained from 176 participants without diabetes. miR-143 and miR-34a expressions in VAT and SAT were measured using qRT-PCR. Fasting serum insulin and glucose concentration, homeostatic model assessment of IR index (HOMA-IR) and β-cell function (HOMA-B), and quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI) were calculated. Results: After adjustment for age, sex and body mass index (BMI), VAT miR-143 expression was positively associated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin, and HOMA-IR, and negatively associated with HOMA-B and QUICKI. miR-34a expression in VAT was directly associated with FPG, insulin, and HOMA-IR and negatively associated with QUICKI. In SAT, miR-34a expression was positively associated with insulin and negatively associated with QUICKI. The interaction terms of HOMA-IR and BMI categories were significant for both miR gene expressions in VAT. After stratifying participants based on BMI, the association of miR-143 and miR-34a expressions in VAT with IR indices remained significant only in obese patients. Conclusion: miR-143 and miR-34a expressions in VAT were independent predictors of IR in people without diabetes, and that this association was conditional on the degree of obesity. Level of evidence: Level of evidence III, cross-sectional analytic study.

Laser doping is a typical industrial method to introduce a local highly doped region in silicon solar cells to form a selective emitter. Such a process inherently introduces defects that can be a concern to the overall performance of the solar cell. Here, we investigate the effectiveness of laser-induced defect (LasID) passivation on lifetime test structures through different annealing processes, including high-temperature belt-furnace firing, low-temperature belt-furnace annealing, and an advanced hydrogenation process (AHP) for n+ laser-doped selective emitters. We demonstrate clear advantages of post treatment using a rapid 10 s AHP at 300 °C when the lifetime structures are prefired. For the examined laser speeds of 0.5–6 m/s (sheet resistances of 4--70 Ω/□), AHP is the most effective treatment method. For example, for a typical laser doping speed of 4 m/s, starting from the same effective carrier lifetime of 36.9±2.4 μs after laser-doping step for all the passivation treatments, the AHP not only surpasses the conventional approaches by showing the highest recovery of the effective carrier lifetime (∼79% compared with ∼63% and ∼41% for the firing and belt-furnace annealing treatments, respectively) and dark saturation current density reduction in the regions affected by LasIDs but also simultaneously suppresses light-induced degradation (maximum of 4% effective lifetime degradation with respect to the passivated state, as opposed to 14% and 16% degradation for the firing and belt-furnace annealing treatments, respectively) common in Cz grown boron-doped p-type monocrystalline silicon.

Light and elevated-temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) is a well-known phenomenon that reduces the bulk lifetime in silicon wafers. The cause of this degradation mechanism is still under investigation. However, a wide range of empirical trends that correlate LeTID with multiple physical and processing parameters have been reported, including the observation that wafers thinner than 120 μm do not show significant LeTID. In this work, we extend that study by varying the thickness of the wafers, the temperature of the firing step, and testing LeTID at the accelerated stability testing conditions. We demonstrate that the extent of degradation reduces with the thickness of the wafer, in agreement with the earlier work. However, silicon wafers with a thickness below 120 μm still suffer from LeTID when fired at sufficiently high temperatures, demonstrating that thinner wafers are not inherently immune to LeTID. By performing accelerated testing using a high-intensity laser and fitting the degradation and regeneration data, we observe that thinner wafers do not necessarily exhibit a faster recovery, as suggested earlier. However, their reduced degradation extent could be a consequence of relatively higher out-diffusion of hydrogen per unit volume in thinner wafers during firing. We further report that the method used for thinning the wafers results in a variation in the surface morphology of the samples, and that may partly be responsible for the observed correlation between the thickness of the wafers and LeTID extent. Finally, we discuss how these new findings can be explained by the involvement of hydrogen and other impurities in LeTID.

This paper aims to analyze urban consumer preferences for Albanian honey, focusing on key product attributes such as origin, type, location and price, using a conjoint choice experiment and latent class approach. Origin and location-landscape were found to be the most important factors for most surveyed consumers. Albanian consumers prefer honey produced in mountainous forests and on pastures. Moreover, multi-flower honey is preferred compared to chestnuts honey. These results can be used to producers’ advantage when local branding and well-perceived certification (e.g., producer associations’ brands) would be applied in order to increase the consumer awareness and strengthen the intrinsic features of the product especially for small producers. Labeling should be clear and emphasize the origin as well as the natural landscape where beehives are kept. Furthermore, in its regionalization economic development policy, the government may consider supporting honey produced from the mountainous areas.

Background As the global population ages, the prevalence of dementia increases, and the need for healthcare services increases. Healthcare workers should possess necessary knowledge and appropriate attitudes to care for dementia patients.Objectives There is a lack of studies of dementia knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in post-acute and intermediate care settings. Our study aims to address this gap and evaluate factors associated with dementia knowledge and attitudes in community hospitals.Methods Eligible healthcare workers from three community hospitals in Singapore were invited to fill in anonymous, self-administered questionnaires consisting of sociodemographic, work or training-related, assessment of self-competence factors together with Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) and Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ). Univariate analysis followed by multiple linear regression was conducted to determine the association between covariates with DKAS and ADQ scores.Results A total of 500 responses were obtained, giving a response rate of 60.2%. Mean DKAS and ADQ scores were 27.8 and 68.4 respectively. Multiple linear regression revealed better dementia knowledge was associated with occupation, highest education level, having attended a dementia training course, experience in caring for dementia patients and self-assessment of dementia knowledge. More positive attitudes towards dementia care were associated with occupation, time spent providing dementia care and self-assessment of attitude towards dementia care.Conclusion Healthcare workers in community hospitals exhibit positive attitudes towards providing dementia care but have a lower level of dementia knowledge compared to other study populations. Modifiable factors can be targeted to improve dementia knowledge and attitudes amongst healthcare workers.

Photovoltaic (PV) cells manufactured using p-type Czochralski wafers can degrade significantly in the field due to boron-oxygen (BO) defects. Commercial hydrogenation processes can now passivate such defects; however, this passivation can be destabilized under certain conditions. Module operating temperatures are rarely considered in defect studies, and yet are critical to understanding the degradation and passivation destabilization that may occur in the field. Here we show that the module operating temperatures are highly dependent on location and mounting, and the impact this has on BO defects in the field. The System Advisor Model is fed with typical meteorological year data from four locations around the world (Hamburg, Sydney, Tucson, and Wuhan) to predict module operating temperatures. We investigate three PV system mounting types: building integrated (BIPV), rack-mounted rooftop, and rack mounted on flat ground for a centralized system. BO defect reactions are then simulated, using a three-state model based on experimental values published in the literature and the predicted module operating temperatures. The simulation shows that the BIPV module in Tucson reaches 94°C and stays above 50°C for over 1600 h per year. These conditions could destabilize over one-third of passivated BO defects, resulting in a 0.4% absolute efficiency loss for the modules in this work. This absolute efficiency loss could be double for higher efficiency solar cell structures, and modules. On the other hand, passivation of BO defects can occur in the field if hydrogen is present and the module is under the right environmental conditions. It is therefore important to consider the specific installation location and type (or predicted operating temperatures) to determine the best way to treat BO defects. Modules that experience such extreme sustained conditions should be manufactured to ensure incorporation of hydrogen to enable passivation of BO defects in the field, thereby enabling a “self-repairing module.”

In this article, we investigate the extent of lifetime degradation attributed to light- and elevated-temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) in p-type multicrystalline silicon wafers passivated with different configurations of hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H) and aluminum oxide (AlOx:H). We also demonstrate a significant difference between AlOx:H layers grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with respect to the extent of LeTID. When ALD AlOx:H is placed underneath a PECVD SiNx:H layer, as used in a passivated emitter and rear solar cell, a lower extent of LeTID is observed compared with the case when a single PECVD SiNx:H layer is used. On the other hand, the LeTID extent is significantly increased when an ALD AlOx:H is grown on top of the PECVD SiNx:H film. Remarkably, when a PECVD AlOx:H is used underneath the PECVD SiNx:H film, an increase in the LeTID extent is observed. Building on our current understanding of LeTID, we explain these results with the role of ALD AlOx:H in impeding the hydrogen diffusion from the dielectric stack into the c-Si bulk, while PECVD AlOx:H seems to act as an additional hydrogen source. These observations support the hypothesis that hydrogen is playing a key role in LeTID and provide solar cell manufacturers with a new method to reduce LeTID in their solar cells.

The objective is to support development of a nutritional intervention for Chinese immigrants with diabetes by defining current deficiencies and identifying modifiable factors and mechanisms of change. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 13 ethnic Chinese with type 2 diabetes identified modifiable problems related to culturally relevant diabetes resources and low cultural acceptability of recommended diets. These factors could be addressed through creation of resources developed in partnership with Chinese-speaking health care professionals and persons with diabetes.

Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP-2) mRNA expression has been shown to be altered by metabolic conditions such as obesity in humans, but its functional significance is unknown. The expression of UCP-2 [...]

In normal isolated Β-cells, the response to glucose is heterogeneous and characterized by an increasing number of secretory cells as glucose concentration rises (Pipeleers DG, Kiekens R, Ling Z, Wilikens [...]

Light- and elevated-temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) in p-type multicrystalline silicon has a severe impact on the effective minority carrier lifetime of silicon and remains a crucial challenge for solar cell manufacturers. The precise cause of the degradation is yet to be confirmed; however, several approaches have been presented to reduce the extent of degradation. This paper presents insights on the impact of thermal budgets and cooling rates during post-firing illuminated anneals and their role in changing the lifetime and mitigating LeTID for thermal processes between 350 and 500 °C. We demonstrate that the thermal budget of these processes plays a crucial role in LeTID suppression and that the cooling rate only plays a role during short treatment durations (≤1 min). For the parameter space studied, we show that annealing for an appropriate time and temperature can both enhance the minority carrier lifetime and completely suppress the LeTID, with the injection-dependent Shockley–Read–Hall lifetime analysis indicating that the recombination activity of the LeTID defects in the bulk has been eliminated. Finally, this paper demonstrates a process that results in a stable lifetime after 800 h of conventional light-soaking at 75 °C.

Recently, an n-type multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) was observed to be susceptible to degradation under illumination at elevated temperatures with similarities to carrier-induced degradation in p-type mc-Si. In this study, we demonstrate degradation and regeneration of the effective lifetime of non-diffused n-type mc-Si wafers using illuminated and dark annealing conditions at moderate temperatures. Under illuminated annealing conditions, the degradation and regeneration rates of the n-type mc-Si are observed to be slower than those of the p-type mc-Si; however, the opposite trend was observed under dark annealing conditions. The carrier-induced degradation kinetics of the n-type wafers can be described by degradation and regeneration that occur simultaneously, and the activation energies have been identified to be 1.23 ± 0.16 eV for the degradation process and 1.34 ± 0.08 eV for the regeneration. Surprisingly, no degradation was observed in n-type mc-Si under dark annealing above 160 °C. Rather, at these conditions, a two-stage improvement in the lifetime was observed. Although degradation occurs after a subsequent laser treatment, the stable lifetime at the end of the degradation is still slightly higher than its initial value.

There has been continuous effort to understand the cause of light- and elevated-temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) in silicon solar cells; however, the actual origin of the defect is still under investigation. Multiple reports in the literature suggest the involvement of hydrogen in activating the recombination-active defect that is responsible for this degradation. In this paper, we investigate the influence of the amount of in-diffused hydrogen in the bulk on the degradation in silicon lifetime test structures. We examine this by varying the thickness of hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H) before high-temperature firing. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is performed to confirm that the hydrogen content in SiNx:H film scales with its thickness. We observe that an increase in the thickness of hydrogen-rich SiNx:H leads to an almost proportional increase in the extent of defect concentration in multicrystalline silicon wafers. We attribute this increase to the higher amount of hydrogen released from thicker SiNx:H layers into the bulk during firing. This paper provides further evidence for the involvement of hydrogen in the formation of the LeTID defect in silicon.

Light- and elevated-temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) has been shown to have a significant detrimental impact on p-type multicrystalline silicon solar cells and, in particular, on passivated emitter and rear cells. Previous studies have shown that defect kinetics can be modulated for samples that are dark annealed prior to light soaking at elevated temperature. In this work, we show that while short annealing durations help accelerate both degradation and recovery rates to different extents, extended annealing instead instigates a retarding effect. Our results confirm that thermally induced degradation and regeneration mechanisms can be observed during dark annealing. The results also suggest that the response to this yet undetermined defect mechanism not only depends on the initial dark annealing temperature, but it is also highly dependent on the stage of the dark annealing degradation and regeneration cycle reached before beginning light soaking. Finally, we propose a refined model of three generalized modes to describe the changes in LeTID kinetics after dark annealing.

Epicatechin (EC) is a monomeric flavan-3-ol. We have previously demonstrated that glucose-intolerant rats fed flavan-3-ols exhibit improved pancreatic islet function corresponding with an increase in circulating EC-derived metabolites. Thus, we speculate that EC may act as a cellular signaling molecule in vivo to modulate insulin secretion. In this study we further examined the effects of different concentrations of EC on H2O2 or hyperglycemia-induced ROS production, as well as on saturated fatty acid (SFA)-impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in INS-1 cell line in vitro. We showed that EC at a high concentration (30 μmol/L), but not a low concentration (0.3 μmol/L), significantly decreased H2O2 or hyperglycemia-induced ROS production in INS-1 cells. However, EC (0.3 μmol/L) significantly enhanced SFA-impaired GSIS in INS-1 cells. Addition of KN-93, a CaMKII inhibitor, blocked the effect of EC on insulin secretion and decreased CaMKII phosphorylation. Addition of GW1100, a GPR40 antagonist, significantly attenuated EC-enhanced GSIS, but only marginally affected CaMKII phosphorylation. These results demonstrate that EC at a physiological concentration promotes GSIS in SFA-impaired β-cells via activation of the CaMKII pathway and is consistent with its function as a GPR40 ligand. The findings support a role for EC as a cellular signaling molecule in vivo and further delineate the signaling pathways of EC in β-cells.

The purpose of this study was to determine predominant deviations from Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) nutrition therapy guidelines for Canadians with type 2 diabetes as a prelude to developing relevant interventions. We hypothesized that lack of adherence to these guidelines would be associated with higher glycated hemoglobin (A1C) levels.

Carrier-induced degradation (CID) of multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells has been receiving significant attention; however, despite this increasing interest, the defect (or defects) responsible for this degradation has not been determined yet. Previous studies have shown that the surface passivation layer and the firing temperature have a significant impact on the rate and extent of this degradation. In this paper, we further study this impact through an investigation of the CID behavior of the mc-Si wafers passivated with six different silicon nitride layers, each fired at four different peak temperatures. At low firing temperatures, no significant difference in the CID was identified between the samples with different passivation layers; however, a large range of degradation extents was observed at higher firing temperatures. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, a correlation was found between the degradation extent and the amount of hydrogen released from the dielectric during firing. We verified that no degradation of the surface passivation quality occurred, indicating that the degradation is primarily associated with a bulk defect.

Few studies have so far discussed how to measure youth entrepreneurship potential, a critical construct to enhance the success and performance outcomes of entrepreneurship education programs. This article investigates the adaptation of a measurement model of youth entrepreneurship potential, which a psychology strand of the extant entrepreneurship literature from the USA and Europe identified as characteristics of 'successful' future entrepreneurs. Two subsequent questionnaires were administered to measure youth entrepreneurship potential as part of an entrepreneurship education program in Mindanao, Philippines, a marginalised context. The first questionnaire had scales based on personality traits of autonomy, need for achievement, innovativeness and risk-taking propensity as per the extant literature, while the second had adapted scales to the local context. A confirmatory factor analysis tested the effectiveness of both measurement models. Results indicated that the locally adapted measurement model was more effective to assess youth entrepreneurship potential in the context of Mindanao, Philippines.

Light-induced or, more broadly, carrier-induced degradation (CID) in high-performance multicrystalline silicon (TIP mc-Si) solar cells remains a serious issue for many manufacturers, and the root cause of the degradation is still unknown. In this paper, the impact of firing temperature on the stability of lifetime test structures is investigated, and it is found that substantial CID can be triggered if peak temperatures exceed approximately 700 °C. We then investigate two pathways to stabilize the performance of industrially produced TIP mc-Si passivated emitter rear contact cells which have been fired at CID-activating temperatures (~740 °C-800 °C) currently required for silver contact formation. The first is a fast-firing approach, whereby it is demonstrated that an additional firing step at a reduced temperature after cell metallization can suppress the extent of Voc degradation by up to 80%. The second approach is the accelerated degradation and subsequent recovery of carrier lifetime through the use of high-intensity illumination during annealing at elevated temperatures. A 30 s process is found to suppress the maximum extent of degradation in Voc by up to 60% and up to 80% for longer processes. Ultimately, the results suggest that a combined approach of fast-firing and a high-intensity-illuminated anneal could achieve the best results in terms of Voc, stability.

The prevalence of chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, is increasing around the world. Nutritional interventions can reduce the prevalence and provide effective treatment, even when weight loss is not dramatic. The 2013 Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines concluded that certain dietary patterns and popular weight-loss diets had sufficient evidence to suggest their use by individuals with diabetes, but many other diet patterns and diets exist. Our specific objectives were to review the nutritional quality of various dietary patterns and diets, with emphasis on the evidence that they are efficacious for weight loss, glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors.

Purpose: This paper aims to suggest a user-approach to doing style designs for apparel products. Design/methodology/approach: A case of the approach to produce a collection of party dresses for mothers-to-be was presented. Two consecutive studies were conducted to understand and identify the needs of contemporary business women for maternity party dresses to attend banquets and functions. In these two studies, direct dialogue with target customers and scene deployment were used to collect the voice of the customer (VOC); affinity diagramming was used to organize the collected VOC data into items that were required by target customers; and the pairwise comparison method of analytic hierarchy process was used to identify important requirements. Findings: In using various design techniques and incorporating appropriate fashion elements, style designs were produced with the primary focus on meeting user needs. Originality/value: It has been a common practice that marketers do market research and designers do style creation. However, a joint effort of these two parties is required to better understand and address user needs. With the main focus on collecting and analyzing the VOC and organizing it into customer needs before applying various design techniques and incorporating appropriate fashion elements, the style designs that were produced in this case study were highly capable of satisfying user needs.

In the 1980s, as the end of the millennium approached, the production of nostalgia exploded all around the world. For Hong Kong, nostalgia became a reminder of the golden age that had transformed the city into one of the “Four Asian Tigers” in the decades following the end of the Second World War. While yearning for the better days of the past, Hong Kong coincidentally experienced destabilisation. As the rest of the world, especially the “baby boomers,” mourned the end of a productive era, Hong Kong locals were disturbed by the affirmation of the handover to China in 1997. In the context of these events, a creative rush to nostalgia in cultural manufacturing swept across the city. In the hope of highlighting the uniqueness of nostalgic production in Hong Kong, this study analyses two sets of TV commercials produced by local beverage company Vitasoy. Through the deconstruction of selected historical events, Vitasoy successfully reinvented its brand and, in contrast to general criticism of the concept, generated a positive connotation for nostalgia on the path towards Hong Kong's search for an identity.

Strong evidence is provided for the critical role of hydrogen in the permanent passivation of boron-oxygen (B-O) defects in p-type Czochralski silicon. In particular, the impact of rapid thermal processing (firing), plasma exposure, and hydrogen-containing dielectrics on B-O defect passivation is explored. Importantly, no permanent passivation of B-O defects is observed in samples fired bare (both with and without exposure to a hydrogen-rich plasma prior to firing) and in nonfired samples coated with hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H). In contrast, samples with SiNx:H layers present during firing resulted in significant levels of B-O passivation, even at firing temperatures as low as ~500 °C. Increasing peak firing temperatures (Tpeak) appeared to correlate to increased B-O passivation ability; however, increasing Tpeak above a value of 670 °C resulted in suboptimal levels of surface and bulk passivation. These observations are explained within a hydrogen-based model for permanent passivation of B-O defects. Implications for nonhydrogen-based models are also discussed.

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and efficacy of implementing a 4-week menu plan combined with individual counselling among people with type 2 diabetes.

Today we are witnessing a slow paradigmatic shift in Hong Kong's mental health services to becoming more recovery oriented, the context, meaning and process of which, however, is highly individualised as well as culturally sensitive. Therefore, it is imperative to gather the voices of service users. This paper serves to capture the views of a group of service users on the changes they have seen and the ongoing challenges in mental health services in Hong Kong; and to compare the Hong Kong experience with international experience with a view to reflecting on the directions for future development.

This paper applies quasi-steady-state photoluminescence (QSS-PL) and photoluminescence imaging to characterize the recombination properties of various surface passivation techniques. Particular interest is given to the performance at low excess carrier densities where many types of surface passivation show a strong increase in surface recombination velocity. These techniques are then used to further understand the ability of parasitic effects such as nonuniform illumination, edge recombination and areas of high recombination to affect these measurements. Furthermore, a new technique for edge isolation using laser doping is shown to be effective against the effect of edge recombination. This technique is useful to implement when using QSS-PL to analyze small samples as carriers conducted to the edge regions can dramatically alter the effective lifetime in low injection.

Through an advanced hydrogenation process that involves controlling and manipulating the hydrogen charge state, substantial increases in the bulk minority carrier lifetime are observed for standard commercial grade boron-doped Czochralski grown silicon wafers from 250-500 μs to 1.3-1.4 ms and from 8 to 550 μs on p-type Czochralski wafers grown from upgraded metallurgical grade silicon. However, the passivation is reversible, whereby the passivated defects can be reactivated during subsequent processes. With appropriate processing that involves controlling the charge state of hydrogen, the passivation can be retained on finished devices yielding independently confirmed voltages on cells fabricated using standard commercial grade boron-doped Czochralski grown silicon over 680 mV. Hence, it appears that the charge state of hydrogen plays an important role in determining the reactivity of the atomic hydrogen and, therefore, ability to passivate defects.

To examine nutrient intake and diet quality in relation to current Canadian Diabetes Association recommendations related to food security status of low-income, community-dwelling elders with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Edmonton, Canada.

Uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) overexpression impairs proinsulin processing to mature insulin. Here we tested the hypothesis that induction of endogenous UCP2 by saturated free fatty acid (FFA) would also decrease proinsulin processing.

Upfront next-generation sequencing (NGS) in patients with metastatic NSCLC has been associated with cost savings and shorter time-to-test results in the United States. Nevertheless, this may not apply in jurisdictions where the prevalence of patients with actionable mutations, cost of health care, and reimbursement models differ.

ABSTRACTBiofilms are slimy aggregates of microbes that are likely responsible for many chronic infections as well as for contamination of clinical and industrial environments. Pseudomonas aeruginosais a prevalent hospital pathogen that is well known for its ability to form biofilms that are recalcitrant to many different antimicrobial treatments. We have devised a high-throughput method for testing combinations of antimicrobials for synergistic activity against biofilms, including those formed by P. aeruginosa. This approach was used to look for changes in biofilm susceptibility to various biocides when these agents were combined with metal ions. This process identified that Cu2+works synergistically with quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs; specifically benzalkonium chloride, cetalkonium chloride, cetylpyridinium chloride, myristalkonium chloride, and Polycide) to kill P. aeruginosabiofilms. In some cases, adding Cu2+to QACs resulted in a 128-fold decrease in the biofilm minimum bactericidal concentration compared to that for single-agent treatments. In combination, these agents retained broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity that also eradicated biofilms of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella entericaserovar Cholerasuis, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. To investigate the mechanism of action, isothermal titration calorimetry was used to show that Cu2+and QACs do not interact in aqueous solutions, suggesting that each agent exerts microbiological toxicity through independent biochemical routes. Additionally, Cu2+and QACs, both alone and in combination, reduced the activity of nitrate reductases, which are enzymes that are important for normal biofilm growth. Collectively, the results of this study indicate that Cu2+and QACs are effective combinations of antimicrobials that may be used to kill bacterial biofilms.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

We hypothesized that the loss of glucose homeostasis in ob/obmice is associated with upregulation of islet uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) expression, leading to impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Changes in glucose homeostasis in lean and ob/obmice from 5 to 16 weeks were assessed by fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin, oral glucose tolerance, and tissue insulin sensitivity. In vitroGSIS and ATP content were assayed in isolated islets, while UCP2 expression was determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblotting. Short-term reduction of UCP2 expression was achieved through transfection of islets with specific small interfering RNA. Insulin resistance was detected in 5-week-old ob/obmice, but GSIS and blood glucose levels remained normal. By 8 weeks of age, ob/obmice displayed fasting hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and glucose intolerance, and also had elevated non-esterified fatty acid concentration in plasma. In vitro, GSIS and ATP generation were impaired in ob/obislets. Islet UCP2 expression was elevated at 5 and 8 weeks of age. Short-term knockdown of islet UCP2 increased GSIS in islets of lean mice, but had no effect in islets from ob/obmice. Loss of glucose homeostasis and impairment of insulin secretion from isolated islets at 8 weeks in ob/obmice is preceded by an increase in UCP2 expression in islets. Moreover, the glucolipotoxic conditions observed are predicted to increase UCP2 activity, contributing to lower islet ATP and GSIS.

Hyperproinsulinemia is observed in type 2 diabetic patients. We hypothesized that the induction of uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) would impair processing of proinsulin to mature insulin and potentially contribute to hyperproinsulinemia, based on the evidence that hormone processing is an ATP-dependent process and UCP2 up-regulation can suppress cellular ATP production. UCP2 was overexpressed (UCP2-OE) by twofold in INS-1 cells by means of plasmid transfection. Although UCP2-OE reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and cellular ATP content, no effects on proinsulin processing, as measured by western blotting, were observed. To increase the demand for insulin, we then cultured UCP2-OE and control INS-1 cells in medium containing 20 mM KCl for 24 h. High K+markedly reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from control cells, indicating inability of cells to meet secretory demand. Independent of UCP2 expression, high K+reduced preproinsulin mRNA expression but had no effect on ATP content despite increasing ATP synthase expression. In UCP2-OE cells, high K+decreased total cellular insulin species content and increased the ratio of proinsulin to insulin, indicating an impairment of processing. We conclude that UCP2-OE can negatively impact proinsulin processing, possibly by ATP-dependent alteration of the granule environment or reduction of Ca2+availability, particularly when cells are chronically stimulated to secrete insulin.