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An efficient one-pot synthesis of oxazolidinones was developed through CuI/DBU/MS joint system-catalyzed carboxylative cyclization of arylacetylene, arylaldehyde, and arylamine in water medium under a 1 atm carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere. The 4 Å molecular sieves (MSs) were added to improve CO2capture and facilitate carboxylation to give the products in high yields. The CuI/DBU/MS system is robust and highly effective for the reactions with different substrates, and some target products were obtained in an excellent yield of ∼96%, with no side products in the final step.

The differential risk of pneumonia among inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use in patients with COPD requires more investigation, especially regarding beclomethasone-containing inhalers. The goal of this study was to compare the risk and benefit profile of different ICS/long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) combinations in patients with COPD.

Background: We hypothesized that the inflammatory markers (IM) could be the independent predictors of Carotid Stenosis Progression (CSP) after Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS). Methods: Between 2010 and 2012, 122 patients undergoing cervicocranial revascularization in our hospital were prospectively recruited. Patients undergoing revascularizations other than CAS were excluded. Carotid duplex ultrasonography was performed before and at 1 week, 6 months (6M), 1 year, and 2 years after CAS. IM levels were recorded before CAS and were followed up immediately and 6M after CAS. The data was analyzed retrospectively. Patients were categorized into the Progression Group (PG) and Nonprogression Group (NPG) based on the presence or absence of CSP, including in-stent restenosis (ISR) and worsening contralateral carotid stenosis. Receiver operating characteristic and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: In Total, 77 patients were enrolled. The frequency of CSP was 24.7% (ISR: 14.3%; worsening contralateral carotid stenosis: 14.3%). Compared with the NPG, the PG had lower E-selectin levels before CAS [PG vs. NPG, 47.90 (42.80, 64.90) vs. 68.25 (52.08, 92.30); p = .01] and a nonreduced E-selectin levels at 6M after CAS [PG vs. NPG, 7.65 (-2.45, 25.75) vs. -16.10 (-33.45, 1.65); p = .002]. The E-selectin changes between 6M after and before CAS had highest predictive accuracy on CSP (area under the curve = 0.74, p = .002). The optimal cut-off level was a 2.95 ng/mL decrease and the adjusted odds ratio for CSP was 10.16 (p = .001). Conclusion: The E-selectin changes between 6M after and before CAS are independent predictors of CSP.

Background: We hypothesized that the inflammatory markers (IM) could be the independent predictors of Carotid Stenosis Progression (CSP) after Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS). Methods: Between 2010 and 2012, 122 patients undergoing cervicocranial revascularization in our hospital were prospectively recruited. Patients undergoing revascularizations other than CAS were excluded. Carotid duplex ultrasonography was performed before and at 1 week, 6 months (6M), 1 year, and 2 years after CAS. IM levels were recorded before CAS and were followed up immediately and 6M after CAS. The data was analyzed retrospectively. Patients were categorized into the Progression Group (PG) and Nonprogression Group (NPG) based on the presence or absence of CSP, including in-stent restenosis (ISR) and worsening contralateral carotid stenosis. Receiver operating characteristic and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: In Total, 77 patients were enrolled. The frequency of CSP was 24.7% (ISR: 14.3%; worsening contralateral carotid stenosis: 14.3%). Compared with the NPG, the PG had lower E-selectin levels before CAS [PG vs. NPG, 47.90 (42.80, 64.90) vs. 68.25 (52.08, 92.30); p = .01] and a nonreduced E-selectin levels at 6M after CAS [PG vs. NPG, 7.65 (-2.45, 25.75) vs. -16.10 (-33.45, 1.65); p = .002]. The E-selectin changes between 6M after and before CAS had highest predictive accuracy on CSP (area under the curve = 0.74, p = .002). The optimal cut-off level was a 2.95 ng/mL decrease and the adjusted odds ratio for CSP was 10.16 (p = .001). Conclusion: The E-selectin changes between 6M after and before CAS are independent predictors of CSP.

Background: The time to maximum of the residue function (TMax) has been employed to identify the penumbra in acute ischemic stroke. Cognitive impairment in patients with Carotid Artery Stenosis (CAS) has been attributed to chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. The study aimed to examine whether cognitive impairment can be detected based on a preliminary TMax cutoff in patients with unilateral CAS. Methods: Fifty unilateral CAS patients underwent dynamic susceptibility contrast MR perfusion. The preliminary TMax cutoff (3 seconds) was derived on the basis of the upper limit of 95% confidence interval of TMax in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) contralateral to the CAS side. All patients were allocated to the Right-delayed group (n=18), Left-delayed group (n=12), and Nondelayed group (n=20) by the cutoff. Cognitive assessment was also administered on all patients and 22 healthy volunteers. Results: No significant interhemispheric mean TMax differences of the Non-delayed group were noted (p=0.75), but the mean TMax of ipsilateral MCA was significantly longer than that of the contralateral MCA of the Left- and Right-delayed groups (ps&<0.001), respectively. Compared to healthy volunteers, the Right-delayed group performed significantly worse on most of the visuospatial tests (ps&<0.04), while the Left-delayed group performed significantly worse on most of the verbal tests (ps&<0.05). The performance of the Non-delayed group on all cognitive domains was similar to that of healthy volunteers (ps>0.07). Conclusion: TMax can be used to differentiate the chronic hypoperfusion state in unilateral CAS patients. Prolonged TMax in the MCA of either hemisphere may lead to lateralized impairment in cognition functions in patients with unilateral CAS.

Background: Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) may induce cerebral hypoperfusion. Early-phase 18F-Florbetapir (AV-45/Amyvid, 18F-AV-45) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging can provide perfusion-like property (pAV-45) for the estimation of cerebral blood flow (CBF). Supra-tentorial lesions may cause decreased blood flow and metabolism in the contralateral cerebellum known as crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD). Objective: The aim was to study the occurrence of CCD after CAS using pAV-45 PET. Methods: Eleven healthy controls and 21 patients with unilateral CAS were studied. All subjects underwent 18F-AV-45 PET imaging and arterial spin labeling (ASL) CBF magnetic resonance perfusion imaging. The pAV-45 and ASL CBF values were first correlated. Then, cerebral and cerebellar hypoperfusion volume was analyzed. The cerebral and cerebellar perfusion asymmetry indices (AIs) were calculated from the pAV-45 standard uptake value ratios (SUVRs) of bilateral cerebral and cerebellar cortices, respectively. Results: We found that pAV-45 SUVR was significantly correlated to ASL CBF (p<0.0001, r=0.5731). The AI of cerebellar perfusion was negatively correlated to that of cerebral perfusion (p<0.0001, r=-0.8751). Multiple linear regression showed the cerebral AI (p<0.0001) and hypoperfusion volume (p=0.02) but not the infarction severity and CAS degree significantly correlated to cerebellar AI. If the lower limit of 95% confidence interval of cerebellar AI in healthy controls was set as cut-off for positive CCD, the occurrence of CCD correlated to infarction severity in CAS patients (p=0.03). Conclusion: Our results suggest pAV-45 is reliable to study CBF change. Under unilateral CAS, cerebral AI and hypoperfusion severity may determine the occurrence of CCD.

In this study, high-performance SnO2/TiO2nanotube (TNT) nanocomposites were prepared through a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The samples retained a high BET surface area because they were calcination-free. The BET surface area of all of the samples was over 300 m2/g, and the length was within 100–200 nm. During the hydrothermal reaction, a heterojunction between the SnO2and TNTs through oriented attachment was achieved. Additionally, we demonstrate that the introduction of cassiterite SnO2as a precursor in the hydrothermal process can induce the growth of anatase TiO2. A SnO2/TNT nanocomposite photocatalyst not only facilitated dye adsorption at a high concentration around the surface of the nanocomposites but also exhibited efficient charge separation properties and achieved outstanding photocatalytic performance. This study proposes a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly synthetic strategy for fabrication of TNT-based heterostructures as high-performance photocatalysts through adding precursors in the proper amounts.

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma has a poor prognosis in comparison with other pathological types of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. It also has relative resistance to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy with a great risk of recurrence.

Bis(2,2-bipyridine)-5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)2(phen-NH2)2+), an MLCT complex, has a long-lived triplet state in water (λex: 473 nm; λem: 620 nm; τ = 615 ns; Φ = 1 relative to that of Ru(bpy)32+) and a structure analogous to Ru(bpy)32+. When Ru(bpy)2(phen-NH2)2+was subjected to diazotization in the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), it formed nanodots on the CNTs, rendering the resulting tubes (Ru@CNT) capable of transducing photo stimuli (473 nm) into electricity and magnetism at ambient conditions. The increased functionality was highly reproducible, as evidenced by conductive-mode AFM, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and AC susceptibility analysis. The local magnetism probing of the Ru@CNT with magnetic-mode AFM techniques (MFM) indicated that the magnetism originated from the unpaired electrons formed on the photoexcited nanodots. The resulting phase shift behaved as a function of the luminous power and the voltage (Vb) of the electrical bias applied to the Ru@CNT. The Vbdependence deviated from the expected quadratic correlation, confirming that the formation of the photoinduced charge separation state at the nanodots is responsible for the photomagnetism. The Ru@CNT tubes showed mobility toward external magnets (65 G) when floating on water and under 473 nm illumination. The Ru@CNT thus appears to be a multifunctional material that might be useful in spintronics.

Barriers to depression care differ across countries, highlighting the importance of identifying gaps in health-service coverage for regional health systems. This study aims to identify the bottlenecks of depression care and associated factors.

Introduction

Ko: Roche: Honoraria.

Camera calibration error, vision latency, nonlinear dynamics, and so on present a major challenge for designing the control scheme for a visual servoing system. Although many approaches on visual servoing have been proposed, surprisingly, only a few of them have taken into account system dynamics in the control design of a visual servoing system. In addition, the depth information of feature points is essential in the image-based visual servoing architecture. As a result, to cope with the aforementioned problems, this article proposes a Kalman filter-based depth and velocity estimator and a modified image-based dynamic visual servoing architecture that takes into consideration the system dynamics in its control design. In particular, the Kalman filter is exploited to deal with the problems caused by vision latency and image noise so as to facilitate the estimation of the joint velocity of the robot using image information only. Moreover, in the modified image-based dynamic visual servoing architecture, the computed torque control scheme is used to compensate for system dynamics and the Kalman filter is used to provide accurate depth information of the feature points. Results of visual servoing experiments conducted on a two-degree of freedom planar robot verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

A very simple vector control algorithm based on the space vector theory is proposed for induction motor drives. The proposed method controls motor torque directly and linearly to achieve instantaneous torque response without oscillation. It possesses a simple architecture which obviates the generation of the unit vector and the time varying coordinate transformation. Also, both the constant torque control and the constant power control are easily incorporated into the proposed algorithm. At the same time, a new space vector based current controller is proposed to work in conjunction with the proposed method. The controller takes full advantage of the zero voltage space vector so that the switching frequency is significantly reduced without sacrifices in performance. As a result, efficiency can be greatly increased. It is seen that through the integration of the above two parts, it is possible to implement a high performance drive system using a low cost microcomputer (8051).

Ko: Roche: Honoraria.

Introduction

We report a flash memory using deep traps nano-dot formed in ZrON charge trapping layers by As+ implantation to improve the device performance of MONOS CTF device. The TaN-[SiO2-LaAlO3]-[As+-implanted ZrON]-[LaAlO3-SiO2]-Si device shows a 6 nm ENT, a large initial memory window of 9.8 V, a 10-year extrapolated retention window of 3.6 V at 85oC, and an endurance window of 5.1 V after 105 cycles under fast 100 μs and low μ16 V program/erase. The performance of As+-implanted ZrON is significantly better than that of stacked Si3N4/Ir-dot/HfON device with poor thickness scaling due to excess Ir metal dot.

Summary: ArrayFusion annotates conventional CGH results and various types of microarray data from a range of platforms (cDNA, expression, exon, SNP, array-CGH and ChIP-on-chip) and converts them into standard formats which can be visualized in genome browsers (Affymetrix™ Integrated Genome Browser and GBrowse in the HapMap Project). Converted files can then be imported simultaneously into a single genome browser to benefit a collective interpretation between different array results. ArrayFusion therefore provides a new type of tool facilitating the integration of CGH and array results to provide new experimental directions. Availability: http://microarray.ym.edu.tw/tools/arrayfusion Contact: hwwang@ym.edu.tw