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Objective: There have been several epidemiologic studies on the association between diabetes mellitus and acute pancreatitis. However, there is no solid evidence, and the effect of diabetes mellitus severity on acute pancreatitis incidence is not well known. This study aimed to evaluate the association between diabetic status and the risk of acute pancreatitis in a nationwide population‐based cohort. Methods: Among the participants who underwent national health examinations between 2009 and 2012, patients with diabetes mellitus were included. Patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis before the health examination or diagnosed with pancreatitis within 1 year following the examination were excluded. The association between the number of oral hypoglycemic agents (<3 or ≥3) or insulin use during examination and acute pancreatitis occurrence was analyzed after follow‐up until December 31, 2018. Results: Overall, 2,444,254 patients were included in the final analysis. During the follow‐up period, acute pancreatitis occurred in 10,360 patients with an incidence ratio of 0.585 per 1,000 person‐years, and it was observed that the risk of acute pancreatitis sequentially increased between patients taking oral hypoglycemic agents <3 (incidence ratio = 0.546), those taking ≥3 (incidence ratio = 0.665), and those using insulin (incidence ratio = 0.872). The adjusted hazard ratios of patients taking three or more hypoglycemic agents and those using insulin were 1.196 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.123–1.273) and 1.493 (95% CI 1.398–1.594), respectively. Conclusions: As diabetes mellitus severity increases, the risk of acute pancreatitis increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of high‐valence state elements and highly active species is promisingly desired to design superior electrocatalysts for water electrolysis. Exploring scalable synthetic strategies is necessary for an in‐depth understanding of the mechanism of improving electrocatalytic performance. But it remains challenging. Herein, several electrocatalysts through element doping are prepared. The obtained Mo‐CoP3‐2@FeOOH samples show the overpotentials (OER) of 232 mV (alkaline seawater) and 262 mV (KOH electrolyte). As HER catalyst, it also presents an excellent electrocatalytic performance. The above electrocatalysts are utilized as anode/cathode to assemble devices for alkaline seawater/water electrolysis, which delivers a cell voltage of 1.58 V and durability of 350 h. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Mo ion doping and FeOOH significantly enhance the density states of the Fermi level and tune the position of the d‐band center. It expedites the charge transfer and decreases the adsorption energy of intermediates. It demonstrates that transition‐metal phosphides coated with highly active FeOOH offer an effective route to fabricate high‐performance and durable catalysts for seawater/water electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure sensors with high flexibility and sensitivity face significant challenges in meeting the delicate balance and synergy among suitable active sensing electrode materials, substrates, and their device geometry design. In this contribution, layer‐engineered delaminated Ti‐MXene (DL‐Ti3C2Tx) is introduced, which has relatively wider interlayer spacing through intercalated large organic molecules and accordion‐like open internal microstructure than the narrower pristine Ti3C2Tx MXene (Ti‐MXene), graphene/carbon nanotube's interlayer spacing suitably fulfill the high sensitivity and flexibility requirement through accessible electronic pathways under the external pressure. Notably, a milder in‐situ ambient condition etching is performed to eliminate the associated safety risks for a flexible personal healthcare monitoring pressure sensor. DL‐Ti3C2Tx MXene‐empowered, flexible pressure sensor demonstrates a broad range of sensitivities up to a very high‐pressure of 20.8 kPa at a sensitivity of 242.3 kPa−1 with a fast response and recovery time (<300 ms). A twofold increase in pressure sensitivity performance of DL‐Ti3C2Tx MXene than that of Ti‐MXene, graphene can be attributed to the engineered wider interlayer distance among the delaminated DL‐Ti3C2Tx MXene layers causing a facile interlayer atomic movements, contacts, and reversible compressibility. The current economical, scalable DL‐Ti3C2Tx MXene flexible pressure sensor can provide future safe personal healthcare artificial intelligence with real‐time tracking ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss‐of‐function (LoF) alleles of cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19), which are prevalent in East Asians, are linked to high platelet reactivity (HPR) phenotype and poor prognosis. We aimed to investigate the incremental predictive value of HPR combined with CYP2C19 genotype in predicting outcomes after drug‐eluting stent (DES) implantation. The patients treated with platelet function and genotype‐related long‐term prognosis in drug‐eluting stent (PTRG‐DES) consortium enrolled a total of 13,160 Korean patients treated with DES who had platelet function test (PFT) or CYP2C19 genotype, of which, 6,717 patients with PFT and genotype together were categorized. HPR was defined as VerifyNow ≥ 252 P2Y12 reaction unit. The primary outcome was the incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) 5 years after treatment. The patients with both HPR and CYP2C19 LoF/LoF had the highest MACCE rates (6.2%) and increased MACCE risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.89, 95% confidence interval: 1.20–2.91, P = 0.006) compared with those without both HPR and CYP2C19 LoF/LoF. There was no effect of interaction between HPR and CYP2C19 genotype on the primary outcome (P = 0.424). Adding combined HPR and CYP2C19 genotype to the conventional model had an incremental influence in predicting MACCE and stent thrombosis. Compared to the model including HPR or CYP2C19 genotype alone, a combination model significantly improved the risk stratification for stent thrombosis but not MACCE. In DES‐treated East Asian patients, the combined evaluation of PFT results and CYP2C19 genotyping might improve risk prediction of ischemic events during clopidogrel treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetics of nucleophilic substitution reactions involving 2,4‐dinitrophenyl 5‐substituted‐2‐thiophenecarboxylate were studied kinetically with 4‐Z‐C6H4O−/4‐Z‐C6H4OH, which facilitated the reactions, in 20 mol% DMSO(aq). The reactions followed second‐order kinetics and exhibited βacyl = −2.34 to −2.92, ρ(Y) = 2.71–3.39, βnuc = 0.74–0.83, and |βlg| = 0.40–0.57. Based on the interpretation of the results, we have concluded that the reaction follows an addition–elimination mechanism in which the first step is the rate‐determining step (rds). The transition state structures for the 4‐ZC6H4O−‐promoted reactions remained nearly the same with a change in the leaving group from 4‐nitrophenoxide to 2,4‐dinitrophenoxide. The mechanism of the 4‐ZC6H4O−‐promoted reaction was similar to that of R2NH‐promoted reactions, except that the former proceeded with the 1st step being the rds and the latter proceeded with a change in the rds from the second to the first step with a stronger nucleophile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of enavogliflozin, a newly developed sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, with placebo in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: Patients with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) of 7.0‐10.0%, entered a 2‐week placebo run‐in period, and were randomized to receive once‐daily enavogliflozin (0.1, 0.3 or 0.5 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in HbA1c from baseline at week 12. Results: Overall, 194 patients were included in the full analysis set [placebo, n = 46; enavogliflozin (0.1 mg, n = 49; 0.3 mg, n = 50; 0.5 mg, n = 49)]. Patients receiving 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg enavogliflozin showed significantly reduced HbA1c compared with those receiving placebo at week 12 (−0.79%, −0.89%, −0.92% and −0.08%, respectively; p <.001 vs. placebo). Mean changes in fasting plasma glucose from baseline at week 12 were −30.5, −31.1, −35.0 and 4.9 mg/dl in patients receiving enavogliflozin doses and placebo, respectively. The proportion of patients achieving HbA1c <7.0% at week 12 was significantly higher in the three enavogliflozin groups than in the placebo group (42.9%, 44.0%, 61.2% and 17.4%, respectively). A higher proportion of patients showed HbA1c reduction by >0.5% after receiving enavogliflozin doses than those receiving placebo (61.2%, 72.0%, 65.3% and 26.1%, respectively). There were no significant differences in incidences of adverse events of hypoglycaemia and genital infection between the groups. Conclusions: Once‐daily enavogliflozin monotherapy for 12 weeks is an effective, safe, and well‐tolerated treatment for Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study investigated the association between preoperative and postoperative changes in skeletal muscle mass and long‐term oncological outcomes in patients with non‐metastatic colorectal cancer. Method: Patients who underwent surgery for Stages I–III colorectal cancer from January 2014 to December 2015 were included. Skeletal muscle mass was evaluated through preoperative and postoperative abdominopelvic CT scans. A multivariable analysis was conducted to determine the factors affecting disease‐free survival rates. Results: A total of 238 patients were analysed. Forty‐nine (25.9%) patients had preoperative sarcopenia. Patients with preoperative sarcopenia showed lower 3‐year disease‐free survival (58.5% vs. 78.4%, P = 0.001). Patients with postoperative sarcopenia also showed significantly lower 3‐year disease‐free survival compared to postoperative patients without sarcopenia at 6, 12 and 18 months, respectively (53.9% vs. 77.8%; 69.7% vs. 81.8%; 69.1% vs. 87.7%, P = 0.004). In a subgroup analysis, patients with both preoperative and postoperative sarcopenia showed the lowest 3‐year disease‐free survival rates (50.9%). The incidence of tumour recurrence was higher among the patients who had lost more skeletal muscle mass at 12, 18 and 24 months (−14.3 cm2/m2 vs. −1.5 cm2/m2, P < 0.001; −24.5 cm2/m2 vs. −1.1 cm2/m2, P < 0.001; and −31.6 cm2/m2 vs. −1.4 cm2/m2, P < 0.001, respectively). A multivariable analysis demonstrated that the factors associated with disease‐free survival included tumour stage, venous invasion, adjuvant chemotherapy, and preoperative or postoperative sarcopenia. Conclusion: Not only preoperative but also postoperative sarcopenic changes adversely affect oncological outcomes following curative resection of colorectal cancer. Careful attention should be given to correcting sarcopenic status from the preoperative to the postoperative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hole transport materials (HTMs) play essential roles in achieving high photovoltaic performance and long‐term stability in the n–i–p structure of perovskite solar cell (PSC) devices. Recently, dopant‐free polymeric materials as HTMs in PSCs have attracted considerable attention owing to high carrier mobility and excellent hydrophobicity. However, achieving similar efficiencies to those of doped small molecule HTMs such as Spiro‐OMeTAD is a big challenge. Herein, a thienothiophene π‐bridge is selected as a stabilizer and energy level regulator incorporated into a donor–acceptor‐type HTM to synthesize a new polymer, Nap‐SiBTA. The incorporation of the thienothiophene group improves the thermal stability and favors the high planarity and face‐on orientation, promoting high charge carrier mobility and tunable optical band gap. Finally, the dopant‐free polymer Nap‐SiBTA‐based PSC achieves an excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.07% with a high fill factor of 80.85%. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the best efficiencies in dopant‐free HTM PSCs. Moreover, the unencapsulated device retains 93% of its initial PCE after 1000 h owing to the excellent hydrophobicity of Nap‐SiBTA. This work provides a general and practical method to design dopant‐free HTMs for the high efficiency and long‐term stability of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatobiliary MRI is often recommended for patients at risk of developing pancreas cancer. But the surveillance MRI protocol has not yet been widely accepted. Purpose: To establish an accelerated MRI protocol targeting the table time of 15 minutes for pancreatic cancer surveillance and test its performance in lesion characterization. Study type: Prospective. Population: A total of 30 participants were enrolled, who were undergoing follow‐up care for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms or newly diagnosed pancreatic cysts (≥10 mm) and were scheduled for or had recently undergone contrast‐enhanced CT (CECT). Field strength/sequence: A 3 T; heavily T2WI, 3D MRCP, DWI, dynamic T1WI, two‐point Dixon. Assessment: In‐room time and table time were measured. Seven radiologists independently reviewed image quality of MRI and then the presence of high‐risk stigmata and worrisome features in addition to diagnostic confidence for accelerated MRI, CECT, and the noncontrast part of accelerated MRI (NC‐MRI). Statistical analysis: Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables and either the Student's t‐test or Mann–Whitney test was performed for continuous variables. The generalized estimated equation was used to compare the diagnostic performance of examinations on a per‐patient basis. Interobserver agreement was evaluated via Fleiss kappa. A P value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The in‐room time was 18.5 ± 2.6 minutes (range: 13.7–24.9) and the table time was 13.9 ± 1.9 minutes (range: 10.7–17.5). There was no significant difference between the diagnostic performances of the three examinations (pooled sensitivity: 75% for accelerated MRI and CECT, 68% for NC‐MRI, P = 0.95), with the highest significant diagnostic confidence for accelerated MRI (4.2 ± 0.1). With accelerated MRI, the interobserver agreement was fair to excellent for high‐risk stigmata (κ = 0.34–0.98). Data Conclusion: Accelerated MRI protocol affords a table time of 15 minutes, making it potentially suitable for cancer surveillance in patients at risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Evidence level: 2 Technical efficacy stage: 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted significant interest as gas‐sensing materials due to their unique crystal structure and surface. However, there are still issues when it comes to expanding the types of sensing gases for the TMD gas sensors. To extend gas‐sensing selectivity for the TMD gas sensors in this study, a monolayer (ML) 2D metal–organic framework (MOF) is introduced on top of the PtSe2 gas sensor, thereby tuning the major sensing analyte of PtSe2 from NO2 to H2S. Density functional theory calculations elucidate that the metal species of ML MOFs are attributed to the tuned selectivity of the analytes, based on the difference in binding energies. It is also demonstrated that ML MOF maintained the high responsivity of the pristine PtSe2 even at a low concentration of gas (200 ppb). This is further confirmed through the molecular dynamics simulations, which reveal that the ML feature of the ML MOF is highly essential to preserve the intrinsic ultra‐low limit detection properties of pristine PtSe2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkaline water electrolysis is an attractive hydrogen generation technology with ultra‐high purity products and zero carbon emissions. However, the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both electrodes highly limits their applications. Benefiting from the abundant accessible active sites of the ternary alloy‐oxide structure formed on Ni foam directly, NiCeWOx shows superior HER and OER catalytic performances. The NiCeWOx‐2 (Ce/W ratio with 5/95) displays enhanced OER activity with an overpotential of 263 mV, while the NiCeWOx‐1 (Ce/W ratio with 79.8/21.2) shows better performance for alkaline HER with an overpotential of 130 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2. The catalysts show significant enhancement in terms of electrochemical reaction kinetics and conductivity compared to its original NiCeOx and NiWOx alloy phase. The efficient HER‐OER electrocatalytic performance is attributed to its unique alloyed oxygen vacancy structure‐property, which facilitates the diffusion of protons/OH− ions and significantly improves the electron conductivity for catalytic reactions. A low cell potential of 1.65 V is obtained at 10 mA cm−2 for NiCeWOx‐1||NiCeWOx‐2 in a full water‐splitting device in 1 M KOH electrolyzer with an anion exchange membrane. Also, NiCeWOx‐1||NiCeWOx‐2 exhibits extreme high stability after 24 h operation. This novel design utilizes low‐cost and robust electrocatalysts and will be useful for large‐scale alkaline water electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced patterning techniques are essential to pursue applications of 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials in electrical and optical devices. Here, the direct optical lithography (DOL) of vdW materials by single‐pulse irradiation of high‐power light through a photomask is reported. The DOL exhibits large‐scale patterning with a sub‐micrometer resolution and clean surface, which can be applied to various combinations of vdW materials and substrates. In addition, the thermal profile during DOL is investigated using the finite element method, and the ideal conditions of DOL according to the materials and substrates are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve an efficient conversion of renewable energy sources through water splitting, low‐cost, efficient, and eco‐friendly catalysts are required for oxygen and hydrogen evolution. Herein, we demonstrate that infrared (IR) irradiating oxide catalysts improve the evolution efficiency of H2 and O2 gases by approximately 3.4 times that of the conventional method. This indicates that the IR oxide catalysts contribute to lowering the energy required to break the interatomic covalent bonds in the water molecule (H2O) through stretching and bending vibrations, thus facilitating the efficient evolution of H2 and O2 gases. A comparison between the IR oxide catalysts and a catalyst‐free 6 M KOH solution showed that the former requires a shorter duration (11 min) compared to the 37 min required by the catalyst‐free 6 M KOH solution for the evolution of 500 cc of O2 and H2 gases. For the system containing the IR oxide catalyst, the power consumption was 6 Wh for 1 L of H2 gas evolution, whereas the catalyst‐free system consumed 23 Wh of power. This four‐times lower power consumption, using the IR oxide catalyst indicates a promising method for the mass production of O2 and H2 gases. These results indicate that IR oxides can be used as an efficient and eco‐friendly thermal radiation catalyst for green hydrogen and renewable energy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactions of 4‐nitrophenyl 2‐furoates (1a–e) with R2NH/R2NH2+ in 20 mol% DMSO(aq) have been studied. The reactions produced aminolysis products and exhibited second‐order kinetics. The Brönsted plots were linear with βnuc values of 0.75–0.89, which remained nearly the same for all 5‐furyl substituents. The rate data showed excellent correlations on the Yukawa‐Tsuno plots with ρ(x) = 0.72–1.1, and r = 0.55–0.95, respectively. The ρ value increased and r value decreased with a stronger nucleophile, indicating an increase in the electron density at the CO bond and a decrease in the resonance contribution. The results have been interpreted with the addition–elimination mechanism in which the second step is the rds. By comparing with the data for ArC(O)OC6H4‐4‐NO2 (Ar = Ph, thienyl), the effect of the aryl group on the acyl transfer reaction was assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differing from the finite element method, most of mesh‐free methods are restricted to two‐dimensional (2D) problems owing to the difficulty in constructing three‐dimensional (3D) grids. But, for 3D elastic structures, this limitation could be effectively overcome when hierarchical models are employed. In the hierarchical models of elastic structures, only the in‐plane displacement field is needed to be approximated because the thickness‐wise displacement field is assumed by polynomials. In this context, this paper is concerned with the reliable numerical implementation of hierarchical models for plate‐like structures using 2D natural element method (NEM). However, one critical problem in implementing the hierarchical model is to secure the continuity in strain and stress fields. To resolve this problem, this paper presents a level‐wise strain recovery method. In addition, a recovery‐based error estimation is introduced to predict the modeling error and the numerical approximation error. The proposed methods are illustrated and validated through the numerical experiments. It is confirmed that the level‐wise strain recovery successfully and CPU‐time effectively provides the continuous stress resultants and the proposed error estimator accurately predicts the modeling and approximation errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue engineering of skeletal muscle has been proposed as a potential regenerative treatment for extensive muscle damage. In this regard, the highly organized structure of skeletal muscles makes the alignment of cells especially indispensable in muscle tissue engineering. However, achieving the desired alignment continues to prove challenging, particularly in 3D engineered tissue constructs. In this study, a biomimetic approach for the generation of functional skeletal muscle fascicle‐like tissues by recapitulating 3D muscle‐like cellular and extracellular organization, is demonstrated. Anisotropic 3D alignment of muscle extracellular matrix (MEM) nanofibrils capable of providing a pro‐myogenic microenvironment by regulating the kinetics of fibrillogenesis in a stretchable elastomeric chip, is achieved. Reprogrammed muscle progenitor cells develop myofibers along the aligned MEM nanofibrils in a 3D configuration, culminating in the structural and functional maturation of skeletal muscle. The resultant 3D muscle fascicle‐like constructs support de novo muscle regeneration and induce functional restoration of injured muscles in animal models inflicted with volumetric muscle loss and congenital muscular dystrophy. This study not only highlights the fundamental roles of the muscle–mimetic structural guidance cues for 3D muscle tissue engineering, but also unveils the clinical potential of artificial muscle constructs in regenerative medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Purpose: Patients who undergo gastric surgery are prone to form postsurgical gallstones. Debates still exist about the need for prevention and the selection of preventive methods. No studies had been reported comparing the efficacy of prophylactic ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and prophylactic cholecystectomy (PC) for lowering postsurgical gallstone formation and subsequent cholecystectomy (SC) in patients who have undergone gastric surgery. Methods: We did a systematic review to identify studies from PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane database through 30 June 2020. We conducted direct and indirect comparisons of each prophylaxis using conventional and network meta‐analysis. Studies with patients who have no history of cholecystectomy and who have not had preoperative gallstone were included. Results: The excellent preventive effects of PC and UDCA were demonstrated for gallstone formation (odds ratio [OR] 0.05, [95% CI 0.01, 0.22] and 0.20, [95% CI 0.16, 0.24], respectively) and the need for SC (OR 0.10, [95% CI 0.02, 0.57] and OR 0.22, [95% CI 0.14, 0.35], respectively) than control group. The UDCA group showed a tendency to generate more gallstones (OR 3.74, [95% CI 0.88, 15.82]) and a greater need for SC (OR 2.19, [95% CI 0.47‐10.14]) than did the PC group without statistical significance. Conclusions: Prophylaxis for gallstone formation may be needed for patients who undergo gastric surgery to reduce troublesome morbidities. Prophylactic UDCA seems to be a reasonable preventive method for postsurgical gallstone formation to ensure clinical benefit while reducing the burden of subsequent cholecystectomy for the patient as compared to a PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim was to determine the efficacy of probiotics in restoring bowel function following ileostomy reversal in patients with rectal cancer. Method: This was a pilot, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial. The probiotic used in this study, Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP243, was derived from kimchi. Patients were randomly allocated to a probiotic or placebo group and medication was taken once daily from preoperative day 1 to day 21. Primary outcomes were the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre Bowel Function Index (MSKCC BFI) instrument and the low anterior resection syndrome score. The secondary outcomes were the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 and CR29 questionnaire responses. Results: Forty patients were enrolled, and 36 patients (probiotics, n = 17; placebo, n = 19) completed the primary outcomes. Total scores for the MSKCC questionnaire (56.2 ± 12.0 vs. 55.0 ± 10.7, P = 0.356) and low anterior resection syndrome scores (33.3 ± 7.6 vs. 36.0 ± 5.3, P = 0.257) were not significantly different between the probiotic and placebo groups, respectively. In the MSKCC BFI, the postoperative dietary scale score at week 1 was significantly higher in the probiotic group (13.1 ± 3.8 vs. 9.0 ± 3.0, P < 0.001). There were no other significant differences between the two groups for any other questionnaire scores. Conclusion: There were no significant effects supporting the use of a probiotic for improved bowel function in patients following ileostomy reversal. Nevertheless, the administration of probiotics showed trends toward improvements in some subscale bowel function measures, suggesting further studies may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improper functional orientation of the acetabular cup can result in improper positions when dynamic pelvic positions are not considered. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes on acetabular anteversion according to pelvic tilt under various acetabular inclinations. Two artificial pelvic models were selected for this study. Acetabular inclinations on the coronal plane were 25°, 32°, 50°, and 60°. Acetabular anteversion of all components were 15°. Changes of anteversion according to pelvic tilt were measured at angles of 0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°. Computer Navigation, PolyWare 3D pro, CT, and plain radiography were used to measure each angle. The anatomical anteversions against pelvic tilt were calculated using the following formulae: anatomical anteversion (°) = −14.48Χ + 90.18 (inclination angle 25°); anatomical anteversion (°) = −12.26Χ + 80.10 (inclination angle 32°); anatomical anteversion (°) = −7.468Χ + 61.13 (inclination angle 50°); and anatomical anteversion (°) = −5.328Χ + 44.84 (inclination angle 60°) (Χ: pelvic tilt angle). Radiographic anteversion against pelvic tilt were calculated using the following formulae: radiographic anteversion (°) = −9.50Χ + 57.09 (inclination angle 25°); radiographic anteversion (°) = −8.577Χ + 50.89 (inclination angle 32°); radiographic anteversion (°) = −6.794Χ + 45.73 (inclination angle 50°); radiographic anteversion (°) = −5.226Χ + 33.08 (inclination angle 60°). In conclusion, changes in anteversion according to pelvic tilt were lesser at higher degrees of acetabular inclination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the differences in gait outcomes of young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) following rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) with different types of cueing. A total of 13 ambulatory adults with CP were recruited. The participants were assigned to receive either RAS with simple chords or RAS with complex chords. Each participant received 30‐min individual sessions three times per week for 4 weeks. In the simple RAS group, basic chords were used for cueing. In the complex RAS group, the diversified chords were adopted from patients' preferred music. At pre‐ and posttest, spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters and the range of motion (ROM) for each joint during a gait cycle were collected. After RAS, cadence, velocity, and stride length significantly increased, but no significant group effect was found. Meanwhile, regarding kinematic parameters, a significant interaction effect between time and group was observed with the angle of plantar flexion in the preswing phase and ROM in the ankle. The complex RAS group showed increased maximal ankle plantar flexion in the preswing phase. These results demonstrated that the primary agent for gait control is rhythm, while perception of music facilitates patient engagement in walking differently depending on the level of musical elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactions of 2,4‐dinitrophenyl 2‐thiophenecarboxylate (2a–d) with R2NH/R2NH2+ in 20 mol % DMSO(aq) have been studied. The reactions are overall second order, first order to the substrates, and first order to the nucleophiles. The Brönsted plots showed downward curves with pKa0 = 9.5, β1 = 0.22–0.34, and β2 = 0.85–0.92. The k1 values increased with a stronger electron‐withdrawing 5‐thienyl substituent and a stronger nucleophile, whereas the k2/k−1 values remained nearly the same for all 5‐thienyl substituents. The influence of 5‐thienyl substituent on the reaction rates showed excellent correlations on the Yukawa‐Tsuno plots with ρ = 1.28–2.16 and r = 0.20–0.60. The ρ value increased and r value decreased with a stronger nucleophile, indicating an increase in the electron density at the carbonyl carbon and a decrease in the resonance demand. From these results, a stepwise mechanism with a change in the rate‐determining step has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since at least Hume and Kant, philosophers working on the nature of aesthetic judgment have generally agreed that common sense does not treat aesthetic judgments in the same way as typical expressions of subjective preferences—rather, it endows them with intersubjective validity, the property of being right or wrong regardless of disagreement. Moreover, this apparent intersubjective validity has been taken to constitute one of the main explananda for philosophical accounts of aesthetic judgment. But is it really the case that most people spontaneously treat aesthetic judgments as having intersubjective validity? In this paper, we report the results of a cross‐cultural study with over 2,000 respondents spanning 19 countries. Despite significant geographical variations, these results suggest that most people do not treat their own aesthetic judgments as having intersubjective validity. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theories of aesthetic judgment and the purpose of aesthetics in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to observe the possible protective effects of a triple‐fermented barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) extract (FBe) obtained by saccharification and using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Weissella cibaria in alleviating gastric damage induced by a hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ethanol (EtOH) mixture in mice. After oral administration of FBe (300, 200, and 100 mg/kg) followed by 1 hr before and after the single treatment of HCl/EtOH (H/E) mixture, the hemorrhagic lesion scores, histopathology of the stomach, gastric nitrate/nitrite content, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant defense systems including catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were observed. Following a single oral treatment of H/E‐induced gastric damages as measured by hemorrhagic gross lesions and histopathological gastric, ulcerative lesions were significantly and dose‐dependently (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05) inhibited in mice, when all three different doses of FBe were administered as compared to those in H/E control mice. In particular, FBe also increased gastric nitrate/nitrite content and strengthened the antioxidant defense, with a decrease in the level of gastric lipid peroxidation, but increased the activities of CAT and SOD. Moreover, the effects of FBe are comparable to that of ranitidine, a reference drug. The obtained results suggest that this fermented barley extract prevented mice from H/E‐induced gastric mucosal damages through the suppression of inflammatory responses and oxidative stress‐responsive free radicals. Thus, FBe can be useful to treat patients suffering from gastric mucosal disorders as a potent food supplement, and thereby, it would increase the necessity of application in the food industry. Representative gross stomach images, taken from intact or HE‐treated mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Robust parameter design (RPD) aims to build product quality in the early design phase of product development by optimizing operating conditions of process parameters. A vast majority of the current RPD studies are based on an uncensored random sample from a process distribution. In reality, censoring schemes are widely implemented in lifetime testing, survival analysis, and reliability studies in which the value of a measurement is only partially known. However, there has been little work on the development of RPD when censored data are under study. To fill in the research gaps given practical needs, this paper proposes response surface–based RPD models that focus on survival times and hazard rate. Primary tools used in this paper include the Kaplan‐Meier estimator, Greenwood's formula, the Cox proportional hazards regression method, and a nonlinear programming method. The experimental modeling and optimization procedures are demonstrated through a numerical example. Various response surface–based RPD optimization models are proposed, and their RPD solutions are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care professionals often use regression methods to quantitatively describe the functional relationships between predictors and outcomes. However, little research investigates the appropriateness of tool application for response-surface-based design of experiments, the choice of regression estimators under different environments, and the impact of the determination of optimum conditions, or optimal factor-level settings, to achieve desirable target outcomes. Robust parameter design (RPD) is an established methodology for determining optimum conditions for a process to achieve specified process targets while minimizing variability of the outcomes. Underlying assumptions for RPD modeling and process conditions should be taken into account when selecting a regression estimator for developing fitted models. If these assumptions are incorrect, then a direct use of estimates obtained has the potential to be problematic, and the results may be potentially catastrophic, particularly when applied to the health care field. Many approaches to RPD in existing literature use ordinary least squares to obtain response functions by assuming normality and moderate variability in the underlying process. Given that some biologic processes are often highly variable and inherently asymmetric, a conditions-based approach for the selection of a regression estimate technique needs to be explored. This paper examines alternative approaches to regression estimation when the process data indicates that asymmetry or a high degree of process variability exists. The performance of select alternative regression methods is compared using Monte Carlo simulation and numerical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ketene-forming elimination from C4H3(O)CH2C(O)OC6H3-2-X-4-NO2 (1) promoted by R2NH in MeCN has been studied. The reactions produced elimination products and exhibited second-order kinetics with Brönsted β = 0.51, and |βlg| = 0.47-0.53, indicating that the reaction proceeds by the E2 mechanism via an E2-central transition state. Comparison of β, |βlg|, ∆H6≠, and ∆S6≠ values for R2NH-promoted eliminations from ArCH2C(O)OC6H3-2-X-4-NO2 reveals that the transition-state structures for Ar = furyl and thienyl are similar and more symmetrical than that for Ar = Ph. This outcome has been attributed to the greater double bond stabilizing ability of the former than that of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth by oriented assembly of nanoparticles is a widely reported phenomenon for many crystal systems. While often deduced through morphological analyses, direct evidence for this assembly behavior is limited and, in the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) system, has recently been disputed. However, in the absence of a particle-based pathway, the mechanism responsible for the creation of the striking morphologies that appear to consist of subparticles is unclear. Therefore, in situ atomic force microscopy is used to investigate the growth of calcite crystals in solutions containing a polymer additive known for its ability to generate crystal morphologies associated with mesocrystal formation. It is shown that classical growth processes that begin with impurity pinning of atomic steps, leading to stabilization of new step directions, creation of pseudo-facets, and extreme surface roughening, can produce a microscale morphology previously attributed to nonclassical processes of crystal growth by particle assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manifestation of the functionalities from the structural brain network is becoming increasingly important to understand a brain disease. With the aim of investigating the differential structure-function couplings according to network systems, we investigated the structural and functional brain networks of patients with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy with periventricular leukomalacia compared to healthy controls. The structural and functional networks of the whole brain and motor system, constructed using deterministic and probabilistic tractography of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance images and Pearson and partial correlation analyses of resting-state functional magnetic resonance images, showed differential embedding of functional networks in the structural networks in patients. In the whole-brain network of patients, significantly reduced global network efficiency compared to healthy controls were found in the structural networks but not in the functional networks, resulting in reduced structural-functional coupling. On the contrary, the motor network of patients had a significantly lower functional network efficiency over the intact structural network and a lower structure-function coupling than the control group. This reduced coupling but reverse directionality in the whole-brain and motor networks of patients was prominent particularly between the probabilistic structural and partial correlation-based functional networks. Intact (or less deficient) functional network over impaired structural networks of the whole brain and highly impaired functional network topology over the intact structural motor network might subserve relatively preserved cognitions and impaired motor functions in cerebral palsy. This study suggests that the structure-function relationship, evaluated specifically using sparse functional connectivity, may reveal important clues to functional reorganization in cerebral palsy. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5292-5306, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust parameter design is a widely implemented design methodology for continuous quality improvement by identifying optimal factor level settings with minimum product variation. However, apparent flaws surrounding the original version of robust parameter design have resulted in alternative approaches, of which response surface methodology using the central composite design, in particular, has drawn a great deal of attention. There is a large number of practical situations in which some or all of variables must be integers; however, the design space associated with the traditional central composite design is typically a bounded convex feasible set involving real numbers. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we discuss why the Box-Behnken design may be preferred over the central composite design and other three-level designs when maintaining constant or nearly constant prediction variance associated with a second-order model is crucial to integer-valued robust parameter design problems. Second, we lay out the foundation to show how the Box-Behnken design is transformed into a nonlinear integer programming framework. In this paper, we develop Box-Behnken design embedded nonlinear integer programming models, using the sequential quadratic integer programming and the Karush-Khun-Tucker conditions. Comparison studies of the proposed models and traditional counterparts are also conducted. It is believed that the proposed models have the potential to impact a wide range of engineering problems, ultimately leading to process and quality improvement. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on gait in adolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI) were investigated. A total of 14 adolescents with ABI were initially recruited, and 12 were included in the final analysis ( n = 6 each). They were randomly assigned to the experimental (RAS) or the control (conventional gait training) groups. The experimental group received gait training with RAS three times a week for 4 weeks. For both groups, spatiotemporal parameters and kinematic data, such as dynamic motions of joints on three-dimensional planes during a gait cycle and the range of motion in each joint, were collected. Significant group differences in pre-post changes were observed in cadence, walking velocity, and step time, indicating that there were greater improvements in those parameters in the RAS group compared with the control group. Significant increases in hip and knee motions in the sagittal plane were also observed in the RAS group. The changes in kinematic data significantly differed between groups, particularly from terminal stance to mid-swing phase. An increase of both spatiotemporal parameters and corresponding kinematic changes of hip and knee joints after RAS protocol indicates that the use of rhythmic cueing may change gait patterns in adolescents with ABI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report 22 acedan-derived, two-photon fluorophores with synthetic feasibility and full coverage of visible wavelength emission. The emission wavelengths were predicted by computational analysis, which enabled us to visualize multicolor images by two-photon excitation with single wavelength, and to design a turn-on, two-photon fluorescence sensor for endogenous H2O2 in Raw 264.7 macrophage and rat brain hippocampus ex vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process capability indices provide a measure of the output of an in-control process that conforms to a set of specification limits. These measures, which assume that process output is approximately normally distributed, are intended for measuring process capability for manufacturing systems. When the performance of a system results in a product that fails to fall within a given specification range, however, the product is typically scrapped or reworked, and the actual distribution that the customer perceives after inspection is truncated. In this paper, the concept of a truncated measure for three types of quality characteristics is introduced as the key to linking customer perception to process capability. Subsequently, a set of customer-perceived process capability indices is presented as an extension of traditional manufacturer-based counterparts. Finally, data transformation-based process capability indices are also discussed. A comparative study and numerical example reveal considerable differences among the traditional and proposed process capability indices. It is believed that the proposed process capability index for various quality characteristics may more aptly lead to process improvement by facilitating a better understanding of the integrated effects found in engineering design problems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elimination reactions of ( E)-2,4,6-( NO2 ) 3C6H2CH NOC(O) C6H4X ( 3) promoted by R2NH/ R2NH2 + in 70 mol% MeCN (aq) have been studied. The reactions produced elimination products and exhibited second-order kinetics. The β and |βlg| values remained nearly the same for all leaving groups and bases. The results can be described by the negligible pxy interaction coefficient, pxy = ∂β/∂p Klg = ∂βlg/∂p KBH ≈ 0, which provides a strong support for the (E1cb)irr mechanism. For eliminations from ( E)-ArCHNOC(O)C6H4X ( 1, 3) and ( E)-2,4,6-(NO2)3C6H2CHNOAr′ ( 2, 3), the change of the β-aryl group (Ar) from 2,4-dinitrophenyl ( 1) to 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl ( 3) increased the rate by 270-fold without appreciable change in the transition state structure. On the other hand, the leaving group (OAr′) variation from benzoate ( 3) to 4-nitrophenoxy ( 2) induced a change in reaction mechanism from (E1cb)irr to E2. These results have been attributed to the cyclic transition state for the nitrile-forming eliminations involving the benzoate leaving group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Investigate the clinical outcomes of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) in patients with benign intracranial lesions and accompanying trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Methods From February 2002 to November 2011, 50 patients (11 males, 39 females) underwent GKS for intracranial lesions accompanied by TN. Pathological diagnoses included meningioma in 30 patients, vestibular schwannoma in 11, trigeminal schwannoma in 7, epidermoid cyst in 1, and arteriovenous malformation in 1. Twenty-two (44%) had a lesion dominantly located in the middle fossa and 26 patients (52%) in the posterior fossa. Twenty-five (50%) patients complained of type I pain, and 18 patients (36%) suffered from type II pain. The other 7 patients (14%) presented with facial pain that could not be determined. Pain was assessed retrospectively by subjective descriptions and with the Barrow Neurological Institute pain intensity score before and after GKS. Results Tumor control was evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging in 44 (95.7%) of 46 patients over a median follow-up period of 54.8 months (range, 13-142 months). Initial improvement in pain after GKS was observed in 46 (92%) patients. The percentage of patients with improved Barrow Neurological Institute score was 73.5% at 1 year, 70.7% at 2 years, and 76.5% at 3 years. Complete pain relief at the final follow-up was achieved in 18 patients (36%). Pain recurred in 13 patients (28.3%) after initial improvement. Pathological diagnosis, location of the lesion, and type of facial pain did not influence the initial pain response after GKS. Pain recurred more frequently in patients with meningioma than in those with schwannoma ( P = .045). Type II pain showed better response to the treatment ( P = .006). Conclusion The majority of patients with facial pain secondary to a benign intracranial lesion showed improvement after GKS. However, a substantial proportion of the patients experienced incomplete pain relief and recurrence. GKS needs to be combined with an additional modality or the technique must be modified to achieve complete and durable pain control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an experimentally versatile strategy for producing inorganic/organic nanocomposites, with control over the microstructure at the nano- and mesoscales. Taking inspiration from biominerals, CaCO3 is coprecipitated with anionic diblock copolymer worms or vesicles to produce single crystals of calcite occluding a high density of the organic component. This approach can also be extended to generate complex structures in which the crystals are internally patterned with nano-objects of differing morphologies. Extensive characterization of the nanocomposite crystals using high resolution synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy demonstrates how the occlusions affect the short and long-range order of the crystal lattice. By comparison with nanocomposite crystals containing latex particles and copolymer micelles, it is shown that the effect of these occlusions on the crystal lattice is dominated by the interface between the inorganic crystal and the organic nano-objects, rather than the occlusion size. This is supported by in situ atomic force microscopy studies of worm occlusion in calcite, which reveal flattening of the copolymer worms on the crystal surface, followed by burial and void formation. Finally, the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite crystals are determined using nanoindentation techniques, which reveal that they have hardnesses approaching those of biogenic calcites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel two-photon (TP) probes were developed for lysosomes (PLT-yellow) and mitochondria (BMT-blue and PMT-yellow). These probes emitted strong TP-excited fluorescence in cells at widely separated wavelength regions and displayed high organelle selectivity, good cell permeability, low cytotoxicity, and pH insensitivity. The BMT-blue and PLT-yellow probes could be utilized to detect lysosomes and mitochondria simultaneously in live tissues by using dual-color two-photon microscopy, with minimum interference from each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction To assess the current status of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea for >3 months, as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Materials and Methods Data on patient demographics, diabetic complications, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose ( FPG) and type of treatment were collected in this multicenter, cross-sectional, non-interventional study. Results From April 2008 to February 2009, 5,628 patients were recruited from 299 centers in Korea. Patients characteristics (mean ± SD) were as follows: age 58.4 ± 10.8 years, duration of diabetes 6.1 ± 4.7 years, body mass index 24.7 ± 2.9 kg/m2, HbA1c 7.77 ± 1.22%, FBG 147.4 ± 46.5 mmol/L and FPG 164.0 ± 54.3 mmol/L. The most common diabetic complication was neuropathy (22.5%), followed by retinopathy (18.3%) and microalbuminuria (16.1%). Just 1,524 (27.1%) patients achieved HbA1c ≤7%. A higher number of patients (32.6%) treated by endocrinologists achieved HbA1c ≤7% than those treated by internists (24.4%) and primary care physicians (23.2%). In multivariate analyses, diabetic retinopathy (odds ratio 0.455, 95% confidence interval 0.341-0.606), nephropathy (odds ratio 0.639, 95% confidence interval 0.43-0.949), diabetes for ≥5 years (odds ratio 0.493, 95% confidence interval 0.4-0.606) and older age added by 1 year (odds ratio 1.019, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.029) was significantly associated with achieving target HbA1c. In addition, treatment by endocrinologists rather than internists significantly increased chances of achieving target HbA1c (odds ratio 1.417, 95% confidence interval 1.146-1.751). Conclusions The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes in Korea had inadequate glycemic control, despite receiving a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient HER-OER electrocatalytic performance is attributed to its unique alloyed oxygen vacancy structure-property, which facilitates the diffusion of protons/OH- ions and significantly improves the electron conductivity for catalytic reactions. Keywords: Full cell water splitting; HER/OER; NiCeWOx; Ni foam; Oxygen vacancies EN Full cell water splitting HER/OER NiCeWOx Ni foam Oxygen vacancies 1 1 1 08/19/22 20220812 NES 220812 B The Front Cover b shows the ternary alloy oxide composed of NiCeWO SB x sb as advanced bi-functional electrocatalyst for anion membrane full water splitting. Front Cover: Oxygen Vacancy-Enhanced Ternary Nickel-Tungsten-Cerium Metal Alloy-Oxides for Efficient Alkaline Electrochemical Full Cell Water Splitting Using Anion Exchange Membrane (ChemElectroChem 15/2022). [Extracted from the article]

A two-photon probe for near-membrane zinc ions that can be excited by 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses and emit at 500 nm is reported. The probe can be easily loaded into cells and tissue slices to visualize near-membrane zinc ions in live cells and tissues for a long period of time through the use of two-photon microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality practitioners often identify robust parameter design ( RPD) as one of the most important and effective methods for process and quality improvement. Within this framework, identifying the optimal factor settings that achieve desired process targets with minimum variance is critical and can translate to significant reductions in product waste and processing costs. In solving this problem, most traditional RPD models consider only a single quality characteristic of interest. However, products are often judged by multiple quality characteristics, which often have conflicting objectives. Conventional RPD models that address the multi-response problem typically only examine like-type cases, and those that consider mixed types of quality characteristics often overlook any asymmetry that is likely to exist in certain types. In contrast, this article proposes a multidisciplinary RPD methodology that provides an enhanced approach for modeling multiple, mixed type quality characteristics; uses the skew normal distribution to allow for a fuller and more accurate representation of asymmetric system properties and to facilitate simultaneous modeling of both symmetric and asymmetric conditions; and implements a priority-based optimization scheme that affords engineers' and decision makers' flexibility in establishing and modifying optimization priorities. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the proposed methodology, and the results are compared traditional approaches to illustrate potential improvements. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of robust parameter design (RPD) is to determine the optimum operating conditions that achieve process performance targets while minimizing variability in the results. To achieve this goal, typical approaches to RPD problems use ordinary least squares methods to obtain response functions for the mean and variance by assuming that the experimental data follow a normal distribution and are relatively free of contaminants or outliers. Consequently, the most common estimators used in the initial tier of estimation are the sample mean and sample variance, as they are very good estimators when these assumptions hold. However, it is often the case that such assumed conditions do not exist in practice; notably, that inherent asymmetry pervades system outputs. If unaccounted for, such conditions can affect results tremendously by causing the quality of the estimates obtained using the sample mean and standard deviation to deteriorate. Focusing on asymmetric conditions, this paper examines several highly efficient estimators as alternatives to the sample mean and standard deviation. We then incorporate these estimators into RPD modeling and optimization approaches to ascertain which estimators tend to yield better solutions when skewness exists. Monte Carlo simulation and numerical studies are used to substantiate and compare the performance of the proposed methods with the traditional approach. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim Few data describing short-term proton pump inhibitor ( PPI) treatment in patients with globus sensation exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of high-resolution manometry ( HRM) for predicting the response to PPI treatment in patients with globus sensation. Method A total of 41 patients with globus sensation were treated with PPIs for 4 weeks and were classified as positive and negative responders. HRM topographical plots were analyzed for relevant manometric parameters. In addition, clinical and HRM data of 20 patients with typical gastroesophageal reflux disease ( GERD) not presenting globus symptom were analyzed. Results Of the 41 patients, 19 (46%) were clinically diagnosed with GERD. The proportion of patients with favorable symptomatic improvement was higher in patients with GERD than in those without reflux ( P = 0.046). Positive and negative responders to PPI treatment did not differ in upper esophageal sphincter and proximal esophageal contraction. In globus patients with GERD, the temporal and spatial dimension of the transitional zone were greater among negative responders than among PPI-positive responders ( P = 0.010 and P = 0.011). Regarding GERD patients without globus, there was no significant difference in transition zone defect according to PPI responsiveness. By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, 2.1 cm and 1.1 s were found to be the spatial and temporal transitional zone dimensions that best differentiated positive and negative responders. Conclusion In patients with GERD-related globus, there were larger transition zone defect in the negative responders compared with the PPI-positive responders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-photon microscopy (TPM) has become an indispensable tool in the study of biology and medicine due to the capability of this method for molecular imaging deep inside intact tissues. For the maximum utilization of TPM, a variety of two-photon (TP) probes for specific applications are needed. In this article, we report a small-molecule TP probe (ANO1) for nitric oxide (NO) that shows a rapid and specific NO response, a 68-fold fluorescence enhancement in response to NO, and a maximum TP-action cross-section of 170 GM (GM: 10−50 cm4 photon−1) upon reaction with excess NO. This probe can be easily loaded into cells and tissues and can real-time monitor NO in living tissues at 100-180 μm depth for longer than 1200 s through the use of TPM, with minimum interference from other biologically relevant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]