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Background and Objectives: We evaluated the prevalence and characteristics of isolated nighttime masked uncontrolled hypertension (IN-MUCH) in treated patients. Materials and Methods: Participants aged 20 years or older who were on antihypertensive medication underwent three-day office blood pressure (BP) and 24 h ambulatory BP measurements. Hypertension phenotypes were classified as controlled hypertension (CH), isolated daytime masked uncontrolled hypertension (ID-MUCH), IN-MUCH, and daytime and nighttime masked uncontrolled hypertension (DN-MUCH). Results: Among 701 participants, 544 had valid BP data and controlled office BP (<140/90 mmHg). The prevalence of IN-MUCH was 34.9%, with a higher prevalence of men and drinkers than in those with CH. Patients with IN-MUCH had higher office systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) than those with CH. The prevalence of IN-MUCH was 37.6%, 38.5%, and 27.9% in patients with optimal, normal, and high-normal office BP levels, respectively. Among IN-MUCH patients, 51.6% exhibited isolated uncontrolled DBP and 41.1% uncontrolled SBP and DBP. Younger age (p = 0.043), male sex (p = 0.033), and alcohol consumption (p = 0.011) were more prevalent in patients with isolated uncontrolled DBP than in those with uncontrolled SBP and DBP. Age and alcohol consumption were positively associated, whereas high-normal office BP exhibited a negative association with IN-MUCH. Conclusions: The IN-MUCH was significantly more prevalent in patients with normal or optimal office BP, posing treatment challenges. Further investigation is needed to determine whether differentiation between isolated uncontrolled DBP and combined uncontrolled SBP and DBP is necessary for prognostic assessment of IN-MUCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the advent of the 21st century, with the promulgation of landscape laws and related landscape management regulations, city color, as a vital component of the urban landscape, has garnered increasing attention. In East Asia, numerous cities have embraced city color planning as a means to enhance their urban landscape and shape the distinctive features of the city. Therefore, this study focuses on exploring the characteristics of city color planning systems in East Asia by adopting qualitative analysis methods, using Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing as case study examples. We used publications, academic research, and official documents clustered into seven domains to identify the following: government agency, introduction time, relevant laws, upper plan, tools/management, planning method, and planning contents. The results revealed that compared with Europe, city color planning in East Asia is government-led top-down planning, and there are remarkable similarities in the formulation process, planning methods, and color selection, while there are obvious deficiencies in the professionalism of the planning authorities and public participation. The results of this study provide a valuable reference for city color planning in the future, thereby enhancing the urban landscape and shaping unique city identities in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastomas shed large quantities of small, membrane-bound microvesicles into the circulation. Although these hold promise as potential biomarkers of therapeutic response, their identification and quantification remain challenging. Here, we describe a highly sensitive and rapid analytical technique for profiling circulating microvesicles directly from blood samples of patients with glioblastoma. Microvesicles, introduced onto a dedicated microfluidic chip, are labeled with target-specific magnetic nanoparticles and detected by a miniaturized nuclear magnetic resonance system. Compared with current methods, this integrated system has a much higher detection sensitivity and can differentiate glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) microvesicles from nontumor host cell--derived microvesicles. We also show that circulating GBM microvesicles can be used to analyze primary tumor mutations and as a predictive metric of treatment-induced changes. This platform could provide both an early indicator of drug efficacy and a potential molecular stratifier for human clinical trials., Many cancers shed materials into the peripheral circulation such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) (1) and soluble proteins (2), (3), which are being exploited as surrogate markers of tumor staging [...]

In this paper, we report a new flexible capacitive tactile sensor array with the capability of measuring both normal and shear force distribution using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a base material. A tactile cell consists of two thick PDMS layers with embedded electrodes, an air gap, and a pillar structure. The pillar structure is formed at the center of each tactile cell between the air gap under a large bump. There are four capacitors in a cell to decompose the contact force into normal and shear components. Four capacitors are arranged in a square form. If a normal force is applied on the bump, the PDMS layer on the pillar structure is compressed, and the air gap between the top and bottom electrodes decreases, resulting in the increase in all four capacitances. If a shear force is applied, a torque is induced around the pillar. Therefore, the capacitance of the two capacitors increases, whereas that of the other two decreases. The bump and the pillar structure play a critical role to generate a torque for shear force measurement. The sensor has been realized in an 8 x 8 array of unit sensors, and each unit sensor responds to normal and shear stresses in all three axes, respectively. Measurement of a single sensor shows that the full-scale range of detectable force is about 10 mN, which corresponds to 131 kPa in three directions. The sensitivities of a cell measured with a current setup are 2.5%/mN, 3.0%/mN, and 2.9 %/mN for the x-, y-, and z-directions, respectively. Normal and shear force images are also captured from a 4 x 4 array of the fabricated sensor. Distinctive characteristic patterns appear when a shear force is applied to the sensor. Index Terms--Capacitive, flexible, normal force, shear force, tactile sensor, three axis.

The nonrobotic fabrication of packaged microsystems that contain nonidentical parts has been accomplished by a directed self-assembly process. The self-assembly process uses geometrical shape recognition to identify different components and subsequent bond formation between liquid solder and metal-coated areas to form mechanical and electrical connections. We applied this concept of shape recognition and subsequent formation of contacts to assemble and package microsystems that contained nonidentical subunits. The self-assembly of three-component assemblies is demonstrated by sequentially adding device segments to the assembly solution including 200-[micro]m-sized light-emitting diodes. Six hundred AlGaInP-GaAs light-emitting diode segments self-assembled onto device carriers in 2 min without defects. Encapsulation units self-assembled onto the LED-carrier assemblies to form a three-dimensional (3-D) circuit path to operate the final device. The reported procedure provides a new route to the creation of autonomous heterogeneous microsystems including the realization of autonomous wireless sensor system that requires nonidentical units: CMOS circuitry, Non-CMOS sensor unit for sensing, III-V components for communication, and encapsulation units to form 3-D electrical interconnects. The creation of such systems is being discussed and a proof of concept experiment is being demonstrated. [1563] Index Terms--Heterogeneous integration, sensor systems, sequential self-assembly, solder- and shape-directed self-assembly.

This paper reports on a programmable reconfigurable self-assembly (PRS) process to enable heterogeneous integration of components on nonplanar substrates. The proposed process makes use of solder-based receptors that can be activated electrically. Metal contacts on segmented semiconductor devices bind to liquid-solder-based-receptors on a substrate during the fluidic self-assembly. Programmability is implemented using solder-based receptors that can be switched 'ON' and 'OFF' using integrated heaters. We have evaluated the feasibility of the proposed PRS concept through computer simulations using ANSYS to estimate: i) the necessary power to heat selected receptors to above the melting point of the solder and ii) the minimal spacing between receptors for preventing thermal crosstalk. A prototype platform has been fabricated to experimentally test the PRS process. The programmable sequential assembly of multiple types of components onto target positions has been demonstrated, including 300-[micro]m-sized light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and silicon dies. Three types of defects were identified and eliminated using improved component designs, transient heating, and adequate heat sinks. A prototype color LED display segment that contains a total of 36 red, green, and yellow LED segments and 72 interconnects has been used to test the concept. The outlined process provides a new concept to the parallel integration of micro-devices and systems that require electrical interconnects between components. [1564] Index Terms--Directed assembly, heterogeneous integration, programmable microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), reconfigurable self-assembly, sequential self-assembly, solder-based receptor, template assembly.

We have proposed a flexible sensor that can sense shear and normal forces, and can be fabricated through a simple process using only one layer of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film. For the measurement of shear and normal forces, one layer of PVDF film was sealed in a three-dimensionally structured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In the structure, the sensor produced voltage signals corresponding to the shear and normal forces. Using this property, we aimed to demonstrate how to sense the magnitude and direction of the force applied to the sensor from its output voltages. Furthermore, the proposed sensor with a 2 × 2 array was able to measure the applied force in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]