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The carrier mobility of pentacene OTFT is enhanced by annealing its gate dielectric (SiO 2 ) in NH 3 . The device has a field-effect mobility of 0.53 cm 2 /V s, with on/off current ratio of 10 6 , and subthreshold slope of 2.4 V per decade. When compared with the control sample with N 2 -annealed SiO 2 as gate dielectric, the mobility of the proposed pentacene OTFT is increased by over 50%. AFM micrographs show that the higher mobility should be due to the smoother gate-dielectric surface passivated by the NH 3 annealing, and also larger pentacene grains grown on the smoother gate-dielectric surface.

Introduction Epidepride is a compound with an affinity in picomolar range for D 2 /D 3 receptors. The aim of this work was designed to investigate the diagnostic possibility of [ 123 I]epidepride imaging platform for risperidone-treatment chronic MK-801-induced rat schizophrenia model. Methods Rats received repeated administration of MK-801 (dissolved in saline, i.p., 0.3mg/kg/day) or saline for 4weeks. After 1-week administration of MK-801, rats in MK-801+risperidone group received risperidone (0.5mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally 15min prior to MK-801 administration for the rest of 3-week treatment. We obtained serial [ 123 I]epidepride neuroimages from nanoSPECT/CT and evaluated the alteration of specific binding in striatum and midbrain. Results Risperidone reversed chronic MK-801-induced decrease in social interaction duration. IHC and ELISA analysis showed consistent results that chronic MK-801 treatment significantly decreased striatal and midbrain D 2 R expression but repeated risperidone administration reversed the effect of MK-801 treatment. In addition, [ 123 I]epidepride nanoSPECT/CT neuroimaging revealed that low specific [ 123 I]epidepride binding ratios caused by MK-801 in striatum and midbrain were statistically alleviated after 1- and 2-week risperidone administration, respectively. Conclusions We established a rat schizophrenia model by chronic MK-801 administration for 4weeks. [ 123 I]Epidepride nanoSPECT neuroimaging can trace the progressive alteration of D 2 R expression in striatum and midbrain caused by long-lasting MK-801 treatment. Besides diagnosing illness stage of disease, [ 123 I]epidepride can be a useful tool to evaluate therapeutic effects of antipsychotic drug in chronic MK-801-induced rat schizophrenia model.

Myopic crescent, refractive error and axial length were previously investigated in Hong Kong Chinese subjects. The myopic crescent was found to correlate with axial length and myopic refraction. In this study, three groups of Hong Kong Chinese with different degrees of myopia were assessed for optic disc ovalness, refractive error and axial length. The axial length was significantly correlated with the degree of myopia, indicating that the myopia was axial in nature. The regression line shows that 0.44 mm of axial elongation would give about one dioptre of increase in myopia. The elliptical ratio of the optic disc was defined as the maximal disc diameter divided by the minimal disc diameter. All three groups showed an oval disc with vertical axis greater and an increased ovalness for the high myopic group with an elliptical ratio from 1.11 in low myopia to 1.29 in high myopia. There is a small amount (about four degrees) of temporal rotation of this vertical oval orientation, which is independent of the amount of myopia. This result shows an association between axial elongation of the globe and optic disc ovalness, in addition to the previously described temporal myopic crescent. Therefore, in myopic subjects, a vertically oval disc may be associated with a myopic refraction rather than glaucoma.

Keratoconus is a condition in which the cornea assumes a complex irregular curvature caused by central corneal thinning. The abnormal topography of the cornea in combination with central corneal scarring results in an impaired visual acuity. Even in mild cases spectacles do not correct vision adequately. The use of hard contact lenses with a spherical geometry in the past has already given a marked therapeutic improvement. The use of these lenses however, is complicated by hypoxia and mechanical trauma of the cornea. These complications could theoretically be avoided by fitting elliptical lenses with a high oxygen transmission. To investigate this hypothesis we compared low oxygen-permeable spherical lenses with high oxygen-permeable elliptical contact lenses in a group of twenty patients with mild keratoconus. Our results showed both a marked subjective and objective visual improvement after fitting elliptical lenses with a low incidence of complications.

At the onset of our first field trials of tra­ choma vaccine in Taiwan in 1959, some prevalence data were available on trachoma infection in entering primary school chil­ dren. Later the World Health Organization performed an island-wide prevalence sur­ vey. We undertook to obtain incidence data in order to assist us in the understand­ ing of the natural history of trachoma on Taiwan and in the evaluation of trachoma vaccine and drug treatment studies.

SummaryField trials of experimental egg-grown trachoma virus vaccine have been carried out in preschool-aged children in 2 rural areas on Taiwan. Four hundred and five children randomly divided between a placebo and trachoma vaccine groups have been followed for 2 1/2 years during which 4 injections of vaccine have been given. Eighteen per cent of the placebo group have converted to trachoma compared to 8% of those receiving vaccine. An average of 2.98 months of trachoma have been observed in the placebo group compared to 1.22 months in the vaccine group. Both these measures suggested that the vaccine was approximately 60% effective in reducing trachoma. A third study in an urban area with 89 children showed similar vaccine effectiveness.