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Background & Aims Nonpedunculated colorectal polyps are normally endoscopically removed to prevent neoplastic progression. Delayed bleeding is the most common major adverse event. Clipping the resection defect has been suggested to reduce delayed bleedings. Our aim was to determine if prophylactic clipping reduces delayed bleedings and to analyze the contribution of polyp characteristics, extent of defect closure, and antithrombotic use. Methods An individual patient data meta-analysis was performed. Studies on prophylactic clipping in nonpedunculated colorectal polyps were selected from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane database (last selection, April 2020). Authors were invited to share original study data. The primary outcome was delayed bleeding ≤30 days. Multivariable mixed models were used to determine the efficacy of prophylactic clipping in various subgroups adjusted for confounders. Results Data of 5380 patients with 8948 resected polyps were included from 3 randomized controlled trials, 2 prospective, and 8 retrospective studies. Prophylactic clipping reduced delayed bleeding in proximal polyps ≥20 mm (odds ratio [OR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44–0.88; number needed to treat = 32), especially with antithrombotics (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.35–0.99; number needed to treat = 23; subgroup of anticoagulants/double platelet inhibitors: n = 226; OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.16–1.01; number needed to treat = 12). Prophylactic clipping did not benefit distal polyps ≥20 mm with antithrombotics (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 0.79–2.52). Conclusions Prophylactic clipping reduces delayed bleeding after resection of nonpedunculated, proximal colorectal polyps ≥20 mm, especially in patients using antithrombotics. No benefit was found for distal polyps. Based on this study, patients can be identified who may benefit from prophylactic clipping. (PROSPERO registration number CRD42020104317.)

Platinum diselenide (PtSe2) is a group-10 two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide that exhibits the most prominent atomic-layer-dependent electronic behavior of "semiconductor-to-semimetal" transition when going from monolayer to bulk form. This work demonstrates an efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion for direct solar-to-hydrogen (H2) production based on 2D layered PtSe2/Si heterojunction photocathodes. By systematically controlling the number of atomic layers of wafer-scale 2D PtSe2 films through chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the interfacial band alignments at the 2D layered PtSe2/Si heterojunctions can be appropriately engineered. The 2D PtSe2/p-Si heterojunction photocathode consisting of a PtSe2 thin film with a thickness of 2.2 nm (or 3 atomic layers) exhibits the optimized band alignment and delivers the best PEC performance for hydrogen production with a photocurrent density of -32.4 mA cm-2 at 0 V and an onset potential of 1 mA cm-2 at 0.29 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) after post-treatment. The wafer-scale atomic-layer controlled band engineering of 2D PtSe2 thin-film catalysts integrated with the Si light absorber provides an effective way in the renewable energy application for direct solar-to-hydrogen production.

Extensive studies on lead halide perovskites have shown that these materials are excellent candidates as gain mediums. Recently, many efforts have been made to incorporate perovskite lasers in integrated optical circuits. Possible solutions would be to utilize standard lithography with an etching/lift-off process or a direct laser etching technique. However, due to the fragile nature of the lead halide perovskites which gives rise to significant material deterioration during the lithography and etching processes, realizing a small-size, low-roughness, and single-mode laser remains a challenge. Here, a lithographic in-mold patterning method realized by nanocrystal concentration control and a multi-step filling-drying process is proposed to demonstrate CsPbBr3 nanocrystals distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) waveguide lasers. This method realizes the patterning of the CsPbBr3 nanocrystal laser cavity and DBR grating without lift-off and etching processes, and the smallest fabricated structures are obtained in a few hundred nanometers. The single-mode lasing is demonstrated at room temperature with a threshold of 23.5 μJ cm-2. The smallest full width at half maximum FWHM of the laser output is 0.4 nm. Due to the fabrication process and the DBR laser geometry, the lasers can be fabricated in a compact array, which is important for incorporating perovskite-based lasers in complex optoelectronic circuits.

Smart glass offers dynamic control over the transmission of light to address various needs in energy conservation, privacy, and information display; yet, most of the existing technologies still req...

Long-term use of gastric-acid-suppressive drugs is known to be associated with several adverse effects. However, the association between enteric infection and acid suppression therapy is still uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the association between gastric acid suppression and the risk of enteric infection. Materials and Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study using the data from Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD) in Taiwan. Between January 2008 and December 2017, a total of 154,590 adult inpatients (age &gt, 18) were identified. A pool of potential eligible controls according to four propensity scores matching by sex, age, and index year were extracted (n = 89,925). Subjects with missing data or who received less than 7 days of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and/or H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) were excluded. Finally, 17,186 cases and 69,708 corresponding controls were selected for analysis. The use of PPIs and H2RAs, the result of microbiological samples, and co-morbidity conditions have been analyzed. Confounders were controlled by conditional logistic regression. Results: 32.84% of patients in the case group used PPIs, compared with 7.48% in the control group. Of patients in the case group, 9.9% used H2RAs, compared with 6.9% in the control group. Of patients in the case group, 8.3% used a combination of PPIs and H2RAs, compared with 2.7% in the control group. The most common etiological pathogens were Enterococcus (44.8%), Clostridioides difficile (34.5%), and Salmonella spp. (10.2%). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for PPI use with enteric infection was 5.526 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.274–5.791). For H2RAs, the adjusted odds ratio was 1.339 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.261–1.424). Compared to the control group, persons with enteric infection had more frequent acid-suppressive agent usage. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that gastric-acid-suppressive drug use is associated with an increased risk of enteric infection after adjusting for potential biases and confounders.

Background Frail older adults are predisposed to multiple comorbidities and adverse events. Recent interventional studies have shown that frailty can be improved and managed. In this study, effective individualized home-based exercise and nutrition interventions were developed for reducing frailty in older adults. Methods This study was a four-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial conducted between October 2015 and June 2017 at Miaoli General Hospital in Taiwan. Overall, 319 pre-frail or frail older adults were randomly assigned into one of the four study groups (control, exercise, nutrition, and exercise plus nutrition [combination]) and followed up during a 3-month intervention period and 3-month self-maintenance period. Improvement in frailty scores was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included improvements in physical performance and mental health. The measurements were performed at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Results At the 6-month measurement, the exercise (difference in frailty score change from baseline: − 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: − 0.41, − 0.05; p = 0.012), nutrition (− 0.28; 95% CI: − 0.46, − 0.11; p = 0.002), and combination (− 0.34; 95% CI: − 0.52, − 0.16; p Conclusions The designated home-based exercise and nutrition interventions can help pre-frail or frail older adults to improve their frailty score and physical performance. Trial registration Retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT03477097); registration date: March 26, 2018.

In two-dimensional (2D)-semiconductor-based field-effect transistors and optoelectronic devices, metal–semiconductor junctions are one of the crucial factors determining device performance. The Fermi-level (FL) pinning effect, which commonly caused by interfacial gap states, severely limits the tunability of junction characteristics, including barrier height and contact resistance. A tunneling contact scheme has been suggested to address the FL pinning issue in metal–2D-semiconductor junctions, whereas the experimental realization is still elusive. Here, we show that an oxidized-monolayer-enabled tunneling barrier can realize a pronounced FL depinning in indium selenide (InSe) transistors, exhibiting a large pinning factor of 0.5 and a highly modulated Schottky barrier height. The FL depinning can be attributed to the suppression of metal- and disorder-induced gap states as a result of the high-quality tunneling contacts. Structural characterizations indicate uniform and atomically thin-surface oxidation layer inherent from nature of van der Waals materials and atomically sharp oxide–2D-semiconductor interfaces. Moreover, by effectively lowering the Schottky barrier height, we achieve an electron mobility of 2160 cm2/Vs and a contact barrier of 65 meV in two-terminal InSe transistors. The realization of strong FL depinning in high-mobility InSe transistors with the oxidized-monolayer presents a viable strategy to exploit layered semiconductors in contact engineering for advanced electronics and optoelectronics.

The polyp detection rate (PDR) is an important quality indicator for colonoscopy. Several factors have been shown to be associated with PDR. However, whether the moderate sedation is a factor for polyp detection remains controversial. This study aims to assess factors associated with polyp detection including the moderate sedation factor during colonoscopy. Patients who underwent colonoscopy from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015 were enrolled into this retrospective study. Patients with poor colon preparation and failure to reach the cecum were excluded. The clinical factors, including patient's sex, age, midazolam/fentanyl sedation, indications, endoscopist colonoscopy volume, and use of antispasmodic agent were evaluated by multivariate analysis. A total of 3373 patients were included in this study. The mean age was 55.8 years, and 1980 patients (58.7%) were male. Among the 3373 patients, 2513 (74.5%) underwent midazolam/fentanyl‐based sedated colonoscopy. The multivariate analysis showed that male sex, age over 50 years old, midazolam/fentanyl sedation and indications of screening and surveillance were significantly associated with polyp detection. Moreover, when stratified by sex and age, the midazolam/fentanyl sedation was associated with polyp detection in male patients and patients over 50 years old. This study has highlighted the role of midazolam/fentanyl sedation administered by colonoscopists as a modifiable factor that may increase polyp detection during colonoscopy.

Background: Totally laparoscopic surgery for early gastric cancer and subepithelial tumors has been popularized worldwide, yet localization of early or small-sized tumors is a persistent challenge due to difficulty being identified with the lack of manual tactile sensation. Thus, accurate localization with tattooing before the surgery would help improve efficiency during surgery. There are multiple methods to localize tumors before laparoscopy, each with varying advantages and disadvantages. The use of endoscopic tattooing with dye has been carried out for several decades due to its safety, lower cost, and convenience. However, there is a lack of studies on endoscopic tattooing before totally laparoscopic resection. Aims: To evaluate the effect of endoscopic tattooing with dye for gastric subepithelial tumors localization before laparoscopic resection and to evaluate the tattooing effect on different locations of tumors in stomach. Method: We retrospectively collected data of patients with gastric subepithelial tumors who underwent endoscopic tattooing before totally laparoscopic resection from 2017 to 2020 in a university affiliated medical center. All patients were analyzed for preoperative characteristics and then categorized into two groups based on tumor locations concerning the difficulty of laparoscopic surgery. The independent t test and Chi-square test were performed to compare perioperative outcome and complications between these two groups. Result: A total of 19 patients were included retrospectively at our center. The individuals were 5 male and 14 female patients with a mean age of 58.2 years old. Most patients had no symptoms, and the tumors were found incidentally in 12 patients (63%). All tumors were identified clearly during laparoscopic resection. The mean tumor size was 2.3 cm. The surgeries took an average of 111 min and a mean of 7 mL blood loss was found. All tumors had negative resection margins with no recurrence during follow-up. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor was the major pathologic diagnosis, found in 12 patients (63%), followed by the leiomyoma in 5 patients (26%). Only three patients had mild adverse effects after surgery and the symptoms were self-limited. Our analysis found no significant difference in preoperative patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes between patients with differing tumor locations. Conclusion: This study is the first and largest report on endoscopic tattooing with dye before laparoscopic resection of gastric subepithelial tumor resection. Our results emphasize that endoscopic tattooing with dye is a safe and reliable method for localizing subepithelial tumors in the stomach prior to totally laparoscopic resection, with no correlation to where the tumor is located.

An electrically tunable achromatic polarization rotator has been developed based on the hybrid splay-twist (HST) liquid crystal. The proposed polarization rotator is advantageous over the conventional ones owing to the thin thickness (sub-100μm), continuous angular rotation, and achromatic operation across the entire visible spectrum. The tuning range of the polarization rotator is up to 90° via a simple electric field application; meanwhile, the degree of linear polarization (DOLP) remains. The rotation angle can be expanded to 180° by a tandem-cell geometry. The work will offer possibilities in the design of various optical systems and spatially polarization multiplexing elements.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes many extrahepatic cancers, and whether HCV infection is associated with esophageal cancer development remains inconclusive. Methods: A nationwide population-based cohort study of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (TNHIRD) was conducted. Results: From 2003 to 2012, of 11,895,993 patients, three 1:1:1 propensity score-matched cohorts, including HCV-treated (interferon-based therapy ≥ 6 months, n = 9047), HCV-untreated (n = 9047), and HCV-uninfected cohorts (n = 9047), were enrolled. The HCV-untreated cohort had the highest 9-year cumulative incidence of esophageal cancer among the three cohorts (0.174%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.068–0.395) (p = 0.0292). However, no difference in cumulative incidences was identified between the HCV-treated (0.019%, 0.002–0.109%) and HCV-uninfected cohorts (0.035%, 0.007–0.133%) (p = 0.5964). The multivariate analysis showed that HCV positivity (hazard ratio (HR): 5.1, 95% CI HR: 1.39–18.51) and male sex (HR: 8.897, 95% CI HR: 1.194–66.323) were independently associated with the development of esophageal cancer. Of the three cohorts, the HCV-untreated cohort had the highest cumulative incidence of overall mortality at 9 years (21.459%, 95% CI: 18.599–24.460) (p &lt, 0.0001), and the HCV-treated (12.422%, 95% CI: 8.653–16.905%) and HCV-uninfected cohorts (5.545%, 95% CI: 4.225–7.108%) yielded indifferent cumulative mortality incidences (p = 0.1234). Conclusion: Although HCV positivity and male sex were independent factors associated with esophageal cancer development, whether HCV infection is the true culprit or a bystander for developing esophageal cancer remains to be further investigated. Interferon-based anti-HCV therapy might attenuate esophageal risk and decrease overall mortality in HCV-infected patients.

State-of-the-art nanostructured chiral photonic crystals (CPCs), metamaterials, and metasurfaces have shown giant optical rotatory power but are generally passive and beset with large optical losses and with inadequate performance due to limited size/interaction length and narrow operation bandwidth. In this work, we demonstrate by detailed theoretical modeling and experiments that a fully developed CPC, one for which the number of unit cells N is high enough that it acquires the full potentials of an ideal (N → ∞) crystal, will overcome the aforementioned limitations, leading to a new generation of versatile high-performance polarization manipulation optics. Such high-N CPCs are realized by field-assisted self-assembly of cholesteric liquid crystals to unprecedented thicknesses not possible with any other means. Characterization studies show that high-N CPCs exhibit broad transmission maxima accompanied by giant rotatory power, thereby enabling large (>π) polarization rotation with near-unity transmission over a large operation bandwidth. Polarization rotation is demonstrated to be independent of input polarization orientation and applies equally well on continuous-wave or ultrafast (picosecond to femtosecond) pulsed lasers of simple or complex (radial, azimuthal) vector fields. Liquid crystal–based CPCs also allow very wide tuning of the operation spectral range and dynamic polarization switching and control possibilities by virtue of several stimuli-induced index or birefringence changing mechanisms.

BACKGROUND The treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≥ 10 cm remains a challenge. AIM To consolidate the role of surgical resection for HCC larger than 10 cm. METHODS Eligible HCC patients were identified from the Chang Gung Research Database, the largest multi-institution database, which collected medical records of all patients from Chang Gung Memorial Foundation. The surgical outcome of HCC ≥ 10 cm (L-HCC) was compared to that of HCC < 10 cm (S-HCC) (model 1). The survival of L-HCC after either liver resection or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) was also analyzed (model 2). The long-term risks of all-cause mortality and recurrence were assessed to consolidate the role of surgery for L-HCC. RESULTS From January 2004 to July 2015, a total of 32403 HCC patients were identified from the Chang Gung Research Database. Among 3985 patients who received liver resection, 3559 (89.3%) had S-HCC, and 426 had L-HCC. The L-HCC patients had a worse disease-free survival (0.27 for L-HCC vs 0.40 for S-HCC) and overall survival (0.18 for L-HCC vs 0.45 for S-HCC) than the S-HCC after liver resection (both P < 0.001). However, the surgical and long-term outcome of resected L-HCC had improved dramatically in the recent decades. After adjusting for covariates, surgery could provide a better outcome for L-HCC than TACE (adjusted hazard ratio of all-cause mortality: 0.46, 95% confidence interval: 0.38-0.56 for surgery). Subgroup analysis stratified by different stages showed similar trend of survival benefit among L-HCC patients receiving surgery. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated an improving surgical outcome for HCC larger than 10 cm. Under selected conditions, surgery is better than TACE in terms of disease control and survival and should be performed. Due to inferior survival, a subclassification within T1 stage should be considered. Future studies are mandatory to confirm our findings.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are highly associated with cancer progression. The poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is largely due to high rates of tumor metastasis. This emphasizes the urgency of identifying these patients in advance and developing new therapeutic targets for successful intervention. However, the issue of whether mtDNA influences tumor metastasis in hepatoma remains unclear. In the current study, multiple mutations in mtDNA were identified by sequencing HCC samples. Among these mutations, mitochondrially encoded 12S rRNA (MT-RNR1) G709A was identified as a novel potential candidate. The MT-RNR1 G709A polymorphism was an independent risk factor for overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival. Subgroup analysis showed that in patients with cirrhosis, HBV-related HCC, &alpha, fetoprotein &ge, 400 ng/mL, aspartate transaminase &ge, 31 IU/L, tumor number &gt, 1, tumor size &ge, 5 cm, and histology grade 3-4, MT-RNR1 G709A was associated with both shorter overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival. Mechanistically, MT-RNR1 G709A was clearly associated with hexokinase 2 (HK2) expression and unfavorable prognosis in HCC patients. Our data collectively highlight that novel associations among MT-RNR1 G709A and HK2 are an important risk factor in HCC patients.

Following its applications on reception, space exploration, health care, and others, the dual-arm robot is employed for industrial automation more intensively these days. With a human-like two-arm structure of high degrees of freedom, it should be a strong competitor for industrial tasks of high complexity. However, up to date, its deployment is still far behind the traditional single-arm robot manipulator. It may be partially due to its higher price and larger installation space. Meanwhile, the lack of proper methods or devices to deal with task planning and teaching that usually involves robot motions of more than 10 DOF is also influential. Motivated by it, in this paper, we propose a novel manipulation system for the industrial dual-arm robot manipulator using virtual reality (VR). Especially, we propose taking advantage of the similarity between the dual-arm robot and human arm and come up with a human-like path planner, with an intention to incorporate that of human into robot path planning. In addition, we also furnish the system with several assistive tools, including that for physical behavior emulation and self-collision detection. Simulations based on realistic environments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed manipulation system, along with the questionnaires to evaluate user’s responses.

Further boosting the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) without excessively increasing production expenses is critical for practical applications. Here, we introduce silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) to enable perovskites to harvest additional sunlight without changing PSC processes. These SiQDs can convert shorter wavelength excitation light (300–530 nm) into visible region light and reflect longer wavelength perovskite-unabsorbed visible light (550–800 nm), leading to broadband light absorption enhancement in PSCs. As a result, the SiQD-based photocurrent gain can improve the external quantum efficiencies of PSCs over a wide wavelength range of 360–760 nm, yielding relatively enhanced short-circuit current density (+1.66 mA/cm2) and PCE (+1.4%). Surprisingly, even the PSC with a low-purity perovskite layer shows an ultrahigh PCE improvement of 5.6%. Our findings demonstrate QD-assisted effects based on earth-abundant and environmentally friendly silicon, leading to effective optical management that remarkably promotes the performance of PSCs and enables the balance of costs to be substantially addressed. A sunlight management strategy in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) using silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) is proposed. Due to the reabsorption of visible light induced by SiQDs, the external quantum efficiency spectra of PSCs in a wide wavelength range of 360–760 nm is significantly improved, resulting in facilitated photocurrent collection and enhanced performance of SiQD-based PSCs. Combining new and traditional solar cell materials improves the efficiency of energy conversion. Perovskites, materials with the same type of crystal structure as calcium titanium oxide, have become recognized as excellent materials for photovoltaics in particular. The ideal solar cell must optimize the amount of electrical power generated as a fraction of the solar energy striking its surface. However, most semiconductors only absorb a small proportion of the light, and this limits efficiency. A Japan-Taiwan cooperation team led by Kazuhito Tsukagoshi (National Institute for Materials Science), Chun-Wei Chen (National Taiwan University) and colleagues added silicon nanoparticles to perovskite solar cells to absorb a broader spectrum of light and thus improve its performance. In total, silicon nanoparticles can convert the shorter wavelength light to perovskite abosorbable range, and also reflect the visible light into perovskites.

Background Delayed post-polypectomy bleeding (PPB) is a major complication of polypectomy. The effect of prophylactic hemoclipping on delayed PPB is uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of prophylactic hemoclipping and identify the risk factors of delayed PPB. Methods Patients with polyps sized 6 to 20 mm underwent snare polypectomy from 2015 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients with prophylactic hemoclipping for delayed PPB prevention were included in the clipping group, and those without prophylactic hemoclipping were included in the non-clipping group. The incidence of delayed PPB and time to bleeding were compared between the groups. Multivariate analysis was used to identify the risk factors of delayed PPB. Propensity score matching was used to minimize potential bias. Results After propensity score matching, 612 patients with 806 polyps were in the clipping group, and 576 patients with 806 polyps were in the non-clipping group. There were no significant differences in the incidence of delayed PPB and days to bleeding between two groups (0.8% vs 1.3%, p = 0.4; 3.4 ± 1.94 days vs 4.13 ± 3.39 days, p = 0.94). In the multivariate analysis, the polyp size [Odds ratio (OR):1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.01–1.16, p = 0.03), multiple polypectomies (OR: 4.64, 95% CI:1.24–17.44, p = 0.02) and a history of anticoagulant use (OR:37.52, 95% CI:6.49–216.8, p Conclusions In polyps sized 6 to 20 mm, prophylactic hemoclip placement did not decrease the risk of delayed PPB. Patients without risk factors including multiple polypectomies and anticoagulant use are no need to performing prophylactic hemoclipping.

Services are constantly changing with the introduction of new technologies, which affect the service systems of both conventional and autonomous driving. New theories and technologies are also key factors affecting the design and development trends of service models and solutions. Major automobile manufacturers aspire to provide customers with unique services and experiences, resulting in a growing demand for systematic approaches to characterize customer behaviors and scientific methods to accurately interpret data stored in databases. This study proposes a scientific engineering and operation framework for driving services that enables conventional automobile manufacturers to re-evaluate their service models and solutions as they expand into the domain of autonomous driving, integrating customized consumer interactions and mass production efficiency to develop new technologies, and subsequently applying these technologies to innovate their driving services, form service innovation guidelines, and accelerate the development of smart applications for the automobile industry. A Kano two-dimensional model of quality was employed. A Kano questionnaire was administered to analyze consumers' perceived satisfaction concerning different service quality elements; the elements were then ranked in the order of requiring improvement to determine the elements that are essential in conventional vehicles. Finally, suggestions were proposed for improving the service quality of driving products and evaluating driver satisfaction. A total of 56 valid questionnaires were collected from potential buyers of four-door sedans. The questionnaire evaluated respondents’ perceived value and satisfaction of 30 product elements categorized into two groups (specific functions and intangible value-added services) across eight major quality dimensions (basic safety functions, multimedia entertainment systems, information and communication systems, value-added systems, active matching, automatic service systems, hardware–software integration, and customer service and support). In addition, Kano quality categories were statistically analyzed to elucidate whether significant differences existed between groups. Using the Kano quality categories, 30 design elements were classified: 10 as “attractive,” 7 as “one-dimensional,” 3 as “must-be,” 4 as “indifferent,” and 6 as “reverse.” Enterprises can effectively reduce customer dissatisfaction and enhance customer satisfaction based on the quality category of the product and the product improvement order proposed in this study. Relevance to industry This study determined that using the Kano quality categories, enterprises can effectively reduce customer dissatisfaction and enhance customer satisfaction based on the quality category of the product and the product improvement order proposed in this study.

Optical gating derived from persistent photodoping is a promising technique that can control the transport behavior of two-dimensional (2D) materials through light modulation. The advantage of photoinduced doping is that the doping can be controlled precisely and spatially by tuning the light intensity and position. As most photoinduced doping methods suffer from a low doping level, persistent, strong photodoping was conducted in this study in TiOx–MoS2 heterostructures under ultraviolet (UV) illumination, which precisely controlled the doping to a high level (1.5 × 1013 cm–2) with a trap-mediated mechanism. This mechanism was confirmed by controlling the doping level with various UV pretreatment doses. After photodoping, devices displayed superior mobility, which is a characteristic of the modulation doping used in high-electron-mobility transistors. The modulation doping sites in the inner TiOx layer were far from the channel surface (MoS2); thus, the channel was able to preserve its high-mobility prope...

We present the results of a detailed study of the mechanism and dynamics of holographic Bragg grating formation in azo-dye doped blue-phase liquid crystals. The principal mechanism leading to refractive index modulation is lattice distortion caused by photo-activated trans–cis isomerism of the azo-dye dopant. High diffraction efficiency bulk (Bragg) gratings with grating spacing as small as 1 μm can be written with low optical power and do not require specific optical field polarisation. Furthermore, the written grating can be prolonged by uniform illumination with another laser, instead of being erased. Azo-doped blue-phase liquid crystals thus present themselves as highly promising photosensitive materials for high-resolution holographic recording and image processing application. An experimental demonstration of holographic image reconstruction via optical phase conjugation with excellent aberration correction capability is presented.

Organic–inorganic hybrid two-dimensional (2D) perovskites have recently attracted great attention in optical and optoelectronic applications due to their inherent natural quantum-well structure. We report the growth of high-quality millimeter-sized single crystals belonging to homologous two-dimensional (2D) hybrid organic–inorganic Ruddelsden–Popper perovskites (RPPs) of (BA)2(MA)n−1PbnI3n+1 (n = 1, 2, and 3) by a slow evaporation at a constant-temperature (SECT) solution-growth strategy. The as-grown 2D hybrid perovskite single crystals exhibit excellent crystallinity, phase purity, and spectral uniformity. Low-threshold lasing behaviors with different emission wavelengths at room temperature have been observed from the homologous 2D hybrid RPP single crystals. Our result demonstrates that solution-growth homologous organic–inorganic hybrid 2D perovskite single crystals open up a new window as a promising candidate for optical gain media.

Large-area graphene is commonly prepared through chemical vapor deposition (CVD); in situ and nondestructive methods for its characterization are desirable. In this paper, we demonstrate a practical method—exploiting magnetic dipole resonance and coupling effects—with which the Raman signals of graphene on copper (Cu) foil can be directly, faithfully, and greatly enhanced. The magnetic dipole resonance of a silicon nanoparticle (SiNP) can effectively couple its electromagnetic field with the Cu foil to induce an enormous electric field located solely at the position of the SiNP on the graphene. The coupled electromagnetic field can lead to hot spots of high electric field intensity (E2/E02 = 123.2) within the graphene. Even when we positioned only a few SiNPs upon the graphene/Cu foil, we obtained a Raman signal enhancement (ca. 206 times) much greater than that of graphene transferred onto a 300 nm oxide film (ca. 12 times). From a series of experiments comparing the Raman signals of graphene before and ...

Hypomagnesemia is a recognized side-effect of cetuximab- or panitumumab-based chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The clinical relevance of hypomagnesemia is under debate. Thus, a systematic review and meta-analysis of retrospective studies and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing hypomagnesemia with normal magnesium levels in wild-type KRAS mCRC was performed. One RCT, two retrospective studies, and two American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference presentations from phase III RCTs involving 1723 patients were included in this study. Patients with hypomagnesemia demonstrated better progression-free survival (PFS) (Hazard ratio [HR]: 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.47–0.88), overall survival (OS) (HR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.53–0.92), and objective response rate (ORR) (Risk ratio [RR]: 1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.30–2.52). By subgroup analysis, frontline, later lines or combination therapy with hypomagnesemia were associated with PFS benefits (HR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.62–0.98; HR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.40–0.90; HR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.41–0.94, respectively). In patients with wild-type KRAS mCRC, hypomagnesemia is associated with better clinical benefits of PFS, OS and ORR when treated with cetuximab- or panitumumab-based chemotherapy. Future clinical trials should corroborate its predictive role.

Graded 2D perovskite capping shells with continuously upshifting valence bands, produced by tailored dimensional engineering, can effectively extract holes from 3D perovskite cores. Real-space observation of electronic structures will fully reveal the operating mechanisms of 2D/3D hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, for the first time, light-modulated scanning tunneling microscopy visualizes the cross-sectional band alignment across 2D (C4H9NH3)2(CH3NH3)n-1PbnI3n+1/3D CH3NH3PbI3 stacked perovskites. By systematically analyzing their electronic configuration, the mixed-dimensional perovskite band structure along the vertical 3D-to-2D direction can be spatially resolved. Remarkably, the electric field in the 2D perovskite is larger under light illumination than under dark conditions, resulting in an increase in the concentration of holes and electrons distributed in the 2D and 3D perovskites, respectively. Benefiting from this electronic reconstruction, charge recombination is suppressed, thereby significantly promoting the 2D/3D PSC performance. Moreover, our method opens an avenue for direct, local mapping of optoelectronic device energy levels.

This work presents an ultrahigh gain InSe-based photodetector by using a novel approach called the surface oxidation doping (SOD) technique. The carrier concentration of multilayered two-dimensional (2D) InSe semiconductor surface has been modulated by controlling the formation of a surface oxide layer. The SOD through surface charge transfer at the interface of the oxide/2D InSe semiconductor heterostructure can lead to the creation of a vertical built-in potential and band bending as a result of the carrier concentration distribution gradient. The internal electric field caused by the formation of a carrier concentration gradient in InSe layers can facilitate charge separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs under light illumination. Consequently, the record high photoresponsivities of InSe-based photodetector with ∼5 × 106 A/W at the excitation wavelength of 365 nm and 5 × 105 A/W at the wavelength of 530 nm can be obtained, outperforming the majority of photodetectors based on other 2D materials...

Although there have been intense efforts to fabricate large three-dimensional photonic crystals in order to realize their full potential, the technologies developed so far are still beset with various material processing and cost issues. Conventional top-down fabrications are costly and time-consuming, whereas natural self-assembly and bottom-up fabrications often result in high defect density and limited dimensions. Here we report the fabrication of extraordinarily large monocrystalline photonic crystals by controlling the self-assembly processes which occur in unique phases of liquid crystals that exhibit three-dimensional photonic-crystalline properties called liquid-crystal blue phases. In particular, we have developed a gradient-temperature technique that enables three-dimensional photonic crystals to grow to lateral dimensions of ~1 cm (~30,000 of unit cells) and thickness of ~100 μm (~ 300 unit cells). These giant single crystals exhibit extraordinarily sharp photonic bandgaps with high reflectivity, long-range periodicity in all dimensions and well-defined lattice orientation., Conventional fabrication approaches for large-size three-dimensional photonic crystals are problematic. By properly controlling the self-assembly processes, the authors report the fabrication of monocrystalline blue phase liquid crystals that exhibit three-dimensional photonic-crystalline properties.

The purpose of the research is to build a collision avoidance system with decision tree algorithm used for quadcopters. While the ultrasonic range finder judges the distance is in collision avoidance interval, the access will be replaced from operator to the system to control the altitude of the UAV. According to the former experiences on operating quadcopters, we can obtain the appropriate pitch angle. The UAS implement the following three motions to avoid collisions. Case1: initial slow avoidance stage, Case2: slow avoidance stage and Case3: Rapid avoidance stage. Then the training data of collision avoidance test will be transmitted to the ground station via wireless transmission module to further analysis. The entire decision tree algorithm of collision avoidance system, transmission data, and ground station have been verified in some flight tests. In the flight test, the quadcopter can implement avoidance motion in real-time and move away from obstacles steadily. In the avoidance area, the authority of the collision avoidance system is higher than the operator and implements the avoidance process. The quadcopter can successfully fly away from the obstacles in 1.92 meter per second and the minimum distance between the quadcopter and the obstacle is 1.05 meters.

In search of high-performance field-effect transistors (FETs) made of atomic thin semiconductors, indium selenide (InSe) has held great promise because of its high intrinsic mobility and moderate electronic band gap (1.26 eV). Yet the performance of InSe FETs is decisively determined by the surface oxidation of InSe taking place spontaneously in ambient conditions, setting up a mobility ceiling and causing an uncontrollable current hysteresis. Encapsulation by hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been currently used to cope with this deterioration. Here, we provide insights into the role of surface oxides played in device performance and introduce a dry-oxidation process that forms a dense capping layer on top, where InSe FETs exhibit a record-high two-probe mobility of 423 cm2/V·s at room temperature and 1006 cm2/V·s at liquid nitrogen temperature without the use of h-BN encapsulation or high-κ dielectric screening. Ultrahigh on/off current ratio of >108 and current density of 365 μA/μm can be readily achi...

Background Frail older adults are predisposed to multiple comorbidities and adverse events. Recent interventional studies have shown that frailty can be improved and managed. In this study, effective individualized home-based exercise and nutrition interventions were developed for reducing frailty in older adults. Methods This study was a four-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial conducted between October 2015 and June 2017 at Miaoli General Hospital in Taiwan. Overall, 319 pre-frail or frail older adults were randomly assigned into one of the four study groups (control, exercise, nutrition, and exercise plus nutrition [combination]) and followed up during a 3-month intervention period and 3-month self-maintenance period. Improvement in frailty scores was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included improvements in physical performance and mental health. The measurements were performed at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Results At the 6-month measurement, the exercise (difference in frailty score change from baseline: − 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: − 0.41, − 0.05; p = 0.012), nutrition (− 0.28; 95% CI: − 0.46, − 0.11; p = 0.002), and combination (− 0.34; 95% CI: − 0.52, − 0.16; p

Introduction: serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was routinely employed as a tumor marker for screening, diagnosis, and treatment follow-up of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, a substantial proportion of HCC patients had normal AFP level even at an advanced disease status. Few studies to date had tried to explore the nature and behavior of this normal AFP HCC (N-HCC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcome of N-HCC after operation. In addition, potential tumor markers for N-HCC were also sought in an attempt to augment diagnostic ability. Methods: between 2005 and 2015, patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were treated with hepatectomy in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou branch were divided into two groups according to their preoperative serum AFP level (&lt, 15 ng/mL: NHCC, &ge, 15 ng/mL: abnormal AFP HCC (A-HCC)). Patient demographic data and clinicopathological variables were collected. Kaplan&ndash, Meier and Cox regression multivariate analyses were performed to identify significant risk factors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) for N-HCC. ELISA and immunohistochemical (IHC) studies were employed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of various tumor markers. Results: a total of 1616 patients (78% male) who underwent liver resection for HCC were included in this study. Of them, 761 patients (47.1%) were N-HCC. N-HCC patients were significantly older with more comorbidities and less hepatitis virus infections. Furthermore, N-HCC had fewer early recurrences (49.6% vs. 60.8%, p &lt, 0.001) and better DFS (44.6 months vs. 23.6 months, p &lt, 0.001) and OS (94.5 months vs. 81.7 months, p &lt, 0.001). Both ELISA and IHC studies demonstrated that glypican-3 (GPC3) would be a promising diagnostic tumor marker for N-HCC. Conclusion: N-HCC patients were significantly older and had less hepatitis virus infections or cirrhosis. Their tumors tended to be smaller, less vascular invaded, and well-differentiated. The carcinogenesis of N-HCC may thus not be identical to that of typical HCC. GPC3 would be a promising tumor marker for diagnosing N-HCC. Further study is warranted to validate our findings.

Background:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes many extrahepatic malignancies; whether it increases gastric cancer risk and the risk reverses after anti-HCV therapy remain elusive.Method:A nationwide population-based cohort study of Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (TNHIRD) was conducted. In parallel, the risk factors and HCV-core-protein expressions were surveyed in gastric cancer patients from a tertiary care center.Results:From 2003 to 2012, of 11,712,928 patients, three 1:4:4, propensity-score-matched TNHIRD cohorts including HCV-treated (7545 patients with interferon-based therapy ⩾ 6 months), HCV-untreated ( n = 30,180), and HCV-uninfected cohorts ( n = 30,180) were enrolled. The cumulative incidences of gastric cancer [HCV-treated: 0.452%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.149–1.136%; HCV-untreated: 0.472%; 95% CI: 0.274–0.776%; HCV-uninfected: 0.146%; 95% CI 0.071–0.280%] were lowest in HCV-uninfected cohort ( p = 0.0028), but indifferent between treated and untreated cohorts. HCV infection [hazards ratio (HR): 2.364; 95% CI: 1.337–4.181], male sex (HR: 1.823; 95% CI: 1.09–3.05) and age ⩾ 49 years (HR: 3.066; 95% CI: 1.56–6.026) were associated with incident gastric cancers. Among 887 (males: 68.4%; mean age: 66.5 ± 12.9 years, 2008–2018) hospitalized gastric cancer patients, HCV Ab-positive rate was 7.8%. None of the investigated factors exhibited different rates between HCV Ab-positive and Ab-negative patients. No HCV-core-positive cells were demonstrated in gastric cancer tissues.Conclusions:HCV infection, male sex and old age were risk factors for gastric cancer development. HCV-associated gastric cancer risk might be neither reversed by interferon-based therapy, nor associated with in situ HCV-core-related carcinogenesis.

We propose an optically rewritable dynamic phase grating based on polymer-templated azo liquid crystal in a blue-phase structure. The grating consists of alternating blue-phase and light-induced isotropic-phase regions, patterned by ultraviolet illumination. In the field-off state, the grating is hidden (showing no diffraction), due to index matching between the two phases. An index change is induced in the blue-phase regions when an external voltage is applied, while the refractive index of the isotropic-phase regions remains the same. The resulting periodic index modulation causes the grating to diffract light. The diffraction efficiency is independent of incident polarization, and the electro-optic response is in the sub-millisecond scale. Enabled by the reversible photoisomerism of the azobenzene, we demonstrate optical-patterning, -erasure, and re-patterning of a single liquid-crystal cell into different grating geometries.

Manipulating the polarization orientation of light is essential in modern optics, biology, and related fields, but the strong optical dispersion inherent in current polarization rotators severely restricts their use to single-frequency lasers and their flexibility in system design. Many attempts have been made to realize dispersionless polarization rotation, usually by designing a complex set of wave plates with mutually compensated dispersions. Here, enabled by a thin cell of hybrid splay–twist liquid crystal, we demonstrate a tunable achromatic polarization rotator that is free of dispersion engineering. The optic axis distribution in the liquid crystal cell can be dynamically controlled by an applied electric field and allows an input polarization vector to be continuously rotated up to 90° (or 180° in a tandem-cell geometry) in an adiabatic and nondispersive manner. The proposed mechanism can be further implemented to construct spatial light modulators for single-path ultrabroadband generation of complex vector fields from uniformly polarized light.

The presence of the PbI2 passivation layers at perovskite crystal grains has been found to considerably affect the charge carrier transport behaviors and device performance of perovskite solar cells. This work demonstrates the application of a novel light-modulated scanning tunneling microscopy (LM-STM) technique to reveal the interfacial electronic structures at the heterointerfaces between CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite crystals and PbI2 passivation layers of individual perovskite grains under light illumination. Most importantly, this technique enabled the first observation of spatially resolved mapping images of photoinduced interfacial band bending of valence bands and conduction bands and the photogenerated electron and hole carriers at the heterointerfaces of perovskite crystal grains. By systematically exploring the interfacial electronic structures of individual perovskite grains, enhanced charge separation and reduced back recombination were observed when an optimal design of interfacial PbI2 passivation...

In this article, we propose a novel approach to demonstrate tunable photoinduced carrier transport of a few-layered black phosphorus (BP) field-effect transistor (FET) with extended air stability using a “light-sensitized ultrathin encapsulated layer”. Titanium suboxide (TiOx) ultrathin film (approximately 3 nm), which is an amorphous phase of crystalline TiO2 and can be solution processed, simultaneously exhibits the unique dual functions of passivation and photoinduced doping on a BP FET. The photoinduced electron transfer at TiOx/BP interfaces provides tunable n-type doping on BP through light illumination. Accordingly, the intrinsic hole-dominated transport of BP can be gradually tuned to the electron-dominated transport at a TiOx/BP FET using light modulation, with enhanced electron mobility and extended air stability of the device. The novel device structure consisting of a light-sensitized encapsulated layer with controllable and reversible doping through light illumination on BP exhibits great pot...

CAR T cells targeting CD19 provide promising options for treatment of B cell malignancies. However, tumor relapse from antigen loss can limit efficacy. We developed humanized, second-generation CAR T cells against another B cell–specific marker, B cell activating factor receptor (BAFF-R), which demonstrated cytotoxicity against human lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) lines. Adoptively transferred BAFF-R-CAR T cells eradicated 10-day preestablished tumor xenografts after a single treatment and retained efficacy against xenografts deficient in CD19 expression, including CD19-negative variants within a background of CD19-positive lymphoma cells. Four relapsed, primary ALLs with CD19 antigen loss obtained after CD19-directed therapy retained BAFF-R expression and activated BAFF-R-CAR, but not CD19-CAR, T cells. BAFF-R-CAR, but not CD19-CAR, T cells also demonstrated antitumor effects against an additional CD19 antigen loss primary patient–derived xenograft (PDX) in vivo. BAFF-R is amenable to CAR T cell therapy, and its targeting may prevent emergence of CD19 antigen loss variants.

By using the strong nonlinear effect and ultrafast electronic response of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC), ultrafast all optical switching between polarization vortex and phase vortex is realized in a system combining CLC and q-plate. The experimental result shows that switching with high modulation depth can be accomplished in less than 1 picosecond. Furthermore, CLC and q-plates will enable compact integrated devices with sub-mm thicknesses.

The electrical contact to two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials is decisive to the electronic performance of 2D semiconductor field-effect devices (FEDs). The presence of a Schottky barrier often leads to a large contact resistance, which seriously limits the channel conductance and carrier mobility measured in a two-terminal geometry. In contrast, Ohmic contact is desirable and can be achieved by the presence of a nonrectifying or tunneling barrier. Here, we demonstrate that a nonrectifying barrier can be realized by contacting indium (In), a low work function metal, with layered InSe because of a favorable band alignment at the In–InSe interface. The nonrectifying barrier is manifested by Ohmic contact behavior at T = 2 K and a low barrier height, ΦB = 50 meV. This Ohmic contact enables demonstration of an on-current as large as 410 μA/μm, which is among the highest values achieved in FEDs based on layered semiconductors. A high electron mobility of 3700 and 1000 cm2/V·s is achieved with the two-...

Drones become popular recently and equip more sensors than traditional cameras, which bring emerging applications and research. To enable drone-based applications, providing related information (e.g., building) to understand the environment around the drone is essential. We frame this drone-view building identification as building retrieval problem: given a building (multimodal query) with its images, geolocation and drone's current location, we aim to retrieve the most likely proposal (building candidate) on a drone-view image. Despite few annotated drone-view images to date, there are many images of other views from the Web, like ground-level, street-view and aerial images. Thus, we propose a cross-view triplet neural network to learn visual similarity between drone-view and other views, further design relative spatial estimation of each proposal and the drone, and collect new drone-view datasets for the task. Our method outperforms triplet neural network by 0.12 mAP. (i.e., 22.9 to 35.0, +53% in a sub-dataset [LA])

Simultaneous localization and mapping algorithms are important for high-quality registration used in augmented reality applications. Keyframe based SLAM can effectively reduce local drift by aligning a frame to the corresponding keyframe; however, it still suffers from losing trace for frames far from the keyframe. This work presents a fast keyframe selection and switching algorithm to replace unsuitable keyframes with qualified backup frames. The overhead of using backup process is greatly reduced by only inspecting the inlier information produced at the first iteration of iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. Moreover, several useful criteria considering spatial and/or temporal relationships are also presented to evaluate the quality of keyframes and backup frames. Experimental results show that about 11.37% of relative pose error and 16.79% of the I CP iterations can be reduced by applying the proposed schemes as compared to the traditional keyframe-based approach. The reduction in computational time is achieved by speeding up the convergence of ICP, which is an additional benefit from applying the proposed schemes.

The recently emerging class of solid-state hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite-based solar cells has demonstrated remarkably high power conversion efficiencies of up to ∼20%. It is expected that a detailed understanding of wavelength-(or energy-)dependent optical transition processes for light harvesting of perovskite solar cell materials will be a crucial factor to further improve the photovoltaic performances. In this work, we would like to employ the first-principles calculations to investigate the wavelength-(or energy-)dependent optical transition mechanism for light harvesting of the CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite material. A method called the band-resolved optical constant analysis technique was developed to investigate the wavelength-(or energy-)dependent optical absorption mechanism of the perovskite material. Based on the analyses, we are able to visualize and quantize the detailed wavelength-(or energy-)dependent optical transition processes involved in the broad absorption spectrum of a perovskite material, which provides deep insight into the understanding of the light-harvesting mechanism of this promising photovoltaic material.