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This study reports the effects of recovered carbon black (produced in a clean and sustainable way) as a reinforcing agent on the physicochemical properties of a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) matrix. SBR-based composite materials are prepared with recovered green carbon black (GCB), and these are thoroughly compared to the composite materials containing conventional virgin carbon black (VCB) (produced by the incomplete combustion of petroleum products). The GCB-SBR composite materials generally show detectably inferior properties compared to the VCB-SBR composite under the same preparation conditions due to the limited functionality of the GCB filler. However, the introduction of a small amount of crosslinker, acrylate-functionalized POSS (polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane), into the GCB-SBR composite materials effectively enhances the overall physical properties, including the tensile strength, fracture elongation, and thermal stability. The degree of the crosslinking efficiency, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the composite materials are optimized and thoroughly examined to demonstrate the possibility of replacing typical VCB with GCB, which can allow for upcycling the inexpensive and ecofriendly carbon black materials as effective reinforcing fillers.

Drowsiness during driving is a severe problem that must be addressed to improve road safety. Numerous counter-measures have been proposed to resolve this issue like adaptive environmental settings (temperature, sound, and light). The objective of this study was to accurately predict the effects of exposure to different colors of light on human drowsiness by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and other physical measurements (heart rate and eye closure). We targeted two regions of the brain (visual and pre-frontal cortices). Twenty-three healthy subjects were investigated to evaluate all variables related to the awakening state, and twenty-one healthy subjects were also examined in the drowsy state evaluation. Eventually, the ten most suitable subjects were exposed to red, green, and blue lights under drowsy conditions, according to the experimental paradigm. Dim light was maintained in the experimental premises before and after colored light exposure to limit the results to those produced only in response to the desired stimuli. Eye closure, heart rate, and changes in oxy and deoxy hemoglobin concentrations were measured to characterize the condition (awake/drowsy) of the subject. A support vector machine classifier was used to identify the classification accuracy of awake and drowsy states. In conclusion, exposure to blue light triggered the activation of oxy hemoglobin in targeted brain regions; however, deoxy hemoglobin was not significantly affected by exposure to any of the colored lights. Noticeably, our study revealed that blue light exposure is more effective at reducing drowsiness than exposure to red and green lights.

To find out if there are any differences in biomarkers between severe isolated right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and severe isolated left ventricular (LV) dysfunction after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass.Observational study.Teaching hospital.A total of 46 patients who had severe isolated RV or LV dysfunction after cardiac surgery.The authors collected perioperative clinical and biomarker data.Severe isolated RV dysfunction patients (n = 20) had higher postoperative direct bilirubin (p = 0.030), total bilirubin (p = 0.044), glucose (p = 0.011), and international normalized ratio (INR) (p = 0.050) by repeated measure analysis of variance when compared with patients with severe isolated LV dysfunction (n = 26). The RV group also showed lower preoperative alanine transferase (19.3 ± 1.5 v 32.7 ± 4.2, p = 0.001), higher 4-hour INR (1.5 ± 0.3 v 1.4 ± 0.2, p = 0.008), and higher 48-hour INR (1.8 ± 0.4 v 1.4 ± 0.1, p0.001). None in the LV group died, whereas 4 patients in the RV group died (all of them had preoperative atrial fibrillation and underwent double valve replacement surgery).The authors observed biomarkers differences between severe isolated RV dysfunction and severe isolated RV dysfunction.

Among numerous cosmetic procedures for face rejuvenation performed all over the world, botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) for wrinkles is one of the most widely practiced procedures. However, for severe frowns, the application of botulinum toxin is often insufficient. In this study, the effects of hyaluronic acid filler combination therapy and the BoNT-A alone were evaluated.Forty subjects with 2 or higher points (moderate to severe) of a facial wrinkle scale (FWS) when frowning in the glabellar area were assigned to 2 group: Botulinum toxin type A monotherapy group and a combination regimen of the toxin and hyaluronic acid filler group. Subjects visited outpatient department every 4 weeks until 28 weeks after the injection, and the assessment of the efficacy using FWS, subject satisfaction at both resting and maximum frowning and safety analysis were performed.Subjects of both group was administered 18U of BoNT-A and the subjects of the combination group received additional 0.45mL of hyaluronic acid filler regimen. Both at rest and maximum frown, the combination group scored lower FWS than the toxin and showed significance in the week-20 and week-28. And at final visit, subject satisfaction score of the combination was higher than that of toxin group.For patients with moderate to severe glabellar frown, the combined administration of BoNT-A and hyaluronic acid filler could be a considerable treatment for improving wrinkles.This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

The behavior of Si3N4 etching with ion-incidence angle in high-density CF4, CHF3, and C2F6 plasmas was investigated to understand the effect of discharge chemistry on the etch characteristics of Si3N4. The normalized etch yield (NEY) plots suggest that for all plasmas considered herein, physical sputtering is more prevalent than ion-assisted chemical etching as the Si3N4 etching mechanism. In the cases of the CF4 and C2F6 plasmas, the NEYs at an ion-incidence angle of 60° were greater than unity because the thickness and the fluorine-to-carbon (F/C) ratio of the steady-state fluorocarbon films (st-st FC films) on the Si3N4 surfaces decreased and increased, respectively, as the ion-incidence angle was increased from 0° to 60°. In contrast, the NEY at this angle in the CHF3 plasma was close to unity, as a result of a small change (or a very marginal decrease) in the thickness and the F/C ratio of the st-st FC film. Additionally, the NEY at an ion-incidence angle of 60° was higher in C2F6 plasma compared to CF4 plasma because the changes in the thickness and the F/C ratio of the st-st FC film were greater in the C2F6 plasma than those in the CF4 plasma.

A 39-year-old pregnant patient with acute appendicitis was planned for emergency laparoscopic appendectomy in the second trimester of pregnancy. Preoperative two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography revealed asymptomatic cor triatriatum sinisiter (CTS), dividing left atrium into two chambers. There was no associated cardiac anomaly, wall motion abnormality, or pulmonary hypertension. We report the case of a pregnant patient with CTS who uneventfully underwent laparoscopic appendectomy without invasive cardiac monitoring using total intravenous anesthesia.

Purpose – This study’s the ultimate goal is to analyze competitiveness improvement on multinational enterprises as firstly providing which factors are to strengthen or weaken competitiveness, secondly investigating if hypotheses development and research design is correct and thirdly finding significant implications for research and practices across country specific advantage. Design/methodology – Using feedback data provided by 250 firms, we extracted variable factors and hypotheses, which were empirically carried out by reliability and validity testing, correlation analysis, path analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis to prove which factors are to make the positive effect on the improvement of overseas subsidiaries’ management performance and competitiveness. Findings – Through proceeding empirical analysis study, we found out that technology management capability, knowledge management capability, and local management capability had a statistically significant effect on the improvement of overseas subsidiaries’ competitiveness, while linked activity capability revealed a negative effect. Originality/value – During business globalization, overseas investments and establishment of overseas subsidiaries have been essential. It is anticipated that this study results would be meaningful for analysis on multinational enterprises’ competitiveness and helpful in promoting their entry into Korean market and enhancing their competitiveness. This paper would also help Korea government develops new FDI model and induce more investment from global major companies to Korea region.

Composite particles derived from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and nanoscale gold exhibit an extremely high reactivity and selectivity in C–C bond-forming reactions. The light-induced reduction of go...

The plasma characteristics of atmospheric-pressure floating electrode-dielectric barrier discharges (FE-DBDs), which comprised flexible electrodes and were able to generate a plasma along the curvature of skin, were investigated using Cu conductors with various shapes in the flexible powered electrode. These Cu conductors have similar areas but different contour lengths and the shapes of a square, a dumbbell, a star, and a zigzag pattern. The optical intensity and electron temperature of the atmospheric-pressure FE-DBDs increased with the contour length of the conductor used in the flexible powered electrode. This behavior is explained in terms of the changes in the strength of the electric field with the contour length of the conductor, implying that the plasma properties of atmospheric-pressure FE-DBDs with flexible electrodes can be controlled by modulating the contour length or the shape of the electrical conductor in the flexible powered electrode. These results are expected to contribute to the development of an atmospheric-pressure FE-DBD system for plasma medicine.

We derived a mouse model in which a mutant form of Nbn/Nbs1(mid8) (hereafter Nbn(mid8)) exhibits severely impaired binding to the Mre11−Rad50 core of the Mre11 complex. The Nbn(mid8) allele was expressed exclusively in hematopoietic lineages (in Nbn(−/mid8vav) mice). Unlike Nbn(flox/floxvav) mice with Nbn deficiency in the bone marrow, Nbn(−/mid8vav) mice were viable. Nbn(−/mid8vav) mice hematopoiesis was profoundly defective, exhibiting reduced cellularity of thymus and bone marrow, and stage-specific blockage of B cell development. Within 6 mo, Nbn(−/mid8) mice developed highly penetrant T cell leukemias. Nbn(−/mid8vav) leukemias recapitulated mutational features of human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), containing mutations in NOTCH1, TP53, BCL6, BCOR, and IKZF1, suggesting that Nbn(mid8) mice may provide a venue to examine the relationship between the Mre11 complex and oncogene activation in the hematopoietic compartment. Genomic analysis of Nbn(−/mid8vav) malignancies showed focal amplification of 9qA2, causing overexpression of MRE11 and CHK1. We propose that overexpression of MRE11 compensates for the metastable Mre11−Nbn(mid8) interaction, and that selective pressure for overexpression reflects the essential role of Nbn in promoting assembly and activity of the Mre11 complex.

Objective Frontonasal dysplasia (FND) is a rare congenital condition. Its major features include hypertelorism, a large and bifid nasal tip, and a broad nasal root. We present our technique of septal L-strut reconstruction using costal cartilage. Design Retrospective review from June 2008 and August 2017. Methods Under general anesthesia, 6 patients with FND underwent septal reconstruction using costal cartilage via open rhinoplasty. We reconstructed the nasal and septal cartilaginous framework by placing columellar struts and cantilever-type grafts. Results The patients ranged in age from 6 to 13 years old. All were female. The follow-up period ranged from 8 months to 2 years; we encountered no postoperative complications (infection, nasal obstruction, or recurrence). All patients were satisfied with their nasal appearance. Conclusions Although the results were not entirely satisfactory from an esthetic point of view, we found that FND can be treated via septal reconstruction with costal cartilage and that the clinical outcomes are reliable and satisfactory. Our approach is a useful option for FND patients.

The mammalian orthologue of ecdysoneless (ECD) protein is required for embryogenesis, cell cycle progression, and mitigation of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Here, we identified key components of the mRNA export complexes as binding partners of ECD and characterized the functional interaction of ECD with key mRNA export-related DEAD BOX protein helicase DDX39A. We find that ECD is involved in RNA export through its interaction with DDX39A. ECD knockdown (KD) blocks mRNA export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, which is rescued by expression of full-length ECD but not an ECD mutant that is defective in interaction with DDX39A. We have previously shown that ECD protein is overexpressed in ErbB2+ breast cancers (BC). In this study, we extended the analyses to two publicly available BC mRNA The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) data sets. In both data sets, ECD mRNA overexpression correlated with short patient survival, specifically ErbB2+ BC. In the METABRIC data set, ECD overexpression also correlated with poor patient survival in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Furthermore, ECD KD in ErbB2+ BC cells led to a decrease in ErbB2 mRNA level due to a block in its nuclear export and was associated with impairment of oncogenic traits. These findings provide novel mechanistic insight into the physiological and pathological functions of ECD.

Si surfaces were texturized with periodically arrayed oblique nanopillars using slanted plasma etching, and their optical reflectance was measured. The weighted mean reflectance (Rw) of the nanopillar-arrayed Si substrate decreased monotonically with increasing angles of the nanopillars. This may have resulted from the increase in the aspect ratio of the trenches between the nanopillars at oblique angles due to the shadowing effect. When the aspect ratios of the trenches between the nanopillars at 0&deg, (vertical) and 40&deg, (oblique) were equal, the Rw of the Si substrates arrayed with nanopillars at 40&deg, was lower than that at 0&deg, This study suggests that surface texturing of Si with oblique nanopillars reduces light reflection compared to using a conventional array of vertical nanopillars.

Exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) was reliably modified with a cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) surfactant to greatly improve the dispersity of the GO in a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer precursor solution. Subsequent electrospinning of the mixture readily resulted in the formation of GO&ndash, PAN composite nanofibers containing up to 30 wt % of GO as a filler without notable defects. The absence of common electrospinning problems associated with clogging and phase separation indicated the systematic and uniform integration of the GO within the PAN nanofibers beyond the typical limits. After thoroughly examining the formation and maximum loading efficiency of the modified GO in the PAN nanofibers, the resulting composite nanofibers were thermally treated to form membrane-type sheets. The wettability and pore properties of the composite membranes were notably improved with respect to the pristine PAN nanofiber membrane, possibly due to the reinforcing filler effect. In addition, the more GO loaded into the PAN nanofiber membranes, the higher the removal ability of the methylene blue (MB) and methyl red (MR) dyes in the aqueous system. The adsorption kinetics of a mixed dye solution were also monitored to understand how these MB and MR dyes interact differently with the composite nanofiber membranes. The simple surface modification of the fillers greatly facilitated the integration efficiency and improved the ability to control the overall physical properties of the nanofiber-based membranes, which highly impacted the removal performance of various dyes from water.

SERS based immunoassays for point-of-care diagnostics are a promising tool to facilitate biomarker detection for early disease diagnosis and disease control. The technique is based on a sandwiched system in which antigen is first captured by a selective plasmonic paper substrate and then labeled by an extrinsic Raman label (ERL), consisting of a 60 nm gold nanoparticle (AuNP) functionalized with a mixed monolayer of detection antibody and 4-nitrobenezenethiol (NBT) as a Raman reporter molecule. Here, we report on the use of AuNP modified filter paper as a novel capture membrane in a vertical flow format. This vertical flow configuration affords reproducible flow of sample and label through the capture substrate to overcome diffusion limited kinetics and significantly reduced assay time. The filter paper was selected due to its affordability and availability, while the embedded AuNPs maximized plasmonic coupling with the ERLs and SERS enhancement. Additionally, the embedded AuNP served as a scaffold to immobilize capture antibody to specifically bind antigen. In this work, a SERS-based rapid vertical flow (SERS-RVF) immunoassay for detection of mouse IgG was developed to establish proof-of-principle. Optimization of assay conditions led to a limit of detection of 3 ng/mL, which is comparable to more traditional formats carried out in multi-well plates, and significantly reduced assay time to less than 2 min. Additionally, IgG was accurately quantified in normal mouse serum to validate the SERS-RVF assay for application to the analysis of biological samples. These results highlight the potential advantages of the SERS-RVF platform for point-of-need testing.

SiO2 was etched in heptafluoropropyl methyl ether (HFE-347mcc3)/Ar and C4F8/Ar plasmas, separately, to evaluate the feasibility of the use of fluorinated ether plasmas as an alternative to perfluoro carbon plasmas. The etch rates of SiO2 in HFE-347mcc3/Ar plasma were higher than those in C4F8/Ar plasma because the O atoms in HFE-347mcc3 produced O radicals that reacted with fluorocarbons to produce volatile products, thus consuming more fluorocarbon films. In HFE-347mcc3/Ar plasmas, the changes in the normalized etch yield (NEY) with ion -incident angle followed nearly the same patterns at bias voltages higher than −600 V, while the NEY at −400 V was lower than those at other bias voltages. On the other hand, the NEYs of C4F8/Ar plasmas increased with bias voltage, indicating a strong dependence on the bias voltage. The characteristic changes in the NEY in HFE-347mcc3/Ar plasmas were correlated with the thickness and the fluorine-to‑carbon ratio of the steady-state film formed on the surface of the substrate.

This report describes the systematic combination of structurally diverse plasmonic metal nanoparticles (AgNPs, AuNPs, Ag core–Au shell NPs, and anisotropic AuNPs) on flexible paper-based materials to induce signal-enhancing environments for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications. The anisotropic AuNP-modified paper exhibits the highest SERS response due to the surface area and the nature of the broad surface plasmon resonance (SPR) neighboring the Raman excitation wavelength. The subsequent addition of a second layer with these four NPs (e.g., sandwich arrangement) leads to the notable increase of the SERS signals by inducing a high probability of electromagnetic field environments associated with the interparticle SPR coupling and hot spots. After examining sixteen total combinations, the highest SERS response is obtained from the second layer with AgNPs on the anisotropic AuNP paper substrate, which allows for a higher calibration sensitivity and wider dynamic range than those of typical AuNP–AuNP arrangement. The variation of the SERS signals is also found to be below 20% based on multiple measurements (both intra-sample and inter-sample). Furthermore, the degree of SERS signal reductions for the sandwiched analytes is notably slow, indicating their increased long-term stability. The optimized combination is then employed in the detection of let-7f microRNA to demonstrate their practicability as SERS substrates. Precisely introducing interparticle coupling and hot spots with readily available plasmonic NPs still allows for the design of inexpensive and practical signal enhancing substrates that are capable of increasing the calibration sensitivity, extending the dynamic range, and lowering the detection limit of various organic and biological molecules.

Forensic laboratory backlogs are replete with suspected drug samples. Shifting analysis toward the point of seizure would save significant time and public funds. Moreover, a two-tiered identification strategy for controlled substance testing that relies on two independent, discerning methods could entirely circumvent the need for forensic laboratory testing. To this end, we coupled Raman spectroscopy and paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS) on a single instrumental platform. Both methods are capable of ambient analysis with fieldable instruments, yet Raman is often limited to bulk analysis. Critical to this work is the development of a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-embedded paper swab to extend the capability of Raman spectroscopy to trace evidence via surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Plasmonic papers are characterized with respect to SERS signals and compatibility with PSI-MS analysis. Proof-of-principle is established with the identification of five representative drugs, and detection limits on the scale of 1-100 ng are achieved for both PSI-MS and SERS. The integrated SERS-PSI-MS system achieved 99.8% accurate chemical identification in a blind study consisting of 500 samples. Additionally, we demonstrate facile discrimination of several JWH-018 isomers via SERS even when MS and MS2 spectra are indistinguishable. Successful coupling of SERS and PSI-MS to enable on-site chemical analysis by two independent methods can potentially lead to a desirable paradigm shift in the handling of drug evidence.

Linear homopolymers of norbornene (NBE) derivatives equipped with short-chain alcohol pendant groups were prepared by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and subsequently assembled into well-defined structures in alcohol solvents. The ratios of hydrophobic carbons and hydrophilic alcohol groups at the repeating monomeric unit in these short-chain amphiphilic polymers were found to play an important role in determining the size and distribution of the final globular structures. Unlike the assembly of other linear homo- and copolymers possessing long-chain amphiphilicity, NBE-based linear polymers were readily transformed into spherical particles with a layered conformation, whose sizes range from a few hundred nanometers to micrometers with narrow distributions, simply by controlling the concentration and molecular weights of the linear homopolymers without using any surfactants. In addition, the degree of the intermolecular forces with solvents (e.g., solvation) possessing different surface tensions and polarities highly affected the final diameter and distribution of the polymer particles, implying the importance of the selection of a proper solvent to regulate their structural features. As such, understanding the assembly of these types of short-chain homopolymers into uniform particles can allow for regulating the transformation of diverse linear amphiphilic polymers into precisely controlled structures for various applications.

In this study, we demonstrated that the deposition of Sn on Ni&ndash, Fe wires using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) can be used to control the electrical resistivity of the wires. Furthermore, the effect of the deposition temperature on the resistivity of the Ni&ndash, Fe wires was investigated. The resistivity of the Sn-deposited Ni&ndash, Fe wires was found to increase monotonically with the deposition temperature from 550 to 850 &deg, C. Structural and morphological analyses revealed that electron scattering by Ni3Sn2 and Fe3Sn particulates, which were the reaction products of LPCVD of Sn on the surface of the Ni&ndash, Fe wires, was the cause of the resistivity increase. These coalesced particulates displayed irregular shapes with an increase in the deposition temperature, and their size increased with the deposition temperature. Owing to these particulate characteristics, the Sn content increased with the deposition temperature. Furthermore, the temperature dependency of the Sn content followed a pattern very similar to that of the resistivity, indicating that the atomic content of Sn directly affected the resistivity of the Ni&ndash, Fe wires.

There have been several reports of foreign bodies being discovered in the intravenous set. In this case, the patient complained that he found a worm in his intravenous line. It was later confirmed as a long, white fibrin deposit by pathologic examination. This happened even though there was a non-return valve in the intravenous line. Also, since there were few red blood cells in the deposit, it did not look like a blood clot. In cases like this, we suggest that physicians keep this possibility in mind to reassure their patients.