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In this paper, a Al2O3 film doped with ZnO microspheres was successfully fabricated on aluminum foil by the sol-gel method. In order to improve the distribution of etched tunnels, the effects of Al2O3 film doped with ZnO microspheres on the surface morphology and electrochemical properties of aluminum foil were investigated. The results showed that, with a suitable concentration of Al2O3 film and ZnO microspheres, uniform distribution of etched tunnels could be obtained on the aluminum foil after the electrochemical etching. When the concentration of Al2O3 film and ZnO microspheres are 0.1 mol/L and 0.02 mol/L, respectively, the specific capacitance of the etched aluminum foil achieved the maximum. The above beneficial results were attributed to the improvement in pitting initiation sites on the aluminum foil coated by Al2O3 film doped with ZnO microspheres, which was supported by the experimental results of surface morphology and electrochemical testing. The etching mechanism was related to the dissolution of ZnO microspheres, the replacement of Zn crystal nucleus and the formation of active sites for pitting corrosion. This paper provides experimental and theoretical insights into the distribution improvement of etch tunnels, showing a significant engineering value for process design and properties optimization for aluminum foils.

Background Maintaining sufficient dietary protein intake is important for nutritional status, muscle mass, and healthy aging, but the clinical effects of high protein diet remained controversial.. Methods This 12-week randomized controlled trial enrolled community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults to evaluate clinical effects of daily diet with different protein density.. All participants received 10 frozen meals per week for 12 weeks containing either 15% daily calorie of protein (regular-protein group, RPG), or 25% daily calorie of protein (high-protein group, HPG). Bioimpedance analysis was used to assess body composition, and the magnetic resonance imaging on both mid-thighs was performed to measure muscle mass and the intramuscular adiposity. Results This trial enrolled 70 participants, and data of 52 participants (mean age: 53.7 ± 8.3 years, 53.8% male; 25 in RPG and 27 in HPG) were available for analysis. Baseline demographic characteristics, functional assessment, body composition and muscle parameters, and laboratory data were similar between groups. During the study period, participants of both groups significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, total body fat percentage, and handgrip strength, but not in the relative appendicular muscle mass). Compared to participants of RPG, HPG participants showed significant improvement in 6-minute walking distance, increased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and marginal reduction in intramuscular adiposity than RPG participants. Conclusions Higher dietary protein intake significantly improved physical endurance and marginally reduced intramuscular adiposity, but increased the inflammatory biomarker among middle-aged and older adults. Further study is needed to explore long-term effects of high-protein diet among middle-aged and older adults..

Background The association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and sarcopenia has been reported before, but little was known regarding associations between albuminuria status in the development of sarcopenia. This study aimed to explore the associations between albuminuria status and sarcopenia among older patients with T2DM. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited T2DM patients aged 65 years and older from the DM shared care center in a regional hospital who were grossly absent from functional impairment. Demographic characteristics were collected and functional assessments were performed for all participants. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) was obtained by spot urine exams, whereas UACR ≥ 30 mg/g was defined as microalbuminuria, and UACR > 300 mg/g as macroalbuminuria. Appendicular lean mass (ASM) was measured by the dual X-ray absorptiometry, and the relative appendicular muscle mass (RASM) was calculated as the ASM divided by height square (kg/m2).The definition of sarcopenia was made according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia and muscle quality was defined as handgrip strength (kg) divided by RASM. Results Overall, 180 participants (mean age: 72.5±5.3 years, 53.3% males) were enrolled for study. Higher HbA1c levels and poorer renal function were significantly associated with more severe albuminuria status.Besides, sarcopenia and low handgrip strength also showed dose-responsive associations with albuminuria status, which was similar in muscle quality.The receiver operating characteristic curve determine that the UACR of 13.7 mg/g was the optimal cutoff for sarcopenia diagnosis, which was lower than the conventionally definition of microalbuminuria ( Conclusions Albuminuria status was dose-responsively associated with sarcopenia among older persons with T2DM, and the risk started to escalate from minimal albuminuria (UACR 9.18 mg/g in men and 18.4 mg/g in women). Further intervention studies are needed to evaluate potential benefits of better diabetes control in preventing sarcopenia and its outcomes.

To investigate the prognostic significance of hospitalization-associated muscle weakness for short-term and long-term functional declines among oldest old hospitalized patients.We conducted a retrospective cohort study in the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit (GEMU) of a tertiary medical center in Taiwan. Data from patients admitted to the GEMU were collected, including demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, functional assessments, and nutritional status. Handgrip strength was measured at admission and before discharge, and hospitalization-associated muscle weakness was defined accordingly. Functional status was ascertained by a telephone survey, and functional decline was defined based on a comparison with each patient's functional status before discharge.Overall, data from 555 patients were retrieved, and 431 patients (mean age: 86.0 ± 6.2 years, 78.5% males) were included in the study, with a mean Barthel Index score of 74.7 ± 20.8, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 19.1 ± 6.8, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5) score of 2.2 ± 1.6, Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) score of 8.9 ± 3.0, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric (CIRS-G) score of 2.2 ± 0.9, and the regular use of 6.7 ± 3.5 medications. Patients with a 1-month postdischarge functional decline had significantly lower body weight and body mass index, more severe frailty and more hospitalization-associated muscle weakness. Patients with a 6-month postdischarge functional decline had lower body weight, BMI, MMSE scores, MNA-SF scores, handgrip strength, Barthel Index scores, and Braden Scale scores. BMI (OR: 0.815, 95% CI: 0.691-0.962, P = 0.015) and hospitalization-associated muscle weakness (OR: 1.227, 95% CI: 1.147-1.332, P 0.001) were significantly associated with a 1-month postdischarge functional decline. Hospitalization-associated muscle weakness (OR: 1.067, 95% CI: 1.035-1.101, P 0.001), the risk of pressure sores (Braden Scale, OR: 0.767, 95% CI: 0.646-0.910, P = 0.002), and BMI (OR: 0.914, 95% CI: 0.838-0.998, P = 0.045) were independently associated with a 6-month postdischarge functional decline.Hospitalization-associated muscle weakness significantly predicts functional decline among oldest old patients hospitalized for acute conditions. Further interventional studies are needed to examine the causal relationship between hospitalization-associated muscle weakness and clinical outcomes.

The sintering behaviors among SiO2, FeS and Fe3O4 were detected to reveal the formation mechanism of Fe2SiO4. The results indicated that the formation mechanism is divided into five steps: (1) migration of O2− induced by S2− under a reducing atmosphere; (2) formation of Fe3O4−β ; (3) migration of Fe(II) into a ferrite cluster structure to gain oxygen and form Fe3−x O4; (4) Fe(II) invaded the silicon atomic position and released Si(IV); and (5) formation of the stable structure of Fe2SiO4 through chemical diffusion between cations of Fe(II) and Si(IV). These findings can provide theoretical support for controlling the process of the recovery of valuable metals in copper slag through the combined roasting modification–magnetic separation process.

Electrochemical behavior of aluminum foil in H2SO4 solutions was intensively studied. Because of the antagonistic effect of and H+ contained in H2SO4, the surface etching of the aluminum foil in the H2SO4 solution gradually increased with the H2SO4 concentration. When HCl was added to the H2SO4 solution, the surface etching of the aluminum foil became dependent on the H2SO4 concentration. The increased H2SO4 concentration reduced the pitting resistance of the aluminum foil, thus improving the distribution uniformity of the etched tunnels. The decreased tunnel length was analyzed by using an electrochemical process.

Background To evaluate the predictive validity of sarcopenia defined by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Sarcopenia Project among Asian older adults. Methods Data of the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study were obtained for analysis. Overall, 1,839 community-dwelling people aged 50 years and older, capable of completing a 6-m walk, with life expectancy of more than 6 months, and not institutionalized at time of data collection were enrolled for study. Data for subjects aged 65 years and older were obtained for study. The outcome measures were all-cause mortality and a composite adverse outcome which includes hospitalizations, emergency department visits, institutionalization, and falls. Results Data of 728 eligible elderly participants (73.4 ± 5.4 years; 52.9% males) were analyzed. The prevalence of FNIH-diagnosed sarcopenia was 9.5%: 11.9% males; 6.7% females. Participants having FNIH-defined sarcopenia were considerably older, frailer, more obese, with poorer physical performance than nonsarcopenic subjects (All p < .001); during mean follow-up of 32.9 ± 8.8 months, they also had 3.8 times higher risk of dying, independent of age, sex, multimorbidity, cognitive function, and nutritional status (hazard ratio = 3.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.26-11.45; p = .018). Moreover, sarcopenia defined by grip strength-BMI ratio (WeakBMI) showed stronger association with composite adverse outcomes than traditional handgrip strength (hazard ratio = 1.99; 95% confidence interval = 1.01-3.93; p = .047 vs hazard ratio = 1.80; 95% confidence interval = 0.89-3.62; p = .102 in fully-adjusted model). Conclusion Among community-dwelling older people in Taiwan, participants with FNIH-defined sarcopenia had a significantly greater risk of all-cause mortality and composite falls, emergency department visits, institutionalization, and hospitalization.

The kinetics of the acid leaching of reductively roasted zinc calcine was studied on sample particles with a fine-grained sediment structure. This structure has a porous surface during acid leaching, and the leaching behaviours of roasted zinc calcines are complicated. The leaching of iron is controlled by reactions at the solid–liquid interface with an active energy of 51.40 kJ mol−1, the kinetics model is described by The extraction of zinc could be expressed as with an active energy of 10.01 kJ mol−1 and this process is controlled by diffusion through the porous structure. Temperature is a key factor for the iron extraction, while acidity particle size may play an important role in the leaching of zinc. It is concluded that the selective leaching of zinc is favoured at a high acidity above 90 g L−1 and a low temperature.

A beneficiation-metallurgy combination process is developed to recover Zn, Fe and to enrich In, Ag from high iron-bearing zinc calcine based on our former researches. In gaseous reductive roasting process, the roasting conditions were tested by magnetic separation of roasted product. It is found that the $${V_{CO}}\left( {{{{P_{CO}}} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{{P_{CO}}} {{P_{CO + C{O_2}}}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {{P_{CO + C{O_2}}}}}} \right)$$ in roasting atmosphere should be maintained below 30% to avoid the generation of zinc iron solid solution (Fe0.85-x Zn x O), which can bring a decrease of iron recovery in magnetic separation. After roasting, acid leaching and multistage magnetic separation are carried out for the recovery of Zn, Fe and enrichment of Ag and In. About 90% of zinc is extracted and 83% of iron is recovered in the whole process. The Ag mainly enters the tailings with a recovery of 76%, the Ag grade increases from 0.12 g/t in raw materials to 1.18 g/t in the tailings. However, the In mainly enters the iron concentrations and the recovery reaches 86%. This process was proved to be technically feasible and may be a favorable option in the treatment of high iron-bearing zinc material with high Ag or In content.

To evaluate the prevalence of recurrent falls and their risk factors among older men living in the Veterans Homes in Taiwan.This cross-sectional study enrolled 871 residents and all participants received the comprehensive geriatric assessment, including Barthel Index, Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale-5 questions (GDS-5), Mini-Nutrition Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF), the status of urinary incontinence, stool incontinence, polypharmacy, past history of falls, multimorbidity, and medication history.Overall, 871 subjects (mean age: 85.5±5.2years, all males) participated in this study, whereas 222(25.5%) of them had experienced falls in the past year, and 91 were recurrent fallers. Comparisons between non-fallers, single fallers and recurrent fallers disclosed that they were significantly different in the following characteristics: diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Barthel Index, GDS-5, MNA-SF, polypharmacy, use of hypnotics, urinary incontinence, and stool incontinence (P for trend all0.05). Multiple regression analysis identified that GDS-5 was significantly associated with single falls and recurrent falls (OR 1.256, 95% CI 1.094-1.441, P=0.001 for single fallers; OR 1.480, 95% CI 1.269-1.727, P0.001 for recurrent fallers). Besides, urinary incontinence was the independently associated with recurrent fallers only (OR 2.369, 95% CI 1.449-3.817, P0.001), but not single fallers.Urinary incontinence and depressive symptoms were independent associated factors for falls among older men living in the retirement communities. However, urinary incontinence was associated with recurrent falls, but not single falls. Intervention study is needed to reduce recurrent falls through management of urinary incontinence.

Transglutaminase (TGase) and succinylation could modify the physicochemical characteristics and the functional properties of proteins. The aim of this work was to cross-link egg white protein (EWP) and succinylated casein with TGase and to assess the feasibility of making a novel composite protein film. The effects of succinylated casein content, reaction time, and TGase concentration on the mechanical properties, physical characteristics (thermal property and degree of crystallinity), and structure properties (secondary structure and surface micrograph structure) of the film were investigated in this study. The results revealed that the susceptibility of EWP to TGase-mediated cross-linking modification was enhanced by succinylated casein. Meanwhile, the films with TGase were more homogeneous and smoother and possessed better water resistance and thermal stability. The content of α-helix, β-turn structures were increased whereas β-sheet structure was decreased. The spatial conformation and degree of crystallinity of composite protein film were also affected by TGase. The increase of the degree of crystallinity of the composite film further proved the improvement of film mechanical properties induced by TGase and succinylated casein. Based on the above results, this study provides relevant data and insights for the TGase/chemical modification of protein-based edible films.

The oxidation of unsaturated lipids commonly occurs at oil-water interfaces in heterogeneous foods (such as emulsions), and so there is a need for surface-active antioxidants to inhibit lipid oxidation. In this study, catechin was oxidatively polymerized by horseradish peroxidase to obtain catechin polymers (CTP). An amphiphilic antioxidant was then produced by conjugating CTP with egg white proteins (EWP) using a hydrogen peroxide-ascorbic acid pair as a radical initiator system. The covalent attachment of CTP to EWP was confirmed by electrophoresis, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and fluorescence analyses. The antioxidant capacity of CTP-EWP conjugates was evaluated using several in vitro models. The conjugates exhibited strong scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (79% at 1 mg/mL), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (97% at 0.5 mg/mL), and had a high ferric reducing power. Furthermore, CTP-EWP conjugates exhibited an inhibitive effect on lipid peroxidation in linoleic acid oil-in-water emulsions, indicating that the conjugates may have potential applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Aim To evaluate the impact of living arrangements on mortality and functional decline among older patients with dementia or cognitive impairment after discharge from a geriatric evaluation and management unit (GEMU) in Taiwan. Methods The present retrospective cohort study used data from the Veteran Affairs Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment from January 2015 to May 2016 for analysis. Data of patients aged 65 years and older with dementia or cognitive impairment at admission to the GEMU of Taipei Veterans General Hospital during the study period were retried for study. The Veteran Affairs Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment included demographic characteristics, Clinical Frailty Scale, Braden Scale, St. Thomas's Risk Assessment Tool in Falling Elderly Inpatients Scale, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics, Barthel Index, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale-5 and Mini-Nutritional Assessment – Short Form, as well as common geriatric syndromes. All patients were categorized into the home care group and institutional care group based on their living arrangement before GEMU admissions. Six-month mortality and decline in Barthel Index were defined as adverse clinical outcomes. Results Overall, data of 395 patients were used for analysis. The baseline comparisons showed that the institutional care group was more likely to be unmarried, have lower education, lower risk of falls and less polypharmacy, but more likely to experience functional decline at follow up than the home care group. Multivariate logistic regression showed that male (OR 3.59, 95% CI 1.04–12.38, P = 0.043) and higher Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics score (OR 4.08, 95% CI 1.49–11.19, P = 0.006) were associated with mortality, whereas the institutional care group (OR 0.30, 95% 0.09–0.99, P = 0.048) and lower Braden Scale (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.67–0.94, P = 0.008) were protective against mortality. However, the institutional care group was independently associated with functional decline during the follow-up period (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.12–4.29, P = 0.022). Conclusions Institutional care was associated with lower 6-month mortality risk for patients with dementia or cognitive impairment after discharge from the GEMU, but this group was more likely to experience functional decline. Further prospective study is required to clarify the clinical impact of living arrangements on long-term outcomes when people with dementia or cognitive impairment are admitted to acute hospitals. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017: 17 (Suppl. 1): 44–49.

To evaluate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and its association with frailty among men aged 80 years and older in Taiwan.Residents living in four veterans retirement communities were invited for study and 440 men aged 80 years and older were enrolled. Comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed for them, which composed of Clinical Frailty Scale, Northern Health and Social Care Trust (HSC)-Continence Assessment Form, Charlson's Comorbidity Index (CCI), Barthel Index (BI), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale-5 (GDS-5), and Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF).In this study, the overall prevalence of UI was 19.1% (mostly urgency incontinence and functional incontinence). Univariate analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between UI and other variables. Frailty was more common among subjects with UI than those without (60.7% vs 32.3%, p 0.001). Besides, subjects with UI had more comorbidity (CCI: 1.40 ± 1.15 vs 0.89 ± 0.89, p 0.001), poorer physical function (BI: 65.77 ± 33.39 vs 84.12 ± 24.08, p 0.001; IADL: 3.46 ± 2.64 vs 4.41 ± 2.25, p = 0.003), more depressive symptoms (GDS-5: 1.83 ± 1.78 vs 1.18 ± 1.36, p = 0.02), poorer cognitive function (MMSE: 16.57 ± 7.65 vs 19.37 ± 6.82, p = 0.001), poorer nutritional status (MNA-SF: 10.0 ± 03.03 vs 11.23 ± 2.24, p = 0.001), more polypharmacy (66.7% vs 45.2%, p 0.001) and higher chance of stool incontinence (22.6% vs 1.7%, p 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that UI was independently associated with frailty, (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-3.6; p = 0.012), stool incontinence (OR = 14.4; 95% CI 5.2-39.7; p 0.001) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.30; 95% CI 1.10-1.54; p = 0.002).About one fifth of study subjects had UI (mostly urgency and functional incontinence type), which was significantly associated with frailty, stool incontinence and depressive symptoms. Further study is needed to evaluate the possibilities of reversing these geriatric syndromes by an integrated intervention program.

Aim To identify potentially modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline among veterans’ home residents in Taiwan Methods The present retrospective cohort study was part of the Veteran Affairs-Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment study that retrieved data of the comprehensive geriatric assessment for 946 residents living at four veterans’ homes in Taiwan. The study participants were interviewed every 3–6 months from January 2012 and December 2014. Demographic characteristics,multimorbidity by Charlson's Comorbidities Index, physical function by the Barthel Index, cognition by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), depression by the five-item Geriatric Depression Scale and nutritional status by the Mini-Nutrition Assessment-Short Form were collected for analysis. A generalized estimating equation model was used after it was adjusted for age, educational level, five-item Geriatric Depression Scale, and problem of communication difficulty to identify potential modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline. Results The mean age of the participants was 85.7 ± 5.2 years, with a mean follow-up period of 41 ± 21.6 weeks. The prevalence of cognitive impairment (defined by MMSE

Aim Dementia and cognitive impairment are important public health challenges to a rapidly aging country. The present study aimed to explore the protective factors against cognitive decline among community-dwelling middle-aged and older people from health, social, and lifestyle perspectives. Methods Data of the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study, a population-based cohort study in Taiwan, were retrieved for the study. Overall, 676 participants with intact baseline cognitive function (measured by the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire) were enrolled and followed for six years. Any increasing score of the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire in the observational period was referred to as cognitive function decline. Associated factors for cognitive decline were identified by the logistic regression model. Results Among all participants, 205 (30%) experienced cognitive decline during the study period. Crude logistic regression showed that women (odds ratio [OR] 1.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3–2.6), low educational level (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.4–3.0) and low mastery (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–1.9) were associated with cognitive decline, but no daily consumption of vegetables and fruits had only a marginal association (OR 1.3, 95% CI 0.9–1.8). In the fully adjusted logistic regression analysis, old age, women, low educational level and low sense of mastery were independent predictors for cognitive decline. Participants with two modifiable factors (mastery, and daily consumptions of vegetables and fruits) had a lower risk of cognitive decline (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3–0.9), compared with those without any protective factor. Conclusions Participants with a better educational level, better personal mastery, and more consumption of fruits and vegetables were less likely to experience cognitive decline. An intervention study combining these features should be carried out to promote better cognitive health in communities. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017: 17 (Suppl. 1): 20–27.

The separation of iron and zinc is a considerable challenge in the zinc smelting processes. A reduction roasting-ammonia leaching process is proposed in this paper. In roasting experiments, the app...

Based on the First-principles and the method of quantum chemistry calculations, using the B3LYP method and 6-31G basis set of the density functional theory (DFT), the configurations and binding energy of Nen (n=2~36) clusters are calculated and studied theoretically after the calculation of geometry optimization. By changing the atomic number n of the Nen (n=2~36) clusters, it obtained that the stable structures, the binding energy and HOMO - LUMO energy gap of the Nen (n=2~36) clusters under the same ideal conditions, and summarizes the change rule of the stable configurations, the binding energy and the average bond length of the Nen (n=2~36) clusters.