Electronic skin sensing devices are an emerging technology and have substantial demand in vast practical fields including wearable sensing, robotics, and user‐interactive interfaces. In order to ...imitate or even outperform the capabilities of natural skin, the keen exploration of materials, device structures, and new functions is desired. However, the very high resistance and the inadequate current switching and sensitivity of reported electronic skins hinder to further develop and explore the promising uses of the emerging sensing devices. Here, a novel resistive cloth‐based skin‐like sensor device is reported that possesses unprecedented features including ultrahigh current‐switching behavior of ≈107 and giant high sensitivity of 1.04 × 104–6.57 × 106 kPa−1 in a low‐pressure region of <3 kPa. Notably, both superior features can be achieved by a very low working voltage of 0.1 V. Taking these remarkable traits, the device not only exhibits excellent sensing abilities to various mechanical forces, meeting various applications required for skin‐like sensors, but also demonstrates a unique competence to facile integration with other functional devices for various purposes with ultrasensitive capabilities. Therefore, the new methodologies presented here enable to greatly enlarge and advance the development of versatile electronic skin applications.
A newly designed cloth‐based resistive electronic skin features ultrahigh current switching of ≈107 and extremely high sensitivity of 1.04 × 104–6.57 × 106 kPa–1 at pressures <3 kPa. And, notably, both features are achieved by a very low working voltage of 0.1 V. Taking these traits, our devices not only function as ultrasensitive sensors but can also be integrated with various functional components for multipurpose uses.
Purpose
To evaluate the structural, microvascular, and functional progression of normal tension glaucoma (NTG) with or without high myopia by examining longitudinal changes in optical coherence ...tomography angiography (OCTA) and visual field (VF) parameters.
Methods
We evaluated 61 NTG eyes and classified 25 of the eyes with axial lengths (ALs) of ≥26 mm as highly myopic. We assessed the rate of change in OCTA parameters, namely radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) vessel density (VD), parafovea VD, deep parafovea VD, retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, and ganglion cell complex thickness. We evaluated the correlation of the rate of change in OCTA parameters with VF loss and AL.
Results
Among the 61 NTG eyes, rates of loss of RPC VD, parafovea VD, deep parafovea VD, and RNFL thickness were significantly different from zero despite the nonsignificant rate of change in VF mean deviation (MD). Changes in these OCTA parameters did not differ significantly in highly myopic NTG eyes. The rate of change in VF MD was significantly correlated with the rate of change in parafovea VD in highly myopic and non‐highly myopic NTG eyes. In highly myopic NTG eyes, AL was negatively correlated with the rates of loss of RNFL thickness, VF MD, and VF PSD.
Conclusion
NTG eyes with a relatively stable VF exhibited loss of VD and RNFL thickness. VF progression in NTG was correlated with decreasing parafovea VD, indicating a structure–function correlation. Greater AL may indicate faster VF loss and RNFL thinning in highly myopic NTG eyes.
Heteroepitaxially flexible oxide systems have been intensely developed and considered as the most promising materials for leading the creation of next‐generation flexible electronic devices. Among ...them, perovskite manganites have attracted significant attention with their abundant and novel properties such as colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) and metal‐insulator transition. However, the requirement of high quality samples hampers this field, not to mention the advanced nanoengineering. In this study, fluorophlogopite mica (F‐mica) is selected as a flexible substrate to fabricate heteroepitaxial Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 (PCMO) with a nanocolumn structure. Through a precise control of thickness, different morphologies are realized to manipulate the magnetotransport properties (reduction of melting field). Moreover, thanks to the excellent flexibility of F‐mica, mechanical modulation of CMR (≈1000%) can be achieved in different flex modes while the magnetic properties remain unaffected. Detailed bending tests are performed to study the behavior of resistive change (≈30%). Through the combination of high flexibility, high quality PCMO, and well‐designed nanocolumn structure, the study exhibits the significant controllability of CMR via mechanical bending, and manifests the potential of such a heteroepitaxially flexible oxide system which can be applied on flexible magnetoresistive devices and sensors.
A flexible Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3/F‐mica heteroepitaxy with a nanocolumn structure is developed. Through precise control of thickness and flexion, the mechanical modulation of colossal magnetoresistance can reach near 1000%. Typical bending tests also exhibit a mechanical modulation of resistive tunability of about 30%. This flexible epitaxial perovskite manganite shows the potential on flexible magnetoresistive devices and sensors.
Proximal tubule injury can initiate CKD, with progression rates that are approximately 50% faster in males versus females. The precise transcriptional changes in this nephron segment during fibrosis ...and potential differences between sexes remain undefined.
We generated mice with proximal tubule-specific expression of an L10a ribosomal subunit protein fused with enhanced green fluorescent protein. We performed unilateral ureteral obstruction surgery on four male and three female mice to induce inflammation and fibrosis, collected proximal tubule-specific and bulk cortex mRNA at day 5 or 10, and sequenced samples to a depth of 30 million reads. We applied computational methods to identify sex-biased and shared molecular responses to fibrotic injury, including up- and downregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and transcriptional regulators, and used
hybridization to validate critical genes and pathways.
We identified >17,000 genes in each proximal tubule group, including 145 G-protein-coupled receptors. More than 700 transcripts were differentially expressed in the proximal tubule of males versus females. The >4000 genes displaying altered expression during fibrosis were enriched for proinflammatory and profibrotic pathways. Our identification of nearly 150 differentially expressed proximal tubule lncRNAs during fibrosis suggests they may have unanticipated regulatory roles. Network analysis prioritized proinflammatory and profibrotic transcription factors such as
,
, and
as drivers of fibrosis progression.
This comprehensive transcriptomic map of the proximal tubule revealed sexually dimorphic gene expression that may reflect sex-related disparities in CKD, proinflammatory gene modules, and previously unappreciated proximal tubule-specific bidirectional lncRNA regulation.
To reduce the significant redundancy in deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), most existing methods prune neurons by only considering the statistics of an individual layer or two consecutive ...layers (e.g., prune one layer to minimize the reconstruction error of the next layer), ignoring the effect of error propagation in deep networks. In contrast, we argue that for a pruned network to retain its predictive power, it is essential to prune neurons in the entire neuron network jointly based on a unified goal: minimizing the reconstruction error of important responses in the "final response layer" (FRL), which is the second-to-last layer before classification. Specifically, we apply feature ranking techniques to measure the importance of each neuron in the FRL, formulate network pruning as a binary integer optimization problem, and derive a closed-form solution to it for pruning neurons in earlier layers. Based on our theoretical analysis, we propose the Neuron Importance Score Propagation (NISP) algorithm to propagate the importance scores of final responses to every neuron in the network. The CNN is pruned by removing neurons with least importance, and it is then fine-tuned to recover its predictive power. NISP is evaluated on several datasets with multiple CNN models and demonstrated to achieve significant acceleration and compression with negligible accuracy loss.
Deltas are a most common form of reservoir sedimentation. When the river inflows switch between homopycnal and hyperpycnal, morphological transitions between Gilbert and hyperpycnal deltas take ...place. So far, however, detailed studies on how such transitions occur and quantitative descriptions of the processes have been rare. Here, we study experimentally the deltaic transitions in response to the switch of flow type. Our results show that transition from hyperpycnal to Gilbert delta is purely depositional. This contrasts the transition from Gilbert to hyperpycnal delta, which is a two‐stage process involving both erosion and deposition. During the first stage, hyperpycnal flows modify the existing Gilbert delta into a subaqueous foundation, over which hyperpycnal delta develops and progrades into the basin during the second stage. After transition, hyperpycnal deltas migrate at higher speeds to recover the non‐transitioned trajectories. Diffusion‐based models are found well suited to describing the self‐similar morphodynamics of the two‐stage process.
Plain Language Summary
Reservoirs worldwide have faced declining storage volumes because of sedimentation. Deltas are a most common form of reservoir sedimentation. When the river inflows switched between clear and turbid waters, the morphology of delta experienced a transition between a short, steep slope (called Gilbert delta) and a longer, milder surface (called hyperpycnal delta). Because these two types of delta extend downstream into the reservoir in different styles, and both increase the flood risk at headwater sections, we conducted flume experiments to better understand the transitional processes and the resulting morphologies and behaviors of delta after such transition. Our results reveal that transition from Gilbert to hyperpycnal delta is a two‐stage process. During the first stage, a wedge‐shaped underwater foundation was developed by eroding the upper part of delta slope and depositing sediment at its lower part. During the second stage, hyperpycnal delta grew on top of the foundation. After transition, hyperpycnal deltas moved at higher speeds to recover their non‐transitioned trajectories. The dynamic processes during these two stages can be described by diffusion‐based models. These models were used to evaluate the transitional timescales in both laboratory and real‐world settings. The results provide novel information on dynamics of reservoir sedimentation.
Key Points
Transition from Gilbert to hyperpycnal delta is a two‐stage process involving foundation development and hyperpycnal delta progradation
The processes during these stages can be quantitatively described by diffusion‐based models that reveal strong morphological self‐similarity
Within limited durations the post‐transition hyperpycnal deltas approach at higher speed toward the trajectory of the non‐transitioned delta
Aims
To examine the level of decision difficulties of long‐term‐care facility (LTCF) nurses when transferring residents to the emergency department (ED) and associated influencing factors.
Design
A ...cross‐sectional nationwide study.
Methods
The LTCFs were selected through random stratified sampling across the whole Taiwan during February 2018 to January 2019. LTCF nurses who met the selection criteria were invited to participate with two or three nurses selected from each LTCF. The Patient Transfer Decision Difficulty Scale (PTDDS) was used to measure the level of difficulty in making decisions related to the transfer of residents to the ED. Data were collected by mailing the questionnaires and asking the nurses to return the completed form in 2 weeks. Data were analysed using simple linear regression and multiple regression with stepwise methods.
Results
In total, 618 valid questionnaires with an 85.32% response rate from 319 LTCFs were used for the data analysis. Decision difficulties that LTCF nurses experienced were moderate, the nursing personnel‐bed ratio, LTCF professional training and basic life support training were predictive factors of the level of difficulty experience (scores of PTDDS) for the LTCF nurse (F = 6.81, p < .001).
Conclusions
Enhancing emergency training in LTCF can improve nurses' decision‐making ability to refer LTCF residents to emergency treatment.
Impact
What problem did the study address? The study addressed the difficult decision LTCF nurses may experience when transferring a resident to the emergency department.
What were the main findings? All LTCF nurses faced a moderate level of difficulty in decision‐making. ‘Transfer timing’ was most often considered in the decision‐making process when a resident was transferred to the ED.
Where and on whom will the research have impact? Results of this study have considerable reference value for LTCF managers and nurses in the decision‐making ability and suitability of transferring residents for emergency treatment.
Frailty is an age-related condition that predicts adverse outcomes. The study was aimed to investigate the clinical implications of frailty evolution in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD).
...In this prospective study, all new-onset (<6 months) and prevalent (≧6 months) PD patients completed frailty assessment at entry and 6 months by a semiautomated frailty index of 80 risk factors (FI80) which also contained the 5 components of Fried frailty phenotype. A score ≧13/80 (FI80 > 0.16) or ≧3/5 (frailty phenotype) was designated to define frailty.
337 PD patients were recruited (new-onset 23.4%, prevalent 76.6%). Two hundred (59.3%) and 163 (48.4%) patients were frail by FI80 and frailty phenotype, respectively. Predictors for frailty were old age, dialysis, diabetes mellitus, gout and sleep disorder. New-onset patients aged <55 years displayed the best evolution of frailty over 6 months (stable or improved, n = 29/47, 61.7% by FI80, p = 0.0293), compared with other groups. Survival analysis found that frail patients exhibited the worse outcomes (overall death and hospitalization). Poisson regression showed frailty was associated with increased utilizations of outpatient and ER services; however multivariate Cox models identified only diabetes, gout and low body mass index (<19 kg/m2), but not frailty, predicted overall death and hospitalizations.
Frailty is a common medical condition in PD patients, and the status of which can be stabilized or improved in new-onset, young patients at least over the short term. Compared with frailty, certain comorbidities (diabetes and gout) and undernutrition appeared to be more robust in the prediction of adverse outcomes.
Limited treatment options exist for relapsed advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), leading to poor outcomes compared with adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of ...second-line afatinib versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced lung SCC who progressed after first-line chemotherapy.
In this retrospective, multisite cohort study, we recruited patients with initial locally advanced or metastatic lung SCC from four institutes in Taiwan between June 2014 and October 2020. The primary endpoint of this study was progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints were the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and overall survival (OS).
The present study enrolled 108 patients: 19 received second-line afatinib, and 89 received second-line chemotherapy. The median ages were 71 and 67 years, respectively. PFS was significantly longer among patients who received afatinib than among those who received chemotherapy (median 4.7 months 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.1-7.5 vs. 2.6 months 95% CI, 0.9-6.7; hazard ratio (HR) 0.53 95% CI 0.32-0.88, p = 0.013). Compared with the chemotherapy group, OS was longer in the afatinib group but did not reach significance (median 16.0 months 95% CI, 6.1-22.0 vs. 12.3 months 6.2-33.9; HR 0.65 95% CI 0.38-1.11, p = 0.112).
Afatinib offered a longer PFS and comparable OS to chemotherapy in advanced lung SCC patients in a real-world setting, it may be considered as a 2nd line alternative treatment choice for immunotherapy unfit advanced lung SCC patients.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The aim of the study is to determine the effects of monocular 0.125% atropine daily treatment on the longer axial length (AL) eyes in children with pediatric anisometropia. This was a retrospective ...cohort study. The charts of children with anisometropia (aged 6-15 years) who had a > 0.2-mm difference in AL between the two eyes were reviewed. Children who received monocular treatment of 0.125% atropine in the eye with longer AL were included for final analysis. The main outcome measure was the difference in AL between the two eyes after treatment. Regression analysis was used to model the changes in AL according to the time of treatment in both eyes. Finally, forty eyes in 20 patients (mean age 10.2 years) were included in the analyses. During the treatment period, AL was controlled in the treated eyes (p = 0.389) but elongated significantly in the untreated eyes (p < 0.001). The difference in AL between the treated and untreated eyes decreased from 0.57 to 0.22 mm (p < 0.001) after the 1-year treatment period. In the regression model, the best fit for the relationship between changes in AL and time during the treatment period in the treated eyes was the quadratic regression model with a concave function. In conclusion, these data suggest that 0.125% atropine daily is an effective treatment to reduce the interocular difference of AL in eyes with axial anisometropia. This pilot study provides useful information for future prospective and larger studies of atropine for the treatment of pediatric axial anisometropia.
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