Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) loaded polypropylene (PP) based syntactic foam is fabricated by melt mixing method. In order to evaluate the effect of hollow glass microsphere (HGM) on the ...dispersion state of SWNT and to identify the optimal weight of HGM, various analysis is performed. Based on the comprehensive result analysis, it is concluded that HGMs weight between 1 and 7 wt% shows the best performance. At low weight of HGMs (0.1–0.5 wt%), HGMs act as nucleating agent to escalate the agglomeration of SWNT, while high load of HGMs tend to aggregate each other, hindering the formation of SWNT percolation network.
Despite numerous studies identifying risk factors for proximal junctional failure (PJF), risk factors for recurrent PJF (R-PJF) are still not well established. Therefore, we aimed to identify the ...risk factors for R-PJF following adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery.BACKGROUNDDespite numerous studies identifying risk factors for proximal junctional failure (PJF), risk factors for recurrent PJF (R-PJF) are still not well established. Therefore, we aimed to identify the risk factors for R-PJF following adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery.Among 479 patients who underwent ≥5-level fusion surgery for ASD, the focus was on those who experienced R-PJF at any time or did not experience R-PJF during a follow-up duration of ≥1 year. PJF was defined as a proximal junctional angle (PJA) ≥28° plus a difference in PJA ≥22° or performance of revision surgery regardless of PJA degree. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to R-PJF development: no R-PJF and R-PJF groups. Risk factors were evaluated focusing on patient, surgical, and radiographic factors at the index surgery as well as at the revision surgery.METHODSAmong 479 patients who underwent ≥5-level fusion surgery for ASD, the focus was on those who experienced R-PJF at any time or did not experience R-PJF during a follow-up duration of ≥1 year. PJF was defined as a proximal junctional angle (PJA) ≥28° plus a difference in PJA ≥22° or performance of revision surgery regardless of PJA degree. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to R-PJF development: no R-PJF and R-PJF groups. Risk factors were evaluated focusing on patient, surgical, and radiographic factors at the index surgery as well as at the revision surgery.Of the 60 patients in the final study cohort, 24 (40%) experienced R-PJF. Significant risk factors included greater postoperative sagittal vertical axis (OR = 1.044), overcorrection relative to age-adjusted pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis (PI-LL; OR = 7.794) at the index surgery, a greater total sum of the proximal junctional kyphosis severity scale (OR = 1.145), and no use of the upper instrumented vertebra cement (OR = 5.494) at the revision surgery.RESULTSOf the 60 patients in the final study cohort, 24 (40%) experienced R-PJF. Significant risk factors included greater postoperative sagittal vertical axis (OR = 1.044), overcorrection relative to age-adjusted pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis (PI-LL; OR = 7.794) at the index surgery, a greater total sum of the proximal junctional kyphosis severity scale (OR = 1.145), and no use of the upper instrumented vertebra cement (OR = 5.494) at the revision surgery.We revealed that the greater postoperative sagittal vertical axis and overcorrection relative to age-adjusted pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis at the index surgery, a greater proximal junctional kyphosis severity scale score, and no use of upper instrumented vertebra cement at the revision surgery were significant risk factors for R-PJF.CONCLUSIONSWe revealed that the greater postoperative sagittal vertical axis and overcorrection relative to age-adjusted pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis at the index surgery, a greater proximal junctional kyphosis severity scale score, and no use of upper instrumented vertebra cement at the revision surgery were significant risk factors for R-PJF.To reduce the risk of R-PJF after ASD surgery, avoiding under- and overcorrection during the initial surgery is recommended. Additionally, close assessment of the severity of PJF with timely intervention is crucial, and cement augmentation should be considered during revision surgery.CLINICAL RELEVANCETo reduce the risk of R-PJF after ASD surgery, avoiding under- and overcorrection during the initial surgery is recommended. Additionally, close assessment of the severity of PJF with timely intervention is crucial, and cement augmentation should be considered during revision surgery.
A luminescent solar concentrator (LSC)-based photovoltaic (PV) system, consisting of an LSC panel that harvests light and an edge-mounted solar cell that produces electricity using the ...photoluminescent light, is promising for semitransparent building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). Here, we demonstrate a highly efficient and highly semitransparent LSC-PVs capable of harvesting dual wavelength bands. We used a triplet–triplet annihilation-based photon upconversion (UC) LSC that luminesce high energy green light by absorbing low energy red light, as well as downshift LSC that luminesce green light by absorbing ultraviolet light. The luminescent light concentrated from the two LSCs is absorbed by a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) having a high extinction coefficient at this wavelength. Our optimized dual band LSC-PV exhibited 27% higher power conversion efficiency than the LSC-PV that absorb a single wavelength band. With respect to practical applications, the dual band LSC-DSSCs were fabricated in the form of an LSC window-DSSC window frame. We achieved a power conversion efficiency of 9.1% per LSC panel area. This dual-band LSC-DSSC exhibited high stability and maintained efficiency even at oblique illumination. Our results will be promising as an aesthetic and energy independent next generation BIPV.
At present, perovskite light-emitting diodes are mostly based on various forms of nanostructures exploiting their exciton confinement property. However, the few reports utilizing bulk or ...polycrystalline perovskites have been limited in application because of the difficulties of forming high-quality films, especially on the existing organic charge transport layers. When these charge transport organics are exchanged with thicker CH3NH3PbCl3, the emitting CsPbBr3 thick polycrystalline films containing CH3NH3Br are conformally deposited with improved luminescence quality without driving voltage increase. Enhanced crystallinity and prolonged photoluminescence are observed by exploiting interfacial defect passivation and the strain-induced effect in the heterostructures. This approach could lead to high-performance light-emitting diodes and may also be extended to other perovskite devices.
This study proposes a probabilistic approach for systematic design space exploration and rearrangement. The stochastic quantities and qualities of design space are explored using a reliability index, ...and the design space is rearranged to a higher feasible region by using Chebyshev inequality. Four test cases composed of algebraic functions are used to investigate the validity of the proposed method. Results show that the converged design space can include the feasible region outside the initial design space to the rearranged design space. Moreover, the results show that the proposed method is applicable to the aircraft wing design optimization problem, which considers collaborative optimization with three subsystems, namely, aerodynamics, structure, and performance. Wing design optimizations are also performed separately for the initial and converged design spaces. The results indicate that the range obtained in the converged design space improved compared with that in the initial design space. In conclusion, the proposed design space rearrangement method was shown to have the capability to search for feasible regions that are excluded in the initial design phase.
We report on the transport properties of MgB
2
films that were directly grown on Hastelloy tapes by using a hybrid physical chemical deposition method. The substrate temperatures was varied from 480 ...°C to 540 °C in 20 °C increment while the deposition time and the gas mixing ratio were kept constant at 10 min and H
2
:B
2
H
6
= 70:30, respectively. Within this window of substrate temperature, all the samples except the one grown at 480 °C exhibited critical current densities,
J
c
, much higher than those observed in MgB
2
wires and tapes that were made by using the powder method. For instance, the film grown at 500 °C exhibited a value of
J
c
exceeding 3 × 10
5
A/cm
2
at 4 T and 5 K measured in magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the substrate. In the samples grown at temperatures above 500 °C, a resistance dip was observed in the same field orientation, which can be regarded as evidence for strong flux pinning.
Our current understanding of muscle and adipose tissue development has been largely restricted to the study of murine myogenic and adipogenic cell lines, since attempts to establish these cell lines ...from other species have met with only limited success. Here we report that a spontaneously immortalized bovine embryonic fibroblast cell line (BEFS) undergoes differentiation into adipogenic or myogenic lineages when ectopically transduced with PPARγ2 (an adipogenic lineage determinant) or MyoD (a myogenic lineage determinant) and grown in adipogenic and myogenic differentiation culture media (ADCM and MDCM, respectively). We also found that PPARγ2-overexpressing BEFS cells (BEFS-PPARγ2) grown in ADCM with or without the PPARγ2 ligand, troglitazone, preferentially differentiate into adipogenic cells in the presence of ectopic MyoD expression. Ectopic expression of PPARγ2 in the inducible MyoD-overepxressing BEFS cells (BEFS-TetOn-MyoD) completely suppresses myogenic differentiation and leads to a significant increase in adipogenic differentiation, suggesting that the adipogenic differentiation program might be dominant. Therefore, BEFS, BEFS-PPARγ2, and BEFS-TetOn-MyoD would be a valuable biological model for understanding a fundamental principle underlying myogenic and adipogenic development, and for isolating various genetic and chemical factors that enable muscle and adipocyte differentiation.
Abstract
Background
This study prospectively evaluated the risk of relapse according to the status of histologic activity in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) who achieved deep remission.
Methods
...Patients with UC in clinical remission (partial Mayo score ≤1) and endoscopic remission (ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity ≤1) were enrolled. Rectal biopsies were performed in patients, and histologic remission was defined as a Robarts histopathology index of ≤3. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted to determine fecal calprotectin cutoff values for histologic remission. The cumulative risk of relapse was evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards model.
Results
Among the 187 patients enrolled, 82 (43.9%) achieved histologic remission. The best cutoff value of fecal calprotectin for predicting histologic remission was 80 mg/kg (area under the curve of 0.646, sensitivity of 74%, and specificity of 61%). Among 142 patients who were followed up for >3 months, 56 (39.4%) showed clinical relapse during a median of 42 weeks. The risk of relapse was lower in patients with histologic remission than in those with histologic activity (P = .026). In multivariable analysis, histologic remission (hazard ratio HR, 0.551; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.316-0.958; P = .035), elevated C-reactive protein levels (HR, 3.652; 95% CI, 1.400-9.526; P = .008), and history of steroid use (HR, 2.398; 95% CI, 1.196-4.808; P = .014) were significantly associated with clinical relapse.
Conclusions
In patients with UC who achieved clinical and endoscopic remission, histologic remission was independently associated with a lower risk of clinical relapse.
Lay Summary
In patients with ulcerative colitis who achieved clinical and endoscopic remission, histologic remission was independently associated with a lower risk of clinical relapse. This benefit of reaching histologic remission was maintained regardless of treatment de-escalation.
Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is not a rare condition in females, the elderly, or patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Even though previous studies have demonstrated that thyroid hormone ...replacement therapy (THRT) improves cardiac function and dyslipidemia in patients with SCH, it remains unclear as to whether THRT can improve renal function in CKD patients with SCH. This study investigated the impact of THRT on changes in estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) in this patient population.
A total of 113 CKD patients with SCH who were treated with L-thyroxine and had eGFR available for at least 24 months before and after THRT were enrolled between January 2005 and December 2011. A linear mixed model was used to compare patients' clinical and biochemical parameters at various time points. The slope of the decline in eGFR over time, both before and after THRT, was also calculated and compared using a linear mixed model.
The mean age of the study participants was 63.2±12.7 years, and 36 patients (31.9%) were men. The mean follow-up duration before and after THRT was 28.6±4.5 and 30.6±6.4 months respectively. After 24 months of THRT, serum thyrotropin (TSH) levels were significantly reduced-8.86±0.49 versus 1.41±0.73 μIU/mL, p<0.001-but there were no significant changes in triiodothyronine and free thyroxine concentrations. Serum albumin, calcium, phosphate, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were also comparable before and after THRT. The rates of decline in eGFR were significantly attenuated by THRT (-4.31±0.51 vs.-1.08±0.36 mL/min/year·1.73 m², p<0.001), even after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, mean arterial pressure, and serum albumin, cholesterol, and triglyceride concentrations (p<0.001).
THRT attenuated the rate of decline in renal function in CKD patients with SCH, suggesting that THRT may delay reaching end-stage renal disease in these patients.
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