Topological defects in liquid crystals not only affect the optical and rheological properties of the host, but can also act as scaffolds in which to trap nano or micro-sized colloidal objects. The ...creation of complex defect shapes, however, often involves confining the liquid crystals in curved geometries or adds complex-shaped colloidal objects, which are unsuitable for device applications. Using topologically patterned substrates, here we demonstrate the controlled generation of three-dimensional defect lines with non-trivial shapes and even chirality, in a flat slab of nematic liquid crystal. By using the defect lines as templates and the electric response of the liquid crystals, colloidal superstructures are constructed, which can be reversibly reconfigured at a voltage as low as 1.3 V. Three-dimensional engineering of the defect shapes in liquid crystals is potentially useful in the fabrication of self-healing composites and in stabilizing artificial frustrated phases.
Multiple early gastric cancers (EGCs) may develop in 6-14% of patients even after achieving curative endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD); however, a useful biomarker for predicting recurrence is ...not available. The present study investigated whether the expression of CD44 variant 9 (CD44v9), a functional cancer stem cell marker, in the primary gastric cancer tissue represents an indicator of recurrence.
Eighty-eight patients who underwent ESD for EGC from 2008 to 2010 were enrolled and monitored for recurrence for 3 years. The expression levels of CD44v9 in the tissue of initial EGCs were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and the recurrence rate was compared between CD44v9-positive and CD44v9-negative groups. The mucin phenotype and expression of microRNA-21 (miR-21) and programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4) were also analysed.
The recurrence rate of EGC was significantly higher in the CD44v9-positive group than in the CD44v9-negative group (hazard ratio (HR), 21.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 5.71-83.1). However, mucin phenotypes and the expression of miR-21 and PDCD4 did not predict recurrence after ESD. Meanwhile, grade of gastric atrophy was also identified as a significant marker of multiple recurrence (HR, 4.95; 95% CI, 1.30-18.8).
CD44 variant 9 expression represents a potential predictive marker for recurrence in EGC.
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•Pd/Co catalyst can promote the transfer hydrogenolysis of aromatic ethers.•The Pd/Co catalysts is characterized by the presence of bimetallic Pd-Co ensembles.•Benzyl phenyl ether is ...fully converted into toluene and cyclohexanol.•The Pd/Co catalyst can be recycled up to six times without any activity loss.
The transfer hydrogenolysis of lignin derived aromatic ethers (benzyl phenyl ether, phenethyl phenyl ether and diphenyl ethers) have been investigated by using the coprecipitated Pd/Co as heterogeneous catalyst and 2-propanol as H-donor/solvent. A quantitative conversion of benzyl phenyl ether into toluene and cyclohexanol was obtained after 180 min at 240 °C. The bimetallic Pd/Co catalyst is, by far, more efficient if compared to commercial Pd/C and Co-based catalytic systems showing, at the same time, a good reusability. The enhanced ability in the CO bond cleavage in aromatic ethers is related to the formation of bimetallic Pd-Co ensembles, arisen from the preparation procedure adopted, as confirmed by a complete physico-chemical characterization that includes XRD, SEM, TEM, H2-TPR, XPS and EXAFS analysis.
ABSTRACT In the late stages of nuclear burning for massive stars (M > 8 M ), the production of neutrino-antineutrino pairs through various processes becomes the dominant stellar cooling mechanism. As ...the star evolves, the energy of these neutrinos increases and in the days preceding the supernova a significant fraction of emitted electron anti-neutrinos exceeds the energy threshold for inverse beta decay on free hydrogen. This is the golden channel for liquid scintillator detectors because the coincidence signature allows for significant reductions in background signals. We find that the kiloton-scale liquid scintillator detector KamLAND can detect these pre-supernova neutrinos from a star with a mass of 25 M at a distance less than 690 pc with 3 significance before the supernova. This limit is dependent on the neutrino mass ordering and background levels. KamLAND takes data continuously and can provide a supernova alert to the community.
Objective
To examine the association of dietary habits with high total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with frailty among elderly Japanese women.
Design
Cross-sectional multicenter study.
Setting
...Thirty-five of 47 prefectures in Japan.
Participants
2121 grandmothers or acquaintances of dietetic students aged 65 and older.
Measurements
Dietary TAC and food intakes were calculated using a validated brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. The TAC value of each food was assigned using four different assays, ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP). Frailty was defined as the presence three or more of the following four components: slowness and weakness (two points), exhaustion, low physical activity, and unintentional weight loss.
Results
The number of subjects with frailty was 486 (23%). Multivariate adjusted ORs (95% CI) for frailty in the highest compared to the lowest quintile were 0.35 (0.24, 0.53) for FRAP, 0.35 (0.23, 0.52) for ORAC, 0.40 (0.27, 0.60) for TEAC, and 0.41 (0.28, 0.62) for TRAP. The intakes of green tea, coffee, vegetables, and fruits which contribute to dietary TAC were also associated with lower odds of frailty (the range of multivariate adjusted OR: 0.47 for vegetables to 0.77 for green tea), although the odds ratios were less marked than those of dietary TAC.
Conclusions
Dietary habits with high TAC showed a stronger inverse association with frailty in elderly Japanese women than the individual foods examined.
Aim
We developed and psychometrically tested the Japanese version of the Professional Attitude Scale for Nurses (PASN‐J).
Background
Nurses must recognize the importance of their professionalism; ...therefore, it is critical to quantitatively measure nurses’ professional attitudes.
Introduction
This instrument validation study was designed to generate an itemized scale and examine its content validity/psychometric testing using a sample of Japanese nurses.
Methods
Based on a trait approach focusing on the characteristic traits of the nursing profession, a 59‐item draft scale was generated. During November 2017, 2657 nurses from 29 facilities in Japan were surveyed. The questionnaire included demographics, the 59‐item draft scale, and a self‐report scale of nurses’ professional behaviour and nursing practice ability. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we evaluated the construct, criterion‐related, concurrent, and known‐groups validity, and reliability of the PASN‐J.
Results
Data from 1716 participants were analysed. The analyses yielded a 38‐item, 3‐factor scale that adequately fit the data. PASN‐J scores were positively correlated with nurses’ professional behaviour and nursing practice ability.
Conclusion
The 38‐item PASN‐J has good reliability and validity, making it useful for measuring the current condition of nursing professionalism and evaluating nursing education. Implications for Nursing and Health Policy: This scale can evaluate nursing education and promote nurses’ professionalism. The PASN‐J will help identifying the elements of undergraduate nursing education that require further emphasis. Additionally, the PASN‐J could facilitate the development of nursing policies to promote professional development in nurses. Ultimately, evaluating nursing education with the PASN‐J enhances nurses’ professional attitudes and subsequently improves their quality of nursing, nursing efficiency and patient outcomes.
To examine the influence of season and climate (air temperature and humidity) on water intake by the food group in a sample of free-living Japanese adults.
Four-nonconsecutive-day, semi-weighed ...dietary records were collected from each of the four seasons in a single 12-month period (16 days in total). The influence of season and climate on individual water intake by the food group was analyzed using a mixed linear model. Participants were 242 healthy adults (121 women aged 30-69 years and 121 men aged 30-76 years) from four areas in Japan.
For women and men together, the mean total water intake was 2230 g/day (highest in summer: 2331 g/day; lowest in winter: 2134 g/day). Fifty-one percent of water was derived from foods and the rest from beverages. In a mixed linear model adjusted for sex, age and body mass index, intake of water from foods decreased by 3.1 g/day and that from beverages increased by 8.4 g/day, with an increase in the mean outdoor air temperature on the survey day of 1 °C (both P < 0.0001). The influence of humidity was nonsignificant.
In contrast to previous findings in Western countries, half of water intake in Japanese adults was derived from foods. Water intake from beverages was positively associated with air temperature, whereas that from foods was inversely associated with air temperature.
Given the growing use of electric bidet toilets in Japan and other countries, we assessed the relationship between bidet toilet use and haemorrhoids or urogenital infections. Data were collected ...using a web-based longitudinal survey. In total, 10 305 subjects randomly selected from panels of a Japanese website research company for the baseline survey in 2013 were asked about their frequency of bidet toilet use and receipt of a doctor's diagnosis or subjective symptom of haemorrhoids and urogenital infections. One- and three-year follow-up surveys were performed in 2014 and 2016, respectively, and information on newly diagnosed/experienced outcomes occurring during the follow-up period were collected. Cumulative incidence of haemorrhoids and urogenital infections was not significantly increased by habitual use of a bidet toilet. In men, more habitual users reported subjective symptoms of irritated skin around the anus, which were newly experienced during follow-up than non-habitual users (adjusted risk ratio 1.36 (95% confidence interval 1.06–1.75)). Further studies are needed to confirm this relationship. Several of the outcomes were significantly more prevalent in habitual users, but these results were probably explained by reverse causation.
During the past decade, chirally autocatalytic systems that exhibit unusual and interesting phenomena, such as spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking and stochastic behavior, have been identified. In ...this Account we outline the context in which chiral autocatalysis is of interest, summarize recent advances, and discuss our current understanding of the underlying kinetics and mechanisms. In addition, we note some fundamental aspects of amplification of enantiomeric excess and sensitivity of symmetry breaking transitions to asymmetric factors.
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