Direct Observation of Long-Term Durability of Superconductivity in YBa2_2Cu3_3O7_7-Ag2_2O Composites

We report direct observation of long-term durability of superconductivity of several YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$-Ag$_2$O composites that were first prepared and studied almost 14 years ago [J. J. Lin {\it et al}., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. {\bf 29}, 497 (1990)]. Remeasurements performed recently on both resistances and magnetizations indicate a sharp critical transition temperature at 91 K. We also find that such long-term environmental stability of high-temperature superconductivity can only be achieved in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ with Ag$_2$O addition, but not with pure Ag addition.Comment: to be published in Jpn. J. Appl. Phy

Evaluation of opioid-related deaths associated with opioid utilisation and the impacts of tramadol classification as a Schedule III Controlled Drug in the United Kingdom

In the past two decades, there has been a marked increase in opioid utilisation paralleled with the rising opioid mortality in many western countries. In contrast to opioid-overdose deaths in the United States which were mainly caused by opioid poisoning, the increasing opioid-related death in the United Kingdom (UK) involves a complex mechanism, including persistent opioid utilisation, medicines for chronic pain management and illicit drugs. However, no research has evaluated the association between opioid-related death, opioid utilisation and other determinants in the UK. In June 2014, tramadol was classified as a Schedule III controlled drug due to the concerns of increasing tramadol utilisation and tramadol-related deaths, but no research has evaluated the impact of the tramadol classification. Therefore, this PhD project aimed to identify the association between opioid utilisation and opioid-related deaths in the UK primary care setting and to evaluate the impact of policy implementation using tramadol as a case study. This study took a drug utilisation research and pharmacoepidemiology approach to develop and test a hypothesis about the association between opioid-related deaths and opioid utilisation. Firstly, a cross-sectional study was conducted using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and aggregate-level national data to evaluate the impact of tramadol classification on tramadol utilisation, the prevalence of tramadol users and tramadol-related deaths by interrupted time-series analysis. Secondly, a case cross-over study was conducted to identify cases of opioid-related death, explore the characteristics and medication utilisation of opioid-related deaths and investigate the association between opioid-related death and opioid daily dose. Finally, a nested case-control study was conducted to analyse the association between opioid-related death and persistent opioid utilisation in the three patient-years retrospectively followed from the date of opioid-related deaths by conditional logistic regression. After tramadol classification, the levels of monthly tramadol utilisation and the prevalence of tramadol users decreased by 12.9 defined daily dose/1000 registrants and 6.4 tramadol users/10000 registrants. In addition, the trends of monthly tramadol utilisation and the prevalence of tramadol users decreased by 1.6 defined daily dose/1000 registrants and 0.37 tramadol users/10000 registrants. The impacts of tramadol classification seems predominantly associated with the reduced accessibility of tramadol to both new and existing users. Of the 232 cases of opioid-related deaths, 62 (26.7%) cases did not receive any opioid in the one year before opioid-related death. Only 48 cases received a daily dose of opioid of more than 120 mg oral morphine equivalent (OMEQ) dose in the final year, and an opioid daily dose more than 120 mg OMEQ dose was not significantly associated with opioid-related deaths (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 1.4; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 0.52, 3.6). In addition, most of the opioid-related deaths were diagnosed with alcohol abuse disorders (25.4%), other substance abuse disorder (30.6%), had a history of overdose of any medication (26.7%) or were regularly prescribed with sedatives (81%). Compared to patients who were not prescribed with opioids persistently, persistent opioid use in any of the last three retrospective patient-years was associated with an increased risk of opioid-related death (aOR: 2.0; 95%CI: 1.3, 3.1), especially in the final retrospective patient-year (aOR: 3.6; 95%CI: 1.6, 8.0). In addition, a higher risk of opioid-related death was observed when taking a higher dose of benzodiazepines, gabapentin/pregabalin and tricyclic antidepressants. This is the first study applying nationwide individual patient data and aggregate-level national data to evaluate the impact of tramadol classification and the association between opioid-related deaths and opioid utilisation in the UK. Tramadol classification reduced the increasing tramadol prescribing and tramadol-related deaths in a short term, but the impacts on the utilisation of other medications with abuse potential and the effectiveness of chronic pain management among individual patients are still unclear. In addition to substance abuse and concurrent sedatives, opioid-related deaths are associated with persistent opioid utilisation. As the effectiveness of persistent opioid utilisation is not supported by published evidence and persistent opioid utilisation is related to opioid related death in this study, an information system longitudinally evaluating the benefits and risks of opioid treatment for individual patients may be beneficial to facilitate opioid deprescribing. Further studies need to investigate the optimisation of opioids for patients with chronic pain and attitude of opioid disposal and diversion from potential prescribing opioid abusers

Prescription opioids: regional variation and socioeconomic status: evidence from primary care in England

Background: This study aimed to quantify dispensed opioid prescriptions among primary care practices throughout England and investigate its association with socioeconomic status (SES).Methods: This cross-sectional study used publicly available data in 2015, including practice-level dispensing data and characteristics of registrants from the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service Digital, and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data from Department of Communities and Local Government. Practices in England which had opioid prescriptions that could be assigned a defined daily dose (DDD) in the claim-based dispensing database were included. The total amount of dispensed opioid prescriptions (DDD/1000 registrants/day) was calculated for each practice. The association between dispensed opioid prescriptions and IMD was analyzed by multi-level regression and adjusted for registrants' characteristics and the clustered effect of Clinical Commissioning Groups. Subgroup analysis was conducted for practices in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle.Results: Of the 7856 included practices in England, the median and interquartile range (IQR) of prescription opioids dispensed was 36.9 (IQR: 23.1, 52.5) DDD/1000 registrants/day. The median opioid utilization (DDD/1000 registrants/day) amongst practices varied between Manchester (53.1; IQR: 36.8, 71.4), Newcastle (48.9; IQR: 38.8, 60.1), Birmingham (35.3; IQR: 23.1, 49.4) and London (13.9; IQR: 8.1, 18.8). Lower SES, increased prevalence of patients aged more than 65 years, female gender, smoking, obesity and depression were significantly associated with increased dispensed opioid prescriptions. For every decrease in IMD decile (lower SES), there was a significant increase of opioid utilization by 1.0 (95% confidence interval: 0.89, 1.2, P less than 0.001) DDD/1000 registrants/day.Conclusion: There was a variation in prescription opioids dispensed among practices from Northern and Eastern England to Southern England. A significant association between increased opioid prescriptions and greater deprivation at a population level was observed. Further longitudinal studies using individual patient data are needed to validate this association and identify the potential mechanisms

Online platform for applying space–time scan statistics for prospectively detecting emerging hot spots of dengue fever

Abstract Background Cases of dengue fever have increased in areas of Southeast Asia in recent years. Taiwan hit a record-high 42,856 cases in 2015, with the majority in southern Tainan and Kaohsiung Cities. Leveraging spatial statistics and geo-visualization techniques, we aim to design an online analytical tool for local public health workers to prospectively identify ongoing hot spots of dengue fever weekly at the village level. Methods A total of 57,516 confirmed cases of dengue fever in 2014 and 2015 were obtained from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (TCDC). Incorporating demographic information as covariates with cumulative cases (365 days) in a discrete Poisson model, we iteratively applied space–time scan statistics by SaTScan software to detect the currently active cluster of dengue fever (reported as relative risk) in each village of Tainan and Kaohsiung every week. A village with a relative risk >1 and p value <0.05 was identified as a dengue-epidemic area. Assuming an ongoing transmission might continuously spread for two consecutive weeks, we estimated the sensitivity and specificity for detecting outbreaks by comparing the scan-based classification (dengue-epidemic vs. dengue-free village) with the true cumulative case numbers from the TCDC’s surveillance statistics. Results Among the 1648 villages in Tainan and Kaohsiung, the overall sensitivity for detecting outbreaks increases as case numbers grow in a total of 92 weekly simulations. The specificity for detecting outbreaks behaves inversely, compared to the sensitivity. On average, the mean sensitivity and specificity of 2-week hot spot detection were 0.615 and 0.891 respectively (p value <0.001) for the covariate adjustment model, as the maximum spatial and temporal windows were specified as 50% of the total population at risk and 28 days. Dengue-epidemic villages were visualized and explored in an interactive map. Conclusions We designed an online analytical tool for front-line public health workers to prospectively detect ongoing dengue fever transmission on a weekly basis at the village level by using the routine surveillance data

Anti-Oxidative Abilities of Essential Oils from Atractylodes ovata Rhizome

The rhizome of Atractylodes ovata De Candolle is rich in essential oils, which are usually removed by processing. In this study, anti-oxidative abilities of essential oils and aqueous extracts of A. ovata rhizome were explored, and the influence of processing on the anti-oxidative abilities was examined. Essential oils and aqueous extracts of A. ovata were extracted by boiling water and steam distillation, respectively. Quality of these two A. ovata samples was controlled by HPLC and GC-MS system, and anti-oxidative abilities were then evaluated. Results showed that surface color of A. ovata turned to brown and chemical components were changed by processing. Contents of both atractylon and atractylenolide II decreased in the essential oils, but only the contents of atractylon decreased by processing. Atractylenolide III increased in both A. ovata samples. However, A. ovata essential oils displayed stronger anti-oxidative abilities than aqueous extracts in DPPH-scavenging, TBH-induced lipid peroxidation and catalase activity assays. Moreover, the bioactivity of essential oils from raw A. ovata was stronger than oils from processed A. ovata. On the other hand, cytotoxicity of A. ovata essential oils was stronger than that of aqueous extracts, and was more sensitive on H9C2 cell than NIH-3T3 and WI-38 cells. In contrast, stir-frying processing method increased cytotoxicity of essential oils, but the cytotoxicity was ameliorated when processed with assistant substances. The results suggested that phytochemical components and bioactivity of A. ovata were changed after processing and the essential oils from raw A. ovata showed better anti-oxidative and fewer cytotoxicity effects

Interplay between Cell Migration and Neurite Outgrowth Determines SH2B1β-Enhanced Neurite Regeneration of Differentiated PC12 Cells

The regulation of neurite outgrowth is crucial in developing strategies to promote neurite regeneration after nerve injury and in degenerative diseases. In this study, we demonstrate that overexpression of an adaptor/scaffolding protein SH2B1β promotes neurite re-growth of differentiated PC12 cells, an established neuronal model, using wound healing (scraping) assays. Cell migration and the subsequent remodeling are crucial determinants during neurite regeneration. We provide evidence suggesting that overexpressing SH2B1β enhances protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent cell migration and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT-, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK)-ERK-dependent neurite re-growth. Our results further reveal a cross-talk between pathways involving PKC and ERK1/2 in regulating neurite re-growth and cell migration. We conclude that temporal regulation of cell migration and neurite outgrowth by SH2B1β contributes to the enhanced regeneration of differentiated PC12 cells

Microstructure of non-polar GaN on LiGaO2 grown by plasma-assisted MBE

We have investigated the structure of non-polar GaN, both on the M - and A-plane, grown on LiGaO2 by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The epitaxial relationship and the microstructure of the GaN films are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The already reported epi-taxial relationship and for M -plane GaN is confirmed. The main defects are threading dislocations and stacking faults in both samples. For the M -plane sample, the density of threading dislocations is around 1 × 1011 cm-2 and the stacking fault density amounts to approximately 2 × 105 cm-1. In the A-plane sample, a threading dislocation density in the same order was found, while the stacking fault density is much lower than in the M -plane sample

Taiwan Oscillation Network

The Taiwan Oscillation Network (TON) is a ground-based network to measure solar intensity oscillations to study the internal structure of the Sun. K-line full-disk images of 1000 pixels diameter are taken at a rate of one image per minute. Such data would provide information onp-modes withl as high as 1000. The TON will consist of six identical telescope systems at proper longitudes around the world. Three telescope systems have been installed at Teide Observatory (Tenerife), Huairou Solar Observing Station (near Beijing), and Big Bear Solar Observatory (California). The telescopes at these three sites have been taking data simultaneously since October of 1994. Anl – v diagram derived from 512 images is included to show the quality of the data

Investigating the kinematics of mountain building in Taiwan from the spatiotemporal evolution of the foreland basin and western foothills

The Taiwanese range has resulted from the collision between the Luzon volcanic arc and the Chinese continental margin, which started about 6.5 Myr ago in the north, and has since propagated southward. The building of the range has been recorded in the spatiotemporal evolution of the foreland basin. We analyze this sedimentary record to place some constraints on the kinematics of crustal deformation. The flexure of the foreland under the load of the growing wedge started with a 1.5 Myr long phase of rapid subsidence and sedimentation, which has migrated southward over the last 3.5 Myr at a rate of 31 +10/−5 mm/yr, reflecting the structural evolution of the range and the growth of the topography during the oblique collision. Isopachs from the Toukoshan (~0 to 1.1 Ma) and Cholan (~1.1 to 3.3 Ma) formations, as well as the sedimentation rates retrieved from a well on the Pakuashan anticline, indicate that the foreland basement has been moving toward the center of mass of the orogen by ~45–50 mm/yr during the development of the basin. From there, we estimate the long-term shortening rate across the range to 39.5–44.5 mm/yr. By considering available data on the thrust faults of the foothills of central Taiwan, we show that most (if not all) the shortening across the range is accommodated by the most frontal structures, with little if any internal shortening within the wedge. The range growth appears therefore to have been essentially sustained by underplating rather than by frontal accretion. In addition, only the upper ~7 to 9 km of the underthrusted crust participates to the growth of the orogen. This requires that a significant amount of the Chinese passive margin crust is subducted beneath the Philippine Sea plate