Realization of a CORDIC-Based Plug-In Accelerometer Module for PSG System in Head Position Monitoring for OSAS Patients

Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is currently the standard diagnostic procedure for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It has been known that monitoring of head position in sleep is crucial not only for the diagnosis (positional sleep apnea) but also for the management of OSA (positional therapy). However, there are no sensor systems available clinically to hook up with PSG for accurate head position monitoring. In this paper, an accelerometer-based sensing system for accurate head position monitoring is developed and realized. The core CORDIC- (COordinate Rotation DIgital Computer-) based tilting sensing algorithm is realized in the system to quickly and accurately convert accelerometer raw data into the desired head position tilting angles. The system can hook up with PSG devices for diagnosis to have head position information integrated with other PSG-monitored signals. It has been applied in an IRB test in Taipei Veterans General Hospital and has been proved that it can meet the medical needs of accurate head position monitoring for PSG diagnosis

Electronic Supplementary Materials including models and fitting of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, EDX spectra, and polarization curves. from Enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction on hybrids of cobalt phosphide and molybdenum phosphide

Production of hydrogen from water electrolysis has stimulated the search of sustainable electrocatalysts as possible alternatives. Recently, cobalt phosphide (CoP) and molybdenum phosphide (MoP) received great attention due to their superior catalytic activity and stability towards the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) which rivals platinum catalysts. In this study, we synthesize and study a series of catalysts based on hybrids of CoP and MoP with different Co/Mo ratio. The HER activity shows a volcano shape and reaches a maximum for Co/Mo = 1. Tafel analysis indicates a change in the dominating step of Volmer–Hyrovský mechanism. Interestingly, X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed a major ternary interstitial hexagonal CoMoP₂ crystal phase is formed which enhances the electrochemical activity

Artificial Intelligence Assisted Computational Tomographic Detection of Lung Nodules for Prognostic Cancer Examination: A Large-Scale Clinical Trial

Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has emerged as a standard method for detecting early-stage lung cancer. However, the tedious computer tomography (CT) slide reading, patient-by-patient check, and lack of standard criteria to determine the vague but possible nodule leads to variable outcomes of CT slide interpretation. To determine the artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted CT examination, AI algorithm-assisted CT screening was embedded in the hospital picture archiving and communication system, and a 200 person-scaled clinical trial was conducted at two medical centers. With AI algorithm-assisted CT screening, the sensitivity of detecting nodules sized 4–5 mm, 6~10 mm, 11~20 mm, and >20 mm increased by 41%, 11.2%, 10.3%, and 18.7%, respectively. Remarkably, the overall sensitivity of detecting varied nodules increased by 20.7% from 67.7% to 88.4%. Furthermore, the sensitivity increased by 18.5% from 72.5% to 91% for detecting ground glass nodules (GGN), which is challenging for radiologists and physicians. The free-response operating characteristic (FROC) AI score was ≥0.4, and the AI algorithm standalone CT screening sensitivity reached >95% with an area under the localization receiver operating characteristic curve (LROC-AUC) of >0.88. Our study demonstrates that AI algorithm-embedded CT screening significantly ameliorates tedious LDCT practices for doctors

Multi-porous Co₃O₄ nanoflakes @ sponge-like few-layer partially reduced graphene oxide hybrids:Towards highly stable asymmetric supercapacitors

Co3O4 nanoflakes show fast rate capability and superior stability due to the conductivity and well-tuned porosity of spongy-like reduced graphene oxide networks.</p

Thickness-Dependent Binding Energy Shift in Few-Layer MoS₂ Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

The thickness-dependent surface states of MoS₂ thin films grown by the chemical vapor deposition process on the SiO₂–Si substrates are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Raman and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy suggest the thicknesses of MoS₂ films to be ranging from 3 to 10 layers. Both the core levels and valence band edges of MoS₂ shift downward ∼0.2 eV as the film thickness increases, which can be ascribed to the Fermi level variations resulting from the surface states and bulk defects. Grainy features observed from the atomic force microscopy topographies, and sulfur-vacancy-induced defect states illustrated at the valence band spectra imply the generation of surface states that causes the downward band bending at the n-type MoS₂ surface. Bulk defects in thick MoS₂ may also influence the Fermi level oppositely compared to the surface states. When Au contacts with our MoS₂ thin films, the Fermi level downshifts and the binding energy reduces due to the hole-doping characteristics of Au and easy charge transfer from the surface defect sites of MoS₂. The shift of the onset potentials in hydrogen evolution reaction and the evolution of charge-transfer resistances extracted from the impedance measurement also indicate the Fermi level varies with MoS₂ film thickness. The tunable Fermi level and the high chemical stability make our MoS₂ a potential catalyst. The observed thickness-dependent properties can also be applied to other transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and facilitates the development in the low-dimensional electronic devices and catalysts

Improved Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Activity of Hybrid Graphene Quantum Dots/ZnO Nanowires: A Direct <i>Z</i>‑Scheme Mechanism

Herein, an electrochemical technique as a cost-effective and one-step approach was utilized to fabricate graphene quantum dots (GQDs). Different amounts of GQDs (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 wt %) were decorated uniformly on the surface of anodized ZnO nanowires (NWs) forming GQD/ZnO NWs. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy confirmed formation of GQDs on the ZnO NWs, 12–22 nm in width and 1–3 graphene layers thick. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to verify the functional groups on the surface of GQDs, and the results indicated that GQDs readily anchored on the surface of ZnO NWs. The GQD/ZnO NWs exhibited a considerable improvement on the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under solar irradiation, due to efficient light absorption. In addition, the results indicated that the optimized GQD (0.4 wt %)/ZnO NWs showed the highest photoactivity with about 3-fold enhancement as compared to pure ZnO NWs. Finally, a mechanism of charge carrier generation, transport, and separation was proposed using different scavengers to probe the potential reaction pathway following a direct <i>Z</i>-scheme approach

In cultured gingival fibroblast cells, the levels of eotaxin-1 were measured by ELISA in supernatants from cells treated with different levels of arecoline (0, 10, 25, 100, and 200 μg/ml for 24 h).

<p>The levels of eotaxin-1 (mean±SD) were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni multiple correction tests in which the P values are adjusted by multiplying by 10. * p = 0.03301 for the pretreatment of arecoline at 100 μg/ml induced significant elevation of eotaxin-1 levels (1489±78 pg/ml) compared with the pretreatment of arecoline at 0 μg/ml (1044±95 pg/ml) under TNF-alpha and IL-4 stimulation. Arecoline, at a concentration of 200 μg/ml, increased cytotoxicity by more than 45% <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091889#pone.0091889-Chiang1" target="_blank">[22]</a>. The stimulated groups indicate that the fibroblast cells were treated with IL-4 (50 ng/ml) and TNF-alpha (100 ng/ml) for 72 hours. The baseline groups are fibroblast cells that were treated with arecoline alone, not stimulated with IL-4 and TNF-alpha. Arecoline alone at any tested concentrations from 0 to 200 μg/ml cannot induce detectable eotaxin-1 release (0±0 pg/ml for any tested dose of arecoline).</p

Characteristics of the case and control participants.

<p>Total IgE levels were logarithmically transformed before statistical testing to meet the assumption of a normal distribution.</p

Associations between asthma, betel chewing, plasma markers and respiratory function in male participants (n = 147).

<p>Arecoline, arecaidine, IgE, hs-CRP, leptin, TGF-β1 and eotaxin-1 levels were logarithmically transformed before statistical testing to meet the assumption of a normal distribution.</p>a<p>Least significant difference (LSD) multiple comparisons were performed to compare plasma markers and pulmonary function between current and non-current betel chewing in males with asthma and controls, respectively.</p>b<p>General linear regression was used to assess the associations between plasma markers and the four groups of male cases and controls with and without betel chewing by adjusting for age, BMI and smoking.</p