Tuning photoluminescence of organic rubrene nanoparticles through a hydrothermal process

Light-emitting 5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene (rubrene) nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by a reprecipitation method were treated hydrothermally. The diameters of hydrothermally treated rubrene NPs were changed from 100 nm to 2 μm, depending on hydrothermal temperature. Photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of rubrene NPs varied with hydrothermal temperatures. Luminescence of pristine rubrene NPs was yellow-orange, and it changed to blue as the hydrothermal temperature increased to 180°C. The light-emitting color distribution of the NPs was confirmed using confocal laser spectrum microscope. As the hydrothermal temperature increased from 110°C to 160°C, the blue light emission at 464 to approximately 516 nm from filtered-down NPs was enhanced by H-type aggregation. Filtered-up rubrene NPs treated at 170°C and 180°C exhibited blue luminescence due to the decrease of intermolecular excimer densities with the rapid increase in size. Variations in PL of hydrothermally treated rubrene NPs resulted from different size distributions of the NPs

Remote Biosensing with Polychromatic Optical Waveguide Using Blue Light‐Emitting Organic Nanowires Hybridized with Quantum Dots

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107498/1/adfm201304039.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107498/2/adfm201304039-sup-0001-S1.pd

Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis among Korean Adults Visiting Health Service Center of the Catholic Medical Center in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea

The point prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) among Korean adults visiting the Health Service Center for health check-ups was assessed. AD was diagnosed based on the questionnaires filled by patients and through physical examination by dermatologists. A total of 3,563 persons completed the questionnaires, and 2,032 persons were examined by the dermatologists. According to the questionnaires, the prevalence of AD was 7.1%, and from the dermatologists' examination, it was 2.6% overall, which decreased with age significantly. The prevalence in men was higher than that of women. Grading the severity of AD according to their eczema area and severity index scores, 70.6% were classified as being mild, 25.5% moderate, and 3.9% severe. Interestingly, concomitance of psoriasis and AD was found in 0.5% of those examined by the dermatologists. Our results suggest that AD is one of the most common skin diseases not only in children but also in adults in Korea

Recent Trend in the Incidence of Premalignant and Malignant Skin Lesions in Korea between 1991 and 2006

We evaluated the recent trend in the incidence of premalignant and malignant skin lesions between 1991 and 2006. Among 571,057 newly registered dermatology out-patients from our 8 affiliated university hospitals, 2,598 were diagnosed with a premalignant (899, 0.16%) or malignant skin lesions (1,699, 0.30%). Of 899 premalignant cases, 71.2% were actinic keratosis (AK), and 24.6% were Bowen's disease. Of 1,699 malignant cases, 46.2% were basal cell carcinoma, followed by squamous cell carcinoma (19.1%) and melanoma (7.1%). This 16-yr survey was divided equally into two time periods to compare the incidence of premalignant and malignant skin lesions at different time settings. Between 1991 and 1998, the incidence of cutaneous premalignancy was 0.10% which doubled during 1999-2006. For cutaneous malignancy, the incidence was 0.25% during 1991-1998 and 0.34% in 1999-2006. Incidence of AK among the new outpatients was 0.07% in 1991-1998 which staggered up to 0.15% in 1999-2006. These findings show an increase of both premalignant and malignant skin lesions, AK in particular in the dermatology outpatient-based incidence

Dual oxidase 1 and NADPH oxidase 2 exert favorable effects in cervical cancer patients by activating immune response

Background Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) not only can promote cancer progression, but also they have recently emerged as mediators of the mucosal immune system. However, the roles and clinical relevance of the collective or individual NADPH oxidase (NOX) family genes in cervical cancer have not been studied. Methods We investigated the clinical significance of the NOX family genes using data from 307 patients with cervical cancer obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Bioinformatics and experimental analyses were performed to examine NOX family genes in cervical cancer patients. Results Dual Oxidase1 (DUOX1) and Dual Oxidase 2 (DUOX2) mRNA levels were upregulated 57.9- and 67.5-fold, respectively, in cervical cancer patients. The protein expression of DUOX1, DUOX2, and NOX2 also identified in cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues. Especially, DUOX1 and DUOX2 mRNA levels were significantly increased in patients infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) 16. Moreover, high DUOX1 mRNA levels were significantly associated with both favorable overall survival and disease-free survival in cervical cancer patients. High NOX2 mRNA levels was significantly associated with favorable overall survival. Gene set enrichment analyses revealed that high DUOX1 and NOX2 expression was significantly correlated with the enrichment of immune pathways related to interferon (IFN)-alpha, IFN-gamma, and natural killer (NK) cell signaling. Cell-type identification by estimating relative subsets of known RNA transcript analyses indicated that the fraction of innate immune cells, including NK cells, monocytes, dendritic cells, and mast cells, was elevated in patients with high DUOX1 expression. Conclusions DUOX1 and NOX2 expression are associated with mucosal immunity activated in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and predicts a favorable prognosis in cervical cancer patients.This work was supported by a grant from Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (K18123), National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Korean government (NRF-2017R1C1B1004924) and Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) & funded by the Korean government (NRF-2019M3E5D1A02068557). The funding bodies had no involvement in the design of the study, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript

Fractional Carbon Dioxide Laser as an "Add-on" Treatment for Vitiligo: A Meta-analysis with Systematic Review.

Treatment of vitiligo is challenging and requires a multidisciplinary approach. Fractional carbon dioxide (CO2) laser as an add-on to conventional treatment has been reported to be effective, but there is no consensus on its use. A systematic review was performed by searching major databases for relevant publications to February 2017. Six studies with 85 participants were included. For those with refractory vitiligo, the addition of fractional CO2 laser to routine treatment modalities was superior to conventional treatment alone in terms of > 50% re-pigmentation (risk ratio (RR) 4.90, 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.15–20.93; p = 0.03), physician improvement score (mean difference (MD) 0.81, 95% CI 0.33–1.29; p < 0.001), < 25% re-pigmentation (RR 0.64, 95% CI, 0.49–0.85; p=0.002) and patient satisfaction (MD 1.61, 95% CI 0.73–2.49; p < 0.001). Side-effects were minor. These results provide evidence supporting that fractional CO2 laser is a valuable treatment modality for patients with vitiligo, especially for those with refractory vitiligo

The 21-Item and 12-Item Versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales: Psychometric Evaluation in a Korean Population

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 and 12 in a Korean population. Methods: The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales were translated into Korean using a translation and back-translation technique, and the content validity was assessed by an expert panel. Participants were recruited from six community health centers (n = 431) and two community mental health centers (n = 50). A field test of the psychometric properties of the instruments was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis with bootstrap maximum likelihood estimation involving 1,000 samples, Pearson's analysis, t test, and Cronbach's α coefficient. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 and 12 supported both three-factor and second-order three-factor models. The Scales 21 and 12 satisfied convergent validity with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Perceived Stress Scale-10 and discriminant validity with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The scores for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 and 12 were higher for the psychiatric group than for the nonpsychiatric group, confirming the presence of known-groups validity. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 and 12 exhibited moderate-to-strong correlations with the Negative Affect. Cronbach's α coefficients for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 and 12 were .93 and .90, respectively. Conclusion: The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 and 12 appear to be acceptable, reliable, and valid instruments. However, the shorter Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 12 may be more feasible to use in a busy practice and also be less burdensome to respondents. Keywords: anxiety, depression, reliability, stress, validit

Energy transfer effect of hybrid organic rubrene nanorod with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots: Application to optical waveguiding modulators

Organic rubrene (5,6,11,12-tetraphenyltetracene) nanorods (NRs) were fabricated through the physical vapor transport method for the study of active fluorescence optical waveguiding and its modulation. The functionalized CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with blue and green emissions were partially attached to the surface of the rubrene NR. Using a high resolution laser confocal microscope (LCM), the nanoscale photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the pristine rubrene portion of the hybrid NR/QDs was observed to be considerably enhanced after it was attached with blue (or green) QDs. The nanoscale optical waveguiding characteristics of the hybrid NR/QDs were investigated in terms of the output LCM PL spectra as a function of propagation distance. We observed more efficient optical waveguiding characteristics from the hybrid rubrene NR/blue-QDs than from the pristine NR and the hybrid rubrene NR/green-QDs. These results can be analyzed in terms of the higher Förster resonance energy transfer efficiency for hybrid rubrene NR/blue-QDs system. The results and analysis were supported by a drastic decrease of exciton lifetime of QDs in the hybrid region as measured by time-resolved PL decay curves.101sciescopu