Aerosol Jet Printing of 3D Pillar Arrays from Photopolymer Ink

An aerosol jet printing (AJP) printing head built on top of precise motion systems can provide positioning deviation down to 3 μm, printing areas as large as 20 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm, and five-axis freedom of movement. Typical uses of AJP are 2D printing on complex or flexible substrates, primarily for applications in printed electronics. Nearly all commercially available AJP inks for 2D printing are designed and optimized to reach desired electronic properties. In this work, we explore AJP for the 3D printing of free-standing pillar arrays. We utilize aryl epoxy photopolymer as ink coupled with a cross-linking “on the fly” technique. Pillar structures 550 μm in height and with a diameter of 50 μm were 3D printed. Pillar structures were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, where the morphology, number of printed layers and side effects of the AJP technique were investigated. Satellite droplets and over-spray seem to be unavoidable for structures smaller than 70 μm. Nevertheless, reactive ion etching (RIE) as a post-processing step can mitigate AJP side effects. AJP-RIE together with photopolymer-based ink can be promising for the 3D printing of microstructures, offering fast and maskless manufacturing without wet chemistry development and heat treatment post-processing

The effect of solvent and electric field on the size distribution of iron oxide microdots: Exploitation of self-assembly strategies for photoelectrodes

An increasing number of technologies benefit from or require patterned surfaces on a micro- and nanoscale. Methods developed to structure polymer films can be adapted to fabricate low-cost patterned ceramics using nonlithographic techniques, for example, dewetting and phase separation in thin films. In this paper we describe a simple patterning process that does not require a template and is able to produce Fe2O3 microdots with a spatial periodicity. Our method involves the dewetting of a silicon substrate by a thin metal oxide precursor film, in which the liquid film breaks up because of fluctuations in the film thickness induced by solvent evaporation or an external applied electric field. The patterning is followed by a thermal treatment at 550 °C to produce crystalline Fe2O3 microdots with a diameter range of 200 nm to 3 μ

Body mass index and waist circumference as determinants of hemostatic factors in participants of a population-based study

Background: In contrast to studies in patients, an association between obesity and blood coagulation factors has not been established in the population. If confirmed it could become a target for primary prevention. Objective: To investigate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with plasma concentrations of antithrombin III, D-dimers, fibrinogen D, protein S, factor VIII, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), quick value, and international normalized ratio (INR) in the general population. Materials and Methods: Participants of the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) S4 study who took part in the KORA Fit follow-up (2018–2019, aged 54–74 years) examination were eligible. Citrate plasma samples were collected in fasted participants. After the exclusion of participants with anticoagulative treatment, 776 participants (420 women and 356 men) with analytic data on hemostatic factors were included in the present analysis. Linear regression models were used to explore the association between BMI or WC with hemostatic markers, adjusted for sex, age, alcohol consumption, education, smoking status, and physical activity. In a second model, additional adjustments were made for the prevalence of stroke, hypertension, myocardial infarction, serum non-HDL cholesterol, and serum triglycerides. Results: In the multivariable models (with or without health conditions), significant positive associations with BMI were obtained for plasma concentrations of D-dimers, factor VIII, fibrinogen D, protein S, and quick value, while INR and antithrombin III were inversely associated. Similar to BMI, WC was significantly associated with all hemostatic factors, except for aPTT. Conclusion: In this population-based study, both increasing BMI and WC affect the blood coagulation system. Thus, modification of a prothrombotic coagulation profile emerged as a potential target for primary prevention in obese subjects

Prognostic value of stress hyperglycemia ratio on short- and long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction

Aims: Prior studies demonstrated an association between hospital admission blood glucose and mortality in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Because stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) has been suggested as a more reliable marker of stress hyperglycemia this study investigated to what extent SHR in comparison with admission blood glucose is associated with short- and long-term mortality in diabetic and non-diabetic AMI patients. Methods: The analysis was based on 2,311 AMI patients aged 25–84 years from the population-based Myocardial Infarction Registry Augsburg (median follow-up time 6.5 years [IQR: 4.9–8.1]). The SHR was calculated as admission glucose (mg/dl)/(28.7 × HbA1c (%)—46.7). Using logistic and COX regression analyses the associations between SHR and admission glucose and mortality were investigated. Result: Higher admission glucose and higher SHR were significantly and nonlinearly associated with higher 28-day mortality in AMI patients with and without diabetes. In patients without diabetes, the AUC for SHR was significantly lower than for admission glucose (SHR: 0.6912 [95%CI 0.6317–0.7496], admission glucose: 0.716 [95%CI 0.6572–0.7736], p-value: 0.0351). In patients with diabetes the AUCs were similar for SHR and admission glucose. Increasing admission glucose and SHR were significantly nonlinearly associated with higher 5-year all-cause mortality in AMI patients with diabetes but not in non-diabetic patients. AUC values indicated a comparable prediction of 5-year mortality for both measures in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Conclusions: Stress hyperglycemia in AMI patients plays a significant role mainly with regard to short-term prognosis, but barely so for long-term prognosis, underlining the assumption that it is a transient dynamic disorder that occurs to varying degrees during the acute event, thereby affecting prognosis

Self-organised microdots formed by dewetting in a highly volatile liquid

Dewetting induced self-organisation was used to prepare an ordered microstructure from a highly volatile liquid. Dewetting of an evaporating iron oxide precursor solute on silicon substrate resulted in arrays of microdots with nearly hexagonal and tetragonal symmetries. Ordered structures form either by stick–slip motion or fingering instability at the receding contact line of evaporating droplets. Subsequent thermal treatment at 550 °C yields crystalline Fe2O3 microdots with a diameter range of 1–4 μm. The size, density and shape of the microdots can be changed by using patterned substrates with different surface energies

Body fat distribution and risk of incident ischemic stroke in men and women aged 50 to 74 years from the general population: the KORA Augsburg cohort study

It remains controversial whether measures of general or abdominal adiposity are better risk predictors for ischemic stroke. Furthermore, so far it is unclear whether body fat mass index (BFMI) and fat free mass index (FFMI) are risk predictors for ischemic stroke. This study examined the sex-specific relevance of body mass index (BMI), BROCA Index, waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR), BFMI and FFMI for the development of ischemic stroke in a Caucasian population.The prospective population-based cohort study was based on 1917 men and 1832 women (aged 50 to 74 years) who participated in the third (1994/95) or fourth (1999/2001) MONICA/KORA Augsburg survey. Subjects were free of stroke at baseline. Standardized anthropometric and bioelectric impedance measurements were obtained at baseline. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated from Cox proportional hazard models.During a median follow-up of 9.3 years 128 ischemic strokes occurred in men and 81 in women, respectively. Coded as quartiles WC and WHtR were significantly associated with incident stroke in multivariable analyses in women (comparing the 4th vs. the bottom quartile), but none of the adiposity measures was significantly associated with incident stroke in multivariable adjusted analyses in men. When anthropometric measures were used as continuous variables, these findings were confirmed. After multivariable adjustment the associations between obesity measures and incident ischemic stroke were statistically significant only for WC (HR 1.39, 95%CI 1.12-1.72) and WHtR in women (HR 1.39, 95%CI 1.12-1.73) per increase of 1 standard deviation. In both sexes the measures BFMI and FFMI were no independent predictors for incident ischemic stroke.Abdominal obesity measures are independent predictors of incident ischemic stroke in women but not in men from the general adult population. Thus, it may be of particular importance for women to prevent central obesity in order to reduce their risk of ischemic stroke

Shock index and modified shock index are predictors of long-term mortality not only in STEMI but also in NSTEMI patients

BACKGROUND: Shock index (SI) and modified shock index (mSI) are useful instruments for early risk stratification in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. They are strong predictors for short-term mortality. Nevertheless, the association between SI or mSI and long-term mortality in AMI patients has not yet been sufficiently examined. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For this study, a total of 10,174 patients with AMI was included. All cases were prospectively recorded by the population-based Augsburg Myocardial Infarction Registry from 2000 until 2017. Endpoint was all-cause mortality with a median observational time of 6.5 years [IQR: 3.5–7.4]. Using ROC analysis and calculating Youden-Index, the sample was dichotomized into a low and a high SI and mSI group, respectively. Moreover, multivariable adjusted COX regression models were calculated. All analyses were performed for the total sample as well as for STEMI and NSTEMI cases separately. RESULTS: Optimal cut-off values were 0.580 for SI and 0.852 for mSI (total sample). AUC values were 0.6382 (95% CI: 0.6223–0.6549) for SI and 0.6552 (95% CI: 0.6397–0.6713) for mSI. Fully adjusted COX regression models revealed significantly higher long-term mortality for patients with high SI and high mSI compared to patients with low indices (high SI HR: 1.42 [1.32–1.52], high mSI HR: 1.46 [1.36–1.57]). Furthermore, the predictive ability was slightly better for mSI compared to SI and more reliable in NSTEMI cases compared to STEMI cases (for SI and mSI). CONCLUSION: High SI and mSI are useful tools for early risk stratification including long-term outcome especially in NSTEMI cases, which can help physicians to make decision on therapy. NSTEMI patients with high SI and mSI might especially benefit from immediate invasive therapy. KEY MESSAGES: Shock index and modified shock index are predictors of long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction. Both indices predict long-term mortality not only for STEMI cases, but even more so for NSTEMI cases

Do patients with diabetes with new onset acute myocardial infarction present with different symptoms than non-diabetic patients?

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in presenting symptoms between patients with and without diabetes being diagnosed with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: A total of 5,900 patients with a first-time AMI were included into the analysis. All patients aged between 25 and 84 years were recorded by the population-based Myocardial Infarction Registry in Augsburg, Germany, between 2010 and 2017. The presence (yes/no) of 12 AMI typical symptoms during the acute event was assessed within the scope of a face-to-face interview. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression models were calculated to analyze the associations between presenting symptoms and diabetes mellitus in AMI patients. Results: Patients with diabetes had significantly less frequent typical pain symptoms, including typical chest pain. Also, other symptoms like sweating, vomiting/nausea, dizziness/vertigo and fear of death/feeling of annihilation occurred significantly more likely in non-diabetic patients. The only exception was the symptom of shortness of breath, which was found significantly more often in patients with diabetes. In multivariable-adjusted regression models, however, the observed effects were attenuated. In patients younger than 55 years, the associations between diabetes and various symptoms were mainly missing. Conclusions: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a risk factor not only for the development of AMI, but is also associated with an adverse outcome after AMI. Atypical clinical presentation additionally complicates the diagnostic process. It is therefore essential for physicians to be aware of the more often atypical symptoms that diabetic AMI patients report