Alternative Medicine Resources for Primary Care Physicians

Despite the prevalence of patients that would benefit from Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) at EMMC Center for Family Medicine (CFM), practicing physicians lack sufficient education on CAM and knowledge of community resources to refer their patients to.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1031/thumbnail.jp

Nicotine dependence and psychological distress: outcomes and clinical implications in smoking cessation

Nicotine dependence is characteristically a chronic and relapsing disease. Although 75%–85% of smokers would like to quit, and one-third make at least three serious lifetime attempts, less than 50% of smokers succeed in stopping before the age of 60. Relevant and complex factors contributing to sustained cigarette consumption, and strongly implicated in the clinical management of smokers, are the level of nicotine dependence and psychological distress. In this review of the literature, these two factors will be examined in detail to show how they may affect smoking cessation outcome and to encourage clinicians to assess patients so they can offer tailored support in quitting smoking

Visible and Infra-red Light Emission in Boron-Doped Wurtzite Silicon Nanowires

Silicon, the mainstay semiconductor in microelectronic circuitry, is considered unsuitable for optoelectronic applications owing to its indirect electronic band gap, which limits its efficiency as a light emitter. Here we show the light emission properties of boron-doped wurtzite silicon nanowires measured by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy at room temperature. A visible emission, peaked above 1.5 eV, and a near infra-red emission at 0.8 eV correlate respectively to the direct transition at the Γ point and to the indirect band-gap of wurtzite silicon. We find additional intense emissions due to boron intra-gap states in the short wavelength infra-red range. We present the evolution of the light emission properties as function of the boron doping concentration and the growth temperature

The challenge for large-scale vapor-phase growths of not-catalyzed ZnO nanostructures: purity vs. yield

ZnO nanostructures are today a very important research topic because their proved (or even just "potential") properties promoted huge studies in many different application fields, such as optoelectronics, photovoltaics, spintronics, gas sensing, photocatalysis, piezo-electric applications, etc. Since a reproducible large-scale production is essential for a likely use of these nanostructures in any industrial application, large efforts have been done to control and stabilize their synthesis processes. Good results have been obtained in vapor phase growths of nanorods and nanowires, by mean of metal catalysts (such as Au, Pt or Ni particles). On the other side, large and controlled production of some ZnO nanostructures have been realized by wet chemical processes. Unfortunately both these approaches are intrinsically affected by the introduction of impurities in the nanocrystals\u27 structure. Indeed, even very low impurity levels may have a strong effect on the physical properties of these semiconducting nanostructures. Catalyst-free vapor-phase growth techniques should not be affected by the same impurity levels if high purity sources and gases are employed. Unfortunately, the synthesis control is generally more difficult in this kind of processes. In the present work authors show the results obtained in the optimization of three different growth processes, for a large-scale oriented production of (i) ZnO tetrapods, (ii) ZnO nanorods and (iii) ZnO long nanowires. All the described processes share a catalyst-free growth and the use of high purity metallic Zn, O2 and inert carrier gas (Ar) only. The properties of the obtained ZnO nanostructures have been characterized and, hence, pros and cons of the used approach have been discussed

Exercise Combined with Electrotherapy Enhances Motor Function in an Adolescent with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type III

Background. Electrotherapy is widely used in physical therapy to increase muscle mass, improve motor function, and assist physical activity in several neurologic conditions. However, concerning Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), limited evidence exists on the role of electrotherapy as an adjunct for improving muscle strength and function. Case Report. An adolescent (13 y.o.) with SMA type III underwent an 18-week strengthening program divided into two stages. During Phase I (weeks: 1-8), a home-based program for quadriceps strengthening through neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) was provided. In Phase II (weeks: 9-18), at-home NMES was combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES) assisting volitional cycling for a broader, systemic conditioning. The treatment improved patient's structural and functional motor outcomes (quadriceps circumference and strength, Tinetti scale, and Hammersmith scale) as well as independence in stair climbing. Clinical Rehabilitation Impact. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of the potential role of electrotherapy to help improving motor performance in SMA patients and, secondly, to foster further research aimed at assessing the actual contribution this intervention may have as an add-on therapy to existing care

Growth And Characterization Of ZnO Nanostructures By A Self-Catalythic CVD Process

In the last years, many papers have dealt with the topic of metal oxide nanowire growth and characterization. In particular, it is widely reported that Zinc Oxide (ZnO) can be obtained in a large variety of nanostructures with different morphologies, namely nanowires, nanorods, nanotetrapods (or simply "tetrapods"), nanotapes or nanoribbons, etc. The possibility to obtain this material in different nanosized crystalline structures is particularly interesting in view of several application fields, e.g. chemical sensors, solar-cells, optoelectronics. However, different nanostructures often appear mixed on the same substrate, thus limiting the possibility of exploitation for applications

Stabilization of Pd3−xIn1+x polymorphs with Pd-like crystal structure and their superior performance as catalysts for semi-hydrogenation of alkynes

Selective hydrogenation (semi-hydrogenation) reactions of alkynes rely on Pd-based catalysts to provide the correct pathway to favour formation of double bonds and avoid full hydrogenation to single bonds. Here, we present the preparation and characterisation of "Pd3In"/TiO2 nanocatalysts, which show improved activity and selectivity compared to pure Pd catalysts, towards the liquid phase semi-hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (MBY) to 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBE), a fundamental step in the preparation of pharmaceuticals, and other industrially produced substances, as well as a model reaction for the semi-hydrogenation of alkynes. For both the supported and unsupported "Pd3In" alloys (later redefined as Pd3-xIn1+x), we stabilised two new cubic polymorphs with a Pd-like structure, instead of the tetragonal structure as reported so far in the literature. The stabilisation of these new polymorphs was made possible by using a solution-based synthesis and, thanks to the use of different solvents, the reaction was 2 carried out at different temperatures and the Pd/In ratio could be tuned. The same synthetic approach was adapted to prepare two "Pd3In"/TiO2 catalysts by adding the TiO2 support to the reaction mixture, in a practical one-step, one-pot reaction. HREM and X-Ray maps show that the cubic crystal structure of "Pd3In" is maintained when prepared in the presence of the support, however, the support seems to influence the Pd/In ratio

Hand Passive Mobilization Performed with Robotic Assistance: Acute Effects on Upper Limb Perfusion and Spasticity in Stroke Survivors

This single arm pre-post study aimed at evaluating the acute effects induced by a single session of robot-assisted passive hand mobilization on local perfusion and upper limb (UL) function in poststroke hemiparetic participants. Twenty-three patients with subacute or chronic stroke received 20 min passive mobilization of the paretic hand with robotic assistance. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to detect changes in forearm tissue perfusion. Muscle tone of the paretic UL was assessed by the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). Symptoms concerning UL heaviness, joint stiffness, and pain were evaluated as secondary outcomes by self-reporting. Significant (p=0.014) improvements were found in forearm perfusion when all fingers were mobilized simultaneously. After the intervention, MAS scores decreased globally, being the changes statistically significant for the wrist (from 1.6±1.0 to 1.1±1.0; p=0.001) and fingers (from 1.2±1.1 to 0.7±0.9; p=0.004). Subjects reported decreased UL heaviness and stiffness after treatment, especially for the hand, as well as diminished pain when present. This study supports novel evidence that hand robotic assistance promotes local UL circulation changes, may help in the management of spasticity, and acutely alleviates reported symptoms of heaviness, stiffness, and pain in subjects with poststroke hemiparesis. This opens new scenarios for the implications in everyday clinical practice. Clinical Trial Registration Number is NCT03243123

Single-step Au-catalysed synthesis and microstructural characterization of core-shell Ge/In-Te nanowires by MOCVD

We report on the self-assembly of core-shell Ge/In-Te nanowires (NWs) on single crystal Si substrates by Metalorganic Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD), coupled to the Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) mechanism, catalysed by Au nanoparticles (NPs). The NWs are formed by a crystalline Ge core and an InTe (II) shell, have diameters down to 15 nm and show <110> oriented growth direction. The role of the MOCVD process parameters and of the NPs size in determining the NWs core-shell microstructure and their alignment was investigated by high-resolution TEM, EDX, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Synthesis of built-in highly strained monolayer MoS2 using liquid precursor chemical vapor deposition

Strain engineering is an efficient tool to tune and tailor the electrical and optical properties of 2D materials. The built-in strain can be tuned during the synthesis process of a two dimensional semiconductor, as molybdenum disulfide, by employing different growth substrate with peculiar thermal properties. In this work we demonstrate that the built-in strain of MoS2 monolayers, grown on SiO2/Si substrate using liquid precursors chemical vapor deposition, is mainly dominated by the size of the monolayer. In fact, we identify a critical size equal to 20 um, from which the built-in strain increases drastically. The built-in strain is maximized for 60 um sized monolayer, leading to 1.2% tensile strain with a partial release of strain close to the monolayer triangular vertexes due to formation of nanocracks. These findings also imply that the standard method for evaluation of the number of layers based on the Raman modes separation becomes unreliable for monolayer with a lateral size above 20 um