Development of Micro-/Nano-Architectures for Intracellular Sensing Platform

Currently available nanotechnologies are capable of creating various nanostructures in controlled dimensions such as particles (0D), wires (1D), membranes (2D), and cubes (3D) by exploiting “top-down” or “bottom-up” methods. However, there exist limitations to systematically construct hierarchical nanostructures with geometric complexities. This study is focused on developing a novel nanofabrication strategy that can rationally produce a set of hierarchical nanostructures configured with precisely engineered facets, tip shapes, and tectonic motifs. We aim to identify a collection of optimal materials, array layouts, basic components, and nanofabrication techniques for the production of hierarchical nanostructures by exploiting device-grade semiconducting silicon materials. To accomplish this, device-grade silicon was processed by traditional photolithographic methods to create precisely engineered three-dimensional shapes. The three-dimensional structures were then layered with random patterns by exploiting metal-assisted chemical etching, leading to significantly increased surface areas with arbitrary morphological complexity

Advanced Materials and Assembly Strategies for Wearable Biosensors: A Review

Recent technological advances of soft functional materials and their assembly into wearable (i.e., on-skin) biosensors lead to the development of ground-breaking biomedical applications ranging from wearable health monitoring to drug delivery and to human-robot interactions. These wearable biosensors are capable of unobtrusively interfacing with the human skin and enabling long-term reliable monitoring of clinically useful biosignals associated with health and other conditions affecting well-being. Scalable assembly of diverse wearable biosensors has been realized through the elaborate combination of intrinsically stretchable materials including organic polymers or/and low-dimensional inorganic nanomaterials. In this Chapter, we review various types of wearable biosensors within the context of human health monitoring with a focus of their constituent materials, mechanics designs, and large-scale assembly strategies. In addition, we discuss the current challenges and potential future research directions at the end of this chapter

THE POSSIBILITY OF CLASSIFYING V1 AND V2 SUB-TECHNIQUES OF A SINGLE IMU SENSOR THROUGH COMPARISON OF MOTION-SPECIFIC DATA(PITCH, YAW AND ROLL ANGLE VALUES-ORIENTATION ANGLE VALUE) IN XC SKI

The purpose of this study is to confirm whether the single IMU sensor module(LGE developing and providing for the experiments) that attached to the pelvis can distinguish the motion of the sub-techniques (V1, V2, V2A) with the accuracy of commercial XSENS(equipment consisting of 17 sensors) in freestyle(skate) xc skiing. Therefore, one elite male xc skier with eleven years experience was investigated by measuring the three-directional rotation angle for each of the three sub-techniques used in XC ski freestyle. Through this method, we could found not only the difference of motion patterns of each sub-techniques but also the possibility for replacement of multiple sensor system by a single IMU sensor module from LGE. Thus, it is expected that a single LGE IMU sensor module could be applied to repetitive and periodic sports such as XC ski

Transcatheter Arterial Embolization Therapy for a Massive Polycystic Liver in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients

Polycystic liver is the most common extra-renal manifestation associated with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), comprising up to 80% of all features. Patients with polycystic liver often suffer from abdominal discomfort, dyspepsia, or dyspnea; however, there have been few ways to relieve their symptoms effectively and safely. Therefore, we tried transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE), which has been used in treating hepatocellular carcinoma. We enrolled four patients with ADPKD in Seoul National University Hospital, suffering from enlarged polycystic liver. We embolized the hepatic arteries supplying the dominant hepatic segments replaced by cysts using polyvinyl alcohol particles and micro-coils. The patients were evaluated 12 months after embolization for the change in both liver and cyst volumes. Among four patients, one patient was lost in follow up and 3 patients were included in the analysis. Both liver (33%; 10%) and cyst volume (47.7%; 11.4%) substantially decreased in two patients. Common adverse events were fever, epigastric pain, nausea, and vomiting. We suggest that TAE is effective and safe in treating symptomatic polycystic liver in selected ADPKD patients

Long-term clinical course of a patient with mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB

Mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III) is a rare genetic disorder caused by lysosomal storage of heparan sulfate. MPS IIIB results from a deficiency in the enzyme alpha-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase (NAGLU). Affected patients begin showing behavioral changes, progressive profound mental retardation, and severe disability from the age of 2 to 6 years. We report a patient with MPS IIIB with a long-term follow-up duration. He showed normal development until 3 years. Subsequently, he presented behavioral changes, sleep disturbance, and progressive motor dysfunction. He had been hospitalized owing to recurrent pneumonia and epilepsy with severe cognitive dysfunction. The patient had compound heterozygous c.1444C>T (p.R482W) and c.1675G>T (p.D559Y) variants of NAGLU. Considering that individuals with MPS IIIB have less prominent facial features and skeletal changes, evaluation of long-term clinical course is important for diagnosis. Although no effective therapies for MPS IIIB have been developed yet, early and accurate diagnosis can provide important information for family planning in families at risk of the disorder

Report of the third Asian Prostate Cancer study meeting.

The Asian Prostate Cancer (A-CaP) study is an Asia-wide initiative that was launched in December 2015 in Tokyo, Japan, with the objective of surveying information about patients who have received a histopathological diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and are undergoing treatment and clarifying distribution of staging, the actual status of treatment choices, and treatment outcomes. The study aims to clarify the clinical situation for PCa in Asia and use the outcomes for the purposes of international comparison. Following the first meeting in Tokyo in December 2015, the second A-CaP meeting was held in Seoul, Korea, in September 2016. This, the third A-CaP meeting, was held on October 14, 2017, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with the participation of members and collaborators from 12 countries and regions. In the meeting, participating countries and regions presented the current status of data collection, and the A-CaP office presented a preliminary analysis of the registered cases received from each country and region. Participants discussed ongoing challenges relating to data input and collection, institutional, and legislative issues that may present barriers to data sharing, and the outlook for further patient registrations through to the end of the registration period in December 2018. In addition to A-CaP-specific discussions, a series of special lectures were also delivered on the situation for health insurance in the United States, the correlation between insurance coverage and PCa outcomes, and the outlook for robotic surgery in the Asia-Pacific region. Members also confirmed the principles of authorship in collaborative studies, with a view to publishing original articles based on A-CaP data in the future

Optoelectronic crystal of artificial atoms in strain-textured molybdenum disulphide

The isolation of the two-dimensional semiconductor molybdenum disulphide introduced a new optically active material possessing a band gap that can be facilely tuned via elastic strain. As an atomically thin membrane with exceptional strength, monolayer molybdenum disulphide subjected to biaxial strain can embed wide band gap variations overlapping the visible light spectrum, with calculations showing the modified electronic potential emanating from point-induced tensile strain perturbations mimics the Coulomb potential in a mesoscopic atom. Here we realize and confirm this ‘artificial atom’ concept via capillary-pressure-induced nanoindentation of monolayer molybdenum disulphide from a tailored nanopattern, and demonstrate that a synthetic superlattice of these building blocks forms an optoelectronic crystal capable of broadband light absorption and efficient funnelling of photogenerated excitons to points of maximum strain at the artificial-atom nuclei. Such two-dimensional semiconductors with spatially textured band gaps represent a new class of materials, which may find applications in next-generation optoelectronics or photovoltaics

Prognostic Significance of Multidrug Resistance Gene 1 (MDR1), Multidrug Resistance-related Protein (MRP) and Lung Resistance Protein (LRP) mRNA Expression in Acute Leukemia

The prognostic significance of multidrug resistance (MDR) gene expression is controversial. We investigated whether multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1), multidrug resistance-related protein (MRP) and lung resistance protein (LRP) mRNA expression are associated with outcomes in acute leukemia patients. At diagnosis we examined MDR1, MRP and LRP mRNA expression in bone marrow samples from 71 acute leukemia patients (39 myeloid, 32 lymphoblastic) using nested RT-PCR. The expression of each of these genes was then expressed as a ratio in relation to β-actin gene expression, and the three genes were categorized as being either 0, 1+, 2+ or 3+. MDR1, MRP and LRP mRNA expression was detected in 23.9%, 83.1% and 45.1%, respectively. LRP mRNA expression was significantly associated with resistance to induction chemotherapy in acute leukemia patients, and in the AML proportion (p=0.02 and p=0.03, respectively). MRP and high MDR1 mRNA expression was associated with poorer 2-yr survival (p=0.049 and p=0.04, respectively). Patients expressing both MRP and LRP mRNA had poorer outcomes and had worse 2-yr survival. The present data suggest that MDR expression affects complete remission and survival rates in acute leukemia patients. Thus, determination of MDR gene expression at diagnosis appears likely to provide useful prognostic information for acute leukemia patients