Improvement in Photocatalytic Effects of Dye Sensitized Titanium Dioxide by Hydroxyapatite Coating

Applying photocatalytic n-semiconductor effect of titanium dioxide, performance of TiO2 anode with copper oxides cathode as a wet solar cell in seawater is being studied. This research aimed to study photocatalytic effects of dye sensitized TiO2 electrode coated by hydroxyapatite (HAp). TiO2 electrode was manufactured double layered by screen printing method and copper oxides electrode by vacuum deposition on Type 329J4L stainless steel base substrate. N719 Ruthenizer dye was used for sensitizing on TiO2 electrode and HAp was coated on the electrode surface by squeegee printing method. Four types of TiO2 electrodes were studied; TiO2 electrode, dye-sensitized TiO2, HAp coated TiO2, and dye-sensitized TiO2 with HAp coating. Cell voltage and current density was measured under irradiated and dark conditions. The power densities of electrode with HAp coating was found higher than other electrodes without HAp. The current flow was enhanced by introducing HAp coating while dye sensitizing reduced current flow.  Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) analysis were performed. EIS analysis showed HAp coating increased capacitance values of each electrodes.  The surface of electrodes analysed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Electron Dispersion X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) indicated that HAp was dispersed on TiO2 surface but was not formed as a layer

Relationship between Psychological Stress Determined by Voice Analysis and Periodontal Status: A Cohort Study

In modern society, evaluation and management of psychological stress may be important for the prevention of periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological stress (vitality and mental activity) evaluated by Mind Monitoring System (MIMOSYS) and periodontal status. Forty students of Okayama University underwent the oral examination and self-reported questionnaire on the first day (baseline) and the 14th day (follow-up). Voice recording was performed every day with the MIMOSYS app during the whole study period. The participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) at baseline and at follow-up. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to determine the significance of correlations among variables. The PHQ-9 and BDI scores were negatively correlated with vitality in the morning. Change in vitality in the morning was significantly correlated with changes in periodontal inflammation. Mental activity was significantly correlated with change in mean probing pocket depth. This result shows that measurement of psychological stress using a voice-based tool to assess mental health may contribute to the early detection of periodontal disease

Arterial embolization in patients with grade-4 blunt renal trauma: evaluation of the glomerular filtration rates by dynamic scintigraphy with 99mTechnetium-diethylene triamine pentacetic acid

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-grade blunt renal trauma has been treated by arterial embolization (AE). However, it is unknown whether AE preserves renal function, because conventional renal function tests reflect total renal function and not the function of the injured kidney alone. Dynamic scintigraphy can assess differential renal function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed AE in 17 patients with grade-4 blunt renal trauma and determined their serum creatinine (sCr) level and glomerular filtration rate (GFR; estimated by dynamic scintigraphy) after 3 months. In 4 patients with low GFR of the injured kidney (<20 ml·min^-1·1.73 m^-2), the GFR and sCr were measured again at 6 months. Data are presented as median and interquartile range (25th, 75th percentile).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median GFR of the injured kidney, total GFR, and median sCr at 3 months were 29.3 (23.7, 35.3) and 96.8 (79.1, 102.6) ml·min^-1·1.73 m^-2and 0.6 (0.5, 0.7) mg/dl, respectively. In the patients with low GFR (ml·min^-1·1.73 m^-2), the median GFR of the injured kidney, total GFR, and median sCr (mg/dl) were 16.2 (15.7, 16.3), 68.7 (61.1, 71.6), and 0.7 (0.7, 0.9), respectively, at 3 months and 34.5 (29.2, 37.0), 90.9 (79.1, 98.8), and 0.7 (0.7, 0.8), respectively, at 6 months.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The function of the injured kidney was preserved in all patients, indicating the efficacy of AE for the treatment of grade-4 blunt renal trauma.</p

Unveiling the role of differential growth in 3D morphogenesis: An inference method to analyze area expansion rate distribution in biological systems

The three-dimensional (3D) morphologies of many organs in organisms, such as the curved shapes of leaves and flowers, the branching structure of lungs, and the exoskeletal shape of insects, are formed through surface growth. Although differential growth, a mode of surface growth, has been qualitatively identified as 3D morphogenesis, a quantitative understanding of the mechanical contribution of differential growth is lacking. To address this, we developed a quantitative inference method to analyze the distribution of the area expansion rate, which governs the growth of surfaces into 3D morphology. To validate the accuracy of our method, we tested it on a basic 3D morphology that allowed for the theoretical derivation of the area expansion rate distribution, and then assessed the difference between the predicted outcome and the theoretical solution. We also applied this method to complex 3D shapes and evaluated its accuracy through numerical experiments. The findings of the study revealed a linear decrease in error on a log-log scale with an increase in the number of meshes in both evaluations. This affirmed the reliability of the predictions for meshes that are sufficiently refined. Moreover, we employed our methodology to analyze the developmental process of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus, which is characterized by differential growth regulating 3D morphogenesis. The results indicated a notably high rate of area expansion on the left and right edges of the horn primordium, which is consistent with the experimental evidence of a higher rate of cell division in these regions. Hence, these findings confirm the efficacy of the proposed method in analyzing biological systems

A 92-year-old man with retropharyngeal hematoma caused by an injury of the anterior longitudinal ligament

AbstractTraumatic retropharyngeal hematoma is a rare condition and may be lethal in some cases. In patients with this condition, the absence of a vertebral fracture or a major vascular injury is extremely rare. We present the case of a 92-year-old man who hit his forehead by slipping on the floor in his house. He had no symptoms at the time; however, he experienced throat pain and dyspnea at 6 hours after the injury. On arrival, he complained of severe dyspnea; therefore, an emergency endotracheal intubation was performed. A lateral neck roentgenogram after intubation showed dilatation of the retropharyngeal and retrotracheal space and no evidence of a cervical vertebral fracture. Cervical computed tomography (CT) with contrast medium revealed a massive hematoma extending from the retropharyngeal to the superior mediastinal space but no evidence of contrast medium extravasation or a vertebral fracture. However, sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an anterior longitudinal ligament (C4-5 levels) injury. We determined that the cause of the hematoma was an anterior longitudinal ligament injury and a minor vascular injury around the injured ligament. Therefore, we recommend that patients with retropharyngeal hematoma undergo sagittal cervical MRI when roentgenography and CT reveal no evidence of injury

Removing Diethylphthalate (DEP) from Water Systems using Zeolites and Mesoporous Materials

In order to remove diethylphthalate (DEP) molecules from water systems, zeolites of faujasite (FAU), ferrierite (FER), mordenite (MOR), and mesoporous silica (MCM-41) were employed in this study. 1H nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) spectra showed that FAU was effective in eliminating DEP from aqueous solutions. In addition, solid-state 1H NMR spectra with a magic-angle-spinning (MAS) rate of 30 kHz revealed that a larger amount of DEP was adsorbed on FAUs with higher Si/Al ratios. Our NMR spectra also showed that a chemical shift of the signal assigned to water molecules adsorbed on the FAUs is linked to the amount of DEP adsorption. 1H MAS NMR spectra also revealed that DEP molecules prefer to adsorb on the four-membered ring site rather than the center or/and window of the supercage in FAUs. Since porous materials are frequently present in ground and water systems such as rivers, ponds, and lakes, this study also showed that DEP could adsorb onto soils in aquatic environments and remain in the water system for a long time

Computer-aided Surgical Planning of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in MR Images

AbstractAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury causes knee joint instability, and effects on sports performance. Therefore, ACL reconstruction is essential to keep their high performance. It is well known that the outcome of ACL reconstruction is strongly related to the placement and orientation of the bone tunnel. Therefore, optimization of tunnel drilling technique is an important factor to obtain satisfactory surgical results. Current procedure relies on arthroscopic evaluation and there is a risk of damaging arteries and ligaments during surgery. The damages may reduce the accuracy and reproducibility of ACL reconstruction. As a postoperative evaluation method, a quadrant method has been used to evaluate the placement and orientation of the bone tunnel in X-ray radiography. This study proposes a computer-aided surgical planning system for evaluating ACL insertion site and orientation using magnetic resonance (MR) images. We first introduce MR image based the quadrant method to determine the ACL insertion site for preoperative patients. It also evaluates the 3-D spatial relationship between the planning femoral drilling hole and arteries around the femoral condyle. This system has been applied to ACL injured patients, it may increase the accuracy and reproducibility of ACL bone tunnel, and it can evaluate a risk of damaging the surrounding arteries and ligaments

Antireflux Metal Stent for Initial Treatment of Malignant Distal Biliary Obstruction

Objectives. To compare the use of an antireflux metal stent (ARMS) with that of a conventional covered self-expandable metal stent (c-CSEMS) for initial stenting of malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO). Materials and Methods. We retrospectively investigated 59 consecutive patients with unresectable MDBO undergoing initial endoscopic biliary drainage. ARMS was used in 32 patients and c-CSEMS in 27. Technical success, functional success, complications, causes of recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO), time to RBO (TRBO), and reintervention were compared between the groups. Results. Stent placement was technically successful in all patients. There were no significant intergroup differences in functional success (ARMS [96.9%] versus c-CSEMS [96.2%]), complications (6.2 versus 7.4%), and RBO (48.4 versus 42.3%). Food impaction was significantly less frequent for ARMS than for c-CSEMS (P=0.037), but TRBO did not differ significantly between the groups (log-rank test, P=0.967). The median TRBO was 180.0 [interquartile range (IQR), 114.0–349.0] days for ARMS and 137.0 [IQR, 87.0–442.0] days for c-CSEMS. In both groups, reintervention for RBO was successfully completed in all patients thus treated. Conclusion. ARMS offers no advantage for initial stent placement, but food impaction is significantly prevented by the antireflux valve