Electronic Transitions of Palladium Dimer

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The Efficacy of Triamcinolone Acetonide in Keloid Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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BEX3 contributes to cisplatin chemoresistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

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Assessment of median nerve mobility by ultrasound dynamic imaging in carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis

2013 Joint UffC, EFTF and PFM SymposiumCarpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common entrapment neuropathy. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) have been used as a standard for CTS diagnosis. Complementing NCS, ultrasound imaging provides anatomic information on pathologic changes of the median nerve, such as the reduced median nerve mobility. Motion of median nerve is dependent on mechanical characteristics, and body movements. The purpose of this study was therefore to measure transverse sliding patterns of the median nerve during fingers flexion and extension in ultrasound B-mode images for distinguishing healthy from CTS subjects, and to investigate any correlation between NCS severity and median nerve motion. Transverse ultrasound images were acquired from 19 normal, 15 mild, and 10 severe CTS subjects confirmed by NCS. In two-second acquisition, their fingers were initially in natural position; the median nerve was then moved toward the ulnar side and radius side in fingers flexion and extension, respectively. The displacements of the median nerve were calculated by the multilevel block-matching pyramid algorithm and averaged. All the average displacements at different acquisition times were then accumulated to obtain cumulative displacements, which were curve-fitted by polynomial function. To differentiate the normal from CTS cases, the R-squared, curvature, and amplitude of the fitted curves were computed, to evaluate the goodness, variation, and maximum value of the fit, respectively. Compared to the CTS patients, the normal subjects had higher R-square, curvature, and amplitude estimates. The three parameters were then inputted to a fuzzy c-means algorithm to classify normal cases and CTS ones. The diagnostic efficiency had an accuracy of 93.2%, a specificity of 100%, and a sensitivity of 88%. Further study includes measuring mechanical strain and stress at different neural sites to provide elasticity of the median nerve. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Effects of annealing on the electrical properties of Fe-doped InP

The electrical properties of Fe-doped semi-insulating (SI) InP were investigated before and after annealing. The annealing conditions were controlled by changing either the temperature or duration. Correlation between the change of electrical parameters with the change of defect concentration at different annealing stage was observed. The defects and the change of the concentrations in Fe-doped SI InP were detected by room-temperature photocurrent spectroscopy.published_or_final_versio

Positron-lifetime study of compensation defects in undoped semi-insulating InP

Positron-lifetime and infrared-absorption spectroscopies have been used to investigate the compensation defects that render undoped n-type liquid encapsulated Czochralski-grown InP semi-insulating under high-temperature annealing. The positron measurements, carried out over the temperature range of 25-300 K, reveal in the as-grown material a positron lifetime of 282±5 ps which we associate with either the isolated indium vacancy V 3- In or related hydrogen complexes. The shallow donor complex V InH 4, responsible for much of the n-type conductivity and the strong infrared absorption signal at 4320 nm, is ruled out as a significant trapping site on the grounds that its neutral state is present at too low a concentration. After annealing at 950°C, in conjunction with the disappearance of the V InH 4 infrared-absorption signal, trapping into V In-related centers is observed to increase slightly, and an additional positron trapping defect having a lifetime of 330 ps appears at a concentration of ∼10 16 cm -3, indicating divacancy trapping. These results support the recent suggestion that the V InH 4 complex present in as-grown InP dissociates during annealing, forming V InH (3-n)- n (0≤n≤3) complexes and that the recombination of V In with a phosphorus atom results in the formation of EL2-like deep donor P In antisite defect, which compensates the material. It is suggested that the divacancy formed on annealing is V InV P, and that this defect is probably a by-product of the P In antisite formation.published_or_final_versio

Identification of Cellular Targets of MicroRNA-181a in HepG2 Cells: A New Approach for Functional Analysis of MicroRNAs

<div><p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play a part in regulating important cellular processes. They generally perform their regulatory function through their binding with mRNAs, ultimately leading to a repression of target protein expression levels. However, their roles in cellular processes are poorly understood due to the limited understanding of their specific cellular targets. Aberrant levels of miRNAs have been found in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) including miR-181a. Using bioinformatics analysis, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1β) and transcriptional factor E2F7 were identified as potential targets of miR-181a. Validation analysis using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) showed a positive binding between miR-181a and the 3’UTRs of these two potential mRNA targets. <i>In vivo</i> luciferase assay further confirmed the positive miR-181a:mRNA bindings, where a significant decrease in luciferase activity was detected when HepG2 cells were co-transfected with the 3’UTR-containing reporter plasmids and miR-181a. The potential impact of miR-181a binding to its specific targets on the general cellular behavior was further investigated. Results showed that miR-181a significantly activated the MAPK/JNK pathway which regulates cell proliferation, supporting our recently reported findings. Inhibition of miR-181a, on the other hand, abolished the observed activation. Our findings open up a new approach in designing targeted functional analysis of miRNAs in cellular processes, through the identification of their cellular targets.</p></div

Electrical and FT-IR measurements of undoped N-type INP materials grown from various stoichiometric melts

P-rich, In-rich and Stoichiometric undoped InP melts have been synthesed by phosphorus in-situ injection method. InP crystal ingots have been grown from these melts by Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski (LEC). Samples from these ingots grown from various Stoichiometric melts have been characterized by Hall Effect and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy measurements respectively. The Hall Effect measurement results indicate that the net carrier concentration of P-inch undoped InP is higher than that of In-rich and Stoichiometric undoped InP materials. FT-IR spectroscopy measurements reveal that there are intensive absorption peaks which have been proved to be hydrogen related indium vacancy complex V InH 4. By comparing FT-IR spectra, it is found that P-rich InP material has the most intensive absorption peak of V InH 4, while In-rich InP material has the weakest absorption peak.published_or_final_versio

Socio-economic and psychological correlates of suicidality among Hong Kong working-age adults: Results from a population-based survey

Background. The global toll of suicide is estimated to be one million lives per year, which exceeded the number of deaths by homicide and war combined. A key step to suicide prevention is to prevent less serious suicidal behaviour to preclude more lethal outcomes. Although 61% of the world's suicides take place in Asia and the suicide rates among middle age groups have been increasing since the economic crisis in many Asian countries, population-based studies of suicidal behaviour among working-age adults in non-western communities are scarce. Method. Data from a population-based survey with 2015 participants were used to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour among the working-age population in Hong Kong, and to study the associated socio-economic and psychological correlates. We focused particularly on potential modulating factors between life-event-related factors and suicidal ideation. Results. Six per cent of the Hong Kong population aged 20-59 years considered suicide in the past year, while 1.4% attempted suicide. Hopelessness, reasons for living, and reluctance to seek help from family and friends had direct association with past-year suicidal ideation. Reasons for living were found to moderate the effect of perceived stress on suicidal ideation. Conclusions. Suicidality is a multi-faceted problem that calls for a multi-sectored, multi-layered approach to prevention. Prevention programmes can work on modulating factors such as reasons for living to reduce suicidal risk in working-age adults. © 2006 Cambridge University Press.published_or_final_versio

The effect of cigarette price increase on the cigarette consumption in Taiwan: evidence from the National Health Interview Surveys on cigarette consumption

BACKGROUND: This study uses cigarette price elasticity to evaluate the effect of a new excise tax increase on cigarette consumption and to investigate responses from various types of smokers. METHODS: Our sample consisted of current smokers between 17 and 69 years old interviewed during an annual face-to-face survey conducted by Taiwan National Health Research Institutes between 2000 to 2003. We used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) procedure to estimate double logarithmic function of cigarette demand and cigarette price elasticity. RESULTS: In 2002, after Taiwan had enacted the new tax scheme, cigarette price elasticity in Taiwan was found to be -0.5274. The new tax scheme brought about an average annual 13.27 packs/person (10.5%) reduction in cigarette consumption. Using the cigarette price elasticity estimate from -0.309 in 2003, we calculated that if the Health and Welfare Tax were increased by another NT$ 3 per pack and cigarette producers shifted this increase to the consumers, cigarette consumption would be reduced by 2.47 packs/person (2.2%). The value of the estimated cigarette price elasticity is smaller than one, meaning that the tax will not only reduce cigarette consumption but it will also generate additional tax revenues. Male smokers who had no income or who smoked light cigarettes were found to be more responsive to changes in cigarette price. CONCLUSIONS: An additional tax added to the cost of cigarettes would bring about a reduction in cigarette consumption and increased tax revenues. It would also help reduce incidents smoking-related illnesses. The additional tax revenues generated by the tax increase could be used to offset the current financial deficiency of Taiwan's National Health Insurance program and provide better public services