Enhanced Photo-Assisted Acetone Gas Sensor and Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation Using Fe-Doped Hexagonal and Monoclinic WO Phase-Junction.

The development of WO-based gas sensors for analysis of acetone in exhaled breath is significant for noninvasive diagnosis of diabetes. A series of Fe-doped hexagonal and monoclinic WO phase-junction (Fe--WO) sensors were synthesized by the hydrothermal calcination method, and the influences of operating temperature and light irradiation on the response were studied. Under light emitting diode (LED) illumination, Fe--WO exhibited higher responses to acetone than those of the undoped WO-based sensors at an operating temperature of 260 °C with 90% relative humidity, and good linearity between response and acetone concentration (0.

Comparison of urinary and plasma cotinine levels during the three trimesters of pregnancy.

Assays of metabolised cotinine are considered to be an accurate measure of exposure to cigarette smoke among pregnant women. We investigated the association and differences between the cotinine levels in maternal urine and blood, and the umbilical cord blood of three tobacco exposure groups at different stages of pregnancy. A prospective study was conducted among 398 pregnant women undergoing prenatal care in different trimesters at two medical centres and one regional hospital in central Taiwan.

Association of DNA-protein crosslinks and breast cancer.

This study examined the possible effect of cytochrome P450 (CYP1A1), glutathione S-transferase (GSTM1 and T1) and N-acetyltransferases 2 (NAT2) polymorphisms on DNA-protein crosslinks (DPC) formation in the white blood cells of breast cancer patients, and assessed the levels of DPC detected. Sixty cases of breast cancer were examined, all involving women diagnosed with primary, histopathologically confirmed breast cancer at the Chinese Medical College Hospital in central Taiwan. Additionally, 60 healthy women without breast cancer were selected as a control group, matched by age, cigarette smoking habits, and history of breast cancer among first-degree relatives.