Value of Engagement in Digital Health Technology Research: Evidence Across 6 Unique Cohort Studies.

Background: Wearable digital health technologies and mobile apps (personal digital health technologies [DHTs]) hold great promise for transforming health research and care. However, engagement in personal DHT research is poor.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe how participant engagement techniques and different study designs affect participant adherence, retention, and overall engagement in research involving personal DHTs.

Functionalization of Polypropylene by TiO Photocatalytic Nanoparticles: On the Importance of the Surface Oxygen Plasma Treatment.

A new two-step method for developing a nanocomposite of polypropylene (PP) decorated with photocatalytically active TiO nanoparticles (nTiO) is proposed. This method involves the low-temperature plasma functionalization of polypropylene followed by the ultrasound-assisted anchoring of nTiO. The nanoparticles, polymeric substrate, and resultant nanocomposite were thoroughly characterized using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), microscopic observations (SEM, TEM, and EDX), spectroscopic investigations (XPS and FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), and water contact angle (WCA) measurements.

Fabrication of plasmonic probes for reproducible nanospectroscopic investigation of lipid monolayers - The electrochemical etching with DC-pulsed voltage.

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is a label-free analytical technique that characterizes molecular systems, potentially even with a nanometric resolution. In principle, the metallic plasmonic probe is illuminated with a laser beam generating the localized surface plasmons, which induce a strong local electric field enhancement in close proximity to the probe. Such field enhancement improves the Raman scattering cross-section from the sample volume localized near the probe apex.

The influence of microinjection parameters on cell survival and procedure efficiency.

Microinjection is a method commonly used to deliver various substances into cells. The procedure is performed on a widefield microscope stage using fine glass needle to penetrate the cell membrane. Microinjection can be carried out using a manual or semi-automatic mode.

Optimization of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for probing the chemical structure of DNA.

Tip-enhanced Raman (TER) spectroscopy combines the nanometric spatial resolution of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the chemical sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy. Thus, it provides a unique possibility to obtain spectroscopic information on individual, nanometre-size molecules. The enhancement of Raman scattering cross-section requires modification of the AFM tip apex with a plasmonic nanostructure.