Smart materials that adapt to various stimuli, such as light, hold immense potential across many fields. Photoresponsive molecules like azobenzenes, which undergo - photoisomerization when exposed to light, are particularly valuable for applications in smart coatings, light-controlled adhesives, and photoresists in semiconductors and integrated circuits. Despite advances in using azobenzene moieties for stimuli-responsive adhesives, the role of push-pull electronic effects in regulating reversible adhesion remains largely unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuaternary phosphonium salts, a significant category of organophosphorus compounds, have garnered substantial attention from chemists due to their wide range of applications across various research areas. These compounds are utilized in organic synthesis, catalysis, medicinal chemistry, natural materials, and coordination chemistry. Their versatility and effectiveness in these fields make them valuable tools in scientific research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Formos Med Assoc
November 2024
Purpose: In the health-care system within hospitals, Taiwanese patients usually play the role of passively cooperating with health-care professionals. Therefore, patients rarely make their own treatment decisions. This study evaluated the level of patient education and patient satisfaction in relation to empowerment level in Taiwan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydrogels, recognized for their flexibility and diverse characteristics, are extensively used in medical fields such as wearable sensors and soft robotics. However, many hydrogel sensors derived from biomaterials lack mechanical strength and fatigue resistance, emphasizing the necessity for enhanced formulations. In this work, we utilized acrylamide and polyacrylamide as the primary polymer network, incorporated chemically modified poly(ethylene glycol) (DF-PEG) as a physical crosslinker, and introduced varying amounts of methacrylated lysine (LysMA) to prepare a series of hydrogels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Fetal fibronectin (fFN) testing and transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) are diagnostic tools used to predict impending spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) among women presenting with preterm labor (PTL). We evaluated the association between fFN testing or TVUS cervical length (CL) measurement in predicting sPTB, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, and sPTB-related costs.
Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the Kaiser Permanente Southern California electronic health system (January 1, 2009-December 31, 2020) using diagnostic and procedure codes, along with a natural language processing algorithm to identify pregnancies with PTL evaluations.
Objective: To evaluate trends of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis rates among children aged 5-17 years over the past decade (2010-2021) and to investigate whether there have been differences in temporal changes based on race and ethnicity, sex, or income.
Study Design: Childhood ADHD diagnosis was ascertained from electronic health records using International Classification of Diseases ninth revision (314.xx) and International Classification of Diseases tenth revision (F90.
Hydrogels' exceptional mechanical strength and skin-adhesion characteristics offer significant advantages for various applications, particularly in the fields of tissue adhesion and wearable sensors. Herein, we incorporated a combination of metal-coordination and hydrogen-bonding forces in the design of stretchable and adhesive hydrogels. We synthesized four hydrogels, namely PAID-0, PAID-1, PAID-2, and PAID-3, consisting of acrylamide (AAM), '-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA), and methacrylic-modified dopamine (DA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a new peptide-based urchin-shaped structure prepared through two-step self-assembly of tetraphenylethylene-diserine (). Hydrogelation generated nanobelts through the first stage of self-assembly of ; these nanobelts further transformed on silicon wafers into urchin-like microstructures featuring nanosized spines. The presence of the TPE moiety in the hydrogelator resulted in aggregation-induced emission characteristics both in the solution and in the gel phases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydrogels are conductive and stretchable, allowing for their use in flexible electronic devices, such as electronic skins, sensors, human motion monitoring, brain-computer interface, and so on. Herein, we synthesized the copolymers having various molar ratios of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) to thiophene (Th), which served as conductive additives. With doping engineering and incorporation with P(EDOT--Th) copolymers, hydrogels have presented excellent physical/chemical/electrical properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For the past several decades, epidemiological studies originating from the United States have consistently reported increasing rates of preterm birth (PTB). Despite the implementation of several clinical and public health interventions to reduce PTB rates, it remains the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in the United States and around the world.
Objective: This study aimed to examine recent trends in preterm birth and its clinical subtypes by maternal race and ethnicity among singleton births.
Background: Preterm birth (PTB) represents a significant public health problem in the United States and throughout the world. Accurate identification of preterm labor (PTL) evaluation visits is the first step in conducting PTB-related research.
Objective: We aimed to develop a validated computerized algorithm to identify PTL evaluation visits and extract cervical length (CL) measures from electronic health records (EHRs) within a large integrated health care system.
Materials that have higher fluorescence emission in the solid state than molecules in solution have recently been paid more attention by the scientific community due to their potential applications in various fields. In this work, we newly synthesized benzoxazolyl-imidazole and benzothiazolyl-imidazole conjugates, which show aggregation-induced emission (AIE) features in their solid and aggregate states. It was found that oxygen and sulfur substitutions can dramatically influence the molecular structures and polarities of the dyes, leading to different degrees of the AIE phenomenon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Magn Reson Imaging
December 2022
Background: Recently, a data-driven regression analysis method was developed to utilize the resting-state (rs) blood oxygenation level-dependent signal for cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) mapping (rs-CVR), which was previously optimized by comparing with the CO inhalation-based method in health subjects and patients with neurovascular diseases.
Purpose: To investigate the agreement of rs-CVR and the CVR mapping with breath-hold MRI (bh-CVR) in patients with gliomas.
Study Type: Retrospective.
Conductive hydrogels with stretchable, flexible and wearable properties have made significant contributions in the area of modern electronics. The polyacrylamide/alginate hydrogels are one of the potential emerging materials for application in a diverse range of fields because of their high stretch and toughness. However, most researchers focus on the investigation of their mechanical and swelling behaviors, and the adhesion and effects of the ionic liquids on the conductivities of polyacrylamide/alginate hydrogels are much less explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare (Basel)
September 2021
Background: The development of nursing students' ability to practice humanistic care is extremely important.
Methods: This study explored students' learning experience when providing humanistic care for older adults with chronic diseases while employing intergenerational narrative learning. An exploratory descriptive qualitative study design was adopted.
Conductive self-healing hydrogels and related soft sensor devices are gaining extensive attention from academia to industry because of their impacts on the lifetime and ergonomic design of artificial skins and soft robotics, as well as health monitoring systems. However, so far the development of such a material has been limited considering performance and availability. In this work, we developed composite hydrogels of acrylamide, polyacrylamide, dialdehyde-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) and conductive carbon black through an interpenetrating polymer network strategy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedicine (Baltimore)
May 2019
A recent Taiwanese government report indicated that there were an increased number of sexual encounters among 15- to 17-year-old adolescents. Among them, indigenous Taiwanese had a higher rate of sexual encounters than did the rest of the population. However, no prior study has surveyed indigenous Taiwanese adolescents' sexual behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by facial pain that may be sudden, intense, and recurrent. Neurosurgical interventions, such as radiofrequency rhizotomy, can relieve TN pain, but their mechanisms and effects are unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the microstructural tissue changes of the trigeminal nerve (TGN) in patients with TN after they underwent radiofrequency rhizotomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a novel fluorescent bioprobe, tetraphenylethylene-Phe-Asp-Gly-Glu-Ala (TPE-FDGEA), and its self-assembly behavior, photophysical properties, and biocompatibility. The hydrogelator TPE-FDGEA exhibited aggregation-induced emission characteristics, which facilitated imaging of PC-3 human prostate cancer cells, thereby demonstrating the utility of such fluorescent probes for specific labeling of target cells in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDehydration is common among ischemic stroke patients and is associated with early neurological deterioration and poor outcome. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that dehydration status is associated with decreased cerebral perfusion and aggravation of ischemic brain injury. Diffusion-weighted imaging and arterial spin labeling perfusion MR imaging were performed on rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) by using a 9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Neural disruption and cognitive impairment have been reported in patients with carotid stenosis (CS), but carotid artery stenting (CAS) may not contribute to the cognitive recovery. Although functional hyper-connectivity is one of the physiological over-compensation phenomena in neurological diseases, the literature on the cognitive influence of functional hyper-connectivity in CS patients is limited. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal changes of hyper-connectivity after CAS and its association with cognition in CS patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Patient empowerment is a paradigm of clinical practice. The goal of patient empowerment is to lead patients' health and wellbeing. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relation between patient education, patient empowerment and patient satisfaction based on multi-hospital cross-sectional study design in Taiwan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAttending lectures and reading are two common approaches to acquiring knowledge, while repetitive practice is a common approach to acquiring skills. Nurturing proper attitudes in students is one of the greatest challenges for educators. Health professionals must incorporate empathy into their practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims And Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a psychoeducational programme in enhancing motivation to change alcohol-addictive behaviour.
Background: The prevalence of alcohol abuse has increased over the past 10 years, and the age of initial alcohol use has decreased gradually in Taiwan. Alcohol dependence is one of the leading causes of disability and has led to increases in the incidence of crime and violence, with alcohol abuse identified as a problem in society.