Employment, income, and sleep in South Africa: An actor-partner interdependence model approach.

Objective: We analyze the relationship between employment status, income, and sleep in South Africa to address two research questions: (1) How does employment status influence the sleep quantity of the individual and their partner? (2) How does income impact the sleep quantity of the individual and their partner?

Method: Using data from 1600 Black African couples in the South African Time Use Study, we employ the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to investigate the relationship between employment status, income, and sleep in couples. We categorize nighttime sleep into three categories: recommended sleep (7-9 hours), short sleep (<7 hours), and long sleep (>9 hours).

Results: Employed individuals were more likely to get the recommended amount of sleep and less likely to experience long sleep.

Helicobacter pylori Empirical and Tailored Eradication Therapy and Factors Influencing Eradication Rate: a 4-Year Single-Center Study.

Background: The Helicobacter pylori eradication rate with standard triple therapy (STT) is continuously decreasing due to clarithromycin resistance. This study aimed to investigate the eradication rate of empirical and tailored therapy and explore various factors affecting this eradication rate using clarithromycin resistance test data for the last 4 years at a single institution in Daegu.

Methods: From August 2018 to July 2021, a total of 1,395 patients diagnosed with H.

and Co-Infection Leading to Hepatic Abscess: A Case Report.

Toxocariasis is a zoonotic disease caused by ingesting eggs from soil contaminated with and , commonly found in feces of infected dogs and cats, leading to a range of clinical symptoms including fever, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal manifestations. Fascioliasis is also a zoonotic disease caused by liver flukes and which can be contracted through consumption of contaminated water or aquatic plants, leading to various clinical features. Here, we report a case of a 39-year-old woman diagnosed with a liver abscess caused by co-infection of and as confirmed by serological tests.

Performance of digital morphology analyzer Medica EasyCell assistant.

Objectives: The EasyCell assistant (Medica, Bedford, MA, USA) is one of the state-of-the-art digital morphology analyzers. We explored the performance of EasyCell assistant in comparison with manual microscopic review and Pentra DX Nexus (Horiba ABX Diagnostics, Montpellier, France).

Methods: In a total of 225 samples (100 normal and 125 abnormal samples), white blood cell (WBC) differentials and platelet (PLT) count estimation by EasyCell assistant were compared with the results by manual microscopic review and Pentra DX Nexus.

Performance of Platelet Counting in Thrombocytopenic Samples: Comparison between Mindray BC-6800Plus and Sysmex XN-9000.

The performance of platelet (PLT) counting in thrombocytopenic samples is crucial for transfusion decisions. We compared PLT counting and its reproducibility between Mindray BC-6800Plus (BC-6800P, Mindray, Shenzhen, China) and Sysmex XN-9000 (XN, Sysmex, Kobe, Japan), especially focused on thrombocytopenic samples. We analyzed the correlation and agreement of PLT-I channels in both analyzers and BC-6800P PLT-O mode and XN PLT-F channel in 516 samples regarding PLT counts.

Performance of digital morphology analyzer Vision Pro on white blood cell differentials.

Objectives: Vision Pro (West Medica, Perchtoldsdorf, Austria) is a recently developed digital morphology analyzer. We evaluated the performance of Vision Pro on white blood cell (WBC) differentials.

Methods: In a total of 200 peripheral blood smear samples (100 normal and 100 abnormal samples), WBC preclassification and reclassification by Vision Pro were evaluated and compared with manual WBC count, according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines (H20-A2).

Effective Suppression of the Polysulfide Shuttle Effect in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries by Implementing rGO-PEDOT:PSS-Coated Separators via Air-Controlled Electrospray.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have been earning significant attention because of their high energy density and cost efficiency. Albeit these outstanding qualities, the polysulfide shuttling effect and low electrical conductivity of the sulfur active material in this battery chemistry results in poor cycling performance. In an attempt to overcome these problems, a hybrid structure of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) and reduced graphene oxide was developed and coated on the surface of a conventional separator using air-controlled electrospray.

Control of formation of viscoelastic droplets and distribution of nano-inclusions in functional deposition for lithium-sulfur batteries.

The electrospray process produces micro/nanodroplets for various applications such as thin and uniform coatings, drug carriers and mass spectrometry. In this paper, we study the spray processes of viscoelastic jets using simulations and experiments. In discretized modeling, the jet is perturbed with axisymmetric instability and the growth of this instability causes the jet to break into droplets.

Performance of automated digital cell imaging analyzer Sysmex DI-60.

Background: The Sysmex DI-60 system (DI-60, Sysmex, Kobe, Japan) is a new automated digital cell imaging analyzer. We explored the performance of DI-60 in comparison with Sysmex XN analyzer (XN, Sysmex) and manual count.

Methods: In a total of 276 samples (176 abnormal and 100 normal samples), white blood cell (WBC) differentials, red blood cell (RBC) classification and platelet (PLT) estimation by DI-60 were compared with the results by XN and/or manual count.

Biochemical-immunological hybrid biosensor based on two-dimensional chromatography for on-site sepsis diagnosis.

A hybrid-biosensor system that can simultaneously fulfill the immunoassay for protein markers (e.g., C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT)) and the enzyme assay for metabolic substances (e.

A High-Performance Fluorescence Immunoassay Based on the Relaxation of Quenching, Exemplified by Detection of Cardiac Troponin I.

The intramolecular fluorescence self-quenching phenomenon is a major drawback in developing high-performance fluorometric biosensors which use common fluorophores as signal generators. We propose two strategies involving liberation of the fluorescent molecules by means of enzymatic fragmentation of protein or dehybridization of double-stranded DNA. In the former, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was coupled with the fluorescent BODIPY dye (Red BSA), and then immobilized on a solid surface.

A fluorescent immunosensor for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I using a spatially-controlled polymeric, nano-scale tracer to prevent quenching.

For detection of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI<0.01ng/mL), signal amplification was attained using a rapid immunosensor with a fluorescently-labeled, polymeric detection antibody. As fluorescent molecules tend to quench when they are less than 10nm apart, a synthetic scheme for the labeled antibody was devised to control the molecular distance and so minimize the quenching effect in a single conjugate unit.

Chemiluminometric Immunosensor for High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I Employing a Polymerized Enzyme Conjugate as a Tracer.

To detect high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI; <0.01 ng/mL) at points of care, we developed a rapid immunosensor by using horseradish peroxidase polymerized in 20 molecules on average (Poly-HRP) as a tracer conjugated with streptavidin (SA-Poly-HRP). As shown in the conventional system, enhanced sensitivity could be achieved by using a sequential binding scheme for the complex formation to contain the huge molecular tracer.