Impact of PM, relative humidity, and temperature on sleep quality: a cross-sectional study in Taipei.

Introduction: TWe investigated impacts of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM), relative humidity (RH), and temperature on sleep stages and arousal.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional analysis involving 8,611 participants was conducted at a sleep center in Taipei.

NaGdF:Dy nanocrystals: new insights into optical properties and energy transfer processes.

NaGdF:Dy nanocrystals (NCs) have been synthesized using a precipitation technique. The structural characteristics and morphology of the materials were analyzed using X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy images, respectively. The photoluminescence excitation spectra, emission spectra and decay curves of all samples were recorded at room temperature.

A new iridoid glucoside from the roots of .

A new iridoid glucoside, moridoside (), and nine known compounds, asperulosidic acid (), 6---acetylscandoside (), geniposidic acid (), 2-hydroxymethylanthraquinone (), 2-hydroxymethyl-3-hydroxyanthraquinone (), damnacanthol (), lucidine-ω-methyl ether (), 2-hydroxy-1-methoxyanthraquinone (), and 3,8-dihydroxy-1,2-dimethoxyanthraquinone () were isolated from the methanol extract of How. roots. Their structural identification was carried out based on the spectroscopic evidence.

Fundamental Properties of Hydrogen-Functionalized GaSe Monolayer.

Functionalization reveals potential opportunities for modifying essential properties and designing materials due to the strong interaction between functionalized atoms and the surface. Among them, hydrogenation possesses such a way to control electronic and optical characteristics. In this paper, the stability and transformed electronic, optical properties of H-functionalized GaSe in two cases (single and double sites) were reported that exhibit the effects of hydrogen functionalization via first-principles calculations.

Biological Activities of Lichen-Derived Monoaromatic Compounds.

Lichen-derived monoaromatic compounds are bioactive compounds, associated with various pharmacological properties: antioxidant, antifungal, antiviral, cytotoxicity, and enzyme inhibition. However, little is known about data regarding alpha-glucosidase inhibition and antimicrobial activity. Very few compounds were reported to have these activities.

Tunable broadband-negative-permeability metamaterials by hybridization at THz frequencies.

We present a numerical study of thermo-tunable broadband-negative-permeability metamaterial based on second-order hybridization operating at the THz regime. The conventional metal is replaced by InSb, in which the temperature-dependent conductivity plays a key role in tuning the separation of second-order-hybridization magnetic-resonance modes. It is demonstrated that the hybridization in a simple disk-pair dimer can be tuned by temperature, leading to a significant broadening of the negative-permeability at THz frequencies.

Flux-weighted average cross sections of medical isotopes in the I(γ,xn) reactions with the bremsstrahlung end-point energies of 50 and 70MeV.

The flux-weighted average cross sections of I(γ,xn)I reactions were experimentally determined with the bremsstrahlung end-point energies of 50 and 70 MeV by activation and off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique, using the 100 MeV electron linac at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Korea. The I(γ,xn)I reaction cross sections as a function of photon energy were theoretically calculated using the TALYS 1.8 code.

Protective Effects of Bacteriophages against Aeromonas hydrophila Species Causing Motile Aeromonas Septicemia (MAS) in Striped Catfish.

To determine the effectivity of bacteriophages in controlling the mass mortality of striped catfish () due to infections caused by spp. in Vietnamese fish farms, bacteriophages against pathogenic were isolated. -phage 2 and -phage 5 were successfully isolated from water samples from the Saigon River of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Measurement of isomeric yield ratios of Rh in the Pd(γ,pxn) reactions with the bremsstrahlung end-point energies of 50-70MeV.

The isomeric yield ratios of Rh, Rh, and Rh isomeric pairs produced from the Pd(γ,pxn) reactions were measured with the bremsstrahlung end-point energies of 50-, 55-, 60-, 65-, and 70-MeV at the 100MeV electron linac of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Korea. The measurements were carried out with the activation method in combination with off-line γ-ray spectrometry. In order to improve the accuracy of the activity measurements, the separation of the overlapping γ-rays and the necessary corrections for the counting losses were made.

Chemical compositions of essential oils from Xyloselinum vietnamense and X. selinum leonidii.

The chemical compositions of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from leaves and stems of Xyloselinum vietnamense and X. leonidii, two new species belonging to the family Apiaceae, were analyzed by GC-MS. The major components in both species were sabinene, alpha- and beta-pinene, myrcene, beta-phellandrene, (Z)-beta-ocimene, and terpinen-4-ol.

A novel transport and delivery mechanism underpins the effectiveness of prolyl-m-sarcolysyl-p-fluorophenylalanine (PSF) in a human melanoma xenograft nude-mouse model.

The alkylating peptide PSF shows very promising results in vitro on different cancer cells but its efficacy in animals has not been assessed. Here we evaluate the efficacy of PSF in human melanoma-bearing nude mice and examine the underlying mechanism. In melanoma-bearing nude mice, escalating doses of PSF showed dose-dependent responses and reached tumor regression with an optimal dose of 20 mg/kg for 1 month.

Fetal cells of mesenchymal origin in cultures derived from synovial tissue and skin of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The transplacental cell transfer naturally takes place during pregnancy and occurs bi-directionally between the mother and fetus. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and sex determining region Y (SRY) gene as a marker, we examined the presence of male fetal cells in cell cultures derived from synovial tissues and skin dermis in women with prior pregnancy history suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who underwent synovectomy. Male DNA was detected in synovial cell samples derived from carpal, hip, metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints in five out of 13 (38.

Does clinical and radiological response predict complete tumor control in N2-N3 squamous cell head and neck cancer after non-operative management of the neck?

Conclusion: A complete clinical and radiological response observed following chemotherapy and radiotherapy is not predictive of the absence of residual disease. Moreover, salvage neck surgery does not always seem to be an effective strategy. Consequently, early neck dissection should be advised for patients with complete clinical and radiological response (CCRR) after chemoradiotherapy for tumors with N2-N3 disease.

Frequency of anti-hsp60, -65 and -70 antibodies in sera of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Cross-reactivity between microbial and human heat shock proteins (hsps) led to the concept that hsp might be involved in the etiopathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. We investigated antibodies to recombinant human hsp60, recombinant Mycobacterium bovis hsp65 and to stress-inducible recombinant human hsp70 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in sera of 209 juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients and 50 healthy controls. Anti-hsp60 antibodies did not exceed the control level in any JIA patient.