Comparative Study of Post-Surgical Outcomes in Pain, Disability, and Health-Related Quality of Life for Adult Spinal Deformity in Patients Aged above and below 75 Years.

(1) Background: Adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery is known to improve clinical and radiological parameters; however, it may also cause more complications in elderly patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of ASD surgery, specifically regarding pain, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients aged 75 years and over and patients aged under 75 years; (2) Methods: A total of 151 patients who underwent ASD surgery between August 2014 and September 2020 were included. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they are 75 years and over or under.

Electrochemically active hydroquinone-based redox mediator for flexible energy storage system with improved charge storing ability.

Electrochemically active redox mediators have been widely investigated in energy conversion/storage system to improve overall catalytic activities and energy storing ability by inducing favorable surface redox reactions. However, the enhancement of electrochemical activity from the utilization of redox mediators (RMs) is only confirmed through theoretical computation and laboratory-scale experiment. The use of RMs for practical, wearable, and flexible applications has been scarcely researched.

Experimental and Computational Studies of the Structure of CdSe Magic-Size Clusters.

Experimental and computational studies of resonant Raman spectra of truly monosized (CdSe) and (CdSe) nanoclusters have been performed. First-principles calculations of vibrations are performed to account for the peculiarity of the spectrum and resonant Raman selection rules. The calculation method is based on the analysis of the spatial distribution of the electron density in the ground and excited states and the corresponding displacement of atoms after the electronic transition.

Selection and Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus through a Human Synthetic Fab Phage Display Library Panning.

Since its first report in the Middle East in 2012, the Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has become a global concern due to the high morbidity and mortality of individuals infected with the virus. Although the majority of MERS-CoV cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, the overall risk in areas outside the Middle East remains significant as inside Saudi Arabia. Additional pandemics of MERS-CoV are expected, and thus novel tools and reagents for therapy and diagnosis are urgently needed.

Size-selective synthesis of ultrasmall hydrophilic CdSe nanoparticles in aqueous solution at room temperature.

Hydrophilic semiconductor nanoparticles are very attractive for various biological applications, such as in optical sensing, tracing, and imaging of biological molecules-of-interest, because of their broad excitation wavelength, tunable emission wavelength, strong photoluminescence, and relatively high stability against photobleaching and chemicals. Compared to organic phase synthesis and subsequent surface modification, aqueous phase synthesis approaches provide multiple advantages for obtaining hydrophilic semiconductor nanoparticles. Here, we describe methods for the size-selective growth and stabilization of ultrasmall hydrophilic CdSe nanoparticles in aqueous solution at room temperature by using amino acid cysteine or one of its derivatives as a surface capping agent.

Preparation of concentrated colloids of gold core-silica shell nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

Encapsulation of gold nanoparticles within a silica shell is highly beneficial to the preparation of highly concentrated gold nanoparticles that can strongly absorb X-ray and hence be used as an X-ray contrast agent. This chapter describes a method for preparing highly concentrated colloidal gold nanoparticles suitable for an X-ray contrast agent application. It describes specific details of procedures for preparing spherical gold nanoparticles, forming thin silica shell on each gold nanoparticle, and enriching the silica-encapsulated gold nanoparticles.

Fabrication of functionalized double-lamellar multifunctional envelope-type nanodevices using a microfluidic chip with a chaotic mixer array.

Multifunctional envelope-type nanodevices (MENDs) are very promising non-viral gene delivery vectors because they are biocompatible and enable programmed packaging of various functional elements into an individual nanostructured liposome. Conventionally MENDs have been fabricated by complicated, labor-intensive, time-consuming bulk batch methods. To avoid these problems in MEND fabrication, we adopted a microfluidic chip with a chaotic mixer array on the floor of its reaction channel.

Aqueous phase synthesized CdSe magic-sized clusters: solution composition dependence of adsorption layer structure.

We report dispersion solution composition dependence of the adsorption layer structure and the physical and optical properties of aqueous phase-synthesized semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs). We synthesized cysteine (Cys)-capped CdSe NPs with well-defined core structures, dispersed them in a series of aqueous solutions with different compositions, and then investigated their adsorption layer structure and physical and optical properties. Each CdSe NP consisted of a (CdSe)33 or (CdSe)34 magic-sized cluster (d - 1.

Size-selective growth and stabilization of small CdSe nanoparticles in aqueous solution.

Using cysteine and its derivatives as capping molecules, we investigated the influence of the physical structure and chemical nature of capping molecules on the selective growth and stabilization of small CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solution at room temperature. Our investigations revealed specific roles for each functional group of cysteine, and we could correlate this structure and nature of the capping molecules with the size, size restriction, size distribution, and stability of the NPs. For selective growth and stabilization of the NPs in aqueous solution, their capping molecules should have at least one functional group with strong nucleophilicity as well as another free, charged functional group.

Cell separation by the combination of microfluidics and optical trapping force on a microchip.

We investigated properties of cells affecting their optical trapping force and successfully established a novel cell separation method based on the combined use of optical trapping force and microfluidics on a microchip. Our investigations reveal that the morphology, size, light absorption, and refractive index of cells are important factors affecting their optical trapping force. A sheath flow of sample solutions created in a microchip made sample cells flow in a narrow linear stream and an optical trap created by a highly focused laser beam captured only target cells and altered their trajectory, resulting in high-efficiency cell separation.

On-chip fabrication of mutifunctional envelope-type nanodevices for gene delivery.

Microfluidic devices may be highly beneficial to the rapid fabrication of small quantities of various nonviral vectors with different functionalities, which is indispensable for effective order-made gene therapy. We adapted a microfluidic chip-based approach for fabricating small quantities of nonviral vectors in a short time in preparation for order-made gene therapy applications. This approach permitted us to fabricate multifunctional envelope-type nanodevices (MENDs), composed of a compacted (or condensed) DNA core and a lipid bilayer membrane shell, which are considered as promising nonviral vectors for gene therapy applications.

Silicon subiodide clusters.

Silicon subiodide clusters (Si(n)I(m), n = 1-20) produced by laser ablation of bulk powder silicone tetraiodide have been investigated by time-of-flight mass spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Both experimental results and theoretical calculations revealed a tendency to form different structures of the clusters depending on n: chain, ring, and cage structures for n < or = 6, 6 < n < 16, and n > or = 16, respectively. The results showed that iodine, like hydrogen, can be used for stable silicon cluster termination.

Aqueous-phase synthesis of ultra-stable small CdSe nanoparticles.

Very stable and small CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized from the aqueous solutions containing L-cysteine (Cys) at room temperature. The Cys-capped CdSe NPs showed a very sharp excitonic peak at 420 nm. Its very small full width at half maximum (18 nm) indicates very high quality of the CdSe NPs.

Concentrated colloids of silica-encapsulated gold nanoparticles: colloidal stability, cytotoxicity, and X-ray absorption.

As an effort to develop a new, effective, nontoxic X-ray contrast agent, the concentrated colloids of silica-encapsulated gold nanoparticles (Au@SiO2 NPs) were fabricated and their colloidal stability, cytotoxicity, and X-ray absorption were investigated. The concentrated colloidal NPs were manufactured by forming a 4 nm-thick silica shell on the surface of each Au NP with 15 nm diameter, followed by enrichment to [Au] = 100 mM. They were very stable in water: the NPs were well separated each other without forming agglomerates and their optical property was very similar to that before enrichment.

X-ray absorption of gold nanoparticles with thin silica shell.

Silica-coated gold (Au) nanoparticles were prepared and their morphological and X-ray absorption properties were investigated. These core-shell type nanoparticles are very stable in aqueous media and may be suitable for an X-ray contrast agent in biological systems. Transmission electron micrographs confirmed well-separated and relatively homogeneous morphology of the nanoparticles in highly concentrated colloids.