We investigated potential nosocomial aerosol transmission of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) with droplet precautions. During aerosol generating procedures, SFTSV was be transmitted from person to person through aerosols. Thus, airborne precautions should be added to standard precautions to avoid direct contact and droplet transmission.

The effects of polymer substrates on the interfacial structure and the thermal stability of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films were investigated. The GZO thin films were deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates by rf-magnetron sputtering at room temperature, and thermal stability tests of the GZO thin films on the polymer substrates were performed at 150°C up to 8 h in air. Electrical and structural characterizations of the GZO thin films on the PET and the PEN substrates were carried out, and the origins of the stable interfacial structure and the improved thermal stability of the GZO thin film on the PEN substrate were discussed.

We present 663 QSO candidates in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) that were selected using multiple diagnostics. We started with a set of 2,566 QSO candidates selected using the methodology presented in our previous work based on time variability of the MACHO LMC light curves. We then obtained additional information for the candidates by cross-matching them with the Spitzer SAGE, the 2MASS, the Chandra, the XMM, and an LMC UBVI catalogues. Using that information, we specified diagnostic features based on mid-IR colours, photometric redshifts using SED template fitting, and X-ray luminosities, in order to discriminate more high-confidence QSO candidates in the absence of spectral information. We then trained a one-class Support Vector Machine model using those diagnostics features. We applied the trained model to the original candidates, and finally selected 663 high-confidence QSO candidates. We cross-matched those 663 QSO candidates with 152 newly-confirmed QSOs and 275 non-QSOs in the LMC fields, and found that the false positive rate was less than 1%.

We present a new photometric reduction method for precise time-series photometry of non-crowded fields that does not need to involve relatively complicated and CPU intensive techniques such as point-spread-function (PSF) fitting or difference image analysis. This method, which combines multi-aperture index photometry and a spatio-temporal de-trending algorithm, gives much superior performance in data recovery and light-curve precision. In practice, the brutal filtering that is often applied to remove outlying data points can result in the loss of vital data, with seriously negative impacts on short-term variations such as flares. Our method utilizes nearly 100% of available data and reduces the rms scatter to several times smaller than that for archived light curves for brighter stars. We outline the details of our new method, and apply it to cases of sample data from the MMT survey of the M37 field, and the HAT-South survey.

Given the importance of dietary antioxidants in reducing the risks of chronic diseases, the present study aimed to estimate the intake of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) from diet and dietary supplements of US adults. We utilised the US Department of Agriculture flavonoid and proanthocyanidin databases, dietary supplement data and food consumption data of 4391 US adults aged 19+ years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2. In order to convert the intake data of individual antioxidant compounds to TAC values, the vitamin C equivalent (VCE) of forty-three antioxidant nutrients measured previously was also applied. Daily TAC averaged 503·3 mg VCE/d (approximately 75 % from diet and 25 % from supplements). The energy-adjusted daily TAC level from diet and supplements was higher in women (except for carotenoids), older adults, Caucasian (except for carotenoids), non-alcohol consumers (for vitamin E and proanthocyanidins), subjects with higher income (except for carotenoids) and higher exercise levels than their counterparts (P < 0·05). TAC was positively associated with daily consumption of fruits and fruit juices, vegetables and vegetable products, beverages, wines and teas (P < 0·001). Teas, dietary supplements, and fruits and fruit juices were the major sources of dietary TAC of the US population (28, 25 and 17 %, respectively), while the contribution of vegetables and vegetable products to TAC was minimal ( < 2 %). The present study indicates that antioxidant intake from various diet and supplements contributes to TAC status. TAC levels are different in sociodemographic subgroups of the US population. The relationship between TAC intake and risks of chronic disease warrants further investigation.

We evaluated the effects of the two main kiwifruit cultivars (gold kiwifruit (GOK) and green kiwifruit (GRK)) and their active phenolic compound, quercetin, on H2O2-induced inhibition of gap-junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells. We found that both GOK and GRK protect WB-F344 cells from H2O2-induced inhibition of GJIC. The extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2)–connexin 43 (Cx43) signalling pathway is crucial for the regulation of GJIC, and both GOK and GRK blocked the H2O2-induced phosphorylation of Cx43 and ERK1/2 in WB-F344 cells. Quercetin alone attenuated the H2O2-mediated ERK1/2–Cx43 signalling pathway and consequently reversed H2O2-mediated inhibition of GJIC in WB-F344 cells. A free radical-scavenging assay using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl showed that the scavenging activity of quercetin was higher than that of a synthetic antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene, per mol, suggesting that the chemopreventive effect of quercetin on H2O2-mediated inhibition of ERK1/2–Cx43 signalling and GJIC may be mediated through its free radical-scavenging activity. Since the carcinogenicity of reactive oxygen species such as H2O2 is attributable to the inhibition of GJIC, GOK, GRK and quercetin may have chemopreventive potential by preventing the inhibition of GJIC.

In this paper, an approach to modelling of a robotic assembly cell is proposed and a method for managing the cell operation is described using a knowledge base. Since the modelling structure is based on the concept of the state variable, the relationships between states are described by the state transition map (STM). The knowledge-bases for state transition and assembly job information are obtained from the STM and the assembly job tree (AJT), respectively. Using the knowledge-base, the System structure is discussed in relation to both managing the cell operation and evaluating the performances. Finally, a simulation algorithm is presented with the simulation results to show the significance of the proposed modelling approach.

We present an algorithm for the removal of trends in time series data. The trends could be caused by various systematic and random noise sources such as cloud passages, change of airmass or CCD noise. In order to determine the trends, we select template stars based on a hierarchical clustering algorithm. The hierarchy tree is constructed using the similarity matrix of light curves of stars whose elements are the Pearson correlation values. A new bottom-up merging algorithm is developed to extract clusters of template stars that are highly correlated among themselves, and may thus be used to identify the trends. We then use the multiple linear regression method to de-trend all individual light curves based on these determined trends. Experimental results with simulated light curves which contain artificial trends and events are presented. We also applied our algorithm to TAOS (Taiwan-American Occultation Survey) wide field data observed with a 0.5m f/1.9 telescope equipped with 2k by 2k CCD. With our approach, we successfully removed trends and increased signal to noise in TAOS light curves.

In this study, protein micropatterns were created on the surface of three-dimensional hydrogel microstructures. Poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)-based hydrogel microstructures were fabricated on a glass substrate using a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) replica as a molding insert and photolithography. The lateral dimension and height of the hydrogel microstructures were easily controlled by the feature size of the photomask and depth of the PDMS replica, respectively. Bovine serum albumin (BSA), a model protein, was covalently immobilized to the surface of the hydrogel microstructure via a 5-azidonitrobenzoyloxy N-hydroxysuccinimide bifunctional linker, which has a phenyl azide group and a protein-binding N-hydroxysuccinimide group on either end. The immobilization of BSA on the PEG hydrogel surface was demonstrated with XPS by confirming the formation of a new nitrogen peak, and the selective immobilization of fluorescent-labeled BSA on the outer region of the three-dimensional hydrogel micropattern was demonstrated by fluorescence. A hydrogel microstructure could immobilize two different enzymes separately, and sequential bienzymatic reaction was demonstrated by reacting glucose and Amplex Red with a hydrogel microstructure where glucose oxidase was immobilized on the surface and peroxidase was encapsulated.

The syntxhesis, photo-physics, and electroluminescence of new types of Iridium(III)-encapsulated dendrimers are described. Thus, four different iridium complexes [Ir(III)(C^N)2(LX), Blue-DCBP, Green-DCBP, Yellow-DCBP, and Red-DCBP] with ancillary ligand tethered to the CBP dendritic unit were synthesized and investigated for their photo-physical properties. A large enhancement in electroluminescence performance was observed by using these dendrimers as host/dopant hybrid materials in layered emitting diodes. In particular, host/dopant ratio can be systematically adjusted by varying dendritic generations. These results demonstrate that new Ir(III)-encapsulated dendrimers can be used as potential single-layer materials for organic light emitting diodes. Large difference in the intra-molecular charge transfer phosphorescence quantum yields and electroluminescence effiencies were observed among dendriritic generations.

Carbosilane dendrimers adorned with either triarylamine or carbazole units in their periphery exhibit novel electrochemical behavior in which the electrochemical deposition is controlled by dendrite generation. In addition, the deposited layers remained intact in the depositing solvent, methylene chloride, allowing a second layer to be deposited on top of the first layer. We have sought to establish the suitability of this electrochemical deposition technique for use in the construction of multi-layer OLEDs, which cannot be fabricated via conventional spin-coating with a polymeric precursor. Thus, the electrochemical deposition-based process could potentially offer an ideal combination of deposition control on the one hand and multi-layer fabrication on the other. We report herein the novel electrochemical deposition behavior of arylamine or carbazole end-capped carbosilane dendrimers of the type GnNPB or GnCBP (n = 1-4) and their use for the formation of multi-layer devices for OLEDs.

The structural properties of GaN epitaxial layers grown on patterned sapphire substrates by MOCVD have been investigated using HRXRD(high-resolution X-ray diffraction), GIXRD(grazing incidence X-ray diffraction) and PL(photoluminescence). For X-ray characterizations rocking curves for GaN (10·5), (00·2), (11·4) and (11·0) reflections for which incidence angles of X-rays are 32.0°, 17.3°, 11.0° and 0.34°, respectively, were measured. For (10·5), (00·2) and (11·4) reflections FWHMs of the rocking curves for a patterned substrate were broader than those for a unpatterned substrate, for (11·0) reflection, however, FWHM for a patterned substrate was much narrower than that for a unpatterned substrate. The normalized FWHM for all reflections decreases as the incidence angle of X-ray decreases. The results indicate that the crystalline quality in the surface region of the epilayer on a patterned substrate was especially improved because the penetration depth of X-ray depends on the incidence angle. The intensity of PL peak of the epilayer for a patterned substrate increased compared to that for a unpatterned substrate, and the increase in PL intensity is attributed to the reduction in dislocation density at the surface region revealed the by X-ray results.

The stability of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) has become one of the most vital issues in this area of research. In this report, we investigated the stability of rubber stamp printed OTFTs. The electrical properties such as saturation field effect mobility, threshold voltage and on/off current ratio change significantly in ambient air condition. In order to analyze the degradation of the device, transistors were measured in vacuum, dry N2 and air environment as a function of time. In vacuum and dry N2 atmosphere, saturation field effect mobility and threshold voltage variations are relatively small compared to those measured in ambient condition.

To realize an air stable device, we applied a passivation layer which protects the device from oxygen or water molecules which is believed to be the source of the degradation. With the passivation layer, the threshold voltage shift was reduced suggesting that a proper passivation layer is a prerequisite in organic-based electronics.