The development of nanodevices that exploit the unique properties of nanoparticles will require high-speed methods for patterning surfaces with nanoparticles over large areas and with high resolution. Moreover, the technique will need to work with both conducting and non-conducting surfaces. Here we report an ion-induced parallel-focusing approach that satisfies all requirements. Charged monodisperse aerosol nanoparticles are deposited onto a surface patterned with a photoresist while ions of the same polarity are introduced into the deposition chamber in the presence of an applied electric field. The ions accumulate on the photoresist, modifying the applied field to produce nanoscopic electrostatic lenses that focus the nanoparticles onto the exposed parts of the surface. We have demonstrated that the technique could produce high-resolution patterns at high speed on both conducting (p-type silicon) and non-conducting (silica) surfaces. Moreover, the feature sizes in the nanoparticle patterns were significantly smaller than those in the original photoresist pattern.

APRI and FIB4 might be useful noninvasive hepatic fibrosis scores for predicting hepatic fibrosis in children with NAFLD.

BackgroundIron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are common nutritional disorders in children. Hepcidin, a peptide hormone produced in the liver, is a central regulator of systemic iron metabolism. We evaluated whether serum hepcidin levels can diagnose ID in children.MethodsSera from 59 children (23 males and 36 females; 5 months to 17 years) were analyzed for hepcidin-25 by ELISA. Patients were classified according to hemoglobin level and iron parameters as: IDA, (N=17), ID (N=18), and control (N=24).ResultsSerum hepcidin, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), transferrin saturation, and hemoglobin levels differed significantly between groups (P<0.0001). Serum hepcidin and ferritin levels (mean±SD) were 2.01±2.30 and 7.00±7.86, 7.72±8.03 and 29.35±24.01, 16.71±14.74 and 46.40±43.57 ng/mL in the IDA, ID, and control groups, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for serum hepcidin as a predictor of ID was 0.852 (95% CI, 0.755-0.950). Hepcidin ≤6.895 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 79.2% and specificity of 82.8% for the diagnosis of ID. Serum hepcidin levels were significantly correlated with ferritin, transferrin saturation, and hemoglobin levels and significantly negatively correlated with sTfR level and total iron binding capacity (P<0.0001).ConclusionSerum hepcidin levels are significantly associated with iron status and can be a useful indicator of ID. Further studies are necessary to validate these findings and determine a reliable cutoff value in children.

Intrahepatic shunts may close spontaneously. Transcatheter embolization is effective for the treatment of symptomatic intrahepatic shunts.

Nanoparticle decoration on carbon nanotubes was employed to modulate their electrical conductance and thermopower and thereby improved the thermoelectric power factor. Nanotubes were made into films by spraying nanotube solutions on glass substrates, and then the films were immersed in different concentrations of CuSO(4) or HAuCl(4) solutions for various time periods. Copper ions in the solutions were reduced on nanotubes by obtaining electrons from zinc electrodes, whose reduction potential is lower than that of copper (galvanic displacement). Gold ions were reduced on nanotubes by both silver counter electrodes and spontaneous reaction due to larger reduction potentials than those of nanotubes. These reactions made electrons donated to (copper incorporation) or withdrawn from (gold incorporation) nanotubes depending on the difference in their work functions and reduction potentials, resulting in considerable changes in electron transport. In this paper, a series of experiments at different ion concentrations and reaction time periods were systematically performed in order to find optimum nanoparticle formation conditions and corresponding electronic transport changes for better thermoelectric power factor. Transport measurement results show that electronic properties can be considerably altered and modulated, resulting in 2-fold improvement in the thermoelectric power factor with 1 mM/30 min reaction. Reactions with solutions of a low metal ion concentration, such as 1 mM, yielded well-distributed small particles over large surface areas, which strongly affected electron transfer between nanoparticles and nanotubes. Successive copper and gold decorations on nanotubes made electrical conductance (or thermopower) serially decreased and increased (or increased and decreased) upon precipitating different metal particles. This transport behavior is believed to be from the changes in the Fermi level as a result of electron exchanges between reduced metals and nanotubes. Thermopower improvement after copper decoration can be attributed to the enlarged gap between the Fermi level and the mean of differential electrical conductivity. Such behaviors often appear when the Fermi level is shifted toward the spike-shape density of states in nanotubes due to anisotropic differential electrical conductivity. Finally, this study demonstrates that the thermoelectric power factor can be considerably increased by properly locating the Fermi level of carbon nanotubes with nanoparticles, providing promising opportunities of developing efficient organic thermoelectric materials as well as various electronic materials of desired properties.

PurposeThe aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical features and outcome of eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) in children.MethodsOur study enrolled 24 children who were diagnosed with EGE from 1993 to 2014 at the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Children's Hospital. The patients' clinical manifestations, treatments, and outcomes were reviewed from the medical records.ResultsThe mean age at diagnosis was 5.3 years. Most patients had gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea (54.2%) and abdominal pain (45.8%). Peripheral eosinophilia was present in 91.7% of the patients. Thirteen patients (54.2%) showed anemia, and 15 patients (62.5%) had hypoalbuminemia. EGE was classified as mucosal, subserosal, or muscular in 75.0%, 20.8%, and 4.2% of cases, respectively. Three patients showed gastroduodenal ulcers upon endoscopic analysis. A history of allergy was reported in 13 patients, including atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma. Five patients (20.8%) improved with food restrictions. Among the 19 patients treated with steroids, 11 (57.9%) discontinued steroid treatment without subsequent relapse, 4 (21.1%) relapsed after ceasing steroid treatment, and 4 (21.1%) showed no response to steroids. Two patients who were resistant to steroids underwent therapeutic surgery. The presence of gastroduodenal ulcers was significantly associated with relapse and steroid resistance.ConclusionA high suspicion of EGE is warranted when children have nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms and peripheral eosinophilia. Most patients improved with food restrictions or steroid treatment, although one-third of patients showed a relapse or steroid resistance.

The molecular mechanisms that underlie the detrimental effects of particulate matter (PM) on skin barrier function are poorly understood. In this study, the effects of PM2.5 on filaggrin (FLG) and skin barrier function were investigated in vitro and in vivo. The levels of FLG degradation products including pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, urocanic acid (UCA), and cis/trans UCA were significantly decreased in skin tape stripping samples of study subjects when they moved from Denver, an area with low PM2.5, to Seoul, an area with high PM2.5 count. Experimentally, PM2.5 collected in Seoul inhibited FLG, loricrin, keratin-1, desmocollin-1, and corneodesmosin, but did not modulate involucrin or claudin-1 in keratinocyte cultures. Moreover, FLG protein expression was inhibited in human skin equivalents and murine skin treated with PM2.5. We demonstrate that this process was mediated by PM2.5-induced TNF-alpha and was aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent. PM2.5 exposure compromised skin barrier function, resulting in increased transepidermal water loss and enhanced the penetration of FITC-dextran in organotypic and mouse skin. PM2.5-induced TNF-alpha causes FLG deficiency in the skin and subsequently induces skin barrier dysfunction. Compromised skin barrier due to PM2.5 exposure may contribute to the development and the exacerbation of allergic diseases such as AD.

Obesity and older age are associated with development of NASH. Type 2 NASH is the most common form and associated with a greater severity of obesity and advanced fibrosis.