Multicolor ZnO quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized and further modified with hydrophobic hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDS) and then hydrophilic aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) bilayers, resulting in amine-functionalized ZnO@HDS@APS nanocomposites with tunable fluorescence from blue to green yellow. Systematic investigations verify that the resulting ZnO@HDS@APS could display extremely high stabi...

We performed a series of laboratory experiments to investigate the interactions of a turbulent wave boundary layer with a predominantly silt-size sediment bed. Quasi-steady, turbulent, highdensity suspensions (HDS) formed over a wide range of wave conditions and had near-bed (;1 mm above bed) concentrations ranging from 17 to 81 g/l scaling roughly with the wave orbital velocity. HDS were defin...

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameters (DNA fragmentation index [DFI] and high DNA stainability [HDS]), and conventional IVF and IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes. DESIGN Retrospective review and prospective study. SETTING Private IVF clinic. PATIENT(S) Two hundred forty-nine couples undergoing first IVF and/or ...

High dose steroids (HDS) are used in the treatment of haematological malignancies. The reported risk of steroid-induced diabetes (SID) is high. However, screening is not consistently performed. We implemented a protocol for detection and management of SID and steroid-induced hyperglycamia (SIH) in haematology outpatients receiving HDS. Eighty-three people were diagnosed with a lymphoproliferati...

BACKGROUND High-dose steroid therapy has been proven effective in AIDS-related Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) but not in non-AIDS-related cases. We evaluated the effects on survival of steroids in HIV-negative patients with PCP. METHODS Retrospective study patients admitted to the ICU with hypoxemic PCP. We compared patients receiving HDS (≥1 mg/Kg/day prednisone equivalent), low-dose steroids ...

INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TB) requires at least six months of multidrug treatment and necessitates monitoring for response to treatment. Historically, public health departments (HDs) have cared for most TB patients in the United States. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides coverage for uninsured persons and may increase the proportion of TB patients cared for by private medical providers and...

BACKGROUND Heavy drinking smokers (HDS) have more difficulty quitting smoking than lighter drinkers or abstainers. The opioid antagonist naltrexone may improve smoking quit rates and reduce alcohol use in drinker-smokers, but its relative efficacy in smokers with a range of drinking patterns is unknown. The current study tested the hypothesis that HDS would show differential benefit of naltrexo...

Intact, viable sheets of adult rabbit corneal epithelium, 9 mm in diameter, were prepared by the Dispase II method (Gipson, I. K., and S. M. Grill, 1982, Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 23:269-273). The sheets, freed of the basal lamina, retained their desmosomes and stratified epithelial characteristics, but lacked hemidesmosomes (HD). Epithelial sheets were placed on fresh segments of corneal s...

BACKGROUND Traditional knowledge about the use of medicinal plants for herbal drinks (HDs) is not well documented in the Azad Kashmir region despite their widespread use. This study highlights the taxonomic diversity and traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used for HDs while examining the diversity of diseases treated with HDs in the study area. METHODS Individual discussions were condu...

The cost-effectiveness of three alternative policies for the use of intravenous contrast media for urography and enhanced computerized tomography (CT) are analyzed. Alternative #1 is to use high osmolar contrast media (HOCM) in all patients, the historical policy. Alternative #2 is to replace it with low osmolar contrast media (LOCM) in all patients. Alternative #3 is to use LOCM only in the hi...