Illness perception and perceived benefits of illness among persons with type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Illness perception is assigned an increasing role in the control of chronic disease. This study examines illness perception and perceived benefits related to illness in persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus. We used quantitative and qualitative methods for a more in-depth analysis. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The participants (N = 110; mean age: 31.52 years; 80.9% women) completed online questionnaires: the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), the perceived benefits subscale of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze patients' responses to an open-ended question regarding perceived benefits. RESULTS: Perceived benefits score was positively correlated with personal (ρ = .20) and treatment control: life-style (ρ = .25) and coherence (ρ = .22). Negative correlations were noted between B-IPQ total score (ρ = -.30), concern (ρ = -.30), depression (ρ = -.35), anxiety (ρ = -.32) and irritability (ρ = -.19). 52.7% of participants reported at least one benefit of having type 1 diabetes. Patients who reported at least one benefit had statistically significantly higher scores in the perceived benefits subscale (p < .001), personal control (p = .005) and treatment control (p = .030) and lower scores in consequences (p = .023), identity (p = .045), concern (p < .001), emotional response (p < .001), and illness perception total score (p < .001) than those who did not report any benefit. IPA revealed four main themes: personal benefits, health-related benefits, social contacts and economic benefits. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that in patients with type 1 diabetes perceived disease benefits are closely related to more positive illness perception and lower levels of depression, anxiety and irritability. The findings suggest that addressing potential benefits related to illness may influence the emotional state.

Texture or Linker? Competitive Patterning of Receptor Assembly toward Ultra-Sensitive Impedimetric Detection of Viral Species at Gold-Nanotextured Titanium Surfaces.

In this work, we study the electrodes with a periodic matrix of gold particles pattered by titanium dimples and modified by 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) followed by CD147 receptor grafting for specific impedimetric detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral spike proteins. The synergistic DFT and MM/MD modeling revealed that MPA adsorption geometries on the Au-Ti surface have preferential and stronger binding patterns through the carboxyl bond inducing an enhanced surface coverage with CD147. Control of bonding at the surface is essential for oriented receptor assembling and boosted sensitivity. The complex Au-Ti electrode texture along with optimized MPA concentration is a crucial parameter, enabling to reach the detection limit of ca. 3 ng mL-1. Scanning electrochemical microscopy imaging and quantum molecular modeling were performed to understand the electrochemical performance and specific assembly of MPA displaying a free stereo orientation and not disturbed by direct interactions with closely adjacent receptors. This significantly limits nonspecific interceptor reactions, strongly decreasing the detection of receptor-binding domain proteins by saturation of binding groups. This method has been demonstrated for detecting the SARS virus but can generally be applied to a variety of protein-antigen systems. Moreover, the raster of the pattern can be tuned using various anodizing processes at the titania surfaces.

Influence of Annealing Atmospheres on Photoelectrochemical Activity of TiO2 Nanotubes Modified with AuCu Nanoparticles.

In this article, we studied the annealing process of AuCu layers deposited on TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) conducted in various atmospheres such as air, vacuum, argon, and hydrogen in order to obtain materials active in both visible and UV-vis ranges. The material fabrication route covers the electrochemical anodization of a Ti plate, followed by thin AuCu film magnetron sputtering and further thermal treatment. Scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the presence of spherical nanoparticles (NPs) formed on the external and internal walls of NTs. The optical and structural properties were characterized using UV-vis, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. It was proved that thermal processing under the argon atmosphere leads to the formation of a CuAuTi alloy in contrast to materials fabricated in air, vacuum, and hydrogen. The electrochemical measurements were carried out in NaOH using cyclic voltammetry, linear voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. The highest photoactivity was achieved for materials thermally treated in the argon atmosphere. In addition, the Mott-Schottky analysis was performed for bare TiO2 NTs and TiO2 NTs modified with gold copper NPs indicating a shift in the flatband potential. Overall, thermal processing resulted in changes in optical and structural properties as well as electrochemical and photoelectrochemical activities.

Enzyme Immobilization on Gold Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Glucose Biosensors.

More than 50 years have passed since Clark and Lyon developed the concept of glucose biosensors. Extensive research about biosensors has been carried out up to this day, and an exponential trend in this topic can be observed. The scope of this review is to present various enzyme immobilization methods on gold nanoparticles used for glucose sensing over the past five years. This work covers covalent bonding, adsorption, cross-linking, entrapment, and self-assembled monolayer methods. The experimental approach of each modification as well as further results are described. Designated values of sensitivity, the limit of detection, and linear range are used for the comparison of immobilization techniques.

Corrosion Inhibition Mechanism and Efficiency Differentiation of Dihydroxybenzene Isomers Towards Aluminum Alloy 5754 in Alkaline Media.

The selection of efficient corrosion inhibitors requires detailed knowledge regarding the interaction mechanism, which depends on the type and amount of functional groups within the inhibitor molecule. The position of functional groups between different isomers is often overlooked, but is no less important, since factors like steric hinderance may significantly affect the adsorption mechanism. In this study, we have presented how different dihydroxybenzene isomers interact with aluminum alloy 5754 surface, reducing its corrosion rate in bicarbonate buffer (pH = 11). We show that the highest inhibition efficiency among tested compounds belongs to catechol at 10 mM concentration, although the differences were moderate. Utilization of novel impedance approach to adsorption isotherm determination made it possible to confirm that while resorcinol chemisorbs on aluminum surface, catechol and quinol follows the ligand exchange model of adsorption. Unlike catechol and quinol, the protection mechanism of resorcinol is bound to interaction with insoluble aluminum corrosion products layer and was only found efficient at concentration of 100 mM (98.7%). The aforementioned studies were confirmed with Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analyses. There is a significant increase in the corrosion resistance offered by catechol at 10 mM after 24 h exposure in electrolyte: from 63 to 98%, with only negligible changes in inhibitor efficiency observed for resorcinol at the same time. However, in the case of resorcinol a change in electrolyte color was observed. We have revealed that the differentiating factor is the keto-enol tautomerism. The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies of resorcinol indicate the keto form in structure in presence of NaOH, while the chemical structure of catechol does not change significantly in alkaline environment.