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This study examined the association between smart device usage and the 1-year change in refractive error among a representative sample of Hong Kong children and adolescents aged 8-14 years. A total of 1597 participants (49.9% male, mean age 10.9, SD 2.0) who completed both baseline (2017-2018) and 1-year follow-up (2018-2019) eye examinations were included in the present study. The non-cycloplegic auto-refractive error was measured and the average spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was analyzed. The participants also self-reported their smart device usage at baseline. Multivariate regression adjusted for age, sex, baseline SER, parents' short-sightedness, BMI, time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and caregiver-reported socio-economic status showed that, compared with the reference group ( less then 2 h per day on both smartphone and tablet usages), those who spent ≥2 h per day using a smartphone and less then 2 h per day using a tablet had a significantly negative shift in refractive error (1-year change in SER -0.25 vs. -0.09 D, p = 0.01) for the right eye, while the level of significance was marginal (1-year change -0.28 vs. -0.15 D, p = 0.055) for the left eye. To conclude, our data suggested spending at most 2 h per day on both smartphones and tablets.Cervical cancer-preventive behaviors in Korean sexual minority women (SMW) are underexplored. We aimed to assess the differences in cervical cancer screening uptake and completion of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among Korean SMW by sex of their sexual partners. This cross-sectional study used data from the 2017 Korean Sexual Minority Women's Health Study; we included Korean lesbian and bisexual women aged ≥20 years. They were divided into three groups SMW with more than one male sexual partner (male only/both), SMW with only female sexual partners (female-only), or no sexual partner (no partner). Among the 671 participants, 266 (39.6%), 294 (43.8%), and 111 (16.5%) belonged to the male-only/both, female-only, and no partner groups, respectively. Compared to the male-only/both group, the female-only group was significantly less likely to have undergone cervical cancer screening (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.15-0.37) and to have completed HPV vaccinations (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.37-0.91). In conclusion, Korean SMW with only female sexual partners had lower cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination completion rates than SMW who had male sexual partners. More extensive efforts are needed to improve cervical cancer-preventive behaviors among Korean SMW.The catechins derived from green tea possess antioxidant activity and may have a potentially anticancer effect. PTP1B is tyrosine phosphatase that is oxidative stress regulated and is involved with prooncogenic pathways leading to the formation of a.o. breast cancer. Here, we present the effect of selected green tea catechins on enzymatic activity of PTP1B phosphatase and viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. We showed also the computational analysis of the most effective catechin binding with a PTP1B molecule. We observed that epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate may decrease enzymatic activity of PTP1B phosphatase and viability of MCF-7 cells. Conclusions From the tested compounds, epigallocatechin and epigallocatechin gallate were the most effective inhibitors of the MCF-7 cell viability. JNKI-1 Moreover, epigallocatechin was also the strongest inhibitor of PTP1B activity. Computational analysis allows us also to conclude that epigallocatechin is able to interact and bind to PTP1B. Our results suggest also the most predicted binding site to epigallocatechin binding to PTP1B.The friction and wear behavior of coated rubber components is strongly dependent on the substrate properties. This work deals with the impact of the crosslink density, i.e., the hardness of the rubber substrate on the tribological performance of uncoated and coated rubber. The hardness of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is varied altering the sulfur content. Both the uncoated and coated rubber samples are characterized in terms of surface and mechanical properties. Tribological tests comprise the examination of the macroscopic contact area and the temperature in the contact zone. It was found that the functional layer enhances the wear resistance significantly. Apparently, the wear and friction behavior of the coated rubber correlates with the hardness and the bulk properties of the substrate material.Cationic antimicrobial peptides have attracted interest, both as antimicrobial agents and for their ability to increase cell permeability to potentiate other antibiotics. However, toxicity to mammalian cells and complexity have hindered development for clinical use. We present the design and synthesis of very short cationic peptides (3-9 residues) with potential dual bacterial membrane permeation and efflux pump inhibition functionality. Peptides were designed based upon in silico similarity to known active peptides and efflux pump inhibitors. A number of these peptides potentiate the activity of the antibiotic novobiocin against susceptible Escherichia coli and restore antibiotic activity against a multi-drug resistant E. coli strain, despite having minimal or no intrinsic antimicrobial activity. Molecular modelling studies, via docking studies and short molecular dynamics simulations, indicate two potential mechanisms of potentiating activity; increasing antibiotic cell permeation via complexation with novobiocin to enable self-promoted uptake, and binding the E. coli RND efflux pump. These peptides demonstrate potential for restoring the activity of hydrophobic drugs.With the increased scientific interest in green technologies, many researches have been focused on the production of polymeric composites containing naturally occurring reinforcing particles. Apart from increasing mechanical properties, these additions can have a wide range of interesting effects, such as increasing the resistance to bacterial and fungal colonization. In this work, different amounts of two different natural products, namely neem and turmeric, were added to polyethylene to act as a natural antibacterial and antifungal product for food packaging applications. Microscopic and spectroscopic characterization showed that fractions of up to 5% of these products could be dispersed into low-molecular weight polyethylene, while higher amounts could not be properly dispersed and resulted in an inhomogeneous, fragile composite. In vitro testing conducted with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans showed a reduced proliferation of pathogens when compared to the polyethylene references.