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This study presents unmatchedly selective ultranarrowband frequency-selective surfaces (FSSs) for a pioneering external RF front-end (RFFE) filtering solution integrated with diverse beamforming antenna modules. The limitations of current base station filters for 28 GHz are demonstrated, and an inventive approach that extends the boundaries of the filtering block by positioning it outside the RFFE for spatial reinforcement is newly devised. An innovative analysis of narrow-bandpass complementary resonator pairs is introduced, unlocking unprecedented selectivity by addressing the challenging issue of recalcitrant mutual coupling arising from a dispersive field distribution. This spatial methodology extends the frontier by seamlessly integrating field analysis with a mixed coupling theory previously established in the circuit domain. Subsequently, a trailblazing technique is proposed for precise control of coupling balance, utilizing field-manipulating vias to centralize the primary current in the complementary resonator. This approach achieves an average rejection of 60 dB across the stopband, ensuring robust stability for incident angles up to 70°, surpassing previous counterparts. Furthermore, it demonstrates a significantly improved roll-off in the transition band and achieves a remarkable 2.7% bandwidth (BW), comparable to the 850 MHz for the n261 band of 5G NR.

[Display omitted] • Extraction of rare ginsenosides and bioactive compounds was enhanced by CO 2. • CO 2 facilitated hydrolysis of red ginseng marc components. • Sugars, rare ginsenoside, and phenolics were major extracted species. • CO 2 -subH 2 O exhibited 3.5 times higher antioxidant activity than conventional methods. • Reaction pathways for the production of rare ginsenosides were proposed. Subcritical water extraction (SWE) is a high-efficiency and environmentally sustainable technique for extracting bioactive compounds from red ginseng marc (RGM). In this study, CO 2 was introduced into the SWE system as a green catalyst to enhance the extraction efficiency of biologically active compounds from RGM. A wide range of parameters, such as temperature (140–180 °C), pressure (10–20 MPa), and time (10–60 min), were optimized using response surface methodology to maximize the recovery of highly valuable bioactive components, including rare ginsenosides (RGs), total phenolic contents (TPCs), and Maillard reaction products (MRPs), as well as the antioxidant activity of the RGM extract. The extract obtained using CO 2 -assisted SWE (CO 2 -SWE) under the optimal conditions (172 °C, 10 MPa, and 10 min) was enriched in RGs (1.02–2.16 times), TPCs (0.98–4.68 times), and MRPs (1.08–2.20 times) and exhibited enhanced antioxidant activities (1.07–3.50 times) compared with the extracts produced by conventional SWE (N 2 environment) and Soxhlet extraction with H 2 O or 80 vol% ethanol. Thus, CO 2 -SWE is an environmentally friendly and nontoxic technique with considerable potential for use in the pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, and functional food sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pavement texture wavelength and mean texture depth (MTD) of the pavement macrotexture significantly affect functional performance. However, owing to its higher correlation with the wavelength, the Exposed Aggregate Concrete Pavement (EACP) texture was evaluated based on the MTD and exposed aggregate number (EAN) in the same location. The MTD contributes significantly to road surface friction and tire-pavement noise and is vital for anti-sliding and noise reduction. Conventional methods for MTD measurement require considerable human effort when the sample size is large and sensitive to the operator. Furthermore, it is time-consuming to measure the MTD together with the EAN. Recently, image-based estimation has become a new trend, owing to its economy and convenience. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the MTD of the EACP pavement surface texture at an image-based level as an alternative measurement approach simultaneously within the EAN location. Initially, the image acquisition was created based on aerial photography. Subsequently, photogrammetry was used to reconstruct a high-resolution point cloud of the pavement texture. Subsequently, the MTD was estimated analytically from image-based point clouds. Experiments were conducted at over 60 locations in three field tests of the EACP in South Korea. The MTD results showed good agreement and a higher correlation between the image-based and sand-patch test (SPT) methods. The image-based method showed results higher than the SPT with a value of 22%. Therefore, the developed method can be used to estimate the MTD using the established regression equation.

This study presents transmissive reconfigurable intelligent surface (TRIS) unit cells (UCs) with slimmed liquid crystals (LCs), where the effective cell gap is electromagnetically tailored to control the LC using empirically practical voltage values. Prior LC-based transmissive UCs utilize thickened cell gaps at millimeter-wave frequencies due to limited parametric degrees of freedom, aiming for enhanced performance, but this approach is unfavorable in terms of LC controllability. Therefore, a coupled resonator-loaded UC featuring a dumbbell-shaped complementary loop with intrinsically reduced coupling strength is proposed, despite the close proximity due to the slimmed cell gap. Moreover, a cleverly designed asymmetrical topology is proposed, where the resonators are positioned apart from each other in the perpendicular direction of the coupled dominant current. The designed UC achieves a simulated phase tuning range (PTR) of 123° by employing only a single-layered LC with a cell gap of 0.21 mm, which is improved more than two times than that of the previously studied counterpart. In addition, an operating range of 27.9–29 GHz with reasonable loss sustainable for entire range of LC dielectric constant is attained successfully, contrary to previous works where low loss is maintained only for a single tone (ST) frequency.

This letter presents a liquid crystal (LC) tuned resonant series patch array that interpretively emulates simplified unidirectional traveling-wave operation by eliminating the dependency on the undesirably tuned reflection coefficient. The general term for the resonantly excited current of a series-fed topology involving the reflection coefficient is derived. Additionally, a newly defined array factor is introduced, incorporating LC-tuned reconfigurability of constituent unit elements. Furthermore, a unique element spacing that has been rebuffed in broadside arrays due to out-of-phase radiation is selected for improved scanning performance despite a confined phase-tuning range and simplified noniterative analysis. Moreover, the impedance matching procedure that successfully maintains the input matched condition against variations in the LC dielectric constant is established by modifying the slotted coupling topology. It is demonstrated that a significantly enhanced gain of 12.1 dBi and aperture efficiency of 30.1% are achieved at 28.5 GHz compared to previously studied counterparts for which measured results are unavailable, and huge loss is inevitably accompanied by topological limitations.

There has been a lot of basic and clinical research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) over the last 100 years, but its mechanisms and treatments have not been fully clarified. Despite some controversies, the amyloid-beta hypothesis is one of the most widely accepted causes of AD. In this study, we disclose a new amyloid-beta plaque disaggregating agent and an AD brain-targeted delivery system using porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) as a therapeutic nano-platform to overcome AD. We hypothesized that the negatively charged sulfonic acid functional group could disaggregate plaques and construct a chemical library. As a result of the in vitro assay of amyloid plaques and library screening, we confirmed that 6-amino-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANA) showed the highest efficacy for plaque disaggregation as a hit compound. To confirm the targeted delivery of ANA to the AD brain, a nano-platform was created using porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) with ANA loaded into the pore of pSiNPs and biotin-polyethylene glycol (PEG) surface functionalization. The resulting nano-formulation, named Biotin-CaCl2-ANA-pSiNPs (BCAP), delivered a large amount of ANA to the AD brain and ameliorated memory impairment of the AD mouse model through the disaggregation of amyloid plaques in the brain. This study presents a new bioactive small molecule for amyloid plaque disaggregation and its promising therapeutic nano-platform for AD brain-targeted delivery.

The measurement of the angular chirp by misalignment of the stretcher used for chirp pulse amplification (CPA) and optimization of the stretcher were studied. A misalignment in the optical system based on the CPA technique, which expands and compresses pulses using gratings, leads to angular chirps with different propagation directions depending on the wavelength. The angular chirp causes tilted pulse fronts in the near-field and reduces the intensity at the focus. The conventional method of correcting the grating misalignment by measuring the tilted pulse front mainly measures the laser beam after the compressor, and it is difficult to apply it to the measurement of the angular chirp generated by the stretcher. To overcome this, the wavelength of the laser was controlled by installing a slit inside the mode-lock oscillator, and the angular chirp was measured by direct measurement of the direction of the stretcher output according to each wavelength. This method measures the angular chirp in a simple manner without installing an additional light source or complex optical system and can be easily used for general ultrashort high-power lasers based on the CPA technique.

This communication presents an initial disparate deployment of 1-bit hybrid units using p-i-n diodes in transmit reconfigurable intelligent surface (TRIS) combined with a rotated feed source to address the gain limitation of the existing 1-bit TRIS. Two types of hybrid units, with a radiation phase difference of 90° by the delay line, are proposed in this study. The TRIS aperture is divided into two sections based on two different radiation centers by rotated feed, and the hybrid units in each Section are initially configured to implement optimized quasi 2-bit beam collimation in the 0° and 40° for enhanced quantization loss. It is found that the array envelope is higher even in radiation directions other than the optimized directions, despite the initial disparate deployment of each section. Beamforming for –theta direction in the H-plane is only considered for the proof of concept with the smallest size of TRIS aperture. A $16\times16$ ( $7.6\times 7.6\,\,\lambda_{0}$ at 28 GHz) 1-bit hybrid TRIS offers gain enhancement of 0–5.6 dB in −70 ° to −0 ° directions of the array envelope compared with the conventional 1-bit TRIS. The proposed 1-bit hybrid TRIS yields an improved aperture efficiency of 24.4%.

Electric vehicles have attracted the attention of users because they do not burn fossil fuels and emit zero greenhouse gas emissions. Fuel cells have shown their potential to power vehicles as well. The most common fuel cell types as power sources for automobiles are i) Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and ii) Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Normally, the PEMFC is considered main propulsion system. On the other side, the SOFC is generally not considered for propulsion system but considered for auxiliary power unit (APU). In this paper, feedback linearization controller for solid oxide fuel cells is proposed. And the performance of proposed controller is simulated under current disturbances operation condition through Matlab simulation.

We give some natural sufficient conditions for balls in a metric space to have small intersection. Roughly speaking, this happens when the metric space is (i) expanding and (ii) well-spread, and (iii) a certain random variable on the boundary of a ball has a small tail. As applications, we show that the volume of intersection of balls in Hamming, Johnson spaces and symmetric groups decay exponentially as their centers drift apart. To verify condition (iii), we prove some large deviation inequalities ‘on a slice’ for functions with Lipschitz conditions. We then use these estimates on intersection volumes to 1) obtain a sharp lower bound on list-decodability of random q-ary codes, confirming a conjecture of Li and Wootters, and 2) improve the classical bound of Levenshtein from 1971 on constant weight codes by a factor linear in dimension, resolving a problem raised by Jiang and Vardy. Our probabilistic point of view also offers a unified framework to obtain improvements on other Gilbert-Varshamov type bounds, giving conceptually simple and calculation-free proofs for $q$ -ary codes, permutation codes, and spherical codes. Another consequence is a counting result on the number of codes, showing ampleness of large codes.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive malignant tumor. It is difficult to regulate GBM using conventional chemotherapy-based methods due to its anatomical structure specificity, low drug targeting ability, and limited penetration depth capability to reach the tumor interior. Numerous approaches have been proposed to overcome such issues, including nanoparticle-based drug delivery system (DDS) with the development of GBM site targeting and penetration depth enhancing moieties (e.g., peptides, sugars, proteins, etc.). In this study, we prepared four different types of nanoparticles, which are based on porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG), iRGD peptide (well-known cancer targeting peptide), and SIWV tetra-peptide (a recently disclosed GBM-targeting peptide), and analyzed their deep-tumor penetration abilities in cell spheroids, in GBM patient-derived tumoroids, and in GBM xenograft mice. We found that SIWV tetra-peptide significantly enhanced the penetration depth of pSiNPs, and its therapeutic formulation (temozolomide-loaded/SIWV-functionalized pSiNPs) showed a higher anticancer efficacy compared with other formulations. These findings hold great promise for the development of nanotherapeutics and peptide-conjugated drugs for GBM.

[Display omitted] • Recovery of highly bioactive compounds form red ginseng marc using subH 2 O extraction. • 48 wt% extraction yield, which was 2–4 times higher than Soxhlet extraction. • SubH 2 O extract exhibited 3–79 times higher antioxidant activity than Soxhlet. • Total phenolic contents were strongly correlated with the antioxidant activities. • Reaction pathways for transformation of minor ginsenosides were proposed. Red ginseng marc (RGM), a byproduct obtained during manufacturing various ginseng products, which is typically discarded as waste, contains numerous residual bioactive compounds. However, the recovery of bioactive compounds, including transformed ginsenosides, from RGM using conventional extraction techniques is difficult. In this study, subcritical water was used for a quick and high-yield extraction of the bioactive compounds in RGM. Furthermore, the chemical species and antioxidant activities of the extracts were analyzed. Extraction was performed in the temperature range and duration of 140–200 °C and 15–90 min, respectively, to determine the optimal conditions for achieving the highest extraction yield and bioactivity. Under the optimized conditions (200 °C and 15 min), an extraction yield of 48 wt% was achieved, which was 1.8 and 4.1 times higher than those achieved via Soxhlet extraction with water and 80% ethanol, respectively (8 h). In addition, the antioxidant activity of the subcritical water extract was 2.7–78.7 times and 2.8–9.8 times higher than those of the extracts obtained using the Soxhlet method with water and 80% ethanol, respectively. The total ginsenoside content of the extract was 30 mg/g, and G-Rf, a transformed ginsenoside, was the primary component of the extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Bi@C was synthesized via supercritical acetone technique. • Dual role of acetone acting as a reaction media and carbon source was presented. • Albumen-like C-coating onto yolk-like Bi nanoparticles formed toad egg morphology. • DEGDME/EC electrolyte alleviated SEI resistivity and improved capacity retention. • High attained reversibility of 337 mAh g−1 and volumetric capacity of 870 mAh cm−3. A toad egg-inspired structure comprising bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles (NPs) contained in a carbon microrod shell (Bi@C) was synthesized via the one-pot supercritical acetone (scAct) route and subsequent carbonization. During the formation of Bi NPs in scAct in the presence of nitric acid, a few decomposed acetone molecules acted as carbon sources, which generated an albumen-like N-doped carbon microrod with an average shell thickness of 38 nm and were embedded with yolk-like Bi NPs having size in the range of 30–200 nm. The densely packed Bi NPs inside the carbon micron shell resulted in a high Bi loading of 78 wt%. When utilized for Li storage, the Bi@C delivered a high reversible capacity of 337 mAh g−1 after 70 cycles at 0.05 A g−1, long-term cyclability of 0.04 decay per cycle for 1000 cycles at 1 A g−1, and high volumetric energy density of 870 mAh cm−3. The use of a mixed ether- and ester-based electrolyte in the Bi@C cell reduced the resistivity and increased the capacitive contribution, thereby resulting in a better high-rate performance and long-term stability than those obtained using conventional ester-based electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the results of experiments regarding the chemical repositioning of 4‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐1‐piperazine ethane sulfonic acid (HEPES), a representative buffering agent. In this work, we confirmed that HEPEScould disaggregate amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and we verified its sustained‐release system (release for up to 2 weeks) via hybridization with a biocompatible polymer (Eudragit S100). A chemical repositioning of 4‐[2‐hydroxyethyl]‐1‐piperazine ethane sulfonic acid (HEPES) as an amyloid‐beta (Aβ) plaque disaggregating agent and its sustained‐release system were reported.

• Corrosion of materials from HFO-1234ze(E) refrigerant exposure was studied. • Scale layer formation and C and F penetration were observed in SS304 and SS316. • Erosion of surface and hole formation in bulk were observed in copper and bronze. • Excellent corrosion resistance was observed in SS630 and Inconel 718. • Segregation of MgF 2 layer at the subsurface region was observed in Al6061. Supercritical organic Rankine cycle (SORC) is considered one of the most promising candidates for producing electricity from medium- to low-temperature heat resources. Various types of alloys are considered potential materials for constructing the main SORC components. The decomposition of a working fluid, R-1234ze(E) (trans -1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropane), in the high-temperature region of the SORC loop produces hydrogen fluoride (HF), which affects the stability of the alloys. In this work, the corrosion behavior of seven selected materials under supercritical R-1234ze(E) conditions was examined. In the turbine inlet region of the designed SORC loop (180 °C, 5 MPa), the formation of a thick scale layer (10–40 nm) and penetration of F in the subsurface region were observed in the SS304 and SS316 samples after seven days of exposure. In the case of copper and bronze, the erosion of the surface and hole formation at the bulk phase were caused by the deep penetration of HF. In contrast, SS630 and Inconel 718 exhibited excellent corrosion stability without changing the chemical environment of their subsurface regions. In the case of Al6061, preferential segregation of the MgF 2 layer in the subsurface region was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report a method of upgrading unconventional crude oils and extra heavy fractions using supercritical methanol (scMeOH) and compare it to supercritical water (scH2O)-based and pyrolytic upgrading. The yields and properties of upgraded oil are explored as functions of operating parameters (temperature, pressure, and concentration) and feedstocks for high-acid crude oils (Laguna and Bachaquero-13), a heavy crude oil (Rubiales), and a vacuum tower bottom (VTB). As a result, scMeOH upgrading of unconventional crude oils at 400 °C and 30 MPa effectively reduced their asphaltene content to ∼0 wt % and increased that of naphtha–diesel fractions to 30–40 wt %. Conversely, a considerable amount of asphaltenes (8.8–10.0 wt %) was present in oil upgraded using scH2O and pyrolysis. Additionally, scMeOH upgrading resulted in a more effective reduction of the total acid number (TAN) of high-acid crude oils (<0.5 mg of KOH/g of oil) compared to values achieved by scH2O and pyrolysis methods. Finally, scMeOH treatment significantly reduced the metal (Ni, V, and Fe) content of the upgraded oil. The effective asphaltene content and TAN reduction realized in scMeOH was attributed to its hydrogen donation and esterification ability, with plausible mechanisms of scMeOH, scH2O, and pyrolytic upgrading presented and discussed in detail.

RNF40 (OMIM: 607700) is a really interesting new gene (RING) finger E3 ubiquitin ligase containing multiple coiled-coil domains and a C-terminal RING finger motif, which engage in protein–DNA and protein–protein interactions. RNF40 encodes a polypeptide of 1001 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 113,678?Da. RNF40 and its paralog RNF20 form a stable heterodimer complex that can monoubiquitylate histone H2B at lysine 120 as well as other nonhistone proteins. Cancer is a major public health problem and the second leading cause of death. Through its protein ubiquitylation activity, RNF40 acts as a tumor suppressor or oncogene to play major epigenetic roles in cancer development, progression, and metastasis, highlighting the essential function of RNF40 and the importance of studying it. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about RNF40gene structure and the role of RNF40 in histone H2B monoubiquitylation, DNA damage repair, apoptosis, cancer development, and metastasis. We also underscore challenges in applying this information to cancer prognosis and prevention and highlight the urgent need for additional investigations of RNF40 as a potential target for cancer therapeutics.

Experiments and demonstrations (E&Ds) have always been a very special part of the EMC and Signal Integrity/Power Integrity (EMC+SIPI) symposia - and for a good reason. Within the broad range of technical presentations, workshops and tutorials, practical demonstrations deliver the unique opportunity to experience the variety of hands-on hardware and software applications, performed by EMC experts right there, right then. Witnessing the actual execution of an experiment from the first row provides a different type of learning quality expanding its fundamental understanding, teaching new tricks or solutions, or even for the sake of inspiration - after all, who doesn't enjoy seeing their favorite EMC concept being implemented in action?

• Ash-removal techniques were tested to enhance Na+ uptake capacity in hard carbon (HC). • Pre-acid treatment removed some hemicellulose and pectin fractions from raw cocoa pod husk (CPH). • HC from acid-treated CPH delivered 317 mAh g−1 with ICE of 87%. Biomass is a promising precursor for producing high-performance hard carbon as an anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of its high low-voltage plateau capacity. However, the effect of residual ash in biomass on the electrochemical performance of hard carbons has rarely been investigated. This work describes an effective ash-removal approach as a critical step for preparing high-performance anodes for SIBs. A strong correlation between the ash removal techniques with structural and electrochemical properties of hard carbon was revealed. By examining various ash-removal techniques prior to carbonization and after carbonization using aqueous acid, neutral, and alkaline solutions, it was demonstrated that the removal of ash from raw cocoa pod husk (CPH) using aqueous acid and subsequent carbonization at 1300 °C can produce hard carbon with high Na+ ion uptake in the low-voltage plateau region. During the acid pretreatment, ash and some hemicellulose fractions were removed, and carbonization of the acid-treated CPH resulted in hard carbon with a high degree of graphitization and reduced surface area. When tested as an anode in SIBs, the hard carbon produced from the acid-treated CPH exhibited an exceptionally high capacity of 317 mAh g−1 and high plateau capacity of 244 mAh g−1 at 0.05 A g−1, with a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 87%. At a high current density of 250 mA g−1, a high capacity of 134 mAh g−1 was maintained after 800 cycles. Post-treatment of hard carbon did not enhance the electrochemical performance. The physicochemical and electrochemical properties of hard carbons produced with the various pre- and post-treatment techniques were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermal stability evaluation of a new working fluid, HFO-1234ze(E), for SORC. • Simplified chemical kinetic model to predict the thermal stability of working fluid. • The activation energy of the decomposition was 113.33 kJ mol−1. • At the end of 50-year continuous cycle, 1.25% HFO-1234ze(E) will be decomposed. The supercritical organic Rankine cycle (SORC) is considered as a potential technique for converting heat waste resources to electricity. Owing to its low global warming potential, HFO-1234ze(E) (trans -1,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene) is a suitable working fluid for the SORC system. This paper proposes a simple kinetic method for evaluating the thermal decomposition of HFO-1234ze(E) based on the temperatures and pressures in the SORC loop. A long-term decomposition test conducted at temperatures of 433.15–473.15 K under a pressure of 5.0 MPa was used to establish a kinetic equation based on the first-order kinetic model. At 423.15 K, in the high-temperature region of the SORC loop, the decomposition rate of HFO-1234ze(E) was only 1.25% for the 50-year continuous running cycle. When the temperature of the high-temperature region increased by 20 K and 40 K, decompositions of HFO-1234ze(E) significantly increased to 5.24% and 18.40%, respectively, which highlights the high sensitivity of the thermal decomposition rate toward the temperature in the SORC loop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile method was introduced and demonstrated to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) as an electron transporting layer (ETL) for organic solar cells (OSCs). Hydrothermal synthesis of the NRs showed a constant growth rate of 5.5 nm min−1 from germination to sub-micrometer length. The properties were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), absorption spectrophotometry and so on. Based on these measurements, the germinant growth mechanism and its corresponding orientation characteristics were investigated. As an ETL of the OSCs, ZnO NRs enhance the charge extraction from the active layer due to their increased interfacial surface area, but there is an optimal length because of the shunt path formation and UV absorption of long ZnO NRs. As a result, the OSC with the ZnO NRs as ETL shows power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 6.2%. The J - V characteristics and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) measurement also reveal that the efficiency enhancement is an assembly of individual results from optical, physical and electrical characteristic of the ZnO NRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid composite of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and porous silicon microparticles (pSiMPs) was developed and applied for the computed tomography (CT) scanning of the lungs as an image-guided localization agent. We confirmed the grafting of AgNPs on oxidized pSiMPs template using various analytical equipment, including a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The hybrid composite showed a high CT contrast intensity (>1000 HU) that enabled us to produce and view images of the lungs. In addition, it showed the ability to maintain a strong CT signal at the injected area of the rabbit’s lungs, up to an hour, without spreading. The lack of toxicity and immune response indicated that the composite could be fully utilized as a new image-guided localization agent of CT scans for lung cancer surgery.

Advanced renal cell carcinoma is not uncommon, but necessitates a multidisciplinary approach for optimal treatment. Targeted therapy has increased the likelihood of urologists managing patients in all disease stages. Neoadjuvant therapy is currently experimental. Systemic therapy for metastatic disease demonstrates survival benefits. The role of cytoreductive nephrectomy and adjuvant therapy is dependent on patient selection. Management of advanced renal cell carcinoma involves continued optimization of available agents and biomarker development. This article reviews the role of the urologist in medical and surgical therapies, including prognostication, management of locally advanced and metastatic disease, and provides the most recent clinical trial data.

Achieving high signal-to-noise ratio in chemical and biological sensors enables accurate detection of target analytes. Unfortunately, below the limit of detection (LOD), it becomes difficult to detect the presence of small amounts of analytes and extract useful information via any of the conventional methods. In this work, we examine the possibility of extracting “hidden signals” using deep neural network to enhance gas sensing below the LOD region. As a test case system, we conduct experiments for H2sensing in six different metallic channels (Au, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pt, Pd) and demonstrate that deep neural network can enhance the sensing capabilities for H2concentration below the LOD. We demonstrate that this technique could be universally used for different types of sensors and target analytes. Our approach can extract new information from the hidden signals, which can be crucial for next-generation chemical sensing applications and analytical chemistry.

Silicon oxycarbides (SiOCs) are considered promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. However, the mechanisms of Na+-ion storage in SiOCs are not clear. In this study, the mechanism of Na+-ion storage in high-temperature-synthesized SiOCs (1200–1400 °C) is examined. Phase separation of the oxygen (O)-rich and carbon (C)-rich SiOxCydomains of SiOC during synthesis was accompanied by the evolution of micropores, graphitic layers, and a silicon carbide (SiC) phase. The high-temperature-synthesized SiOCs exhibited a large voltage plateau capacity below 0.1 V (45–63% of the total capacity). Ex situ measurements and density functional theory simulations revealed that within the sloping voltage region, Na+-ion uptake occurs mainly in the defects, micropores, C-rich SiOxCyphase, and some O-rich SiOxCyphases. In contrast, in the voltage plateau below 0.1 V, Na+-ion insertion into the O-rich SiOxCyphase and formation of Na-rich Si compounds are the main Na+-ion uptake mechanisms. The generated SiC phase confers excellent long-term cyclability to the high-temperature-synthesized SiOxCy.

The non-serendipitous discovery of materials with targeted properties is the ultimate goal of materials research, but to date, materials design lacks the incorporation of all available knowledge to plan the synthesis of the next material. This work presents a framework for learning a continuous representation of materials and building a model for new discovery using latent space representation. The ability of autoencoders to generate experimental materials is demonstrated with vanadium oxides via rediscovery of experimentally known structures when the model was trained without them. Approximately 20,000 hypothetical materials are generated, leading to several completely new metastable VxOymaterials that may be synthesizable. Comparison with genetic algorithms suggests computational efficiency of generative models that can explore chemical compositional space effectively by learning the distributions of known materials for crystal structure prediction. These results are an important step toward machine-learned inverse design of inorganic functional materials using generative models.

This study aims to assess the contamination of water and fish with nine metals (Fe, Al, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, As, and Cr) emitted by four coal-fired power plants in Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. Samples were collected at sites near each coal-fired power plant during the summer and fall. Control samples were also collected for comparison with the study samples. The concentrations of metals ranged from 0.01 to 4,654 μg/L in water. Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks are associated with human exposure to Pb and As. Managing the presence of metals in the water environment is crucial for preserving the aquatic ecosystem.

Dynamic changes in chromatin structure are crucial for diverse biological processes. Given the complexity of the epigenetic landscape, understanding the specificity of chromatin modification has been a major interest in the epigenetics field. Recent progress in biochemical and structural analyses in the field of chromatin biology has revealed that recognition of allosteric effectors and the subsequent conformational change(s) are central to the regulation of catalytic activities and functions of chromatin-modifying enzymes. Here, we review several examples of distinctive nucleosome features, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and variable-length linker DNA, that allosterically regulate the enzymatic activities of chromatin modifiers to confer functional specificity in a given chromatin context. We further highlight the biological significance of these allosteric mechanisms and discuss their potential as emerging targets for selective modulation of chromatin architecture.

Graphical abstract Highlights • Water-soluble fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) synthesized from kraft lignin. • CDs exhibited pH-dependent fluorescence (FL) emission and high salt/photo stability. • FL emission intensities increased with longer reaction times. • A high quantum yield of 13% resulted in the CDs synthesized for 24 h. Abstract We report the synthesis of water-soluble and environmentally friendly fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) using the renewable resource lignin as a precursor, which is a waste emitted from pulp and paper industries and lignocellulosic biofuel production, using a compressed liquid CO 2 antisolvent method followed by carbonization and chemical oxidation with an acid mixture (H 2 SO 4 :HNO 3 = 1:3, v/v) at 90 °C for 8, 16, and 24 h. The as-synthesized CDs emitted bright yellow fluorescence (FL) under argon laser excitation at 458 nm with excitation-wavelength-independent and excitation-wavelength-dependent FL emission characteristics. Moreover, the CDs exhibited excellent stability in a highly concentrated NaCl solution, photostability with pH-dependent FL emission activities, and cellular imaging capability with very low cytotoxicity. Notably, the FL emission intensities of the as-synthesized CDs increased with longer reaction times, indicating high degree of oxidation on the CD surface and consequently, high quantum yield of 13% was achieved. Therefore, the as-synthesized CDs can be used as promising fluorescent probes for bioimaging applications in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although astaxanthin has promising physiological functions, its practical applications are limited by poor stability. Herein, astaxanthin was encapsulated in β-cyclodextrin (βCD) using CO2as a supercritical antisolvent (SAS). The effects of process conditions, including temperature (313–333 K), pressure (12–18 MPa), solution concentration (3–5 wt%), solution flow rate (0.8–1.2 mL min−1), and astaxanthin-to-βCD mole ratio (1:50, 1:25, or 1:10), on the encapsulation efficiency, particle morphology, and residual solvent content were investigated. Astaxanthin–βCD complex spheres with an average diameter of 0.44 ± 0.08 µm were produced at 313 K and 15 MPa with a solution concentration and flow rate of 5 wt%, and 1.0 mL min−1, respectively. Under these optimal conditions, almost complete encapsulation (99.6% encapsulation efficiency) and residual organic solvent removal (0.22 ppm in the complex) were achieved. Density functional theory analysis of the configuration of the astaxanthin–βCD complex indicate that the hydroxyl hydrogen atoms on an ionone ring of astaxanthin interact with the oxygen atoms of βCD, but the ionone ring does not fit deeply within the βCD cavity. Notably, the astaxanthin–βCD complex exhibits higher thermal stability and antioxidant activity than free astaxanthin. The findings suggest that βCD encapsulation via the SAS process can produce astaxanthin microparticles with potential utility for food and pharmaceutical applications.