Search

Effects of high- ${k}$ gate stacks and plasma treatments on electrical and reliability characteristics of FinFET were comprehensively studied in this work. A higher ON-current, higher ON-/OFF-current ratio, smaller subthreshold swing (S.S.), lower gate leakage current, and better reliability characteristics in FinFETs are simultaneously achieved by a HfO2/ZrO2/HfO2 gate stack. The improvement can be attributed to its higher ${k}$ -value, fewer oxide traps, and oxygen vacancy in gate stack. A higher ON-current of FinFET can be obtained with an F-based plasma treatment, which, however, also induces a larger gate leakage current. A plasma treatment with F- and N-based ambient on gate stack is shown to obtain a higher ON-current and acceptable gate leakage in FinFET. Furthermore, a larger ON-current, higher ON-/ OFF-current ratio, and a smaller S.S. in FinFET can be achieved with a TiO2 stacked gate dielectric.

To identify neurons that specifically increase blood glucose from among the diversely functioning cell types in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMN), we studied the cholecystokinin receptor B–expressing (CCKBR-expressing) VMN targets of glucose-elevating parabrachial nucleus neurons. Activation of these VMN(CCKBR) neurons increased blood glucose. Furthermore, although silencing the broader VMN decreased energy expenditure and promoted weight gain without altering blood glucose levels, silencing VMN(CCKBR) neurons decreased hIepatic glucose production, insulin-independently decreasing blood glucose without altering energy balance. Silencing VMN(CCKBR) neurons also impaired the counterregulatory response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia and glucoprivation and replicated hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure. Hence, VMN(CCKBR) cells represent a specialized subset of VMN cells that function to elevate glucose. These cells not only mediate the allostatic response to hypoglycemia but also modulate the homeostatic setpoint for blood glucose in an insulin-independent manner, consistent with a role for the brain in the insulin-independent control of glucose homeostasis.

This paper presents a novel method for automatic segmentation of dental X-ray images into single tooth sections and for placing every segmented tooth onto a precise corresponding position table. Moreover, the proposed method automatically determines the tooth’s position in a panoramic X-ray film. The image-processing step incorporates a variety of image-enhancement techniques, including sharpening, histogram equalization, and flat-field correction. Moreover, image processing was implemented iteratively to achieve higher pixel value contrast between the teeth and cavity. The next image-enhancement step is aimed at detecting the teeth cavity and involves determining the segment and points separating the upper and lower jaw, using the difference in pixel values to cut the image into several equal sections and then connecting each cavity feature point to extend a curve that completes the description of the separated jaw. The curve is shifted up and down to look for the gap between the teeth, to identify and address missing teeth and overlapping. Under FDI World Dental Federation notation, the left and right sides receive eight-code sequences to mark each tooth, which provides improved convenience in clinical use. According to the literature, X-ray film cannot be marked correctly when a tooth is missing. This paper utilizes artificial center positioning and sets the teeth gap feature points to have the same count. Then, the gap feature points are connected as a curve with the curve of the jaw to illustrate the dental segmentation. In addition, we incorporate different image-processing methods to sequentially strengthen the X-ray film. The proposed procedure had an 89.95% accuracy rate for tooth positioning. As for the tooth cutting, where the edge of the cutting box is used to determine the position of each tooth number, the accuracy of the tooth positioning method in this proposed study is 92.78%.

The oily sludge from crude oil contains hazardous BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) found in the bottom sediment of the crude oil tank in the petroleum refining plant. This study uses microwave treatment of the oily sludge to remove BTEX by utilizing the heat energy generated by the microwave. The results show that when the oily sludge sample was treated for 60 s under microwave power from 200 to 300 W, the electric field energy absorbed by the sample increased from 0.17 to 0.31 V/m and the temperature at the center of the sludge sample increased from 66.5 °C to 96.5 °C. In addition, when the oily sludge was treated for 900 s under microwave power 300 W, the removal rates were 98.5% for benzene, 62.8% for toluene, 51.6% for ethylbenzene, and 29.9% for xylene. Meanwhile, the highest recovery rates of light volatile hydrocarbons in sludge reached 71.9% for C3, 71.3% for C4, 71.0% for C5, and 78.2% for C6.

In the present study, anti-inflammatory activity of the methanol extracts of soymilk and soymilk fermented with Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus CCRC 14805 alone or in conjunction with Bificobacterium infantis CCRC 14603 was evaluated. It was found that extracts of soymilk and the prepared fermented soymilk dose-dependently suppress nitric oxide (NO) production of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophages, with soymilk showing the highest inhibition ability followed by S. thermophilus-fermented soymilk. Extracts of soymilk and fermented soymilk did not affect the activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The extracts of the fermented soymilk inhibited the protein expression of iNOS in LPS-induced macrophages, but soymilk did not. Moreover, these extracts did not show obvious inhibition on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein expression, while all showed the inhibitory effect on LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) produced by RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Although SiGe super-lattice (SL) buried channel was proposed to enhance carrier mobility in MOSFETs, its application on FinFETs is not reported yet. The electrical characteristics of nFinFETs with SiGe and SiGe SL-like buried channels were studied in this letter for the first time. The results show that the electron mobility of nFinFETs with SiGe buried channel is enhanced by an SL-like structure. A higher ON-state current and ON-state/ OFF-state current ratio are also achieved. However, the sub-threshold swing and reliability characteristics need improvement due to slight degradation of interface quality.

This research is aimed toward an understanding of the effects of the chemical characteristics and mineral compositions of sandstone and formation water based on saline water-rock-supercritical CO2 interaction simulation experiments. These experiments were conducted to assess whether toxic trace elements could be dissolved and released in formation water from sandstone in a CO2 storage layer after CO2 geological sequestration, thus affecting groundwater quality. The experimental results reveal that the concentrations of Cd and Pb in the water under examination exceeded the national primary drinking standard as a result of saline/fresh water-rock-supercritical CO2 interactions after 40 d of sandstone immersion in saline/fresh water and 20 d of interaction. In addition, the Mn concentration in the saline/fresh water exceeded the national secondary drinking standard after 40 d of sandstone immersion and 20–80 d of interaction. However, Cd, Pb, and Mn were released to a greater extent (in terms of concentration, 2-fold for Cd, 7-fold for Pb, and 1.7-fold for Mn) in the presence of salinity, revealing that salinity may enhance the dissolution of Cd, Pb, and Mn after 20 d of saline water-rock-scCO2 interaction. After a long period of supercritical CO2-sandstone interaction, the trace metals previously mobilized can be immobilized again by an increase in alkalinity due to aragonite dissolution.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) whose exact cause is still unclear. Disruption of the intestinal microflora is considered one of the main causes of the disease. Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101 (NTU 101) is a multifunctional strain that has been shown in previous studies to possess anti-inflammatory properties and to exert a modulatory effect on intestinal bacteria associated with certain pathogenic mechanisms of IBD. In the current study, we investigated the effects of NTU 101 on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in a mouse model. Colitis was induced in male C57BL/6 mice (total number n = 60) via dissolved DSS in drinking water on days 15–21 of the experiment. The effects of continuous 25 d feeding (days 0–25) of either a half or a full dose [2.3 × 109 colony-forming units (CFU)/kg body weight (BW)/d and 4.5 × 109 CFU/kg BW/d, respectively] of NTU 101 was evaluated. Lactobacillus rhamnosus BCRC 16000 (BCRC 16000) and L. paracasei subsp. paracasei BCRC 14023 (BCRC 14023) strains were given to control groups. The results indicated that NTU 101 powder improved anti-oxidant capacity, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, increased anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, and slightly ameliorated body weight loss in DSS-treated mice during the final days of the study. This indicated that NTU 101 powder can relieve the clinical symptoms of DSS-induced colitis in mice. Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101, probiotics, ulcerative colitis

Constipation is a condition of the digestive system characterized by formation of hard feces that are difficult to eliminate. It has emerged as a new problem that is commonly encountered by many people and lifestyle changes have been unsuccessful in providing a solution. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101 on loperamide-induced constipated rats and on gastrointestinal tract function. Sprague-Dawley rats were administered loperamide (2 mg/kg BW) twice daily as well as 1.3, 2.6, and 13.0 mg/kg BW/rat/d of NTU 101 powder. The control, positive control, and NTU 101 powder groups (0.5, 1, 5×) showed improved intestinal mobility with a statistically significant increase of 12.4%, 14.7%, 12.5%, 13.4%, and 15.1%, respectively (p < 0.05); the fecal water content was also significantly increased by 11.7%, 9.0%, 10.0%, 9.3%, and 11.0%, respectively (p < 0.05), compared to the loperamide group. Furthermore, NTU 101 increased the Bifidobactrium spp. and decreased the Clostridium perfringens content in feces; it increased short-chain fatty acid levels, reduced fecal pH value, enhanced the thickness of the colonic mucosa, and increased the number of mucin-producing goblet cells and interstitial cells of Cajal. Thus, NTU 101 powder was found to alleviate loperamide-induced constipation and improve gastrointestinal tract function., Food Science; Microbiology; Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101; constipation; rats; fecal water content; defecation frequency

Summary Immunosuppressive therapy fails to suppress the production of proinflammatory cytokines, particularly by CD8+ T cells, in stable lung transplant recipients and those undergoing chronic rejection, suggesting that some patients may become relatively resistant to immunosuppressants such as glucocorticoids (GC). We have shown loss of GC receptor (GCR) from the CD8+ cells, and we hypothesized that the drug membrane efflux pump, p-glycoprotein-1 (Pgp), may also be involved in lymphocyte steroid resistance following lung transplant. Pgp/GCR expression and interferon (IFN)-γ/tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α proinflammatory cytokine production was measured in blood lymphocytes from 15 stable lung transplant patients, 10 patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and 10 healthy aged-matched controls (± prednisolone ± Pgp inhibitor, cyclosporin A ± GCR activator, Compound A) using flow cytometry. Both Pgp+ and Pgp– lymphocyte subsets from all subjects produced IFN-γ/TNF-α proinflammatory cytokines. Pgp expression was increased in CD8+Pgp+ T cells and correlated with IFN-γ/TNF-α expression and BOS grade. Reduced GCR was observed in CD8+Pgp– T, natural killer (NK) T-like and NK cells from stable patients compared with controls, and reduced further in CD8+Pgp– T cells in BOS. The addition of 2·5 ng/ml cyclosporin A and 1 µM prednisolone inhibit IFN-γ/TNF-α production significantly by CD8+Pgp+ T cells from BOS patients. The addition of 10 µM Compound A and 1 µM prednisolone inhibit IFN-γ/TNF-α production significantly by CD8+Pgp– T cells from BOS patients. BOS is associated with increased Pgp expression and loss of GCR from steroid-resistant proinflammatory CD8+ T cells. Treatments that inhibit Pgp and up-regulate GCR in CD8+ T cells may improve graft survival.

Ultralow equivalent oxide thickness and excellent reliability characteristics in Ge MOS devices with ZrO2 gate dielectrics are achieved by capping Hf or Zr on interfacial layer. Device with a Hf-cap layer demonstrates the lowest interface trap density and stress-induced leakage current. On the other hand, device with a Zr-cap layer exhibits the lowest hysteresis effects and stress-induced voltage shifts. The HfGeOx IL of high quality and ZrGeOx IL with few oxide traps are promising to improve reliability characteristics in Ge MOS devices.

Diabetes is the fourth major cause of death in Taiwan. High blood glucose can lead to macrovascular diseases, small vessel diseases (retinopathy, kidney disease), and neuropathy. This study aimed to investigate whether Monascus-fermented products (ANKASCIN 568 plus) can regulate blood glucose and blood lipids. This study enrolled 39 patients with a fasting blood glucose level between 100 mg/dL and 180 mg/dL, and a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level of

Centella asiatica (雷公根 léi gōng gēn) is a traditional medicinal herb with high antioxidant activity, which decreases amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in the brain. At the same time, aggregated Aβ-induced oxidative stress is the trigger in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we investigated the ability of C. asiatica ethanol extract (CAE) to protect PC12 and IMR32 cells from Aβ1–40-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and concomitant neurotoxicity. Aggregated Aβ1–40 treatment resulted in reduced cell viability, which can be reversed by cotreatment with 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL CAE. Moreover, CAE eliminated the Aβ1–40-mediated increase in ROS production. Thus, CAE-mediated protection against aggregated Aβ1–40-induced neurotoxicity is attributable to modulation of the antioxidative defense system in cells, including the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and levels of glutathione and glutathione disulfide by CAE. This emphasizes the potential therapeutic and preventive value of CAE in the treatment of AD., Graphical abstract

Two new two-dimensional conjugated copolymers (named r-PTTDPP50 and r-PTTDPP75) consisting of a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivative, thiophene with a conjugated side chain, and 2,5-bis(trimethylstannyl)thiophene were designed and synthesized via Stille cross-coupling reactions for use in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs); the feed-in ratios were varied to obtain the copolymers. It was found that the content of DPP units in the copolymer main chain significantly affected the molecular weight, absorption range, electronic energy level, and morphology of thin films of the copolymers. In the thin-film state, both copolymers exhibited a broad absorption band with two obvious peaks and a vibronic shoulder, as well as an absorption edge for wavelengths of up to 1000 nm. The vibronic shoulder in the absorption spectrum of r-PTTDPP75 was more intense than that in the spectrum of r-PTTDPP50, owing to the presence of a greater number of coplanar DPP units in the former. Electrochemical measurements indicated that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels for r-PTTDPP50 and r-PTTDPP75 were −5.16 and −5.19 eV, respectively, while their lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels were −3.89 and −3.99 eV, respectively. On increasing the number of electron-deficient DPP segments in r-PTTDPP75, the LUMO energy level was lowered. Further, its HOMO energy level was also affected. BHJ PSCs composed of the electron-donor copolymers blended with an electron acceptor, namely [6,6],-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) or [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM), in 1:2 wt ratio were fabricated and characterized. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the r-PTTDPP50/PC71BM-based (w/w = 1:2) PSC reached 2.32% for an open-circuit voltage of 0.632 V, short-circuit current of 9.81 mA/cm2, and fill factor of 37.4%, under the illumination of AM 1.5G (100 mW/cm2). Ternary blend BHJ solar cells formed by doping r-PTTDPP50 into the common binary blend of P3HT and PC61BM were also investigated. The optimized r-PTTDPP50:P3HT:PC61BM device exhibited a PCE of 3.85%, which was significantly higher than that of the P3HT:PC61BM device (2.97%).

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation induced by accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau protein (p-tau) are the main causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We examined the effects of Monascus purpureus NTU 568 fermented product (ANKASCIN 568 plus) in the model of Sprague–Dawley rats via oral garage to induce AD pathology which received aluminium chloride on a daily basis. ANKASCIN 568 plus mitigated cognitive impairment in behavioural tests, reduced oxidative stress in the brain, reversed aluminium-induced AD brain pathology including accumulation of Aβ, p-tau, and amyloid precursor protein; elevated acetylcholinesterase activity, and altered biomarker levels in the cerebrospinal fluid. ANKASCIN 568 plus showed a significant improvement relative to Aricept, an approved drug for AD, in several parameters. Thus, by suppressing free radical generation and activating antioxidant enzymes, ANKASCIN 568 plus can reduce oxidative stress and ameliorate AD pathology, thus protecting rats against aluminium-induced memory and learning deficits.

In this research a full-scale furnace is used to recover the hydrogen-rich tail gas as fuel. Adding hydrogen gas to hydrocarbon fuel will reduce the ignition delay of methane, increase the flame velocity and speed up the relatively slow reaction rate of methane to improve the flame stability. The results show that the flame length and orange-yellowish brightness decrease as the amount of tail gas fuel added to the natural gas increases, because of the lower C/H ratio in the flame. Moreover, at a fixed flow rate of hydrocarbon fuel, the moving length of the burning flame is reduced as the amount of hydrogen increases, and thus the visible flame length becomes shorter. Additionally, burning the mixture of tail gas reduces the pressure and increases the gas rising velocity in the furnace radiation and convective zones compared to burning pure tail gas, and thus the gas temperatures in the convective zone and in the flue are raised. The furnace convective zone temperature and the flue gas temperature are 793.6 °C and 350.7 °C, respectively, for burning the mixture fuel (45 vol. % tail gas + 55 vol. % natural gas) vs. 648.5 °C and 346.3 °C for burning the pure tail gas.

Excess carbon dioxide emission was considered as the most important cause of increased trend of global warming. Significant amounts of research were devoted to the reduction of CO2 emission and CO2 sequestration. Sequestration of CO2 in empty oil reservoirs was considered as one of the most promising options. However, the effects of metal release and mobility as a result of CO2 injection were not studied in detail, particularly under super-critical CO2 (scCO2) conditions. In this study, the release of selected metals immersed in distilled water for varying amounts of time in the absence and presence of scCO2 was assessed in simulated conditions at 90°C and 24 MPa. Significant increases in dissolution of Fe, Sr, and Ba by 3, 8, and 24 times were found when the storage rock sandstone or caprock shale was immersed in DI water for different time period. However, in the presence of scCO2, the dissolution of these metals was reduced by 80% for Fe, suggesting permanent sequestration of scCO2 into carbonate minerals. The trend in changes of pore water chemistry in the sandstone and shale after being immersed in DI water showed dissolution of Sr-bearing mineral and precipitation of Ba-bearing mineral.

Electrical characteristics of Ge pMOSFETs with HfO2, ZrO2, ZrO2/HfO2, and HfZrO x gate dielectrics are studied in this letter. A lower equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) is obtained in ZrO2 device, which, however, has a higher interface trap density ( $\text{D}_{\mathrm { {it}}})$ due to its inferior dielectric/Ge interface. Interestingly, the $\text{D}_{\mathrm {{it}}}$ and sub-threshold swing of Ge pMOSFETs are clearly reduced by ZrO2/HfO2 stack gate dielectric. A peak hole mobility of 335 cm+ $^{{{2}}}$ /V-s is achieved in ZrO2/HfO2 device thanks to good dielectric/Ge interface. Furthermore, the EOT of ZrO2/HfO2 device is 0.62 nm, and the leakage current is $2\times 10^{{ {-3}}}$ A/cm $^{{{2}}}$ . Therefore, a ZrO2/HfO2 stack gate dielectric is promising for Ge MOSFETs.

Great savings of fuel consumption and an almost zero-discharge of carbon pollutants can be achieved by the direct reuse of the recovered tail gas as furnace fuel. This paper presents the results of on-site studies using a full-scale furnace to demonstrate the simple adjustments of the furnace operational parameters. The results reveal that when the residual oxygen concentration in the excess air is reduced from 3.6 to 2.4%, the furnace thermal efficiency is raised from 81.9 to 83.2%. Adjusting the furnace damper opening angle from 45 to 39° will lead to annual savings of 1.9 × 106 m3 natural gas consumption. This paper also presents the use of a membrane separation method to concentrate the hydrogen containing in the tail gas as from 78.7 to 93.9 mol%. The concentrated hydrogen gas is expected to be a valuable material to produce high value added products.

Ultra-low effective oxide thickness (EOT) Ge MOS devices with different HfAlO/HfON stacks and sintering temperatures are investigated in this work. The suppression of gate leakage current and improvement of reliability properties can be achieved by either stacked gate dielectrics or a low sintering temperature. Especially, the qualities of the interface and high-k gate dielectric in Ge devices are significantly improved through a low sintering temperature. A 0.5 nm HfAlO/2.5 nm HfON gate stack and a sintering temperature at 350 °C are the suitable conditions to achieve low EOT, gate leakage, and good reliability for Ge MOS devices.

Monoethanolamine (MEA) and mono- n -propanolamine (MPA) molecules were investigated for CO 2 binding using Density Functional Theory. MPA was predicted to bind CO 2 better than MEA along the bimolecular and trimolecular pathways. The additional CH 2 in MPA provided additional polarization to reduce the electrostatic repulsion for the charge-separated zwitterionic intermediates (ZW) as shown in the Polarizable Continuum Model calculations; also became more polar solvent to stabilize ZW. 25% and 50% CO 2 loading at 400 K were studied by first-principle molecular dynamic simulations. With including the explicit solvation effect, CO 2 in alcoholamines favored a reduced-hydrogen-bonding (HB) environment. The probability of identifying the HB precursors-(MEA) 2 and (MPA) 2 for the subsequent trimolecular pathway decreased. Moreover, higher CO 2 uptake accompanied with more OH⋯N HB, and the lone pairs of N were blocked to CO 2 . Water also preferred to form intermolecular OH⋯N HB so that the accesses of CO 2 were hindered.

Display Omitted A post-growth treatment is performed on interfacial layer before high-k deposition.The treatment includes an IL desorption and a re-growth process.Both effective oxide thickness and simultaneously leakage current are decreased.The improvement can be attributed to interfacial layer with less defect. A post-growth treatment is performed on a chemical oxide interfacial layer (IL) before an atomic layer deposition formed high-k for MOSFETs in this work. The treatment includes an IL desorption with a high temperature annealing and a re-growth process with a H2O2 solution. The effective oxide thickness is scaled down and simultaneously the leakage current is decreased too. The improvement can be attributed to the high temperature desorption and the re-grown IL with fewer oxygen vacancies. In addition, a charge pumping technique is applied for interface and IL analyses. The charge pumping data are consistent with material analysis. The post-growth treatment is a novel approach to form an IL for ALD-formed high-k in MOS devices.

High-k gated metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs) with Cl 2 and CF 4 plasma treatments are studied in this work. A higher-k HfON with more tetragonal phase is formed by the halogen plasma treatment on interfacial layer (IL). A low inversion equivalent oxide thickness in MOSFET is obtained with the Cl 2 plasma treated IL. In addition, high mobility and transconductance, and low subthreshold swing are obtained by the Cl 2 plasma treatment, which therefore is a promising interface engineering for advanced MOSFETs.

Synthetic rigid-rod polymers incorporating multiple azobenzene photoswitches in the backbone were deposited from solution onto a monolayer of octadecylamine covering the basal plane of graphite. Large contractions and extensions of the single macromolecules on the surface were induced by irradiation with UV and visible light, respectively, as visualized by scanning force microscopy. Upon contraction, the single polymer chains form more compact nanostructures and also may move across the surface, resembling a crawling movement. We attribute the efficiency of these processes to the low mechanical and electronic coupling between the surface and polymers, the high density of azobenzenes in their backbones, and their rigidity, allowing for maximized photodeformations. The visualization of on-surface motions of single macromolecules directly induced by light, as reported herein, could help promote the development of optomechanical nanosystems.

Using the recovered tail gas (FG) that consists of 60 mol% (50–70 mol%) of hydrogen gas to replace heavy fuel oil (FO) as furnace fuel was studied. With higher FG/FO ratios, the hydrogen content in the fuel increases so that the volume of flue gas reduces to reduce the furnace internal pressure that leads to slower uprising velocity of the thermal flow in the furnace and hence more efficient thermal transmission in the furnace. The results reveal that complete replacement of fuel oil with the recovered tail gas will reduce about 45.8% of the resulting flue gas, lower the furnace radiation zone temperature by 45 °C, raise the furnace convection zone temperature by 18 °C. Additionally, the annual savings of heavy fuel oil can be 2.3 × 104 m3 heavy fuel oil with the reduction of 53.4 tons SOx emission, 21.9 tons of NOx emission and 4.9 × 104 tons of CO2 emission. Therefore, reusing the recovered tail gas to completely replace heavy fuel oil (FO) as the furnace fuel along with operational adjustments of fresh air flow rate and flue baffle angles will alleviate the discharge of greenhouse gas.

In this study, 12 bound complexes were selected to construct a database for testing 15 dispersion-improved exchange-correlation (XC) functionals, including hybrid generalized gradient approximation (GGA), modified using the Grimme’s pairwise strategy, and double hybrid XC functionals, for specifically characterizing the CO2 binding by alcoholamines. Bound complexes were selected based on the characteristics of their hydrogen bonds, dispersion, and electrostatic (particularly between the positive charge of CO2 and the lone pair of N of alcoholamines) interactions. The extrapolated binding energy from the aug-cc-pVTZ (ATZ) to aug-cc-pVQZ (AQZ) basis set at the CCSD(T)/CBS(MP21DZ) level was used as the reference for the XC functional comparison. M06-2X produced the optimal agreement if the optimized geometries at MP2/ATZ level were chosen for all the test bound complexes. However, M06-L, xB97X, and xB97, and were preferred if the corresponding density functional theory (DFT) optimized geometries were adapted for the benchmark. Simple bimolecular reaction between CO2 and monoethanolamine simulated using polarizable continuum solvation model confirmed that xB97, xB97X, and xB97XD qualitatively reproduced the energetics of MP2 level. The inconsistent performance of the tested XC functionals, observed when using MP2 or DFT optimized geometries, raised concerns regarding using the single-point ab initio correction combined with DFT optimized geometry, particularly for determining the nucleophilic attack by alcoholamines to CO2. V C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is not only one of the most common genetic variances in a human genome, but it also serves a crucial biomarker greatly affecting the phenotypes of individuals. Moreover, SNP had shown its importance by making contributions in many aspects, including species classification for pests, pesticide resistance detection, and disease diagnostic for human beings. Most of today’s SNP detection techniques utilize enzymes or modification of DNA, leading to the requirement of high reagent cost or complex procedures. Therefore, a new SNP genotyping scheme has been developed to address these issues by conducting melting curve analysis on the DNA target sequences, which are conjugated onto polystyrene microbeads in a microfluidic device. The microbeads function as a solid vehicle for capturing the DNA duplexes, providing a larger surface-to-volume ratio for reaction and allowing it to be hydrodynamically confined for melting curve analysis. A prototype device serving as a basis for this proposed scheme was successfully tested, detecting the SNP of ataxia–telangiectasia-mutated gene from both synthetic DNA and genomic DNA of Landrace sows. This bead-based SNP detection only required a minimal reagent amount and simplified the sample preparation procedures, thereby preserving it as a flexible and accurate detection scheme. All these characteristics show great promise in this bead-based SNP detection.

Display Omitted We study the high-k dielectrics with in situ NH3, N2, H2 plasma treatment.EOT and Jg are reduced for the MOS device with NH3 plasma treated HfO2.A tetragonal phase HfO2 is obtained for the MOS device with NH3 plasma treatment.Stress induced Vfb shift and leakage are reduced for NH3 plasma treated HfO2.In-situ NH3 plasma treatment in ALD is a promising technique for high-k process. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) devices with in situ remote plasma treatment during high-k dielectric deposition are studied in this work. The EOT value and leakage current of the MOS device with in situ NH3 plasma treated high-k dielectrics can be significantly reduced to 0.83nm and 1.7iÂ?10-3A/cm2, respectively. The stress-induced flat-band voltage shifts and leakage current are obviously reduced as well. In-situ remote plasma treatment also provides a good approach of nitridation for high-k dielectrics. The oxygen vacancy can be passivated by nitrogen, which suppresses further oxygen diffusion and the formation of the oxygen vacancies. The in situ NH3 plasma treatment is useful for high performance MOS devices with good reliability.

The rate of gas diffusion is inversely proportional to the gas molecule diameter; hydrogen gas molecular has smaller diameter and thus it has a greater diffusion coefficient than methane. Results of laboratory studies shown that when a gas mixture consisting of H2/CH4 = 30:70 is treated in a Hollow-fiber member under 5 kg/cm2, the hydrogen concentration is raised from 30 mol% to 71 mol%. If the Hollow-fiber member is re-arranged in series connection without controlling the operating pressure (free permeation), the recovered hydrogen concentration can be as high as 88 mol%. Additionally, using H2/CH4 = 50:50 as the influent gas mixture and controlling the influent pressure at 5 kg/cm2, the resulting hydrogen concentration can be raised from 50 mol% to 92 mol%, if the Hollow-fiber member is re-arranged in series connection without controlling the permeating pressure (free permeation), the recovered hydrogen concentration can reach 94 mol%. Therefore, Hollow-fiber member can be implemented to recover hydrogen gas from the hydrogen-rich petrochemical process tail gas at low pressure; the recovered hydrogen can be further utilized with higher add-on value. This hydrogen-recovery method has the advantage of low capital cost, simple to operate and small energy consumption.

Hepatic glucose production (HGP) is required to maintain normoglycemia during fasting. Glucagon is the primary hormone responsible for increasing HGP; however, there are many additional hormone and metabolic factors that influence glucagon sensitivity. In this study we report that the bioactive lipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) regulates hepatocyte glucose production by antagonizing glucagon-induced expression of the gluconeogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK). Treatment of primary hepatocytes with exogenous LPA blunted glucagon-induced PEPCK expression and glucose production. Similarly, knockout mice lacking the LPA-degrading enzyme phospholipid phosphate phosphatase type 1 (PLPP1) had a 2-fold increase in endogenous LPA levels, reduced PEPCK levels during fasting, and decreased hepatic gluconeogenesis in response to a pyruvate challenge. Mechanistically, LPA antagonized glucagon-mediated inhibition of STAT3, a transcriptional repressor of PEPCK. Importantly, LPA did not blunt glucagon-stimulated glucose production or PEPCK expression in hepatocytes lacking STAT3. These data identify a novel role for PLPP1 activity and hepatocyte LPA levels in glucagon sensitivity via a mechanism involving STAT3.

The treatment of liver fibrosis has clinical limitations because of its multiple etiologies, such as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) promotion, cell regeneration and remodeling dysfunction, inflammatory cell activation, and scar tissue deposition. These factors might be considered as a new target for the fibrotic microenvironment, leading to increased fibrogenesis and liver fibrosis. Here, we investigate a small molecule named butylidenephthalide (BP) and its multiple effects on liver fibrosis treatment. Thioacetamide was used in vivo to induce chronic liver fibrosis. BP was administered orally in rats for a period of 2 weeks and 4 weeks, which resulted in a significantly reduced fibrosis score (p

Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) with SiGe channel and higher-k gate dielectric are studied in this work. Samples with TaON/HfO2 or TiON/HfO2 stacks show larger drain current, better transconductance, and smaller subthreshold swing than that with single HfO2 layer. In addition, the reliability for SiGe pMOSFET device is clearly improved with TaON/HfO2 stacks in terms of degradation of Gm and Vth after hot-carrier stress. The integration of SiGe channel with TaON higher-k dielectric is useful for high performance pMOSFETs.

Microwave (MW) is applied to enhance perchloroethylene (PCE) or pentachlorophenol (PCP) removal using zero-valent iron (ZVI; Fe(0)) as the dielectric medium. ZVI has a much higher dielectric loss factor (39.5) than other media; it is capable of absorbing MW radiation rapidly to speed up the release of electrons, leading to rises of the ZVI particle surface temperature. If the MW power is continued, excessive electricity will accumulated inside ZVI particles, resulting in sparks. The results show that during the initial 5 sec (700 W), the linear aliphatic PCE has a faster decomposing rate than the ringed PCP (82.0% vs. 4.8%) because less energy is required for decomposing the linear-chlorine bond (90 kcal mol(-1)) than ring-chlorine bonds (95 kcal mol(-1)). Later the removal rate for either PCE or PCP remains the same when the exposure time is between 5 and 60 sec. Without MW irradiation, linear PCE molecules have larger surface area to contact ZVI, and hence they have better removal efficiencies than PCP molecules. Using Fe(0) as a microwave dielectric medium to treat PCE or PCP is a new and worthwhile treatment technology; it is environmentally friendly, and its use will eliminate the secondary pollution.Nanoscale iron particles are characterized by high surface-area-to-volume ratios, high specific surface area, and high surface reactivity. With a much higher dielectric loss factor, it is capable of absorbing MW radiation rapidly to speed up the release of electrons, leading to rise in temperature. The time needed to achieve a satisfactory treatment is also reduced, leading to significant saving of energy consumption to make this method cost-effective and also environmentally friendly for the industry to pursuit sustainable development.

This work is dedicated to the fabrication of metallic/dielectric double layer gratings on polymeric films for wire grid polarizer (WGP) to obtain designed optical performance as well as better process tolerance. The fabrication process was based on thermal nanoimprint and aluminum lift-off techniques. Polymeric substrates PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) and COP (Cyclo-olefin polymer) were brought into comparison for the birefringence property. At the same time, by applying RCWA (Rigorous coupled-wave analysis) simulated optical designs, it would be also capable of minimizing difficulties of ultra-precision manufacturing. Experimental results revealed that using the 240nm pitch stacked metallic/dielectric gratings performed 192:1 extinction ratio and 1.2x brightness enhancement, which allowed larger pitch replacing the smaller pitch of WGP gratings, but still possessed similar optical performance. Hence, these designs and process configuration not only make the continuous roll-to-roll process more feasible, but also relieve the difficulties of fabricating the imprint roller stamp.

Microwave (MW) was applied to enhance chlorobenzene (CB) removal using commercial micron iron (μ-Fe) particles, nanoscale iron particles (nC-Fe0), and nanoscale iron particles freshly prepared in our laboratory (nP-Fe0) as the dielectric media. CB solution irradiated with 250 W MW for 150 s achieved better CB removal than without MW irradiation, because MW radiation increased the iron oxidization rate, surface activity, and hence, the CB removal rate. MW-induced iron particles were capable of removing 13.6 times (61.2% vs. 4.5% for μ-Fe), 2.8 times (76.5% vs. 27.5% for nP-Fe0), and 3.6 times (65.4% vs. 18.1% for nC-Fe0) more CB, and the CB activation energy decreased to 16.8 kJ/mol (μ-Fe), 3.3 kJ/mol (nP-Fe0), or 3.5 kJ/mol (nC-Fe0). MW-induced iron particles can potentially decompose toxic organic substances as demonstrated in this laboratory study.

Replacing nature gas (NG) by recovered hydrogen-rich tail gas to fuel a full-scale furnace has been proved to improve furnace efficiency and reduce NO x formation. Adjusting residual O 2 concentration in flue gases, air preheat temperature and furnace damper angle will further improve the efficiency of the furnace burning the recovered hydrogen-rich tail gas. Prolonging the residence time of the hot gas flow increases the heat release time and reduces the time for the fuel to reach burning temperature so that the furnace efficiency can be improved. On-site test results using a full-scale furnace show that reducing the residual O 2 concentration in flue gases from 4.0 to 3.0 vol.% raises the furnace efficiency by 0.6%. Raising the pre-heated incoming air temperature from 200 °C to 240 °C and reducing furnace damper opening angle from 45° to 39° save 2.4 × 10 6 and 1.9 × 10 6 m 3 of natural gas, respectively. Integrating the adjustment of flue gas residual O 2 concentration, temperature of incoming air temperature, and furnace damper opening angle will assist industries in achieving higher overall furnace efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emission.

Recovery and reuse of waste energy to reduce fuel dependence on petroleum fuel, and to alleviate emissions of contaminants is becoming an important policy for managing energy and the environment. In the study, the waste tail gas emitted from the various petrochemical unit operations is recovered and reused as a replacement of natural gas (NG) to fuel furnace and boiler. On-site experimental results show that replacing natural gas (NG) by the recovered tail gas (RTG) from some petrochemical processes saves 24.6% of fuel costs and reduces 53.0% of CO2 emissions. On the other hand, if the natural gas (NG) in a mixed fuel containing both natural gas and fuel oil (NG/FO) is completely replaced by RTG, the resulting RTG/FO or RTG/NG/FO fuel mixtures saves 19.5% of fuel costs and reduce 30.0% of pollution emissions. Thus, from the viewpoint of the overall economics and sustainable energy policy, managing and recovering the energy contained in RTG assists in reducing energy consumption by raising the overall thermal efficiency. The conclusion made in this paper is expected to provide a useful technology that can be developed by industrial nations for raising energy efficiency.

The furnace efficiency can be maintained or improved slightly by lowering the excess air ratio and raising the air preheat temperature in the heat furnace. The results obtained with a plant-size industrial furnace show that when the excess air oxygen concentration is reduced from 4% to 3%, the furnace efficiency is raised by 0.6%. However, raising the temperature of the pre-heated air will cause a higher furnace temperature and a faster flowing speed of the air in the furnace. Thus, the heat in the radiation zone of the furnace can be evenly transmitted to shorten the time for the fuel to reach the igniting point, and reduce the heat loss from the hot air stream. This will reduce the emission of CO 2 and NO x . If the temperature of the pre-heated air is raised from 200 °C to 240 °C, about 2.3 × 10 6 m 3 of natural gas can be saved annually to reduce 3.1 × 10 3 t of CO 2 and 14.3% of nitrogen oxide emissions. Such operational adjustments of the furnace using the recovered FG will save energy, reduce CO 2 emission and alleviate the adverse impact to environment.

Our recent studies indicated that electrodialysed deep-sea water (ED-DSW) revealed the cardiovascular health effects, such as hindrances of the dietary-induced evaluation of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and nonhigh-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), as well as improvement of HDL-C/non-HDL-C ratio and blood pressure. In the current study, we further revealed the beneficial effects of ED-DSW on high-cholesterol dietary mice by reducing abnormal cardiac architecture, apoptosis and enhancing insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) cardiac survival signaling compared with those mice that were treated with distilled water, reverse osmosis (RO)-DSW or 10% (v/v) dilution with ddH2O (10% DSW). These findings further clarified the possible mechanisms of cardiac protective effects of ED-DSW and might suggest ED-DSW as an ingredient of cardiovascular health food in some niche markets. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Deep-sea water (DSW) has been applied on several fields including aquaculture, agriculture, food processing, cosmetics and medicine. Recently, we have indicated that high-cholesterol dietary mice drinking electrodialysed DSW (ED-DSW) showed decreased serum lipids, blood pressure and improving blood cholesterol profile. In this study, we further demonstrated the beneficial effects of ED-DSW on high-cholesterol dietary mice by reducing abnormal cardiac architecture, apoptosis in left ventricle and increasing cardiac survival signaling, such as insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor, phosphoinositide-3-kinases and p-AKT/AKT ratio. Altogether, these findings indicated that ED-DSW revealed the cardiac protective effects and might be suggested as an ingredient of cardiovascular health food in a variety of niche markets.

Reducing the input excess air or airflow rate to a furnace or boiler will result in decreasing transmission rate of the thermal flow from the radiation zone to the convection heating surface zone in the furnace. Results of the plant-scale test presented in this article show that if the furnace is operated at 3.6 × 107 kcal/h of combustion capacity, decreasing the residual O2 concentration in the furnace flue gas from 4% to 2.5% will save 9.3 × 103 m3 of natural gas consumption, and 2.1 × 104 tons of CO2 emission annually. For the boiler tested in the study, 1.8 × 105 m3 of natural gas consumption and 3.9 × 105 tons of CO2 emission will be reduced annually if it is operated with 90 ton/h steam yield. Hence, controlling the input excess air (or oxygen) as an important operating alternative to enhance thermal efficiency, and alleviate environmental impact of a heater furnace and boiler has been confirmed in this research. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2012

Chlorobenzene (CB) in aqueous solution is effectively degraded using nanoscale zerovalent iron (ZVI) particles suspended in the solution as the dielectric media with microwave irradiation. When nonaqueous CB is flushed out of groundwater from the contaminated soil, a cosolvent (e.g., methanol or ethanol) is usually added to aid the process. However, the cosolvent in the aqueous solution may interfere with the decomposition of dechlorination using ZVI. Results of this study confirm that if the CB aqueous solution is treated with nanoscale ZVI particles irradiated with microwave, the cosolvent will lower the contact between ZVI particles and water molecules, thus reducing the CB degradation rate. When 250-W microwave (MW) energy was applied to the CB aqueous solution containing methanol (a cosolvent) for 150 s, increasing methanol fraction in the CB solutions impaired the CB degradation rate. CB removal efficiencies are 65.4% for 0% MeOH, 53.7% for 40% MeOH, 32.2% for 60% MeOH, and 2.7% for 100% Me...

Ge MOS devices with about 95% Ge4+ in HfGeOx interfacial layer are obtained by H2O plasma process together with in situ desorption before atomic layer deposition (ALD). The equivalent oxide thickness is scaled down to 0.39 nm; the leakage current is decreased as well. The improvement can be attributed to the in situ Ge suboxide desorption process in an ALD chamber at 370 °C. The interface trap density and frequency dispersion need further process development to be reduced.

Electrical characteristics and thermal stability of MOS devices with MoN/TiN metal stacks and various gate dielectrics were studied in this work. High work function (5.0 eV) gate is achieved by integrating MoN/TiN stack with HfAlO dielectric. The gate stack structures can enhance the thermal stability and reduce the interaction between the metal gate and the dielectric. The Ti diffusion in the dielectric can be suppressed by AlN in HfAlO. Reliability characteristics, in terms of stress-induced leakage current and stress-induced V fb shift, are improved for metal gate stack on HfAlO high- k dielectric in comparison with that on SiO 2 . The work function of metal gate also can be turned by different Al contents in high- k dielectrics and metal gate stacks (4.88–5.0 eV).

Microwaves were applied to reduce the activation energy of chlorobenzene in aqueous solution and enhance its removal using nano-scale zero-valent iron (Fe°) or zero-valent copper (Cu°) particles as dielectric media. When Fe° and Cu° particles absorb microwave energy, the electrical potential difference causes the metal electrons to rotate faster, thus producing more heat. The microwave-irradiated metal particles reduced the chlorobenzene activation energy by 6.1 kJ/mol (13.3 kJ/mol versus 19.4 kJ/mol) for Fe° and 5.4 kJ/mol (15.8 kJ/mol versus 21.4 kJ/ mol) for Cu° and enhanced the chlorobenzene removal 4.1 times (82.8% versus 20.4%) for Fe 0 and 3.7 times (72.1% versus 19.5%) for Cu°. The Fe° has a higher standard reduction potential than Cu 0 ; it is capable of removing more chlorobenzene than Cu 0 (82.8% versus 72.1%). Using the microwave-induced nano-scale iron or copper particle is effective in treating toxic organic substances, as demonstrated in this study.

Organic compounds such as chlorobenzene cannot be effectively decomposed with currently available biological and chemical treatment methods. Preliminary studies show that nano-scale zero-valent iron particles irradiated by microwave is effective in decomposing chemically refractive organic compounds such as chlorobenzene. In this study, microwave is applied to enhance chlorobenzene removal using micron-scale iron particles and nano-scale zero-valent iron particles suspended in the chlorobenzene solution as the dielectric media. The results show that better chlorobenzene removal can be achieved when the chlorobenzene solution is irradiated with 250 W microwave for 150 s than without microwave irradiation. The microwave radiation increases iron reaction rate and surface activity, thus enhancing the chlorobenzene removal. The microwave-induced iron particles cause the chlorobenzene activation energy to drop 34.0% for micron-scale iron and 16.1% for nano-scale zero-valent iron. They can remove 13.6 times more chlorobenzene for micro iron, and 3.6 times more chlorobenzene for nano iron. We have demonstrated that the microwave-induced nano-scale iron particles are effective in treating toxic organic substances as demonstrated in this laboratory study.

In this research, the microwave (MW) energy is used to generate heat directly inside the nanoscale copper particles that are suspended in aqueous chlorobenzene (CB) solution. The heat will reduce CB activation energy so that the CB can be more efficiently decomposed by the heat generated. Because the copper particle surface has pointed protuberances, more MW energy can be absorbed to result in higher solution temperature and lower CB activation energy. Laboratory results indicate that without MW irradiation, the CB solution temperature varies from 25 to 60°C with 19.5 to 41.3% removal of CB that has 21.4 kJ/mol activation energy. In the presence of 250-W MW, the CB activation energy is reduced to 15.8 kJ/mol, and the CB removal efficiency is raised by 1.8 times. Using MW energy to generate heat directly in nanoscale copper particles suspended in aqueous CB solution for reducing the activation energy of CB and enhancing its removal is a novel and efficient method for treating toxic organic substances.