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Probiotics play an important role in human gut health. However, it remains a challenge to maintain the viability of probiotics throughout the gastrointestinal transit. Hence, this study aimed to microencapsulate Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 with galactooligosaccharides (GOS) using the co-extrusion technique. Optimization of calcium chloride (1.0% w/v to 3.0% w/v) and GOS concentration (1.0% w/v to 5.0% w/v) were performed in the encapsulation of B. lactis Bi-07 based on bead size and microencapsulation efficiency. The study found that microbead prepared with 1.5% (w/v) sodium alginate, 2.0% (w/v) calcium chloride and 3.0% (w/v) GOS showed the highest microencapsulation efficiency. The size of the bead produced was 735.69 μm with the highest microencapsulation efficiency of more than 94%. Besides, the microencapsulation efficiency and bead size were compared between B. lactis Bi-07 beads with or without GOS. Results showed that the encapsulated B. lactis Bi-07 with GOS was had a larger bead size and lower microencapsulation efficiency than encapsulated probiotic cells without GOS. Furthermore, the encapsulated B. lactis Bi-07 and free cells were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal treatment where the cell viability was evaluated. Encapsulated B. lactis Bi-07 with GOS showed higher cell viability than encapsulated B. lactis Bi-07 without GOS and free cells after the simulated gastrointestinal treatment. The viable cell count of encapsulated B. lactis Bi-07 with GOS remained more than 107 CFU/mL. This showed that the optimized encapsulated B. lactis Bi-07 with GOS could survive the human gastrointestinal to confer health benefits and the potential to be incorporated into functional foods.

It is widely recognized that the missing heritability of many human diseases is partially due to noncoding genetic variants, but there are multiple challenges that hinder the identification of functional disease-associated noncoding variants. The number of noncoding variants can be many times of coding variants; many of them are not functional but in linkage disequilibrium with the functional ones; different variants can have epistatic effects; different variants can affect the same genes or pathways in different individuals, and some variants are related to each other not by affecting the same gene but by affecting the binding of the same upstream regulator. To overcome these difficulties, we propose a novel analysis framework that considers convergent impacts of different genetic variants on protein binding, which provides multi-granular information about disease-associated perturbations of regulatory elements, genes, and pathways. Applying it to our whole-genome sequencing data of 918 short-segment Hirschsprung disease patients and matched controls, we identify various novel genes not detected by standard single-variant and region-based tests, functionally centering on neural crest migration and development. Our framework also identifies upstream regulators whose binding is influenced by the noncoding variants. Using human neural crest cells, we confirm cell-stage-specific regulatory roles three top novel regulatory elements on our list, respectively in the RET, RASGEF1A and PIK3C2B loci. In the PIK3C2B regulatory element, we further show that a noncoding variant found only in the affects the binding of the gliogenesis regulator NFIA, with a corresponding down-regulation of multiple genes in the same topologically associating domain.

It is widely recognized that noncoding genetic variants play important roles in many human diseases, but there are multiple challenges that hinder the identification of functional disease-associated noncoding variants. The number of noncoding variants can be many times that of coding variants; many of them are not functional but in linkage disequilibrium with the functional ones; different variants can have epistatic effects; different variants can affect the same genes or pathways in different individuals; and some variants are related to each other not by affecting the same gene but by affecting the binding of the same upstream regulator. To overcome these difficulties, we propose a novel analysis framework that considers convergent impacts of different genetic variants on protein binding, which provides multiscale information about disease-associated perturbations of regulatory elements, genes, and pathways. Applying it to our whole-genome sequencing data of 918 short-segment Hirschsprung disease patients and matched controls, we identify various novel genes not detected by standard single-variant and region-based tests, functionally centering on neural crest migration and development. Our framework also identifies upstream regulators whose binding is influenced by the noncoding variants. Using human neural crest cells, we confirm cell stage–specific regulatory roles of three top novel regulatory elements on our list, respectively in the RET, RASGEF1A, and PIK3C2B loci. In the PIK3C2B regulatory element, we further show that a noncoding variant found only in the patients affects the binding of the gliogenesis regulator NFIA, with a corresponding up-regulation of multiple genes in the same topologically associating domain.

Introduction Ketamine is known to cause urinary tract dysfunction. Recently, methamphetamine (MA) abuse has become a growing problem in Asia. We investigated the symptomatology and voiding function in patients who abused MA and ketamine and compared their urinary tract toxicity profiles. Methods In the period of 23 months from 1 October 2016, all consecutive new cases of patients presenting with MA- or ketamine-related urological disorder were recruited into a prospective cohort. Polysubstance abuse patients were excluded. Data were analysed by comparison between patients with ketamine abuse and MA abuse. Basic demographic data and initial symptomatology were recorded, and questionnaires on urinary symptoms and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were used as assessment tools. Results Thirty-eight patients were included for analysis. There was a statistically significant difference in mean age between patients with MA and ketamine abuse (27.2 ± 7.2 years and 31.6 ± 4.8 years, respectively, P=0.011). Urinary frequency was the most common urological symptom in our cohort of patients. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of dysuria (ketamine 43.5%, MA 6.7%, P=0.026) and a significant trend in the difference in hesitancy (ketamine 4.3%, MA 26.7%, P=0.069). Overall, questionnaires assessing urinary storage symptoms and voiding symptoms did not find a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The MoCA revealed that both groups had cognitive impairment (ketamine 24.8 ± 2.5, MA 23.6 ± 2.9, P=0.298). CONCLUCSIONS. Abuse of MA caused urinary tract dysfunction, predominantly storage symptoms. Compared with ketamine abuse, MA abuse was not commonly associated with dysuria or pelvic pain.

In this work, we investigate the effects on the electrical properties of few-layered MoS

Bottom-gated pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with NdTaON as high-k gate dielectric have been fabricated on substrates with different resistivities: $0.005~\Omega ~ \cdot $ cm, $0.3~\sim ~0.9~\Omega ~ \cdot $ cm, and $1~\sim ~5~\Omega ~\cdot $ cm for n-Si wafers, and $35~\Omega $ /sq for ITO-coated glass. On the three n-Si substrates, the dielectric surface roughness and pentacene grain size are nearly the same, but the carrier mobility of the OTFTs show an obvious increase with decreasing resistivity, indicating that the gate electron concentration can affect the device performance. Despite the much larger dielectric surface roughness and smaller pentacene grain size, the OTFT on the ITO-coated glass shows the highest carrier mobility. These effects are attributed to remote phonon scattering on the channel carriers, which has been strongly screened by the electrons in the gate electrode. According to the measurement on the mobility degradation at high temperature, the remote phonon scattering is determined to be the dominant factor affecting the carrier mobility. As a result, the OTFT on ITO glass can achieve a high carrier mobility of 2.43 cm2/V $\cdot $ s and a small threshold voltage of −0.10 V.

Room-temperature-processed amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with three different semiconductors (Si, GaAs, and Ge) of various doping concentrations as gate electrodes are fabricated. Like the conventional Si gate devices, both their GaAs and Ge counterparts show carrier mobility increasing with increasing gate doping concentration, further supporting that the holes at/near the surface of a p-type gate electrode can have a screening effect on the remote phonon scattering caused by the surface phonons of their high-k gate dielectrics. Moreover, for the same gate doping concentration, the Ge gate device has a carrier mobility about three times that of its conventional Si gate counterpart. This implies that lower-mass charge carriers in the gate electrode could have a stronger screening effect on remote phonon scattering. As a result, even with a moderate gate doping concentration of 1.0 × 1018 cm−3, the room-temperature-processed Ge gate device shows a high carrier mobility of 60.8 cm2/V s. The enhanced screening effect of the Ge gate electrode should be due to its higher-energy plasmons, which could couple more strongly with the phonons of the gate dielectric to result in weaker gate-dielectric vibration.

Pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with very high carrier mobility have been achieved on both rigid and flexible substrates by using high-k gate dielectric and metal gate. The high-k gate dielectric with suitable thickness can reduce the surface-roughness scattering, while the metal gate can suppress the remote phonon scattering. As a result, based on NbLaO gate dielectric, OTFTs with high carrier mobility of 10.6 cm2 V−1 s−1 (7.99 cm2 V−1 s−1) with the capacitance per unit area measured at frequency of 1 kHz and small threshold voltage of −0.92 V (−0.74 V) fabricated on Pd-coated Si substrate (Pd-coated vacuum tape) are realized, though they have rougher dielectric surface and smaller pentacene grains than their counterparts fabricated on n-Si substrate. Moreover, with the addition of 13-nm SiO2 interlayer between the NbLaO gate dielectric and metal gate electrode, the carrier mobility decreases by 71% and 65% for the OTFTs on Si and V.T. substrates, respectively, highlighting the importance of the RPS.

Ge metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitor with HfTiON/TaYON stacked gate dielectric treated by fluorine plasma is fabricated, and its interfacial and electrical properties are compared with its counterparts without the TaYON interfacial passivation layer or the fluorine-plasma treatment. Experimental results show that the sample exhibits excellent performances: low interface-state density ( $2.5\times 10^{11}$ cm $^{-2}$ eV $^{-1})$ , small flatband voltage (0.34 V), good capacitance–voltage behavior, small frequency dispersion, and low gate leakage current ( $2.47 \times 10^{-5}$ A/cm2 at $\text{V}_{\text {g}} = \,\, \text{V}_{\text {fb}} + 1$ V). These should be attributed to the suppressed growth of unstable Ge oxides on the Ge surface during gate dielectric annealing by the TaYON interlayer and fluorine incorporation, thus greatly reducing the defective states at/near the TaYON/Ge interface and improving the electrical properties of the device.

Purpose The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of upper tract involvement in ketamine-associated uropathy, and to determine the predictors of hydronephrosis in patients with a history of ketamine abuse. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of a prospective cohort of patients with ketamine-associated uropathy. Data including demographics, pattern of ketamine abuse, pelvic pain and urgency or frequency (PUF) symptom score, uroflowmetry (UFM) parameters, serum renal function, and liver function tests were collected. Upon consultation, ultrasonography was performed to assess the function of the urinary system. Results From December 2011 to October 2015, we treated 572 patients with ketamine-associated uropathy. Of these patients, 207 (36.2%) had managed to achieve abstinence at the time of their first consultation. Ninety-six patients (16.8%) in the cohort were found to have hydronephrosis on ultrasonography. Univariate analysis identified age, duration of ketamine abuse, PUF symptom score, voided volume on UFM, serum creatinine levels >100 μmol/L, and an abnormal serum liver enzyme profile as factors associated with hydronephrosis. Logistic regression revealed the following parameters to be statistically related to hydronephrosis: age (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.090; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.020-1.166; P=0.012), functional bladder capacity (adjusted OR, 0.997; 95% CI, 0.995-0.999; P=0.029), serum creatinine >100 μmol/L (adjusted OR, 3.107; 95% CI, 1.238-7.794; P=0.016, and an abnormal serum liver enzyme profile (adjusted OR, 1.967; 95% CI, 1.213-3.187; P=0.006). Conclusions Ketamine-associated uropathy can involve the upper urinary tract. Patient demographics as well as investigations of UFM, renal function tests, and liver function tests may allow us to identify at-risk patients.

ZrON gate-dielectric GaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors with a LaSiON interfacial passivation layer (IPL) and different fluorine-plasma-treatment methods are fabricated and investigated. Compared to using plasma-treating a GaAs surface or no plasma treatment, the sample with plasma-treated IPL exhibits the lowest interface-state density ( ${1.08 \times 10^{12}}$ cm−2eV−1), highest ${k}$ value (18.3) and smallest gate-leakage current ( ${1.62 \times 10^{-5}}$ A/cm2 at ${V_{fb}}$ + 1 V). The fact that plasma-treating IPL can effectively reduce the defect-related Ga/As–O and As–As bonds at GaAs surface and also incorporate more F into the gate stack to passivate the defects in it and at/near IPL/GaAs interface should be responsible for these.

Hong Kong is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees yet, it has historically attracted refugees from Mainland China and, in the 1970s, from Vietnam. Today, there is a refugee flow from different parts of Southeast Asia. This paper highlights the plight of refugees in an environment where there are no legal frameworks for managing refugees, where there is a deliberate policy of not settling refugees, irrespective of the validity of their claims, and where minimal support is provided for claimants waiting to have their claims assessed. Civic stratification is advanced as a theoretical framework for understanding the status of refugees in Hong Kong and the extent to which resistance is possible within this framework is demonstrated.

GaAs MOS capacitors with ZrTiON high- ${k}$ gate dielectric and ZrLaON or ZrON as interfacial passivation layer (IPL) are fabricated, and their electrical properties are investigated. As compared with a control sample without IPL, improved interfacial quality and electrical properties are obtained for both samples, with the ZrTiON/ZrLaON/GaAs device, exhibiting the lowest interface-state density ( $1.1 \times 10^{12}$ cm $^{-2}$ eV $^{-1})$ , smallest gate leakage current density ( $1.62 \times 10^{-5}$ A cm $^{-2}$ at $V_{g} =V_{{\text {fb}}} + 1$ V), and largest equivalent dielectric constant (25.1). All of these should be attributed to the fact that incorporating La into the ZrON IPL can: first, passivate its defects and, second, enhance the blocking role of the IPL against the Ti/O in-diffusion to the GaAs substrate and the Ga/As out-diffusion to the high- ${k}$ , thus resulting in an obvious reduction of relevant defects in the gate stack and also suppressing the formation of unstable Ga/As oxides and As–As dimer at the GaAs surface to obtain a much improved dielectric/GaAs interface.

GaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors are fabricated by alternately depositing La oxynitride (LaON)/TiON or TiON/LaON or first depositing a LaON interlayer and then alternately depositing LaON/TiON, and their interfacial and electrical properties are investigated and compared. Experimental results show that the sample with LaON interlayer exhibits better interface quality and electrical performance than the other two samples: lower interface-state density ( $1.05 \times 10^{12}$ cm $^{-2}$ eV $^{-1})$ , smaller gate leakage current ( $2.33 \times 10^{-5}$ A/cm2 at $\text{V}_{\mathrm {fb}} + 1$ V), larger equivalent dielectric constant (25.3), and better high-field reliability. The involved mechanism lies in the fact that the LaON interlayer on the GaAs surface can effectively reduce the defective states at/near the interface by blocking the Ti/O in-diffusion and As/Ga out-diffusion, thus improving the interfacial and electrical properties of the device.

The carrier mobility of MoS2 transistors can be greatly improved by the screening effect of high-k gate dielectric. Therefore, in this paper, atomic layer deposited HfTiO annealed in different ambients (N2, O2, and NH3) is used to replace SiO2 as gate dielectric for fabricating back-gated multilayer MoS2 transistors. As a result, excellent electrical properties are achieved for the sample annealed in NH3 at 400 °C for 10 min: the field-effect mobility of 31.1 cm $^{\mathrm {\mathbf {2}}}$ /(V $\cdot $ s) and the subthreshold swing of 100 mV/decade, which are six times higher and three times smaller compared with that of the control sample, respectively. The enhanced electrical performance should be associated with the passivation effects of the NH3 annealing, which reduces defective states in the HfTiO dielectric and at/near the HfTiO/MoS2 interface. The capacitance equivalent thickness of the gate dielectric (HfTiO) is only 6.79 nm, which is quite small for back-gated MoS2 transistor and is conducive to the scaling down of the device.

La2O3 and Y2O3 are used as gate dielectric in Ge MOS capacitors, and their electrical and interfacial properties are comparatively studied. Due to the much higher reactivity of La2O3 with Ge than Y2O3, thicker germanate interlayer is formed, leading to better interface quality for the former. Moreover, it is found that N incorporation in the oxides reduces the formation of both germanate and GeO x , with much more obvious effect for La2O3 and thus the best interface quality (a low interface-state density of $4.96\times 10^{11}$ cm $^{-2}$ eV $^{-1})$ , which gives promising electrical properties: large equivalent dielectric constant (18.8), small flat-band shift (0.37 V), low gate leakage current ( $2.89 \times 10^{-4}$ A/cm2 at $V_{g} = V_{\mathrm{ fb}}+ 1$ V), and high reliability under electrical stress.

Bottom-gate pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with different gate electron concentrations and pentacene thicknesses are fabricated. The performances of the OTFTs show dependence on both gate electron concentration and pentacene thickness. Electrons in the gate electrode can reduce the effect from surface optical phonons of the high-k gate dielectric (NdTaON), and so higher gate electron concentration gives better device performance. It is also supported by measurements at 140°C, where the remote phonon scattering is enhanced. Moreover, it is found that the extracted carrier mobility decreases with increasing pentacene thickness, which is attributed to the series resistance of the source/drain electrodes.

For top-gated MoS

Background & Aims It has been a challenge to develop fully functioning cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). We investigated how activation of hedgehog signaling regulates derivation of enteric neural crest (NC) cells from hPSCs. Methods We analyzed transcriptomes of mouse and hPSC-derived enteric NCs using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to identify the changes in expression associated with lineage differentiation. Intestine tissues were collected from Tg(GBS-GFP), Sufuf/f; Wnt1–cre, Ptch1+/–, and Gli3Δ699/Δ699 mice and analyzed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence for levels of messenger RNAs encoding factors in the hedgehog signaling pathway during differentiation of enteric NCs. Human NC cells (HNK-1+p75NTR+) were derived from IMR90 and UE02302 hPSC lines. hPSCs were incubated with a hedgehog agonist (smoothened agonist [SAG]) and antagonists (cyclopamine) and analyzed for differentiation. hPSC-based innervated colonic organoids were derived from these hPSC lines and analyzed by immunofluorescence and neuromuscular coupling assay for expression of neuronal subtype markers and assessment of the functional maturity of the hPSC-derived neurons, respectively. Results Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis showed that neural fate acquisition by human and mouse enteric NC cells requires reduced expression of NC- and cell cycle–specific genes and up-regulation of neuronal or glial lineage–specific genes. Activation of the hedgehog pathway was associated with progression of mouse enteric NCs to the more mature state along the neuronal and glial lineage differentiation trajectories. Activation of the hedgehog pathway promoted development of cultured hPSCs into NCs of greater neurogenic potential by activating expression of genes in the neurogenic lineage. The hedgehog agonist increased differentiation of hPSCs into cells of the neuronal lineage by up-regulating expression of GLI2 target genes, including INSM1, NHLH1, and various bHLH family members. The hedgehog agonist increased expression of late neuronal markers and neuronal activities in hPSC-derived neurons. Conclusions In enteric NCs from humans and mice, activation of hedgehog signaling promotes differentiation into neurons by promoting cell-state transition, expression of genes in the neurogenic lineage, and functional maturity of enteric neurons.

In this work, the ferroelectricity of hafnium zirconium oxide (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2, HZO) is enhanced by fluorine (F)-plasma treatment, which is used to fabricate MoS2 negative-capacitance field-effect transistor. Measurements show that the subthreshold swing of the transistor is significantly reduced to 17.8 mV dec−1 over almost four orders of output current, as compared to its counterpart without the F-plasma treatment (37.4 mV dec−1). The involved mechanism is that during the F-plasma treatment, F atoms can be incorporated into the HZO bulk to passive its oxygen vacancies and interface traps, thus forming robust Zr–F and Hf–F bonds. Therefore, the F-plasma-treated HZO film exhibits much less oxygen vacancies than the untreated HZO film, which is beneficial to enhancing the amplification effect on the surface potential of the MoS2 channel during the NC operation.

CF4/O2-plasma is used to treat the interfaces of gate stacks (MoS2/Al2O3/ ZrO2/p+-Si), and its effects on the electrical performance of the few-layered MoS2 transistors have been investigated. Experimental results show that excellent electrical properties have been achieved for the MoS2 transistors with CF4/O2-plasma treated stacked gate dielectric, especially for the F-treated ZrO2 device: high mobility of 53.7 cm2/Vs, small subthreshold swing of 117 mV/dec and high on/off ratio of 2.7 × 107. The involved main mechanisms lie in the facts that: (i) the MoS2/dielectric interface is improved through the F- passivation on the oxygen vacancies in the dielectric, decreasing the dangling bonds and surface roughness of the dielectric; (ii) the dielectric constant (k) of the gate stack dielectric is increased because of suppressed growth of low-k Zr-silicate interlayer and improved dielectric quality by forming Zr F and Al F bonds; (iii) CF4/O2-plasma treatment on the ZrO2 surface can result in F incorporation in both ZrO2 and Al2O3, thus giving the best passivation effects on oxygen vacancies and oxide traps near/at the MoS2/dielectric interface. These results indicate that CF4/O2-plasma treatment is an effective way for improving the bulk and interface qualities of gate dielectrics and thus the electrical properties of MoS2 FETs.

ZnO thin film transistor with high-k NbLaO/SiO2 bilayer gate dielectric was fabricated by sputtering, and the temperature dependence of the electrical properties of the device was investigated in the temperature range of 293–353 K for clarifying thermally activated carrier generation and carrier transport mechanisms in the conducting channel. With the increase in the temperature, the transfer curve shifts toward the negative gate voltage direction with a negative shift of the threshold voltage, an increase in the off-state current and the subthreshold slope, and a significant increase in carrier mobility. The decrease in the threshold voltage is originated from the formation of oxygen vacancy and the release of free electrons in the ZnO channel, and the formation energy can be estimated to be approximately 0.3 eV. In both subthreshold and above-threshold regimes, the temperature dependence of the drain current shows Arrhenius-type dependence, and the activation energy is around 0.94 eV for a gate voltage of 2 V, reducing with the increase in the gate voltage. The temperature dependence of the ZnO film resistance also exhibits an Arrhenius-type behavior, indicating that the thermal activation conduction process is the dominant conduction mechanism in the ZnO film. Two types of thermal activation conduction processes are observed in the 303–373 K temperature range. This is explained in terms of the existence of two types of deep donors that are consecutively excited to the conduction band as the temperature increases.

Capacitance–voltage characteristic of the GaAs MOS capacitor with TaYON gate dielectric (Y content = 27.6%) proposed in this work with the cross sectional structure and dielectric surface morphology as insets. In this study, GaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors using Y-incorporated TaON as gate dielectric have been investigated. Experimental results show that the sample with a Y/(Y + Ta) atomic ratio of 27.6% exhibits the best device characteristics: high k value (22.9), low interfacestate density (9.0 × 1011 cm–2 eV–1), small flatband voltage (1.05 V), small frequency dispersion and low gate leakage current (1.3 × 10–5A/cm2 at Vfb + 1 V). These merits should be attributed to the complementary properties of Y2O3 and Ta2O5:Y can effectively passivate the large amount of oxygen vacancies in Ta2O5, while the positively-charged oxygen vacancies in Ta2O5 are capable of neutralizing the effects of the negative oxide charges in Y2O3. This work demonstrates that an appropriate doping of Y content in TaON gate dielectric can effectively improve the electrical performance for GaAs MOS devices.

The interfacial and electrical properties of sputtered Ti-incorporated Hf oxynitride on Ga2O3(Gd2O3) (GGO) with or without N2-plasma treated as an interfacial passivation layer (IPL) for Ge MOS capacitor are compared. It is found that low interface-state density ( $3.4 \times 10^{11}$ cm $^{-2}$ eV $^{-1}$ ), small gate leakage current ( $2.93 \times 10^{-5}$ A/cm2 at $V_{g} = V_{\mathrm{fb}} + 1$ V), small capacitance equivalent thickness (1.09 nm), and large equivalent dielectric constant (26.5) can be achieved for the sample with N2-plasma-treated GGO IPL. The involved mechanisms lie in the fact that the N2-plasma-treated GGO IPL can effectively block the interdiffusion of elements and suppress the formation of GeO x interfacial layer.

In this work, we investigate the effects on the electrical properties of few-layered MoS2 field-effect transistors (FETs) following Al incorporation into ZrO2 as the gate dielectrics of the devices. A large improvement in device performance is achieved with the Al-doped ZrO2 gate dielectric when Zr:Al = 1:1. The relevant MoS2 transistor exhibits the best electrical characteristics: high carrier mobility of 40.6 cm2 V-1 s-1 (41% higher than that of the control sample, and an intrinsic mobility of 68.0 cm2 V-1 s-1), a small subthreshold swing of 143 mV dec-1, high on/off current ratio of 6 × 106 and small threshold voltage of 0.71 V. These are attributed to the facts that (i) Al incorporation into ZrO2 can decrease its oxygen vacancies; densify the dielectric film; and smooth the gate dielectric surface, thus reducing the traps at/near the Zr0.5Al0.5O y /MoS2 interface and the gate leakage current; (ii) adjusting the dielectric constant of the gate dielectric to an appropriate value, which achieves a reasonable trade-off between the gate screening effect on the Coulomb-impurity scattering and the surface optical phonon scattering. These results demonstrate that optimized Zr0.5Al0.5Oy is a potential gate dielectric material for MoS2 FET applications.

The carrier mobility of MoS

Acupuncture is widely deployed today, but its basic physiology with Qi and meridian is not understood. This letter postulates that Qi is an infrasound wave packet and meridian is the muscle waveguide. Using video cameras and signal processing in an IRB approved clinical experiment we performed a comparison between control and electro-activated statistical tests on the long range (50-80cm) unidirectional transmission of Qi (p = 0.025). In the reverse direction, there is no transmission even in a distance of less than 10 cm (p = 0.545). The rectification is a surprise but in full agreement with Huang Di Nei Jing.

A physics-based electron-mobility model including remote Coulomb scattering by fixed charge in high- k dielectric and remote interface-roughness scattering originated from the fluctuation of high- k /interlayer interface is established for InGaAs MOSFET, and the validity of the model is confirmed by good agreement between simulated results and experimental data. Effects of structural and physical parameters of the devices on the electron mobility are analyzed using the model, and the results show that smoother high- k /interlayer interface, reasonably high permittivities for the interlayer and high- k dielectric, and less fixed charge in the high- k dielectric are desired to enhance the electron mobility and simultaneously keep further scaling of equivalent oxide thickness.

Objective To assess the outcome of a prospective cohort of patients with ketamine-associated uropathy after standardized treatment. Methods This is a prospective case series of patients with ketamine-related urologic problems. Management for the patients includes a 4-tier approach, namely anti-inflammatory or anti-cholinergic drugs, opioid analgesics or pregabalin, intravesical hyaluronic acid, and finally, surgical intervention including hydrodistension and augmentation cystoplasty. Outcome was assessed with functional bladder capacity, pelvic pain and urgency or frequency (PUF) symptom scale, and the EuroQol visual analog scale. Results Between December 2011 and June 2014, 463 patients presented with ketamine-associated uropathy. All were managed by the same standardized protocol. Among these patients, 319 patients came back for follow-up assessment. Overall mean follow-up duration was 10.7 ± 8.5 months. For those patients who received first-line treatment (290 patients), there was a significant improvement in PUF scores, the EuroQol visual analog scale, and functional bladder capacity. Both abstinence from ketamine usage and the amount of ketamine consumed were factors predicting the improvement of PUF scores. For those patients who required second-line oral therapy (62 patients), 42 patients (67.7%) reported improvement in symptoms. Eight patients have completed intravesical therapy. There was a significant improvement in voided volume for the patients after treatment. Conclusion The study demonstrated the efficacy of managing ketamine-associated uropathy using a 4-tier approach. Both anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics could effectively alleviate symptoms. Being abstinent from ketamine abuse and the amount of ketamine consumed have bearings on treatment response.

Plasma nitridation is used for nitrogen incorporation in Ga2O3(Gd2O3) (GGO) as interfacial passivation layer for an InGaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitor with a HfTiON gate dielectric. The nitrided GGO (GGON) on InGaAs can improve the interface quality with a low interface-state density at midgap ( $1.0\times 10^{\mathrm {\mathbf {12}}}$ cm $^{\mathrm {\mathbf {-2}}}$ eV $^{\mathrm {\mathbf {-1}}})$ , and result in good electrical properties for the device, e.g., low gate leakage current ( $8.5\times 10^{\mathrm {\mathbf {-6}}}$ A/cm $^{\mathrm {\mathbf {2}}}$ at $V_{g} = 1$ V), small capacitance equivalent thickness (1.60 nm), and large equivalent dielectric constant (24.9). The mechanisms involved lie in the fact that the GGON interlayer can effectively suppress the formation of the interfacial In/Ga/As oxides and remove excess As atoms on the InGaAs surface, thus unpinning the Femi level at the GGON/InGaAs interface and improving the interface quality and electrical properties of the device.

Pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) using La x Ta (1− x ) O y as gate dielectric with different La contents ( x = 0.227, 0.562, 0.764, 0.883) have been fabricated and compared with those using Ta oxide or La oxide. The OTFT with La 0.764 Ta 0.236 O y can achieve a carrier mobility of 1.21 cm 2 V −1 s −1 s, which is about 40 times and two times higher than those of the devices using Ta oxide and La oxide, respectively. As supported by XPS, AFM and noise measurement, the reasons lie in that La incorporation can suppress the formation of oxygen vacancies in Ta oxide, and Ta content can alleviate the hygroscopicity of La oxide, resulting in more passivated and smoother dielectric surface and thus larger pentacene grains, which lead to higher carrier mobility.

A premature infant (twin 2) presents with a palpable, protruding bulge in the chest wall at age 19 days (Fig 1; Video). Video: Please click here or on video to view premature infant with chest wall bulge. Figure 1. Premature infant with chest wall bulge. ### Prenatal and Birth Histories ### Presentation Twin 2 was diagnosed postnatally with a coarctation of the aorta and underwent repair of this coarctation and a patent ductus arteriosus ligation at age 11 days. Postoperatively, he required a left chest tube, which was removed on postoperative day 1. He was recovering well at 18 days of age, receiving 3 L oxygen via high-flow nasal cannula, with a fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio2) of 0.25, and intermittent tachypnea. His inotropic support had been discontinued and he was tolerating trophic feedings. However, on examination, a well-demarcated bulge overlying the fourth intercostal space of the left upper anterior hemithorax was detected. ### Vital Signs

Evaluations of upper gastrointestinal toxicity from ketamine abuse are uncommon. This study investigated the clinical pattern of upper gastrointestinal symptoms in patients inhaling ketamine.In a cross-sectional study of 611 consecutive patients who were seeking treatment for ketamine uropathy in a tertiary hospital setting between August 2008 and June 2016, their clinical pattern of upper gastrointestinal symptoms was evaluated and compared with a control population of 804 non-users.A total of 168 (27.5%) patients abusing ketamine (mean age 26.3 years, 58.9% female) reported the presence of upper gastrointestinal symptoms. These symptoms were significantly more prevalent in patients inhaling ketamine than in those who were not (27.5% vs 5.2%, P0.001). Their mean duration of ketamine abuse before symptom presentation was 5.0 ± 3.1 years. The presenting symptoms included epigastric pain (n = 155, 25.4%), recurrent vomiting (n = 48, 7.9%), anemia (n = 36, 5.9%) and gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 20, 3.3%). Uropathy symptoms were preceded by upper gastrointestinal symptoms for 4.4 ± 3.0 years in 141 (83.9%) patients. Logistic regression showed that elder age (odds ratio [OR] 1.06, P = 0.04), active abuser status (OR 1.60, P = 0.04) and longer duration of ketamine abuse (OR 1.00, P = 0.04) were independent factors associated with upper gastrointestinal toxicity.Although epigastric symptoms are unusual in the young population, upper gastrointestinal toxicity was highly prevalent in those inhaling ketamine. Enquiries about ketamine abuse are recommended when assessing young patients with epigastric symptoms.

High- k HfTiON gate-dielectric GaAs MOS capacitors with and without AlON as interfacial passivation layer (IPL) are fabricated and their interfacial and electrical properties are compared. It is found that low interface-state density ( 1.5×1012 cm-2eV-1 at midgap), small gate leakage current ( 1.3×10-4 A/cm2 at Vg=Vfb+1 V), small capacitance equivalent thickness (1.72 nm), large equivalent dielectric constant (25.6), and high device reliability can be achieved for the Al/HfTiON/AlON/GaAs MOS device. All of these should be due to the fact that the AlON IPL on sulfur-passivated GaAs can effectively reduce the density of defective states and unpin the Femi level at the AlON/GaAs interface, thus greatly improving the interfacial and electrical properties of the device.

For top-gated MoS2 field-effect transistors, damaging the MoS2 surface to the MoS2 channel are inevitable due to chemical bonding and/or high-energy metal atoms during the vacuum deposition of gate dielectric, thus leading to degradations of field-effect mobility (μ FE) and subthreshold swing (SS). A top-gated MoS2 transistor is fabricated by directly transferring a 9 nm mica flake (as gate dielectric) onto the MoS2 surface without any chemical bonding, and exhibits excellent electrical properties with an on–off ratio of ~108, a low threshold voltage of ~0.2 V, a record μ FE of 134 cm2 V−1 s−1, a small SS of 72 mV dec−1 and a low interface-state density of 8.8 × 1011 cm−2 eV−1, without relying on electrode-contact engineered and/or phase-engineered MoS2. Although the equivalent oxide thickness of the mica dielectric is in the sub-5 nm regime, enhanced stability characterized by normalized threshold voltage shift (1.2 × 10−2 V MV−1 cm−1) has also been demonstrated for the transistor after a gate-bias stressing at 4.4 MV cm−1 for 103 s. All these improvements should be ascribed to a damage-free MoS2 channel achieved by a dry transfer of gate dielectric and a clean and smooth surface of the mica flake, which greatly decreases the charged-impurity and interface-roughness scatterings. The proposed transistor with low threshold voltage and high stability is highly desirable for low-power electronic applications.

The effects of incorporating Al into HfO2 as gate dielectric on the back-gated MoS2 transistor are investigated. Hf0.5Al0.5O as gate dielectric exhibits excellent electrical characteristics: on/off ratio of 1.8 × 107, carrier mobility of 49.3 cm2/(V s), subthreshold swing of 118 mV dec−1, interface-state density of 2.3 × 1012 eV−1 cm−2, due to the Al incorporation into the HfO2 can passivate the defective states induced by oxygen vacancies and improve the dielectric densification and uniformity to obtain an excellent MoS2/Hf1-x Al x O interface. Besides, the intrinsic carrier mobility of 100 cm2 V−1 s−1 and contact resistance of 11.1 kΩ/μm indicates that the contact resistance is a main factor limiting the mobility.

Background & Aims Hirschsprung disease, or congenital aganglionosis, is believed to be oligogenic—that is, caused by multiple genetic factors. We performed whole-genome sequence analyses of patients with Hirschsprung disease to identify genetic factors that contribute to disease development and analyzed the functional effects of these variants. Methods We performed whole-genome sequence analyses of 443 patients with short-segment disease, recruited from hospitals in China and Vietnam, and 493 ethnically matched individuals without Hirschsprung disease (controls). We performed genome-wide association analyses and gene-based rare-variant burden tests to identify rare and common disease–associated variants and study their interactions. We obtained induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from 4 patients with Hirschsprung disease and 2 control individuals, and we used these to generate enteric neural crest cells for transcriptomic analyses. We assessed the neuronal lineage differentiation capability of iPSC-derived enteric neural crest cells using an in vitro differentiation assay. Results We identified 4 susceptibility loci, including 1 in the phospholipase D1 gene (PLD1) (P = 7.4 × 10–7). The patients had a significant excess of rare protein-altering variants in genes previously associated with Hirschsprung disease and in the β-secretase 2 gene (BACE2) (P = 2.9 × 10–6). The epistatic effects of common and rare variants across these loci provided a sensitized background that increased risk for the disease. In studies of the iPSCs, we observed common and distinct pathways associated with variants in RET that affect risk. In functional assays, we found variants in BACE2 to protect enteric neurons from apoptosis. We propose that alterations in BACE1 signaling via amyloid β precursor protein and BACE2 contribute to pathogenesis of Hirschsprung disease. Conclusions In whole-genome sequence analyses of patients with Hirschsprung disease, we identified rare and common variants associated with disease risk. Using iPSC cells, we discovered some functional effects of these variants.

The characteristics of Al2O3 film grown by atomic-layer deposition as blocking layer with and without fluorine plasma treatment were investigated based on a capacitor structure of Al/Al2O3/TaON/SiO2/Si. The physical structure was studied by transmission electron microscopy, and the chemical composition of the blocking layer was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Moreover, the surface roughness of the blocking layer was investigated by atomic force microscopy. Compared with a capacitor with Al2O3 blocking layer, the one with fluorinated Al2O3 displayed higher programming/erasing speeds, better endurance property and better charge retention characteristic because the fluorination could reduce excess oxygen and traps in the blocking layer, thus forming a larger barrier height at the interface between the charge-trapping layer and the blocking layer. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

To estimate the risk of lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) caused by malignant lesion in patients presenting with per-rectal bleeding (PRB), by using visual aid as an objective measurement of PRB colour. This was a prospective observational study on patients presented with PRB to Family Medicine Specialty Clinic, who undergo flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) or colonoscopy (CLN) from December 2012 to September 2013. Patients aged 40 years old or above, haemodynamically stable, with normal haemoglobin level were included. Patients with a history of previous colonic surgery, refused to have FS or CLN, with ophthalmologic diseases such as colour blindness were excluded. Parameters including subjective description of PRB colour, number of chosen red colour by patients, source and distance of bleeding from anal verge were recorded for analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to identify the optimal cutoff level of colour for diagnosing colonic lesion. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed by area under the ROC curve (AUC). Accountability of this model was assessed by logistic regression. The dark PRB colour was associated with diagnosis of tumour (p

An InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) chip mounted in a vertical configuration (vmLED) is demonstrated, exhibiting significant enhancement to light extraction, compared with a LED mounted in a conventional planar geometry. By flipping the chip orthogonally, two large illumination surfaces of the device are exposed for direct light extraction. Comparisons, through ray-trace modeling and experiment data with conventional surface-mounted LEDs, indicate that the vmLEDs achieve superior light extraction efficiency. A sapphire-prism-mounted vmLED is further proposed to improve heat sinking, which is well suited for higher current operations.

Pentacene organic thin-film transistors with HfLaO as gate dielectric were fabricated. The dielectric was prepared by sputtering method with a dielectric constant over 11, and hence the OTFTs could operate at a voltage less than 5 V. The dielectric was annealed in N2, NO or NH3 at 400 oC after sputtering to passivate the surface of the dielectric. The OTFT treated in NH3 displayed higher carrier mobility, smaller sub-threshold swing, and lower 1/f noise than the OTFTs annealed in N2 and NO respectively. SEM image indicated that pentacene inclined to form larger grains on the dielectric annealed in NH3 than the dielectric annealed in N2 or NO. The enhanced electrical performance of OTFTs annealed in NH3 can be attributed to the improved interfacial characteristics between the organic film and the gate dielectric.