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Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are nanosized graphene derivatives with unique photoluminescence (PL) properties that have advantages in optoelectronic applications due to their stable blue light emission. However, aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) of GQDs limits the practical applications on light-emitting diodes. Here, we suppress the ACQ phenomena of GQDs by reducing the size and converting GQDs into aggregation-induced emission (AIE)–active materials. As the size of GQDs is reduced from 5 to 1 nm, their solid-state PL quantum yields (PLQYs) are improved from 0.5 to 2.5%, preventing ACQ. Two different rotor molecules, benzylamine (BA) and 4,4′-(1,2-diphenylethene-1,2-diyl)diphenol (TPE-DOH), are selectively functionalized by substituting carboxylic acid and carbonyl functional groups. All functionalized GQDs show AIE behaviors with significantly enhanced solid-state PLQYs, up to 16.8%. Afterglow measurements and theoretical calculations reveal that selective functionalization hinders inter- and intramolecular charge transfer, which enhances the fluorescence rate of GQDs and corresponding PLQY.

Highly efficient (PCE = 13.1%) and stretchable (strain at PCE80% = 34%) IS-OSCs are developed using a molecular interdiffusion-assisted TPU-PEDOT:PSS bilayers with excellent adhesion properties.

Context Conservative treatment is effective for treating and managing herniated lumbar disc with radiating leg pain. Objectives To investigate the effects of motion style acupuncture treatment (MSAT) on the pelvic joint for this condition. Design This prospective observational study was a pilot study for a future randomized, controlled trial (RCT). Setting [masked for review]. Patients/Interventions We enroled 40 patients and allocated them to two groups (both n = 20). Groups 1 and 2 received integrative Korean medicine treatment (KMT) and integrative KMT with MSAT for pelvic joint, respectively. Primary outcome was the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score for low back pain. Secondary outcomes were the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Visual analogue Scale (VAS), and EuroQol 5-Dimension-5-level (EQ-5D-5 L) scores. Efficacy was assessed by comparing the baseline and Day 4 results. Safety was assessed based on the frequency and severity of all adverse events. Results On Day 14, except for ODI in Group 1, the NRS, VAS, and EQ-5D-5 L scores showed significant improvements in both groups. On Day 90, both groups showed significant improvements in the NRS, ODI, and EQ-5D-5 L scores. There was a significant between-group difference in the NRS score on Day 7. On Day 14, Group 2 had a significantly lower VAS score for radiating leg pain than Group 1. Twelve patients reported adverse events associated with integrative KMT; however, there was no association with pelvic joint MSAT. Conclusion Adding MSAT for pelvic joint to conventional integrative KMT may ameliorate radiating leg pain and improve the quality of life.

Optimal electron transfer with the catalyst through modulation of a graphene support with non-covalent adsorbents for achieving maximized activity and stability.

Since the most high-performing donor polymers in polymer solar cells (PSCs) possessed the deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level, interfacial engineering on anode contact is becoming increasingly important. Herein, we demonstrated efficient PSCs using an anionic poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) as an anode interfacial layer (AIL). With the formation of the dipole layer, the effective work function (WF) of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode is significantly increased from 4.8 to 5.3 eV, providing favorable energetic alignment to the quasi-Fermi level of various donor polymers. Moreover, by incorporating cationic polyelectrolytes as a cathode interfacial layer, a pair of electric dipole layers induces a strong built-in electric field across the photoactive layer to drive efficient sweep-out of photogenerated charges. Consequently, the device with PSS AIL exhibited high power conversion efficiencies of 9.2 and 14.8% in PTB7-Th:PC71BM- and PM6:Y6-based PSCs, respectively, both of which are higher than those of the devices with PEDOT:PSS.

Background: This two-arm, parallel, pragmatic, multicenter, clinical randomized, controlled trial with a 12-week follow-up period aimed to compare the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture therapy and physical therapy strategies for chronic neck pain. Methods: Eight sessions of pharmacopuncture therapy or physical therapy were administered within 2 weeks. The primary outcome was the visual analogue scale (VAS) score for neck pain. The secondary outcomes were the scores of the Northwick Park questionnaire (NPQ), VAS score for radiating arm pain, numeric rating scale (NRS) for neck and arm bothersomeness, neck disability index (NDI), patient global impression of change (PGIC), 12-item short form health survey (SF-12), and EuroQoL 5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L) instrument. The protocol was registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04035018) and CRIS (KCT0004243). Results: We randomly allocated 101 participants with chronic neck pain to the pharmacopuncture therapy (n = 50) or physical therapy group (n = 51). At the primary endpoint (week 5) the pharmacopuncture therapy group showed significantly superior effects regarding VAS score for neck pain and arm bothersomeness, NRS for neck pain, NDI, NPQ, and PGIC compared with the physical therapy group. These effects were sustained up to 12 weeks after follow-up. Conclusion: Compared with physical therapy, pharmacopuncture therapy had superior effects on the pain and functional recovery of patients with chronic neck pain.

Traditionally, the treatment of left main coronary artery disease is recommended coronary artery bypass grafting because of its superior long-term outcomes compared with medical treatment and plain old balloon angioplasty. However, improvement of percutaneous coronary intervention technique and introduction of drug-eluting stent led to change of treatment strategy of left main coronary artery disease through cumulative data for revascularization that based on clinical evidence.

We propose a novel, temperature-insensitive fiber optic sensor for refractive index (RI) measurement. Our refractometer is based on multimodal interference in a wave-shaped configuration with localized reverse curvature, which is composed of a concatenating standard single-mode fiber (SMF)-no-core fiber (NCF)-SMF structure. The wave-shaped fiber optic refractometer is composed of an SMF–NCF–SMF combination, in which the length of the NCF located at the top of the structure, is only 4 mm. The main wave-shaped fiber has a curvature of 20 m−1, while the wave-shaped NCF section has a curvature of −0.0055 m−1. The NCF section with no polymer coating, which acts as a sensing head, is modified to have a curvature opposite to the curvature of the whole wave-shaped optical fiber, by applying localized external pressure. The RI measurement sensitivity of our proposed refractometer was estimated at approximately −53.24 nm/RIU, while its temperature sensitivity was 0 pm/°C.

GCNs (Graph Convolutional Networks) are becoming increasingly popular in the field of neural networks due to their ability to analyze many kinds of irregular data. Along with the rapid growth, there are various accelerators being proposed to mitigate the huge computational requirements. Often, the key bottleneck of executing GCNs is at the random accesses posed on the wide feature array. Vertex tiling is a popular technique to address the issue, but has a drawback of putting too much repetition on the data and being hard to tune parameters. In such regard, we propose feature slicing and automatic tile morphing, which greatly improves the cache behavior, and allows for easier tuning. Experimental results show that the proposed methods provide up to 40.1 percent overall execution time reduction, and automatically finds near-optimal tuning parameters.

Kyoung Sun Park,1 Suna Kim,2 Ji Yeon Seo,3 HyunWoo Cho,4 Jee Young Lee,5 Yoon Jae Lee,5 Jinho Lee,1 Min Ji Kim,6 Young Eun Choi,6 Chang Sop Yang,7 Chang-Hyun Han,7,8,* In-Hyuk Ha5,* 1Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Daejeon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; 3Bucheon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Bucheon, Republic of Korea; 4Haeundae Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea; 5Jaseng Spine and Joint Research Institute, Jaseng Medical Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 6Clinical Research Coordinating Team, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; 7KM Science Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; 8 Korean Convergence Medicine, University of Science & Technology (UST), Campus of Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: In-Hyuk Ha, Jaseng Spine and Joint Research Institute, Jaseng Medical Foundation, 2F Vision Tower, 540 Gangnam-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06110, Republic of Korea, Tel +82 2 2222 2740, Email hanihata@gmail.comPurpose: Chronic low back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder that affects everyday life; moreover, it occasionally causes disability and increases medical expenditure. This pragmatic randomized clinical trial aims to investigate the effects of pharmacopuncture on chronic LBP by comparing the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture and physiotherapy strategies.Patients and Methods: In this two-armed, parallel, multi-center randomized controlled study, the participants will randomly undergo 10 sessions of pharmacopuncture therapy or physiotherapy over five weeks based on the randomization outcomes. The primary outcome will be the numeric rating scale (NRS) score of LBP. The secondary outcomes will include the NRS score of radiating leg pain, visual analog scale (VAS) score of LBP and radiating leg pain, Oswestry disability index, the Korean version of the Roland–Morris disability questionnaire, patient global impression of change (PGIC), short Form-12 health survey version 2, and 5-level EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D-5L).Conclusion: This protocol aims to examine the comparative effectiveness of pharmacopuncture, which is a widely used therapy in Korean medicine, with respect to the standard therapy through a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to present useful data to facilitate clinical or policy decision making.Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04833309); Clinical Research Information Service (KCT0006088).Keywords: low back pain, pharmacopuncture, physical therapy, pragmatic randomized controlled trial, protocol, musculoskeletal disorder, Korean medicine