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Introduction: Existing studies provide insights into the prevalence and environmental factors associated with allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) globally. However, limitations still persist in these studies, particularly regarding cohort sizes and the duration of follow-up periods, indicating a need for more comprehensive and long-term research in these fields. Our study aimed to investigate the prevalence, long-term trends, and underlying factors of these conditions in the general population of adult participants (≥19 years) in Korea. Method: We analyzed data from adult participants (≥19 years) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) study to determine the prevalence of AR and CRS from 1998 to 2021. To analyze prevalence trends before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we employed a weighted linear regression model and obtained β-coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Between 1998 and 2021, over a span of 24 years, the comprehensive KNHANES study included 146,264 adult participants (mean age: 47.80 years, standard deviation: 16.49 years; 66,177, 49.3% men). The prevalence of AR and CRS increased from 1998 to 2021, with AR prevalence rising from 5.84% (95% CI, 5.57–6.10) in 1998–2005 to 8.99% (8.09–9.91) in 2021 and CRS from 1.84% (1.70–1.97) in 1998–2005 to 3.70% (3.18–4.23) in 2021. However, the increasing trend has slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Conclusions: The significance of continuous monitoring and focused interventions for AR and CRS is underscored by this study. The observed deceleration in the rising prevalence of AR and CRS during the pandemic indicates the possibility of beneficial impacts from lifestyle modifications triggered by the pandemic. These findings call for additional research to explore potential protective effects in greater depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of biodegradable bioplastics is presented. • Two biodegradable plastics are considered: polylactic acid and polyhydroxybutyrate. • End-of-life scenarios are considered to explore sustainability impacts. • Both biodegradable plastics has a positive environmental impact from gate-to-grave. Biodegradable plastics have emerged as promising and sustainable solutions for addressing the environmental challenges caused by plastic wastes. In this study, we present a comprehensive cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) of two prominent biodegradable plastics, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA), to quantitatively evaluate their environmental impact. In cradle-to-gate analysis, production processes of biodegradable plastics from their respective raw materials were analyzed. The global warming potentials (GWPs) for 1 kg of PHB and PLA plastics were 3.09 CO 2 equivalent (kg CO 2 eq.) and 5.79 kg CO 2 eq., respectively, which were higher than those of fossil-based plastics. However, gate-to-grave LCA demonstrated that the superior end-of-life (EOL) options for biodegradable plastics, such as anaerobic digestion and incineration, result in an overall reduction in GWP under well-controlled waste management scenarios. These findings underscore the importance of developing technology and infrastructure for the effective treatment of biodegradable plastic waste, in addition to expanding its market share. Furthermore, the comprehensive cradle-to-grave LCA provides valuable guidance for policymakers to incentivize emission reductions throughout the entire product life cycle, rather than focusing on localized scopes. We believe that the insights from this study will encourage extensive discussions on both technical and regulatory aspects, facilitating efforts towards a more sustainable plastic economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platinum (Pt) and Samaria-doped ceria (SDC) as cermet cathodes were investigated to enhance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics in low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Pt is widely known for its high catalytic activity, whereas SDC is one of the most promising oxide ionic conductors as an LT-SOFC electrolyte. To improve both the catalytic activity and oxygen ionic transportation, a co-sputtering technique was used to fabricate a composite cathode by adjusting the elemental composition of Pt and SDC. This technique demonstrated that the Pt-SDC cermet cathode can increase the electrochemical reaction sites and offer a percolated pathway for rapid electron-ion conduction within the cermet structure. The electrochemical analysis results also revealed that the fuel cells coated with Pt-SDC cermet cathodes outperformed the pure Pt-coated fuel cells in terms of peak power density. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis indicated that the improved ORR kinetics of Pt-SDC cermet cathodes were the main reason for the improved fuel cell performance by catalyzing both electron and oxygen ion conduction. • Pt-SDC cermet cathodes were fabricated via co-sputtering technique for LT-SOFCs. • The chemical composition of cermet cathodes was controlled by RF power of SDC. • The TPB density can be enlarged by mixing the both Pt and SDC with co-sputtering. • Optimized ratio of Pt and SDC can provide the percolating path for charge transport. • Pt-SDC cermet cathode can increase the performance of fuel cell by catalyzing ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have strong potential for next-generation energy conversion systems. However, their high processing temperature due to multi-layer ceramic components has been a major challenge for commercialization. In particular, the constrained sintering effect due to the rigid substrate in the fabrication process is a main reason to increase the sintering temperature of ceramic electrolyte. Herein, we develop a bi-layer sintering method composed of a Bi 2 O 3 sintering sacrificial layer and YSZ main electrolyte layer to effectively lower the sintering temperature of the YSZ electrolyte even under the constrained sintering conditions. The Bi 2 O 3 sintering functional layer applied on the YSZ electrolyte is designed to facilitate the densification of YSZ electrolyte at the significantly lowered sintering temperature and is removed after the sintering process to prevent the detrimental effects of residual sintering aids. Subsequent sublimation of Bi 2 O 3 was confirmed after the sintering process and a dense YSZ monolayer was formed as a result of the sintering functional layer-assisted sintering process. The sintering behavior of the Bi 2 O 3 /YSZ bi-layer system was systematically analyzed, and material properties including the microstructure, crystallinity, and ionic conductivity were analyzed. The developed bi-layer sintered YSZ electrolyte was employed to fabricate anode-supported SOFCs, and a cell performance comparable to a conventional high temperature sintered (1400 °C) YSZ electrolyte was successfully demonstrated with significantly reduced sintering temperature (<1200 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid oxide fuel cells are promising renewable energy devices due to their high efficiency and fuel flexibility. As they operate at a higher temperature than other fuel cells, ceramic materials, such as perovskite-based La 0.6 Sr 0.4 CoO 3 and La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3 , can be used as electrodes to replace expensive noble metals. However, when the corresponding electrode and yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte are sintered together, SrZrO 3 produced from a side reaction acts as an insulator and deteriorates the performance of the fuel cell. Thus, the dense functional layer of a ceria-based material should be introduced between the electrode and the electrolyte to suppress the formation of secondary phases. However, in the conventional cell manufacturing process, it is challenging to manufacture a dense functional layer under constrained sintering conditions. In this study, we develop a method for fabricating a dense gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) functional layer, even under constrained sintering conditions, by using a sacrificial bismuth oxide, Bi 2 O 3 , sintering aid layer above the GDC layer. As thermal sintering progresses at 1000–1200 °C, the Bi 2 O 3 sintering aid layer is sublimated, leaving only the pure GDC functional layer. The fabricated dense GDC functional layer characterized by various analysis methods shows improved solid oxide fuel cell performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report successful fabrication of a gadolinia‐doped ceria (GDC) thin film using atomic layer deposition (ALD) for improving the performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). By varying the deposition conditions and adjusting the configuration of the ALD supercycle, the doping ratio of ALD GDC was controlled. The morphology, crystallinity, and chemical composition of ALD GDC thin films were analyzed. ALD GDC showed different surface chemistry, including oxidation states, at different doping ratios. The application of ALD GDC in a SOFC led to an output power density enhancement greater than 2.5 times. With an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) porous support structure, an ALD GDC thin film SOFC (TF‐SOFC) showed a high power density of 288.24 mW/cm2 at an operating temperature of 450°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid degradation of Fe3+-tannic acid films is achieved under mild conditions via ascorbic acid-mediated Fe3+ reduction, which overcomes the problems in the disassembly of a metal–organic complex including slow reaction rates and reaction incompatibility with living cells. The strategy of reductive disassembly is applied to degradable single-cell nanoencapsulation, providing an advanced tool for tightly controlling and manipulating the cell–material interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is great interest in carbon-based printed electronics as a promising technology to achieve lighter, thinner and flexible electronic devices at low-costs. Despite the surge of enthusiasm in this area, research advances in printed electronics are not yet able to realize diverse carbon structures yet. This is due to the limitations in conventional solution-based printing methods (e.g., inkjet printing, roll-to-roll, screen printing). Processes such as polymer phase-inversion offer one possibility but a much faster and efficient method should be devised for reliable production. Here, we demonstrate laser printing combined with intense pulsed-light (IPL) annealing as a novel and efficient technique which can form inter-connected carbon spheres electrode on flexible polymer substrate. Our observations show that the printed patterns from a laser printer consist of a solid-state polymer matrix with inorganic nanoparticles randomly embedded inside. Through ultrafast (5 ms) IPL treatment, core/shell type nanosphere arrays of carbon-coated SiO 2 were successfully fabricated, which could be used as a functional platform for highly selective NO 2 gas sensing. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pore distribution in the interlayer analyzed using X-ray Computed Tomography. • Relationship between pore fraction and position of tensile bond fracture determined. • Tensile bond strength of 6.27% of compressive strength obtained. • Weakest layer occurred when tensile stress is perpendicular to printing direction. Recently, researches on additive manufacturing (AM) method have been actively carried out as the latest technique for building concrete structures in the construction field. It is known that the additive manufacturing method, also called 3D printing technique, is a method of constructing a structure by printing layers, and the adhesion strength in the interlayer between the layers plays a dominant role in the performance of the structure. In this study, we focused on the formation of interlayer of concrete structure built using additive manufacturing method. In this study, the position of the interlayer was analyzed using the computed tomography (CT) method and the correlation between porosity and tensile bond strength in the analyzed interlayer was tried. As a result of the CT analysis of 13 specimens extracted from the printed specimens, it was confirmed that the porosity was formed high in the interlayer. The porosity of the interlayer was at least 2.15% and 6.66% higher than the average porosity. After analyzing the porosity by CT, the tensile bond strength of the specimens was measured to confirm the tensile bond strength and location of the fracture surface. Tensile bond strengths were 2.58–3.77 MPa with an average of 2.80 MPa using 10 specimens. It was confirmed that all of the fracture surfaces occurred along the interlayer. It was confirmed that there was no correlation between the tensile bond strength and porosity of the test specimens used in this study. Six of the ten specimens failed in the other interlayer, but four specimens failed in the interlayer with the highest porosity. As a result of analysis of the fracture surfaces of six specimens without fracture at the highest porosity, the porosity at the fracture surface was 5.73–9.18%, which was higher by 0.6–3.3% than the average porosity. However, defects occurred during layer output were confirmed from the failure of six specimens. Through this study, we confirmed that the interlayer is the weakest when tensile stress is applied in the perpendicular direction of printing, and that it is necessary to review the defects when applying the printing method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Framework allows the synergistic integration of continuous and discrete time models. • Systematic methods of determining key model parameters are proposed. • The methods are general can be applied to any discrete-time formulation. • The methods yield speedups of up to 4 orders of magnitude and higher quality solutions. The Discrete-Continuous Algorithm (DCA) is a novel framework that harnesses the strengths of discrete- and continuous-time scheduling formulations (Lee and Maraveloas,2018). Its flexibility in the selection of two user-defined parameters, namely discretization step length (δ) and horizon relaxation (η), can lead to significantly improved computational performance and solution quality. In this paper, we propose systematic methods to determine these parameters. Specifically, we evaluate the parameters based on error evaluation functions and cumulative error functions that consider various aspects of the scheduling instances. Through an extensive computational study, we show that the proposed methods bring up to × 104 speedups, while leading to identical or better solutions in the majority of the instances compared to traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) is a thin film deposition technique developed using conventional ALD by considering the surface chemical nature of the substrate. Selecting appropriate precursors is a critical step in developing an efficient AS-ALD process with high deposition selectivity. However, the current efficiency of research on viable AS-ALD precursors is limited because of the absence of theoretical design rules for precursor chemical structures. In this study, our objective is to propose molecular design principle for precursors for AS-ALD, particularly focusing on achieving high deposition selectivity of oxides on diverse substrates. Current preliminary results suggest that ML-based prediction model may provide a fundamental molecular-level understanding of the reactivity of metal oxide precursors, that can be useful for efficient selection of suitable precursors for AS-ALD. Methods: We employ density functional theory (DFT) calculations and machine learning (ML) techniques to analyze the relationship between the structure and the surface reactivity of the precursor. Considering DFT calculation data (M06L/def2-tzvp, Gaussian 09 and Orca 4.0) and information on precursor structures, artificial neural networks (ANN, neuralnet, R) are applied to identify critical descriptors of the AS-ALD process. Furthermore, we utilize this ANN model to predict precursor reactivity according to surface terminations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) controls neuronal migration in the developing cortex when multipolar newborn neurons transform to become bipolar. However, by which mechanisms Cdk5 controls cell adhesion in migrating neurons are not fully understood. In this study, we examined the functional interaction between Cdk5 and N-cadherin (Ncad) in newborn neurons when they undergo the multipolar to bipolar transition in the intermediate zone (IZ). Detailed expression analysis revealed that both Cdk5 and Ncad were present in GFP-electroporated migrating neurons in the IZ. Misexpression of dominant negative Cdk5 into the embryonic brains stalled neuronal locomotion in the lower IZ in which arrested cells were round or multipolar. When Ncad was co-introduced with Cdk5DN, however, cells continue to migrate into the cortical plate (CP) and migrating neurons acquired typical bipolar morphology with a pia-directed leading process. Similarly, downregulation of CDK5 resulted in lesser aggregation ability, reversed by the expression of Ncad in vitro. Down-regulation of activity or protein level of CDK5 did not alter the total amount of NCAD proteins but lowered its surface expression in cells. Lastly, expression of CDK5 and NCAD overlapped in the IZ of the human fetal cortex, indicating that the role of Cdk5 and Ncad in neuronal migration is evolutionarily conserved. • Reduced Cdk5 activity inhibits the multipolar-bipolar transition of migrating neurons. • Ncad expression rescues migration defects caused by the reduction of Cdk5 activity. • Downregulation of Cdk5 impairs the membrane localization of Ncad. • Cdk5 and Ncad are present in developing mouse and human brains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Proposed method combines advantages of discrete and continuous time models. • A coarse solution is obtained in the first stage based on a discrete-time model. • Accurate (continuous-time) solution is obtained based on first stage solution. • Algorithm leads to higher quality solutions and orders-of-magnitude speedup. Abstract We propose a general method for the solution of chemical production scheduling problems in network environments. The method consists of three stages. In the first stage, a discrete-time mixed-integer programming (MIP) model is solved to quickly obtain an approximate solution. In the second stage, the solution is mapped onto newly introduced unit- and material-specific continuous-time grids, using a mapping algorithm. In the third stage, a continuous-time linear programming (LP) model is solved to improve the accuracy of the mapped discrete-time solution by refining the timing of events and batch sizes. The proposed method takes advantage of the complementary strengths of discrete- and continuous-time formulations, which enables us to not only handle various processing features (e.g., intermediate deliveries and orders, time-varying resource availability and cost, variable processing times), but also obtain order of magnitude speedups in the solution of large-scale instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the trends in the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are limited, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the temporal trend of RA and OA in South Korean adults from 1998 to 2021, including the COVID-19 pandemic period. The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data on adults aged ≥ 19 years were analyzed to investigate the prevalence of RA and OA from 1998 to 2021. The prevalence trends were compared by the years, and βdiff (β difference) was calculated. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed for each disease to examine changes in disease prevalence before and during the pandemic in order to determine the impact of the pandemic on disease prevalence. Among 163,221 Korean adults, the prevalence of RA and OA showed a steady decrease from 2005 (RA: from 1.91% in 2005–2007 to 1.55% in 2016–2019 and OA: from 9.75% in 2005–2007 to 8.27% in 2016–2019), but there was a slight increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (RA: from 1.23% in 2020 to 1.36% in 2021 and OA: from 8.04% in 2020 to 8.27% in 2021). Vulnerable groups, including participants aged ≥ 60 years (versus 19–60 years, ratio of ORs: 1.222; 95% CI 1.011–1.477), urban residents (ratio of ORs: 1.289; 95% CI 1.007–1.650), and participants with higher education level (ratio of ORs: 1.360; 95% CI 1.119–1.653) showed higher ORs of OA, whereas no particularly vulnerable population was observed for RA. Our findings provide an insight into the long-term trends of RA and OA among adult population and highlight a novel perspective on the impact of COVID-19 on disease prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new discrete-time mixed-integer linear programming formulations for short-term scheduling in multi-purpose batch plants, the most general sequential production environment. We first discuss how multi-purpose batch plants can be expressed using State-Task Network and Resource-Task Network representations through batch-based definition of states (resources) and tasks. We then develop two models based on each representation that account for limited intermediate storage, and discuss extensions such as limited shared resources and time-varying resource availability/cost. Finally, we present several case studies to illustrate the applicability and performance of the proposed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose two novel discrete-time mixed-integer programming models for simultaneous batching and scheduling in multipurpose batch plants with storage constraints. The proposed models adopt two different modeling approaches. The first is based on explicit labeling of batches, while the second is based on identifying possible batch size intervals for each order and the corresponding unit routings. We also present extensions that allow us to consider limited shared utilities (with both fixed and time-varying availability and cost), storage with capacity limits and stage-dependent batch sizes. Finally, we study how instance characteristics (e.g. expected number of batches per order, uniformity in unit capacities) impact the effectiveness of the proposed models. We show that by carefully selecting the model allows us to effectively solve large-scale instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic functionalization of living cells has intensively been investigated with the aim of various bioapplications such as selective separation, targeting, and localization of the cells by using an external magnetic field. However, the magnetism has not been introduced to individual living cells through the in situ chemical reactions because of harsh conditions required for synthesis of magnetic materials. In this work, magnetic iron oxide was formed on the surface of living cells by optimizing reactions conditions to be mild sufficiently enough to sustain cell viability. Specifically, the reactive LbL strategy led to formation of magnetically responsive yeast cells with iron oxide shells. This facile and direct post-magnetization method would be a useful tool for remote manipulation of living cells with magnetic interactions, which is an important technique for the integration of cell-based circuits and the isolation of cell in microfluidic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Viral load dynamics and shedding kinetics are critical factors for studying infectious diseases. However, evidence on the viral dynamics of mpox remains limited and inconclusive. Thus, we aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the viral load and viability of the re-emerged mpox virus since 2022. Methods For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase and Google Scholar for published articles that are related to mpox viral dynamics up to April 2023. Results From 19 studies, 880 samples and 1477 specimens were collected. The pooled median Ct values appeared in the following order: skin lesion [Ct value 21.7 (IQR 17.8–25.5)], anorectal [22.3 (16.9–27.6)], saliva [25.9 (22.5–31.1)], oral [29.0 (24.5–32.8)], semen [29.6 (25.9–33.4)], urine [30.5 (24.6–36.4)], pharyngeal [31.9 (26.5–37.3)], urethra [33.0 (28.0–35.0)] and blood [33.2 (30.4–36.1)]. People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a lower Ct value in the skin [skin HIV+, 19.2 (18.3–20.0) vs skin HIV−, 25.4 (21.2–29.0)]. From the Ct values and test day since symptom onset, we identified temporal trends of viral load for each specimen type. Changes in the trend were observed at 4 days in saliva, 5 days in blood, 6 days in skin, 7 days in anorectal, urine, semen and pharyngeal and 8 days in the urethra. We determined optimal Ct cutoff values for anorectal (34.0), saliva (27.7) and urethra (33.0) specimens, where a Ct value above each cutoff suggests minimal viral viability. Using these cutoff values, we derived the duration of viable viral isolation in each specific specimen type (anorectal 19 days, saliva 14 days and urethra 14 days). Conclusion Skin lesion, anorectal and saliva samples contained the highest viral load. The peak viral load manifests within 4–8 days after symptom onset, and viable virus detection was presumed to cease within 14–19 days from symptom onset in anorectal, saliva and urethral samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell nanoencapsulation, generating cell-in-shell structures ('artificial spores'), provides a chemical toolbox for controlling the cellular behaviors and functional characteristics of individual cells. Among the shell materials studied so far, naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds, including polydopamine and tannic acid, have intensively been employed in cell-surface engineering, because their material-independent coating property eliminates an extra priming step for inducing subsequent shell formation. Albeit successful in generating cell-in-shell structures, the coating of polyphenolic compounds generally requires alkaline conditions and/or high salt conditions, which are not compatible with certain cell types. In this work, we demonstrate that the nanocoating of individual cells with a plant-derived phenolic compound, pyrogallol (1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene), occurs at mildly alkaline pH of 7.8 in an isotonic buffer. Three different cell types (anucleate, microbial, and mammalian cells) are coated with pyrogallol without noticeable decrease in cell viability. The protocol developed in this work could be applied to other polyphenolic compounds, and, considering the many polyphenols identified as a coating material, provides an advanced chemical tool in cell-surface engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We address the problem of production scheduling in multi-product multi-stage batch plants. Unlike most of the previous works, which propose continuous-time models, we study discrete-time mixed-integer programming models and solution methods. Specifically, we discuss two models based on network representations of the facility and develop two new models inspired by the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem. Furthermore, we propose different solution methods, including tightening methods based on processing unit availability, a reformulation based on processing unit occupancy, and an algorithm to refine approximate solutions for large-scale instances. Finally, we present a comprehensive computational study which shows that speedups of up to four orders of magnitude in are observed when our models and methods are compared to existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multicell networks, unbalanced cell loading can lead to decreased system stability and reduced fairness among serviced users. In this paper, we propose theoretical-analysis-based distributed load balancing (DLB) over dynamic overlay clustering implemented over a multicell network. The proposed system is divided into two parts: DLB and overlay clustering. First, for DLB, we define the long-term expected load after deriving the long-term expected rate in terms of proportional fairness. We then introduce two algorithms: DLB for load dispersion and DLB for edge-rate enhancement (ERE). These algorithms operate in a distributed manner based on mathematical analyses and load balancing characteristics. Second, through overlay clustering, load balancing within each cluster is consecutively performed on neighboring clusters, which enables the algorithm to optimally approximate in a distributed manner. The simulation results show that approximately 90% of the near-optimal performance in terms of load variation and ERE can be achieved with low complexity by using the proposed schemes. In addition, we discuss aspects and tradeoffs of the load balancing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor neurons send out axons to peripheral muscles while their cell bodies remain in the ventral spinal cord. The unique configuration of motor neurons spanning the border between the CNS and PNS has been explained by structural barriers such as boundary cap (BC) cells, basal lamina and radial glia. However, mechanisms in motor neurons that retain their position have not been addressed yet. Here we demonstrate that the Islet1 (Isl1) and Islet2 (Isl2) transcription factors, which are essential for acquisition of motor neuron identity, also contribute to restrict motor neurons within the neural tube. In mice that lack both Isl1 and Isl2, large numbers of motor neurons exited the neural tube, even prior to the appearance of BC cells at the ventral exit points. Transcriptional profiling of motor neurons derived from Isl1 null embryonic stem cells revealed that transcripts of major genes involved in repulsive mechanisms were misregulated. Particularly, expression of Neuropilin1 ( Npr1 ) and Slit2 mRNA was diminished in Islet mutant mice, and these could be target genes of the Islet proteins. Consistent with this mechanism, Robo and Slit mutations in mice and knockdown of Npr1 and Slit2 in chick embryos caused motor neurons to migrate to the periphery. Together, our study suggests that Islet genes engage Robo-Slit and Neuropilin–Semaphorin signaling in motor neurons to retain motor somata within the CNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the green fabrication of mesoporous NiO-based flexible advanced electrodes for stable supercapacitors via room-temperature, environmentally friendly, ultrafast millisecond flashlight sintering (FLS) irradiation. The porous FLS-NiO electrode outperformed the time- and energy-consuming conventional thermally annealed NiO electrode, exhibiting an exceptional specific capacity of 202.3 mA h g−1 (1215 F g−1) at 2 A g−1 and excellent cycle life (capacitance retention of 96.5% after 15,000 galvanostatic charge–discharge cycles). [Display omitted] • Ultrafast millisecond flashlight sintered (FLS) mesoporous NiO for supercapacitors. • Green FLS-NiO outperformed the conventional thermally annealed NiO electrodes. • FLS-NiO exhibited an exceptional specific capacity of 202.3 mA h g−1 at 2 A g−1. • FLS-NiO@ i 12J//rGO ASCs deliver ultralong capacitance retention of 98%. • FLS-NiO shows outstanding mechanical stability and flexibility under bending. Ultrafast flashlight sintering (FLS) has become an important green manufacturing technology for the structural reformation of various nanomaterials. Nickel oxide (NiO) has been extensively studied as a promising electrode material for electrochemical energy storage owing to its high theoretical specific capacitance, low cost, and appropriate chemical compatibility. This study reports the fabrication of mesoporous ultrathin NiO nanosheets on carbon cloth (CC) as green electrodes for flexible supercapacitors (SCs) through an exceptional ultrafast millisecond FLS process at room temperature. The optimized FLS-NiO@ i 12J electrode exhibited a remarkable specific capacity of 202.3 mA h g−1 (1215 F g−1) at a current density of 2 A g−1. Strikingly, the as-fabricated FLS-NiO electrodes outperformed the time and energy-consuming conventional thermally annealed (CTA) NiO electrodes. Furthermore, the flexible FLS-NiO@ i 12J//rGO asymmetric SCs deliver a remarkable energy density of 47.18 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 758.37 W Kg−1 and extraordinary cycling stability performance after 15,000 cycles. In addition, the FLS-NiO@ i 12J electrodes offer unique mesoporous structures, high surface areas, and numerous open-pore channels of ultrathin NiO nanosheets that facilitate fast transport of ions and rapid redox reactions. Thus, the present approach is promising for designing advanced electrode materials for flexible energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the area of cell-surface engineering with nanomaterials, the metabolic and functional activities of the encapsulated cells are manipulated and controlled by various parameters of the artificial shells that encase the cells, such as stiffness and elasticity, thickness, and porosity. The mechanical durability and physicochemical stability of inorganic shells prove superior to layer-by-layer-based organic shells with regard to cytoprotection, but it has been difficult to vary the parameters of inorganic shells including their thickness. In this work, we combine the layer-by-layer technique with a process of bioinspired silicification to control the thickness of the silica shells that encapsulate yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells individually, and investigate the thickness-dependent microbial growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Screen printed LSCF-GDC composite cathode functional layer was fabricated for IT-SOFCs. • A novel, ultra-fast flash light irradiation was demonstrated as an alternative sintering method. • Interfacial side reactions were successfully suppressed by the novel process. • The maximum power density was 727.4 mW/cm2 at 750 °C. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) requires an elevated operating temperature to achieve high oxygen ion conductivity and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, at high operating temperatures above 800 °C, performance deteriorates due to the chemical reaction of the electrode and electrolyte materials at the interface. Therefore, it is necessary to lower the operating temperature to the intermediate temperature regime while maintaining the high oxygen reduction reaction kinetics. One approach is adopting the composite cathode material such as La 6 Sr 4 Co 2 Fe 8 O 3-δ -gadolinium doped ceria (LSCF-GDC). However, the high temperature in the fabrication process results in non-conduction material of strontium zirconate (SrZrO 3 , SZO) layers at the cathode/electrolyte interface, which blocks oxygen ion conduction and degrades the fuel cell performance. By utilizing the novel flash light sintering process, which can be completed in a few seconds, high temperature fabrication issues are solved. The surface microstructure and thickness of the composite electrode are inspected using a scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The secondary phase generation and chemical reaction are analyzed using XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM-EDS, and TEM-EDS. The anode supported LSCF-GDC cathode cells are measured from 600 °C to 750 °C. The maximum power density at 750 °C of the novel flash light sintered LSCF-GDC composite cathode cell is 727.4 mW/cm2. In addition to the utilization of high performing cathode structure, the flash light sintering process dramatically reduces the process time and suppresses the side reaction at the cathode/electrolyte interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed a 3D concrete printing (3DCP) system that can print not only in air but also underwater. This underwater 3DCP system is equipped with many distinct technologies, such as a technology to supply the printing material to the nozzle tip at a constant rate by detecting its amount in the printer hopper. Using the developed 3DCP system, the effect of nozzle details on underwater print quality and hardened properties was investigated. The straight-line printing performance underwater was evaluated using five nozzles: a nozzle without a trowel (Nozzel#1), a nozzle with fixed trowels attached to both sides (Nozzle#2), a nozzle with trowels attached to the back and both sides to constrain five sides (Nozzle#3), a nozzle with a three-sided trowel inclined by 30° (Nozzle#4), and a nozzle with a roof added to Nozzle#4 opening (Nozzle#5). Nozzle#4 yielded the best print quality and hardened properties. In addition, an underwater curved shape printing test was performed using Nozzle#4, the problems that occurred in this test were analyzed and solutions were suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordinated multiple point transmission (CoMP) technologies have recently been proposed to improve the performance of cell-edge users who suffer strong inter-cell interference. Nevertheless, as more transmitters get involved in cooperation, the complexity associated with the selection of multi-dimensional parameters increases exponentially. In this work, we investigate efficient multi-cell cooperation based on CoMP-joint processing and transmission (CoMP-JPT) with orthogonal beamforming using limited feedback. Through the utilization of combinatorial optimization, optimal user scheduling for joint transmission via multiple transmitters is accomplished, while the computational complexity is significantly reduced. In particular, a generalized beam assignment problem (GBAP) is formulated and solved using a combinatorial algorithm that is generalized in terms of the number of transmitters o\mathcalBo. The performance of the combinatorial orthogonal beamforming (COBF) scheme is mathematically analyzed so as to demonstrate its superiority and capability to maintain fairness among users in a multi-cell environment. In the simulation results, a performance gain of more than 50% for cell-edge users is obtained without a loss in the average throughput for the total number of users. In addition, the COBF method can reduce the complexity by more than 60% when compared to the conventional exhaustive search technique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Neuronal migration is a fundamental biological process that enables the precise positioning of neurons to form functional circuits. Cortical neurons migrate along glial scaffolds formed by radial glia guided by Reelin ligand. However, it is unclear whether the Reelin-directed behavior of radial glia is also critical for positioning the spinal neurons. Here we demonstrate a novel role of radial glia that confines motor neurons within the neural tube and is promoted by Reelin and Notch signaling. Spinal radial glia express the Dab1 adaptor for Reelin signaling and are surrounded by Reelin. In reeler mice, in which Reelin is absent, ectopic motor neurons are found outside the neural tube, although they appear to maintain their identity. Boundary cap (BC) cells, Schwann cell precursors and the basal lamina at motor exit points are intact, whereas the glia limitans of radial glia are disorganized and detached from the basement membrane. The sparse and irregular radial scaffold is wide enough to allow motor somata to pass. Forced activation of Notch signaling rescued the structural defects in radial glia in reeler mice and the appearance of extraspinal neurons. In the absence of Reelin, Notch intracellular domain (NICD) protein level was reduced. In addition, disrupting the radial glia scaffold by destroying its polarity induced ectopic motor neurons in chick embryos. These findings suggest that activation of the Notch pathways by Reelin is required to establish the radial glial scaffold, a structure that actively constrains motor neuron somata and specifies the CNS–PNS boundary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Three-dimensional concrete printing (3DCP) materials require a relatively low water-to-binder ratio (W/B) of 0.3 or less to ensure their buildability and flow properties are sufficiently maintained after mixing. In this study, the rheological properties of 3DCP materials with W/B 0.28 were evaluated up to 60 min after mixing, and the yield stress and plastic viscosity were analyzed over time. A gradual decrease in flow rate with time was observed during the transport of 200 kg of material per batch through a 20 m hose. To examine the time-dependent changes in flow rate and layer volume, a 2200 mm × 1000 mm test specimen was printed. The dependence of the layer width over time during the printing process was measured and analyzed. The experimental analyses showed that the flow rate and layer volume of the 3DCP material gradually decreased with time after mixing, which was correlated with the rheological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, it has been demonstrated that the performance of conventional random beamforming (RBF) approaches that of ideal eigen beamforming when the number of users is large in a cell by exploiting multi-user diversity. However, if the number of users decreases, such as femto or pico cell in the 3GPP Long Term Evolution-Advanced standard, the performance degradation occurs in the RBF scheme due to the lack of multi-user diversity. In this paper, we present a novel precoder based on singular value decomposition (SVD) using feedback of weight values in an RBF environment. For achieving performance improvement in the femto cell environment, we generate a precoding matrix appropriate to user channel by controlling the feedback values with an equivalent feedback quantity. In the simulation results, we verify the outstanding performance of the proposed scheme for a small number of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) feedback has been utilized in random beamforming (RBF) to select users for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems where a large number of users are required to obtain a multi-user diversity gain. However, if the number of users is not large enough, it may be difficult to obtain the performance gain and be easy to have a performance degradation conversely. To resolve this problem, it is necessary to find orthogonal random beams close to the channel matrix of selected users. In this paper, we present RBF using a non-orthogonal beamforming matrix (RBF NOBM), demonstrating an efficient search of random beams correlated with the channel matrix of selected users over a small number of users. For single user RBF using NOBM (SU-RBF NOBM) with two transmit antennas, the beamforming matrix for user data service is obtained through closed form expressions, and SU-RBF NOBM is then expanded to more than two transmit antennas. We also propose user selection algorithms for SU-RBF NOBM and multi-user RBF using NOBM (MU-RBF NOBM). Via simulation results, we demonstrate that the performances of RBF NOBM represent significant improvements compared to conventional beamforming schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Samarium doped ceria thin film interlayer is fabricated by electrostatic spray deposition. • The sintering process was performed by flash light sintering with bottom heater. • The sintering time is dramatically reduced from hours to seconds. • By applying the flash light sintered samarium doped ceria thin film interlayer, it can be confirmed that the fuel cell performance is improved by about twice. To commercialize solid oxide fuel cells, many methods for reducing the production time of manufacturing a fuel cell membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) using a non-vacuum process have been studied and still the post-heat treatment process is an issue. This paper discusses an alternative sintering method to replace the conventional thermal sintering step for ceramic thin film fabrication, which is time consuming and costly. We fabricated samarium-doped ceria (SDC) thin films, which has high ionic conductivity and high surface exchange coefficient for oxygen reactions at the cathode side. The films were deposited by chemical solution deposition (CSD) method utilizing electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique. Thermal decomposition and crystallization steps are required as a post-heat treatment process to obtain desired material properties. For this purpose, the flash light sintering method is adopted and compared with the conventional thermal sintering process using halogen furnace. With this flash light sintering method, the conventional post-heat treatment process time can be significantly reduced from tens of hours to a few seconds. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy analyses were carried out for material characterizations. Additionally, electrochemical impedance analysis and current-voltage behavior measurements were conducted. By successful fabrication of SDC cathodic functional layer utilizing flash light irradiation process, the 2-folds of fuel cell performance enhancement was obtained in terms of the peak power density at the measurement temperature of 450 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has predominantly focused on the overall effects of the tobacco tax increase and the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent smoking behavior. However, there is a need to examine both the immediate and sustained associations of these two factors on subgroups of adolescents, employing an interrupted time-series model. We aimed to investigate the immediate and sustained association of tobacco tax increase and the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent smoking prevalence. This study utilized data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey to analyze the prevalence of current smoking among all participants (CSP) and the prevalence of daily smoking among current smokers (DSP) of Korean adolescents (n = 1,159,995; mean, age 14.99; male 51.5%) over 18 years from 2005 to 2022. The study examined 18-year trends in CSP and DSP among Korean adolescents, emphasizing the influences of the 2015 tobacco tax increase and the COVID-19 pandemic, using β coefficients and their differences (βdiff) from an interrupted time-series ARIMA model. While CSP exhibited a decreasing trend, DSP exhibited an increasing trend. Tobacco tax increase was associated with both the short and long terms in smoking prevalence, however, the short-term association on prevalence (CSP, − 3.076 [95% CI, − 3.707 to − 2.445]; DSP, − 4.112 [95% CI, − 6.488 to − 1.735]) was stronger. The pandemic was associated with an immediate increase in DSP (9.345 [95% CI, 5.285–13.406]). These effects were strongest among adolescents from low economic status and those exposed to familial secondhand smoking. Supportive programs for adolescents in low-income families will help overcome the effects associated with the pandemic. As a tobacco tax increase was associated with a reduction in smoking prevalence, this could be one method to overcome the effects of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main challenges in applying optimization-based scheduling techniques in process industries stems from the different process characteristics and constraints that need to be taken into account when generating a schedule. For instance, consideration of sequence-dependent changeovers may easily make the resulting optimization model computationally expensive. Accordingly, building upon the recently proposed Discrete-Continuous Algorithm (Lee and Maravelias, 2018), we propose generalized algorithm that enables accurate and fast solution of difficult instances while efficiently handling a wide range of process characteristics. The algorithm combines modeling versatility with computational tractability while guaranteeing the feasibility and accuracy of the final solution. Through a case study inspired by a real-world brewing process, we show that our algorithm provides accurate and high quality solutions to industrial-scale instances in reasonable time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lanthanum strontium cobaltite thin film electrode is fabricated by chemical solution deposition. • Light sintering with substrate heater is adopted for annealing process. • Post-heat treatment time is dramatically decreased from hours to seconds. • Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell with the processed electrode was tested. This study describes the bottom-heater-assisted flash light irradiation method for fabrication of lanthanum strontium cobaltite (L a 0.6 S r 0.4 Co O 3 − δ , LSCO) thin films. Unlike the conventional sintering process, flash light irradiation proceeds instantly under ambient conditions. Since the flash light irradiation process involves the photothermal effect, heat energy supplied by a bottom heater can compensate for decreased irradiation energy. The substrate temperature was varied from room temperature to 200 °C and 300 °C, and the radiation energy requirement for obtaining an optimized LSCO film was decreased with increasing temperature. In addition, the instantaneous temperature difference due to highly intense energy between the top surface and the substrate can be relieved. With the innovative sintering system, an electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cell could be fabricated by the flash light irradiation method, and electrochemical characterization of the fuel cells was conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical properties of 3D-printed mortars are determined in terms of their compressive and direct tensile bond strengths. To determine such properties using existing methods, a preliminary experiment was conducted. The compressive strength of the printed mortar was compared to mold-casted specimens and it was found that the compressive strength decreased by ~30%. Among the fabrication variables, an increase in nozzle height negatively influenced the direct tensile bond strength. For the same conditions and age, the direct tensile strength decreased by as much as 16–29% when the number of layers increased from 2 to 6. When the specimens were fabricated using a specially designed stainless steel frame and core drill, followed by extraction and the application of physical impact, the 28 days compressive strength of the specimen decreased by ~50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid industrial growth and urbanization have resulted in a significant rise in environmental pollution issues, particularly indoor air pollutants. As a result, it is crucial to design and develop technologies and/or catalysts that are not only cost-effective but also promising high performance and practical applicability. However, achieving this goal has been so far remained a challenging task. Herein, a series of transition metal M − TiO 2 (M = W, Fe, Mn) nanocrystals was prepared for photocatalytic degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), i.e., toluene. Of the nanocomposites tested, W–TiO 2 showed significantly improved photocatalytic activity for VOC degradation under UV irradiation compared to the others. In particular, the optimized W dopant amount of 0.5 wt% resulted in the outstanding degradation performance of toluene (96%) for the obtained W–TiO 2 (0.5%) nanocomposite. Moreover, W–TiO 2 (0.5%) nanocomposite exhibited good stability for 32 h working under high toluene concentration (10 ppm) compared to the pristine TiO 2. The current work demonstrates the potential usage of M − TiO 2 nanocrystals, particularly W–TiO 2 (0.5%), as a promising photocatalyst for efficient VOCs degradation. [Display omitted] • W–TiO 2 exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. • Lifetime of W–TiO 2 increased 6.4 times compared with TiO 2. • W–TiO 2 could be regenerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving of air quality, particularly the removal of indoor-air pollutants with direct environmental and health implications, remains a significant challenge in modern society. We, herein, present a novel approach using photocatalytic eco-friendly paint to effectively eliminate indoor air pollutants and disinfect surfaces. Ultra Small Porous Nitrogen-doped Titanium dioxide (USPNT), which has been successfully incorporated into the paint by different coating techniques. The UPSNT photocatalyst was synthesized via probe sonication coupled sol-gel technique, resulting in anatase phase with a high surface area of 83 m²/g. The efficiency of the UPSNT-coated paint in removing air pollutant like p-xylene under simulated indoor illumination is considered. In additional, it showed the capability to disinfect pathogens like E. coli , remove surface dirt, such as organic dyes, confirming its self-cleaning properties. This will lead to develop a direct eco-friendly paint by formulating USPNT directly with suitable binders promotes the durability of indoor and outdoor air quality as well as reducing "sick building syndrome". [Display omitted] ● USPNT synthesized by sol-gel coupled probe sonication method and coated on paint. ● USPNT surface coated paint facilitates p -xylene destruction under 24 W daylight. ● Surface area, pore size, electron transfer are the main factors for destruction. ● Surface directing agent (CaO) with USPNT enhanced the self-cleaning activity. ● USPNT coated paint exhibited excellent E. coli disinfection performance (h+, .O 2 -). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoencapsulation of living cells within artificial shells is a powerful approach for augmenting the inherent capacity of cells and enabling the acquisition of extrinsic functions. However, the current state of the field requires the development of nanoshells that can dynamically sense and adapt to environmental changes by undergoing transformations in form and composition. This paper reports the compositional transformation of an enzyme‐embedded nanoshell of Fe3+‐trimesic acid complex to an iron phosphate shell in phosphate‐containing media. The cytocompatible transformation allows the nanoshells to release functional molecules without loss of activities and biorecognition, while preserving the initial shell properties, such as cytoprotection. Demonstrations include the lysis and killing of Escherichia coli by lysozyme, and the secretion of interleukin‐2 by Jurkat T cells in response to paracrine stimulation by antibodies. This work on micrometric Transformers will benefit the creation of cell‐in‐shell nanobiohybrids that can interact with their surroundings in active and adaptive ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the trends in asthma prevalence in South Korea before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies have provided conflicting evidence on whether the prevalence of asthma has increased or decreased in South Korea, particularly among adolescents. The researchers analyzed data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 1998 to 2021 to understand the trends in asthma prevalence. The study found that asthma prevalence in preschool and school-aged children showed a declining trend, possibly due to changes in environmental and social circumstances and improved treatment adherence during the pandemic. However, no clear trends were observed in adults. The study highlights the need for further investigation into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on asthma prevalence. [Extracted from the article]

Inspired by the biogenic magnetism found in certain organisms, such as magnetotactic bacteria, magnetic nanomaterials have been integrated into living cells for bioorthogonal, magnetic manipulation of the cells. However, magnetized cells have so far been reported to be only binary system (on/off) without any control of magnetization degree, limiting their applications typically to the simple accumulation or separation of cells as a whole. In this work, the magnetization degree is tightly controlled, leading to the generation of multiple subgroups of the magnetized cells, and each subgroup is manipulated independently from the other subgroups in the pool of heterogeneous cell-mixtures. This work will provide a strategic approach to tailor-made fabrication of magnetically functionalized living cells as micro-magnets, and open new vistas in biotechnological and biomedical applications, which highly demand the spatio-temporal manipulation of living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract "Samaria-doped ceria (SDC), with exceptional electrochemical catalyzing characteristics, is a promising material for the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Despite its extraordinary electrochemical reactivity, its chemical unstable behavior in terms of reduction phenomenon has made its application to SOFC electrolyte challenging. In regard to the defect chemistry, however, this instability can enhance the oxygen incorporation rate at the surface of the electrolyte. Here, we report a rapid surface treating method for SDC thin films via flash light sintering, which revealed an outstanding crystallinity development with nano-grains and increment of mobile dopant cation-induced oxygen vacancies within few milliseconds. We demonstrated that the flash light sintering-induced rapid development of crystallinity and reduction of ceria increases oxygen reducing surface kinetics, leading to an improvement in the oxygen incorporation rate of the cathodic reaction in SOFCs. The performance of SOFC sintered by flash light indicated more than two-folds enhancement comparing the pristine cell." Highlights • Successful rapid flash light sintering for samaria-doped ceria thin films. • Enhanced crystallinity and surface oxygen vacancy concentration of thin films. • Application of samaria-doped ceria interlayer to increase surface oxygen kinetics. • Two-folds enhanced performance of low-temperature SOFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination-driven self-assembly of metal–ligand complexes is a powerful nanoarchitectonic tool for particle engineering, but its usability is limited when using two immiscible coating components. This paper reports that simple vortexing of a biphasic system of Fe3+ ions in water and flavonoids in oil forms nanoshells on individual particles, thereby enabling the utilization of water-insoluble ligands as coating materials. Mechanistic studies suggest that the biphasic mass-transfer equilibrium of flavonoid-Fe3+ species controls the shell formation, with the oil phase acting as a reservoir of coating precursors for continuous coating. The versatility and convenience of our method expand the chemical toolbox for modulating particle–material interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we have developed a cure for indoor air pollution. Herein, we have fabricated CuBTC metal-organic framework MOF combined with TiO 2 nanoparticle hybrid material by solvothermal method and obtained it in powder form. The CuBTC/TiO 2 hybrid material absorbed toluene higher than TiO 2 and CuBTC. CuBTC/TiO 2 powder hinders its practical application, however, for the first time, CuBTC/TiO 2 /PS-based nanofibers were electrospun on a commercial HEPA filter using the electrospinning process in order to examine their air-filtering capabilities. This air filter exhibited 98.6% adsorption efficiency and 129.45 mg g-1 toluene gas adsorption capacity, although pristine HEPA was incapable of absorbing toluene. After the saturated point, a self-cleaning strategy was employed under UV light for regeneration purposes. In addition, the CuBTC/TiO 2 /PS nanofiber demonstrated superior PM 2.5 removal performance, with a 99.82% filtration rate. Compared to a pure HEPA filter, the CuBTC/TiO 2 /PS-C nanofiber-based HEPA filter has a very high filtration rate and negligible pressure drop when evaluated at various airflow velocities. This study gives significant insight into the design of a self-cleaning nanofiber air filter to protect public health from indoor air pollution and save lives in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various types of multimedia services have become prominent over the last few years leading to difficulty in providing high-quality broadcast multimedia services in certain shadowing regions without resource management in accordance with specific channel adaptation. In order to overcome this difficulty, return channel design has been actively discussed in broadcasting standards for broadcasting systems. Context-aware multimedia services have been developed by adapting radio resources according to service type. In order to forward this goal, we propose a beamforming technique to optimize spatial resources in order to maximize visual quality for video broadcasting services. In order to enhance the video broadcast service, we derive expected visual information (EVI) that quantifies the visual quality of video and adapt the EVI into multiple-input and multiple-output beamforming techniques in a video broadcast system. In order to guarantee the proportional fairness of broadcast users, we propose a novel beam steering algorithm using the log-EVI sum maximization, and compare it to the traditional channel-quality-based max–min problem. The beam-steering algorithm is performed iteratively while switching the bases, which constructs a beam steering weight vector domain. In the simulation, we demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has less computational complexity than conventional algorithms, and the visual quality of the proposed algorithm is enhanced over that of the traditional quasi-optimal max–min fairness algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recently, small cells have been densely deployed in hot spots and overlaid with macro cells in order to guarantee the quality of service for voluminous multimedia data. For a small cell network (SCN), the long-term energy efficiency is one of the most challenging issues for conserving energy while achieving link capacity over the air-interface. In this paper, we present a novel downlink power control scheme to maximize the long-term energy efficiency over a time division multiple access system, which includes multiple small cells and a central controller. Toward this goal, we formulate a long-term energy efficiency optimization problem by defining a long-term energy efficiency metric and performing an iterative algorithm to obtain optimal solutions in real-time via fast convergence. The simulation results show that the proposed metric is very effective at improving the long-term energy efficiency and conserving 8.1 % of the energy on average when compared to a conventional metric. In addition, it is verified that the proposed metric is more effective for an SCN, in particular, when the link capacity is severely degraded due to inter-cell interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the fabrication of high-performance polycrystalline indium gallium oxide (IGO) thin film transistors (TFTs) at a low temperature of 200 °C. Growth of a highly aligned cubic phase with a bixbyite structure was accelerated at a certain proportion of oxygen plasma density during deposition of the IGO thin film, which leads to outstanding electrical characteristics. The resulting polycrystalline IGO TFT exhibited a high field-effect mobility of 56.0 cm2/V, a threshold voltage (V TH) of 0.10 V, a low subthreshold gate swing of 0.10 V/decade, and a current modulation ratio of >108. Moreover, the crystalline IGO TFTs have highly stable behaviors with a small V TH shift of +0.8 and −1.0 V against a positive bias stress (V GS,ST −V TH = 20 V) and negative bias illumination stress (V GS,ST −V TH = −20 V) for 3,600 s, which is attributed to the high quality of the bixbyite crystalline structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress triggers axon degeneration and cell death, leading to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Spinal motor nerves project very long axons, increasing the burden on axonal transport and metabolism. As such, spinal motor nerves are expected to be susceptible to oxidative stress, but model systems for visualizing and investigating acutely degenerating motor axons are limited. In this study, we establish motor nerve organoids from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) with properties similar to those of neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs), a population of progenitor cells that comprise the caudal spinal cord. Three-dimensional differentiation of organoids efficiently gave rise to mature motor neurons within 18 days. Adherent organoids showed robust axon fascicles and active growth cones under normal conditions. In addition, more homogenous and efficient generation of motor neurons were achieved when organoids were dissociated into individual cells. Hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress resulted in a broad range of signs of axon degeneration including the disappearance of growth cones and neurites, axon retraction, axon fragmentation and bleb formation, and apoptotic cell death, whose severity can be reliably quantifiable in our culture system. Remarkably, cytoskeletal drugs modulating actin or microtubule turnover differentially facilitated axon dynamics and increased axon regenerative potential. Taken together, our motor nerve organoid model could be potentially useful for drug screens evaluating the rearrangement of cytoskeletons in regenerating motor axons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]