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Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent malignancy with limited therapeutic options for advanced stages. This study aimed to identify novel therapeutic targets for GC by profiling HSP90 client kinases. Methods We used mass spectrometry-based activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) with a desthiobiotin-ATP probe, combined with sensitivity analysis of HSP90 inhibitors, to profile kinases in a panel of GC cell lines. We identified kinases regulated by HSP90 in inhibitor-sensitive cells and investigated the impact of MASTL knockdown on GC cell behavior. Global proteomic analysis following MASTL knockdown was performed, and bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the resulting data. Results Four kinases—MASTL, STK11, CHEK1, and MET—were identified as HSP90-regulated in HSP90 inhibitor-sensitive cells. Among these, microtubule-associated serine/threonine kinase-like (MASTL) was upregulated in GC and associated with poor prognosis. MASTL knockdown decreased migration, invasion, and proliferation of GC cells. Global proteomic profiling following MASTL knockdown revealed NEDD4-1 as a potential downstream mediator of MASTL in GC progression. NEDD4-1 was also upregulated in GC and associated with poor prognosis. Similar to MASTL inhibition, NEDD4-1 knockdown suppressed migration, invasion, and proliferation of GC cells. Conclusions Our multi-proteomic analyses suggest that targeting MASTL could be a promising therapy for advanced gastric cancer, potentially through the reduction of tumor-promoting proteins including NEDD4-1. This study enhances our understanding of kinase signaling pathways in GC and provides new insights for potential treatment strategies.

We investigated the effect of Cr thin film deposition on the thermal stability and corrosion resistance of hot-dip aluminized steel. A high-quality Cr thin film was deposited on the surface of the Al-9 wt. % Si-coated steel sheets by physical vapor deposition. When the Al-Si coated steel sheets were exposed to a high temperature of 500℃, Fe from the steel substrate diffused into the Al-Si coating layer resulting in discoloration. However, the highly heat-resistant Cr thin film deposited on the Al-Si coating prevented diffusion and surface exposure of Fe, improving the heat and corrosion resistances of the Al-Si alloy coated steel sheet.

Electroencephalography (EEG) signals are the brain signals acquired using the non-invasive approach. Owing to the high portability and practicality, EEG signals have found extensive application in monitoring human physiological states across various domains. In recent years, deep learning methodologies have been explored to decode the intricate information embedded in EEG signals. However, since EEG signals are acquired from humans, it has issues with acquiring enormous amounts of data for training the deep learning models. Therefore, previous research has attempted to develop pre-trained models that could show significant performance improvement through fine-tuning when data are scarce. Nonetheless, existing pre-trained models often struggle with constraints, such as the necessity to operate within datasets of identical configurations or the need to distort the original data to apply the pre-trained model. In this paper, we proposed the domain-free transformer, called DFformer, for generalizing the EEG pre-trained model. In addition, we presented the pre-trained model based on DFformer, which is capable of seamless integration across diverse datasets without necessitating architectural modification or data distortion. The proposed model achieved competitive performance across motor imagery and sleep stage classification datasets. Notably, even when fine-tuned on datasets distinct from the pre-training phase, DFformer demonstrated marked performance enhancements. Hence, we demonstrate the potential of DFformer to overcome the conventional limitations in pre-trained model development, offering robust applicability across a spectrum of domains.

The effect of plasma-radical change on the surface properties of Zn-Mg-Al ternary-alloy-coated steel sheets during atmospheric-pressure (AP) plasma treatment using different process gases: O 2, N 2, and compressed air was investigated. The plasma-induced radicals promoted the formation of chemical particles on the surface of the Zn-Mg-Al coating, thereby increasing the surface roughness. The surface energy was calculated using the Owen-Wendtgeometric equation. Contact angle measurements indicated that the surface free energy of the alloy sheets increased upon AP plasma treatment. The surface properties of the Zn-Mg-Al coating changed more significantly in the order air > O 2 > N 2 gas, indicating that the plasma radicals facilitated the carbonization and hydroxylation of the Mg and Al components during the AP plasma treatment.

Abstract This paper examined the effects of no treatment versus plasma treatment, and femtosecond laser irradiation as pre-annealing processes on indium zinc oxide (IZO) films and annealing at high temperatures. The plasma pre-annealed multilayer stacked IZO TFTs showed better electrical properties with mobility enhancement from 2.45 to 7.81 cm2/Vs, but exhibited diminished on–off current ratio (Ion/Ioff). The IZO thin-film transistor (TFT) prepared with femtosecond laser pre-annealing with low pulse energy generation (power of 3 W at 700 nm wavelength) for 100 s has also exhibited significantly improved electrical performance, the saturation mobility increased to 4.91 cm2/Vs, the Ion/Ioff ratio was enhanced from 4.5 × 105 to 2.1 × 106, the threshold voltage improved from − 1.44 to − 0.25 V, and the subthreshold swing was reduced from 1.21 to 0.61 V/dec. In conclusion, IZO TFTs with improved performance can be prepared using a femtosecond laser pre-annealing process, which has great potential for fabricating low-cost, high-performance devices.

In this study, the characteristics in the lead-free piezoelectric ceramic 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3−0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (0.5BZT–0.5BCT) were investigated to assess its potential for Rosen-type piezoelectric transformers. This piezoelectric ceramic has a piezoelectric charge coefficient d33 of 430 pC/N, an electromechanical coupling factor kp of 49%, a dielectric constant εr of 2836, a remnant polarization Pr of 4.98 μC/cm2, and a coercive electric field Ec of 2.41 kV/cm. Sb2O3 was soft doped with 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 mol%, respectively, and exhibited excellent physical properties at 0.1 mol%. Based on this, a piezoelectric transformer was fabricated and measured, and it showed better output characteristics than pure 0.5BZT–0.5BCT. The amplification ratio (Vout/Vin) was optimized based on the device geometry and properties of the piezoelectric material. Moreover, the output characteristics of the Rosen−type piezoelectric transformer were simulated with the PSpice program. Output values of the fabricated and simulated piezoelectric transformers for the r vibrational frequency were compared and analyzed. Accordingly, the step-up amplification ratios Vout/Vin of the fabricated and simulated devices at the vibrational frequency were compared as well. This piezoelectric transformer could replace silicon steel transformers and be used for the creation of black light and for laptop chargers.

In this paper, we analyzed the diversity performance with increased pointing error caused by multiple beam transmissions for spatial diversity based vertical free space optical (FSO) back-haul links. For power-limited FSO systems, the spatial diversity technique can be employed to mitigate the atmospheric fading issues in vertical FSO links. However, the arrangement of multiple transmitters to achieve independent channels can cause additional alignment errors in the misalignment detection process of pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems, as demonstrated by the experiment results. The increase of misalignment makes the pointing loss severe to reduce the achievable diversity gain, which results in insufficient received power to satisfy the system requirements. The system optimization with the statistical misalignment model can mitigate the effect of increased pointing error and improve the diversity gain as the number of channels increases. The proposed scheme provides an enhanced link margin for designing seamless FSO wireless back-haul networks for next-generation wireless communication systems.

Brain–computer interface (BCI) is a technology that allows users to control computers by reflecting their intentions. Electroencephalogram (EEG)–based BCI has been developed because of its potential, however, its decoding performance is still insufficient to apply in the real–world environment. As deep learning methods achieve the significant performance in various domains, it has been applied in the EEG–based BCI domain. In particular, ShallowConvNet is one of the most widely used methods because of its robust decoding performance in multiple datasets. However, the model’s parameters have to be optimized to apply this model to various datasets each time, and we have also found some issues in architecture that disturb the stable training. In this paper, we highlight potential problems that might arise in ShallowConvNet and investigate the potential solutions. In addition, we propose a novel model, called M–ShallowConvNet, which solves the existing problems. The proposed model achieves the accuracies of 0.8164 and 0.8647 in datasets 2a and 2b of BCI Competition IV, respectively. Hence, we demonstrate that performance improvement can be achieved with only a few small modifications that resolve the problems of the conventional model.

In this work, the effect of a UV/ozone source composed of two monochromatic wavelengths of 184 nm and 254 nm irradiated upon the indium oxide film (In2O3) at the different irradiation times together with annealing at high temperature is explored. The results showed that the developed In2O3 thin-film transistors (TFTs) exposed to UV/ozone for the 40 s and annealed at 250 °C for 2 h exhibited a significantly high performance, i.e., saturation mobility of 6.1 ± 0.2 cm $^{2}/$ Vs, $\text{I}_{\mathrm{ on}}/\text{I}_{\mathrm{ off}}$ ratio of $1.4\times10$ 7, low threshold voltage (1.5 ± 0.9 V), and a small subthreshold swing (0.25 V/dec). The in-depth analysis of the developed devices through electrical characteristics, surface morphology, and practical aspect of inverter function confirm that UV/ozone irradiation improves the surface trap density, thereby increasing the mobility, and eventually improves the gate-bias stress stability and time-dependent environmental stability. The current work supports the fact that UV/ozone can improve the electrical properties of In2O3 TFTs and can be used for the fabrication of cost-effective, low-temperature, and reliable electronic devices.

Solution-processed In-Zn oxide (IZO) semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated with passivation layers of either poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP). According to the transfer curves obtained on the day of fabrication and after 200 days, the drain-source current of the IZO TFT without a passivation layer decreased by approximately 37 %. For the PMMA-passivated IZO TFT, it decreased by approximately 31 %. The current for the CYTOPpassivated IZO TFT showed significantly lower, only 7 % deterioration. Hence, the CYTOP-passivated IZO TFT exhibited improved electrical stability under long term ambient storage. This was attributed to the difference in the chemical composition of the two polymers, as CYTOP is a fluoropolymer, while PMMA is an ester group containing organic polymer. We show, passivation of the active layer with the proper organic film improves the stability of the high-performance solution-processed IZO TFTs.

The excellent chemical stability and hydrophobicity of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer lead to its applicability in high-performance flexible electronic appliances. Though the detailed investigation for PTFE passivated metal oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) is still lacking. Here, we report the highly stable oxygen barrier based on the PTFE passivation layer (PVL) spin-coated upon the lowtemperature solution-processed indium oxide (In2O3) TFTs. Particularly, by using the solution-process method, fabrication cost and multiple time-consuming steps are eliminated in the counterpart of the radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The PTFE PVL can significantly suppress the adsorption of surrounding moisture and oxygen from environments owing to its most chemically robust carbon-fluorine bond. In addition, the comprehensive electrical performance in terms of the saturation mobility, on-off current ratio, threshold voltage, subthreshold swing, and interface trap density of the In2O3 TFTs passivated with different weight ratios of PTFE are compared. The results show that 1 wt.% PTFE passivated In2O3 TFT demonstrates a drastically reduced threshold voltage and highest stability under constant bias. Consequently, oxygen barrier-based PTFE is a promising PVL material for various emerging electronic devices.

Objectives: In recent years, biological precursor-based synthesis, particularly plant-based green synthesis, has piqued attention in the area of nanotechnology. The goal of this work is to look into the antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and antiproliferation activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) made from ethanolic extract of Salacia chinensis L. were investigated. Methods: This study can be broadly separated into three parts: the first extraction from Salacia chinensis L. roots, The second characterization of NPs by UV-Vis, DLS, FTIR and SEM, and the third analysis of its antimicrobial; antioxidant and antiproliferative properties. UV–Vis absorption indicated the synthesis of AgNPs, and the spectrum was seen at 401 and 447 nm. The existence of functional groups in the produced AgNPs was verified by FT-IR spectral peaks at 3423.83 cm−1. In three planes, XRD was calculated to investigate the crystallinity and consistent spherical size (peaks at 2θ values of at 28.78, 32.18, 38.04, 54.63, and 77.08°) of the particles. Results: The results of antibacterial, antifungal and antiproliferative effect of synthesized AgNPs with Salacia chinensis L. ethanolic root extract have admirable antimicrobial (19.5 mm), antioxidant (IC50 values 117.3, 59.61 g mL−1) and antiproliferative activity against HEK293 cell lines protect up to 90.3 % respectively. Conclusions: As a consequence, biosynthesized Salacia chinensis L. AgNPs shown outstanding effects and have the potential to be used as antibacterial, antioxidant, and antiproliferative agents.

Abstract A luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) is a solar-light harvesting device that concentrates light on a photovoltaic cell placed at the edge of an LSC panel to convert it into electricity. The nano-sized inorganic–organic cluster complex (dMDAEMA)4[Re6S8(NCS)6] (this refers to RMC where dMDAEMA is 2-dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate) is a promising candidate for LSC luminophores due to its downshifted broad photoluminescence suitable for photovoltaic cells. However, the low quantum yield (QY) of RMC limits the performance. Here, zinc-doped CuGaS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (ZQD) were used as energy transferring donor with high QY to improve the performance of the LSC. The two metal chalcogenide luminophores, RMC and ZQD, are chemically suitable for dispersion in an amphiphilic polymer matrix, producing a transparent waveguide with suppressed reabsorption and extended harvesting coverage of the solar spectrum. We achieved an η opt of 3.47% and a PCE of 1.23% while maintaining greater than 80% transparency in the visible range. The high performance of this dual-dye LSC with suppressed reabsorption, and scattering losses is not only due to uniform dispersion of dyes in a polymer matrix, but also energy transfer from ZQD to RMC. This report suggests a new possibility for promising various multi-dye LSCs for use in building-integrated photovoltaic windows.

Today’s mixed-signal SoCs are challenging to validate. Running enough test vectors often requires the use of event-driven simulation and hardware emulation, which in turn necessitates the creation of analog behavioral models. This paper reviews different approaches proposed to address that modeling challenge, and shows how they can be divided by the methods used to solve for analog circuit values, represent analog waveforms, and validate analog functional models. We illustrate the power of these techniques as applied to a 16 Gb/s PHY, demonstrating a 10, $000\times $ speedup vs. SPICE simulation using event-driven models in Verilog simulation, and a further 5, $000\times $ speedup using synthesizable analog models in FPGA emulation.

The low-temperature annealing process has a critical impact on the electrical performance of thin-film transistors (TFTs). This paper reports significant performance enhancements of TFTs using a femtosecond laser pre-annealing (FLA)-based preparation method. The solution-processed In2O3 films were fabricated by FLA at various laser irradiation times and then annealed on a hot-plate at 230 °C. When the FLA time was set to 30 s, the device exhibited high saturation mobility of 10.03 ± 0.64 cm2/Vs, $I_{\mathrm {on}}/I_{\mathrm {off}}$ of $3.4\times 10^{5}$ , low $V_{\mathrm {TH}}$ of 0.14 ± 0.64 V, and small SS of 1.44 ± 0.37 V/dec. The FLA process improved the formation of M-O lattices effectively, which led to an improvement in mobility. Furthermore, the gate-bias-stress stability and time-dependent environmental stability were improved considerably by the FLA process. These results show that high-performance In2O3 TFTs can be prepared at low temperatures using FLA-centered annealing technology. This work suggests that the FLA preparation method has tremendous potential for the fabrication of low-cost, high performance, and flexible TFT devices.

Dynamic kinetic resolution is a common approach for the preparation of optically pure amino acids using enzymes. Here the authors report an alternative method based on enantioselective extraction coupled with racemization, in which a bulky extractant affords hydrophobic extractable imines with amino acids rapidly, reversibly and enantioselectively.

In this study, the composition of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (1 − x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–x(Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 with excellent piezoelectric properties was investigated. Crystal analysis and electrical and piezoelectric properties were analyzed according to the content of the BST composition. A phase change from rhombohedral to tetragonal structure was observed in 0.12 BST, and the densest and most uniform microstructure was confirmed in this composition. The dielectric constant increased from 905 to 1692 as the composition of BST increased to 0.12 BST. Afterward, as the composition of BST increased, the permittivity tended to decrease. Additionally, at 0.12 BST, Pr was the highest at 23.34 μC/cm2. The piezoelectric charge constant (d33) and the electromechanical coupling coefficient (kp) were 152 pC/N and 0.37, respectively, and showed the highest values at 0.12 BST. Curie temperature (Tm) was analyzed 242 °C at 0.12 BST, the optimal composition. It was confirmed that the characteristics of 0.12 BST were excellent in all conditions. Therefore, it was confirmed that 0.12 BST is the optimal composition for (1 − x)BNT–xBST piezoelectric ceramics.

In this study, modeling of optimized lattice mismatch by carbon-dioxide annealing on (In, Ga) co-doped ZnO multi-deposition thin films was investigated with crystallography and optical analysis. (In, Ga) co-doped ZnO multi-deposition thin films with various types of bottom layers were fabricated on sapphire substrates by solution synthesis, the spin coating process, and carbon-dioxide laser irradiation with post annealing. (In, Ga) co-doped ZnO multi-deposition thin films with Ga-doped ZnO as the bottom layer showed the lowest mismatch ratio between the substrate and the bottom layer of the film. The carbon-dioxide laser annealing process can improve electrical properties by reducing lattice mismatch. After applying the carbon-dioxide laser annealing process to the (In, Ga) co-doped ZnO multi-deposition thin films with Ga-doped ZnO as the bottom layer, an optimized sheet resistance of 34.5 kΩ/sq and a high transparency rate of nearly 90% in the visible light wavelength region were obtained.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the official world records of UIPM in the last 3 years to find out the relationship between the score characteristics of fencing, swimming, equestrian, and laser-run events in the final rankings and to analyze the relative importance of each event. Methods For 3 years, from 2017 to 2019, a total of the data were collected, the final rankings, fencing conversion scores, swimming conversion scores, equestrian scores, and laser-run conversion scores for all male and female athletes who participated in the UIPM Level 1 World Cup and World Championships(1,197 finals and 2,173 qualifiers). The Multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the response(subjective) variable and the conversion score of the four explanatory(independent) variables. Results The results were compared by qualification (n = 2173) and final (n = 1197) by dividing into male (n = 1179) and female (n = 1591), and the fencing score was qualifications (male β= -.691, female β= -.533) and the finals (male β= -.632, female β= -.632), it showed the greatest influence in all. On the other hand, the swim score showed the lowest impact on both qualifications (male β=-. 021, female β=-.196) and finals (male β=-. 087, female β=-. 207). The fencing event plays a major role in passing the qualifiers and is a big variable for good performance in the finals. On the other hand, in the case of swimming scores, both men and women had the lowest impact on the final ranking, and there is a limit to the final performance of swimming scores in both qualifiers. Conclusion In conclusion, it is necessary to analyze and systemize the fencing skills of the world’s best athletes, including Korean athletes, to improve the Korean fencing athletes' performance, and through such scientific analysis, a system that enables fast and flexible responses to the upcoming Olympic. Additionally, even though the importance of all sports should be levelled due to the characteristics of modern pentathlon, relative importance is biased toward fencing and swimming events are neglected. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to conduct a follow-up study on whether the scoring system in modern pentathlon consists of a scoring system that supports the records of each event and the upper and lower scoring system.

Bone metabolism: Regulation by brain protein A protein that is highly expressed in brain cells plays a vital role in maintaining balanced energy expenditure and bone health. Recent research indicates that protein activity within brain cells can directly influence energy and bone metabolism. Disruption to these proteins may therefore be associated with obesity and osteoporosis. In experiments on mice, Seok Jun Moon at Yonsei University College of Dentistry in Seoul, South Korea and co-workers found that the protein calsyntenin-3 is expressed at high levels in brain cells. Mice lacking the protein had reduced body mass and growth rate, increased energy expenditure, and lower overall bone mass. This was true regardless of their diet, suggesting they were resistant to diet-induced obesity. The team believe calsyntenin-3 is one of several key brain-based regulators of energy and bone metabolism.

Container platforms provide many functions for diverse applications and are used to build and operate various information services. They have been extended not only to Linux and Unix-based servers but also to Windows and macOS-based desktops and laptops. Many systems use anti-virus software to minimize damage caused by malware. Most anti-virus software provide real-time malware detection functions and block the execution of malware by enforcing access denial functions for malware that cannot be deleted or for original files that cannot be restored. However, current anti-virus technologies are not designed for container platforms. Therefore, they cannot detect malware in containers in real time; nor can they block malware execution or user access to malware owing to the isolation feature provided by container platforms. To resolve these issues, we propose a functionally-isolated anti-virus architecture for container platforms. The proposed anti-virus architecture separates the functions of a legacy anti-virus engine to ensure compatibility with the isolation features of a container platform. By implementation, it was confirmed that the proposed anti-virus architecture can detect in real-time the entry of malware in a container platform and block the execution of, and user access to unrecoverable malware-infected files. The performance of the proposed functionally-isolated anti-virus architecture is similar to that of legacy anti-virus technology and was verified to be sufficiently effective.

A container platform allows various applications to be deployed or run after installation. A user can download or execute a container image with the required application. To apply the configuration management system, a container image uses a union filesystem composed of multiple layers. To provide stability, important application files must be protected from unauthorized access. However, the container image used for distributing an application does not have its own protection function, and it is not protected by the container platform. The access control function provided by the operating system cannot protect the applications because the container environment is not considered. In this study, a container image access control architecture is proposed that can ensure a safe application operating environment by denying unauthorized direct access to container images. The proposed architecture enforces the access control function after the container image is downloaded, denying unauthorized access to the container image layer directory. Because the access control function is provided at the kernel level, there is a security advantage that users cannot bypass. To verify this approach, the functions and performance were determined empirically according to the proposed architecture. Functional verification confirmed that the proposed architecture denies unauthorized access to the container base image and allows access only to authorized users. It was also confirmed that the proposed architecture ensures the performance of the container platform in the same way as before, and that the proposed container image access control architecture is sufficiently effective.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become a leading cause of end-stage renal failure worldwide. The goal of the current study was to examine the protective effects of chitosan-loaded p-Coumaric acid nanoparticles (PCNPs) in nephrotoxicity induced by streptozotocin (STZ). Because of the antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties of PCNPs, the development of DN may be considerably decreased. In this study, the rats received a single intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) of STZ (45 mg/kg) to induce DN. PCNPs were given orally 80 mg/kg b.w to the rats for a duration of four weeks. Body weight, kidney weight, blood glucose, and insulin levels were measured at the end of the experiment. Serum and urine parameters were also examined, along with the histological, immunobiological, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression of the nephrotic rats. To comprehend the impact of PCNPs, the expression patterns of the kidney injury molecule (KIM-1) and glucose transporter-2 (GLUT-2) were evaluated. Administration of PCNPs significantly increased body weight, decreased kidney weight and also ameliorated blood glucose levels in the nephropathic rats. The administration of PCNPs also reverted the levels of urea, serum creatinine, urinary NAG, β-glucuronidase and albumin to near-normal levels. The administration of PCNPs also caused the levels of serum and urine parameters to return to near-normal levels. Additionally, the PCNP-treated rats had markedly reduced TNF-α, IL-6, and KIM-1 expressions as well as enhanced GLUT-2 mRNA expression. Our findings clearly showed that PCNP administration prevents the onset of DN in rats by lowering hyperglycemia, decreasing inflammation, and improving the expression of GLUT-2 mRNA in nephropathic rats.

We proposed the statistical misalignment model and the power-efficient configuration of transceivers for bi-directional multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) based vertical free space optical (FSO) links. Spatial diversity based MIMO FSO systems could be used to mitigate atmospheric fading issues. However, the increased number of channels can cause additional pointing error in pointing, acquisition and tracking (PAT) systems. The statistical misalignment model for detecting misalignment error is derived from the multiple transceivers. For the bi-directional characteristics of non-terrestrial back-haul networks, transmission performance is down-leveled to the worse in the asymmetric MIMO configuration of transceivers. The symmetric structure can mitigate the effect of increased pointing error to improve transmission performance. The proposed technique can be applied to the design of power-efficient FSO systems for non-terrestrial wireless back-haul networks.

Crystalline metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are extensively used in areas such as gas storage and small-molecule drug delivery. Although Cu-BTC (1, MOF-199, BTC: benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) has versatile applications, its NO storage and release characteristics are not amenable to therapeutic usage. In this work, micro-sized Cu-BTC was prepared solvothermally and then processed by ball-milling to prepare nano-sized Cu-BTC (2). The NO storage and release properties of the micro- and nano-sized Cu-BTC MOFs were morphology dependent. Control of the hydration degree and morphology of the NO delivery vehicle improved the NO release characteristics significantly. In particular, the nano-sized NO-loaded Cu-BTC (NO⊂nano-Cu-BTC, 4) released NO at 1.81 µmol·mg−1 in 1.2 h in PBS, which meets the requirements for clinical usage. The solid-state structural formula of NO⊂Cu-BTC was successfully determined to be [CuC6H2O5]·(NO)0.167 through single-crystal X-ray diffraction, suggesting no structural changes in Cu-BTC upon the intercalation of 0.167 equivalents of NO within the pores of Cu-BTC after NO loading. The structure of Cu-BTC was also stably maintained after NO release. NO⊂Cu-BTC exhibited significant antibacterial activity against six bacterial strains, including Gram-negative and positive bacteria. NO⊂Cu-BTC could be utilized as a hybrid NO donor to explore the synergistic effects of the known antibacterial properties of Cu-BTC.

Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be a solution for delayed or misdiagnosed pneumothorax. This study developed, a deep-learning-based AI model to estimate the pneumothorax amount on a chest radiograph and applied it to a treatment algorithm developed by experienced thoracic surgeons. U-net performed semantic segmentation and classification of pneumothorax and non-pneumothorax areas. The pneumothorax amount was measured using chest computed tomography (volume ratio, gold standard) and chest radiographs (area ratio, true label) and calculated using the AI model (area ratio, predicted label). Each value was compared and analyzed based on clinical outcomes. The study included 96 patients, of which 67 comprised the training set and the others the test set. The AI model showed an accuracy of 97.8%, sensitivity of 69.2%, a negative predictive value of 99.1%, and a dice similarity coefficient of 61.8%. In the test set, the average amount of pneumothorax was 15%, 16%, and 13% in the gold standard, predicted, and true labels, respectively. The predicted label was not significantly different from the gold standard (p = 0.11) but inferior to the true label (difference in MAE: 3.03%). The amount of pneumothorax in thoracostomy patients was 21.6% in predicted cases and 18.5% in true cases.

We investigated the relationship between disability self-awareness and cognitive and daily living functions in 49 patients with schizophrenia. The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS) self-report was used to identify patient-rated global function. A clinician-rated measure of global function was obtained using the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP); disability self-awareness was calculated using two global function scores. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) were used to evaluate clinical symptoms, while the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) and the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA) were applied to assess cognitive and daily living functionality, respectively. The WHODAS scores correlated significantly with the MCCB verbal learning, visual learning, and social cognition domains, and with the UPSA communication domain. The PSP correlated significantly with all MCCB and UPSA domains. Disability self-awareness demonstrated positive correlation with most domains of MCCB and UPSA. The findings of this study indicate that the lower the cognitive and daily living function in patients with schizophrenia, the more positively they perceive their own disability.

This paper proposes a three dimensional (3D) high-resolution indoor positioning system that uses a single light-emitting diode (LED) and a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensor (CIS). The proposed visible light positioning system is based on the bokeh effect for improving the positioning accuracy. The 3D position is determined by received signal strength (RSS) and angle of arrival (AOA). Optical saturation in pixels causes severe performance degradation in the RSS-based positioning based on the CIS. The bokeh-based image reception technique resolves this problem by spreading the optical power to adjacent pixels. Additionally, via the bokeh effect, the size of the LED image on the CIS is maintained regardless of the distances. The accuracy of the LED extraction for the AOA can be improved by fixed LED size. These characteristics of the proposed positioning scheme are analyzed via simulations, and the feasibility of the method is verified based on the experimental results. The experimental results indicate an estimated positioning average error rate within 4%.

This paper presents a Dual-Port-15-Throw (DP15T) antenna switch module (ASM) Radio Frequency (RF) switch implemented by a branched antenna technique which has a high linearity for wireless communications and various frequency bands, including a low- frequency band of 617–960 MHz, a mid-frequency band of 1.4–2.2 GHz, and a high-frequency band of 2.3–2.7 GHz. To obtain an acceptable Insertion Loss (IL) and provide a consistent input for each throw, a branched antenna technique is proposed that distributes a unified magnetic field at the inputs of the throws. The other role of the proposed antenna is to increase the inductance effects for the closer ports to the antenna pad in order to decrease IL at higher frequencies. The module is enhanced by two termination modes for each antenna path to terminate the antenna when the switch is not operating. The module is fabricated in the silicon-on-insulator CMOS process. The measurement results show a maximum IMD2 and IMD3 of −100 dBm, while for the second and third harmonics the maximum value is −89 dBc. The module operates with a maximum power handling of 35 dBm. Experimental results show a maximum IL of 0.34 and 0.92 dB and a minimum isolation of 49 dB and 35.5 dB at 0.617 GHz and 2.7 GHz frequencies, respectively. The module is implemented in a compact way to occupy an area of 0.74 mm2. The termination modes show a second harmonic of 75 dBc, which is desirable.

The objective of this study was to review clinical trials of pharmacopuncture treatment for Frozen Shoulder and to evaluate trends in this field. The literature search was performed using PubMed, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and 5 Korean electronic databases. A combination of “pharmacopuncture,” “acupoint injection,” “Frozen Shoulder,” “adhesive capsulitis,” and “periarthritis of shoulder” search terms were used. A total of 9 studies were included in this review. The studies were classified into herbal extract-based (5 types) and animal-based (2 types) pharmacopuncture treatment of Frozen Shoulder. There were 14 different acupoints and Ashi points used in the 9 studies. The total volume of herbal extract-based pharmacopuncture injected was usually between 2 mL and 4 mL, and for animal-based pharmacopuncture it was 1 ml. In most studies of Frozen Shoulder, pain was reduced and function was significantly improved after pharmacopuncture treatment. These results demonstrate that pharmacopuncture alleviates pain and restores function in patients with Frozen Shoulder. Further studies must be conducted on pharmacopuncture for management of Frozen Shoulder.

This paper reports an indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin film transistor (TFT) with a multi-stacked structure that showed improved performance compared to the TFT with a single active-layer structure. Devices with a multi-stacked active-layer structure were fabricated using an IZO solution process. The determination results showed that the electrical operation and environmental stability of multi-stacked IZO TFTs were improved significantly compared to those of single active-layer IZO TFTs. The roughness of the device surface was measured by atomic force microscopy. The root mean square calculation showed that the multi-stacked active-layer IZO TFT had a smoother surface. The multi-stack structured IZO TFT showed an exceptional electron mobility of 7.75 ± 0.2 cm2/V s, an on–off current ratio of 4.67 × 105 ± 0.55 × 105, and a subthreshold swing of 1.11 V/decade. In addition, a weak threshold voltage (0.35 ± 0.42 V) that is more conducive to device driving was obtained. These results highlight the great potential of multi-stack structured IZO TFTs for applications in active-matrix backplane displays.

Preventing the rapid spread of viral infectious diseases has become a major concern for global health. In this study, we present a microfluidic platform that performs an immunoassay of viral antigens in a simple, automated, yet highly sensitive manner. The device uses silica particles embedded with highly bright quantum dots (QD2) and performs the immunoassay with a vertically movable top layer and a rotating bottom layer. Through the motion of the layers and the surface tension in the liquids, reagents move from top chambers to bottom chambers and mix homogeneously. A tip in the top layer with a mobile permanent magnet moves the immune complexes comprising the magnetic beads, virus particles, and QD2 between the bottom chambers. In this way, our automated device achieves a highly sensitive magnetic bead-based sandwich immunoassay for the influenza A H1N1 virus within 32.5 min. The detection limit of our method is 5.1 × 10−4 hemagglutination units, which is 2 × 103 times more sensitive than that of the conventional hemagglutination method and is comparable to PCR. Our device is useful for the rapid and sensitive detection of infectious diseases in point-of-care applications and resource-limited environments.

We evaluated the toxicity of 1-propanol exposure following repeated inhalation over 28- and 90-day periods in male and female B6C3F1 mice to confirm the potential target organs and to determine the no-observable-adverse-effect levels (NOAELs). Five mice of each sex were exposed to 1-propanol at concentrations of 0, 100, 400, or 1600 ppm for 28 days and showed no consequent toxicity. Following this, ten mice of each sex were exposed at concentrations of 0, 500, 1600, or 5200 ppm for 90 days. We observed no effects on food consumption, body weight, organ weight, clinical signs, hematology and biochemistry parameters, or gross or histological features even at the maximum concentration. Therefore, the NOAEL of inhaled 1-propanol was defined as 5200 ppm (12.8 mg/L) for male and female mice under study conditions.

The pseudotetrahedral node, [In(O2CR)4]−, often found in InIII-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) without a cluster-based secondary building unit (SBU) is a negatively charged center due to charge mismatch between an 8-coordinate InIII ion and four anionic carboxylate bridging ligands. Thus, In-MOFs with this pseudotetrahedral node tend to bear a counter-cation near each InIII center in the frameworks. Generally, dialkylammonium-based cations such as Me2NH2+ and Et2NH2+ directly derived from N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) or N,N-diethylformamide (DEF) solvents during MOF formation reactions play a significant role to form a stable framework through charge matching. If these cations thermally derived from DMF or DEF were not suitable for crystal growth of In-MOFs, it becomes very challenging to obtain high quality single crystals for X-ray structure determination of the frameworks. In this context, high quality crystals of In-ABDC MOF were not easily prepared from a ditopic azobenzene-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid (H2ABDC) through a thermal reaction in DMF or DEF. We successfully overcome this problem by employing a room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM][BF4]), and the resulting three-dimensional (3D) In-ABDC MOF, [EMIM][In(ABDC)2]·DEF·H2O (I), was structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. The 3D framework indicates a 4-connected uninodal net with Schläfli symbol of 66 (dia). The gas sorption properties of solvent-free I were also investigated in detail.

Cell protrusion dynamics are heterogeneous at the subcellular level, but current analyses operate at the cellular or ensemble level. Here the authors develop a computational framework to quantify subcellular protrusion phenotypes and reveal the underlying actin regulator dynamics at the leading edge.

Data rate of optical camera communication is limited by low frame rate of the CMOS image sensor, so that multilevel modulation is required to improve its data rate. However, transmission performance may decrease with varying transmission distance between LED and image sensor due to nonlinearity occurred by saturation of received optical power. In this paper, we propose gamma function based signal compensation to overcome the nonlinearity and improve the performance of multilevel transmission. As an experimental demonstration, we transmitted maximum 16 pulse amplitude modulation signal and achieved data rate of 199.78 kb/s and symbol error rate (SER) under using the image sensor of 99.89 kfps with the transmission distance of 250 cm.

The influence of roll diameter on the strain distribution, shape change, contact pressure, and damage value of a workpiece was investigated during wire flat rolling to control the material properties of the flattened wire. The flattened wires fabricated by the four different rolls were compared using finite element analysis. The strain inhomogeneity of the flat-rolled wire increased with the roll diameter; thus, the macroscopic shear bands were strengthened as the roll diameter increased during wire flat rolling. The contact width and lateral spreading of the flattened wire increased with the roll diameter; therefore, the reduction in area decreased with the roll diameter. The contour of the normal contact pressure on the wire surface exhibited a similar pattern regardless of the roll diameter. The contact pressure showed higher values at the entry, edge, and exit zones in the contact area. The distribution of the damage value varied with the roll diameter. The free surface region tended to have the peak damage value during the process; however, the center region exhibited the maximum damage value with the roll diameter. From the perspective of the damage value, the optimum roll diameter was in existence during wire flat rolling. The underlying cause of the different strain distributions, shape changes, and damage values of the flat-rolled wire was the different contact lengths originating from the different roll diameters during wire flat rolling.

Background Hominis placenta (HP) is used in Korean medicine to tonify qi and blood, and enrich yin and tonify yang. HP has been reported to have therapeutic effects. Methods A survey of international and Korean electronic databases was conducted using the search terms “hominis placenta pharmacopuncture” and “hominis placenta extract”. The search was limited to material published up to May 31, 2017. Results A total of 83 studies were included in this systematic review: 50 were clinical studies, 25 were basic studies, and 8 were other types of study. Among clinical studies, the most frequently treated disease groups were musculoskeletal diseases and nervous system diseases. In vitro studies were conducted mainly on anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-cell necrosis models. Most of the in vivo studies were performed in rheumatoid arthritis or diabetic complications models. Conclusions HP pharmacopuncture has effects in the treatment of various diseases. Further large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to improve the level of evidence for HP pharmacopuncture. It would be helpful if future in vitro and in vivo studies could identify the mechanism of action of HP pharmacopuncture.

In a hot rolling process, excessive friction between rollers and steel plates may lead to the formation of scratches on the steel plate. To reduce scratch formation in the finishing mill of the hot rolling process, two techniques are proposed in this work: flying touch and velocity synchronization. The proposed flying touch method can reduce the impact of the generated force when the upper roller collides with the steel plate. In addition, the proposed velocity synchronization method can decrease the frictional force resulting from the velocity difference between the rollers and steel plate. The effectiveness of the proposed methods was demonstrated through simulations and experiments using a 1/40 downscaled hot rolling simulator. The simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods can reduce the magnitudes of friction and impact forces that lead to scratch formation on the steel plates in the hot rolling process.

Polysiloxanes (PSs) have been widely utilized in the industry as lubricants, varnishes, paints, release agents, adhesives, and insulators. In addition, their applications have been expanded to include the development of new biomedical materials. To modify PS for application in therapeutic purposes, a flexible antibacterial Cu-MOF (metal–organic framework) consisting of glutarate and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane ligands was embedded in PS via a hydrosilylation reaction of vinyl-terminated and H-terminated PSs at 25 °C. The bactericidal activities of the resulting Cu-MOF-embedded PS (PS@Cu-MOF) and the control polymer (PS) were tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. PS@Cu-MOF exhibited more than 80% bactericidal activity toward the tested bacteria at a concentration of 100 μg⋅mL−1 and exhibited a negligible cytotoxicity toward mouse embryonic fibroblasts at the same concentration. Release tests of the Cu(II) ion showed PS@Cu-MOF to be particularly stable in a phosphate-buffered saline solution. Furthermore, its physical and thermal properties, including the phase transition, rheological measurements, swelling ratio, and thermogravimetric profile loss, were similar to those of the control polymer. Moreover, the low cytotoxicity and bactericidal activities of PS@Cu-MOF render it a promising candidate for use in medicinal applications, such as in implants, skin-disease treatment, wound healing, and drug delivery.

Thermodynamics dictates the structure and function of metabolism. Redox reactions drive cellular energy and material flow. Hence, accurately quantifying the thermodynamics of redox reactions should reveal design principles that shape cellular metabolism. However, only few redox potentials have been measured, and mostly with inconsistent experimental setups. Here, we develop a quantum chemistry approach to calculate redox potentials of biochemical reactions and demonstrate our method predicts experimentally measured potentials with unparalleled accuracy. We then calculate the potentials of all redox pairs that can be generated from biochemically relevant compounds and highlight fundamental trends in redox biochemistry. We further address the question of why NAD/NADP are used as primary electron carriers, demonstrating how their physiological potential range fits the reactions of central metabolism and minimizes the concentration of reactive carbonyls. The use of quantum chemistry can revolutionize our understanding of biochemical phenomena by enabling fast and accurate calculation of thermodynamic values.

Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are capable of encapsulating hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. The present study developed an NLC containing epidermal growth factor (EGF) and curcumin (EGF–Cur-NLC). EGF–Cur-NLC was prepared by a modified water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double-emulsion method. The EGF–Cur-NLC particles showed an average diameter of 331.8 nm and a high encapsulation efficiency (81.1% and 99.4% for EGF and curcumin, respectively). In vitro cell studies were performed using two cell types, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and HaCaT keratinocytes. The results showed no loss of bioactivity of EGF in the NLC formulation. In addition, EGF–Cur-NLC improved in vitro cell migration, which mimics the wound healing process. Finally, EGF–Cur-NLC was evaluated in a chronic wound model in diabetic rats. We found that EGF–Cur-NLC accelerated wound closure and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Overall, these results reveal the potential of the NLC formulation containing EGF and curcumin to promote healing of chronic wounds.

As a piezoelectric material, (Bi,Sc)O3-(Pb,Ti)O3 ceramics have been tested and analyzed for sensors and energy harvester applications owing to their relatively high Curie temperature and high piezoelectric coefficient. In this work, we prepared optimized (Bi,Sc)O3-(Pb,Ti)O3 piezoelectric materials through the conventional ceramic process. To increase the output energy, a multilayered structure was proposed and designed, and to obtain the maximum output energy, impedance matching techniques were considered and tested. By varying and measuring the energy harvesting system, we confirmed that the output energies were optimized by varying the load resistance. As the load resistance increased, the output voltage became saturated. Then, we calculated the optimized output power using the electric energy formula. Consequently, we identified the highest output energy of 5.93 µW/cm2 at 3 MΩ for the quadruple-layer harvester and load resistor using the impedance matching system. We characterized and improved the electrical properties of the piezoelectric energy harvesters by introducing impedance matching and performing the modeling of the energy harvesting component. Modeling was conducted for the piezoelectric generator component by introducing the mechanical force dependent voltage sources and load resistors and piezoelectric capacitor connected in parallel. Moreover, the generated output voltages were simulated by introducing an impedance matching technique. This work is designed to explain the modeling of piezoelectric energy harvesters. In this model, the relationship between applied mechanical force and output energy was discussed by employing experimental results and simulation.

Recently, Achyranthis radix extract has been studied as a therapeutic agent for dry eye disease that occurs from fine dust. The aim of this study was the development of Achyranthis radix extract-loaded eye drop formulations using lubricants, generally used for artificial tear eye drops. Ecdysterone was used as a marker compound for Achyranthis radix extract and 1% Achyranthis radix extract solution contained 14.37 ± 0.04 μg/mL of ecdysterone. Before formulation studies, a new method was performed to evaluate pigmentation, which might be caused by eye drops of herbal extract. A comparative study of the water retention ability of each formulation and ability to prevent the death of conjunctival epithelial cells in dry conditions was conducted. Moreover, treatment of Achyranthis radix extract (USL) eye drop formulation exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on inflammation in a concentration-dependent manner. The long-term and accelerated stability tests showed that lubricants could contribute to the stability of herbal extracts in solution. In conclusion, hyaluronic acid showed a good effect on the development of eye drop formulation using Achyranthis radix extracts for treating dry eye disease.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has become a major health problem in most countries of the world. DM causes many complications, including hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, and death. In Asia, mulberry has been used widely in the treatment of DM. Combination of drugs with herbal medicine may reduce the unwanted side effects caused by drugs. In this study, the influence of extended mulberry leaves extract (MLE) intake on metformin (Met) was evaluated in terms of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in DM-induced rats. Three week-treatment of MLE alone produced the anti-hyperglycemic effect (around 24%) if compared to the control. Interestingly, Met administration after MLE treatment for 3 weeks enhanced about 49% of the anti-hyperglycemic effect of Met. In addition, the extended intake of MLE potentiated the anti-hyperglycemic effect of Met on various concentrations. This potentiated anti-hyperglycemic effect of Met appears to be due to the pharmacokinetic change of Met. In this study, 3 week-treatment of MLE reduced the elimination of Met in DM-induced rats. In addition, MLE reduced the human organic cation transporter 2 (hOCT2) activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Thus, these findings suggest that MLE lowered the elimination of Met via inhibiting the hOCT2.

The ability to elicit distinct duty cycles from the same self-regulating microfluidic oscillator device would greatly enhance the versatility of this micro-machine as a tool, capable of recapitulating in vitro the diverse oscillatory processes that occur within natural systems. We report a novel approach to realize this using the coordinated modulation of input volumetric flow rate ratio and fluidic capacitance ratio. The demonstration uses a straightforward experimental system where fluid inflow to the oscillator is provided by two syringes (of symmetric or asymmetric cross-sectional area) mounted upon a single syringe pump applying pressure across both syringes at a constant linear velocity. This produces distinct volumetric outflow rates from each syringe that are proportional to the ratio between their cross-sectional areas. The difference in syringe cross-sectional area also leads to differences in fluidic capacitance; this underappreciated capacitive difference allows us to present a simplified expression to determine the microfluidic oscillators duty cycle as a function of cross-sectional area. Examination of multiple total volumetric inflows under asymmetric inflow rates yielded predictable and robust duty cycles ranging from 50% to 90%. A method for estimating the outflow duration for each inflow under applied flow rate ratios is provided to better facilitate the utilization of this system in experimental protocols requiring specific stimulation and rest intervals.