An accurate physics-based capacitance model is developed covering full-region operations of silicon TFET (Si-TFET) with all biasing conditions. The intrinsic and parasitic capacitances are modeled by ...the surface-potential-based method and justified by calibrated TCAD simulations. To address the challenges of a classical physics-based model in calculating the charge partitions, an artificial neural network (ANN)-enhanced method is proposed to capture the terminal partition strategy, which features good smoothness and high accuracy. The results show a source terminal partition of the ambipolar region in the range of 90%-100%, and the drain partition of the normal region is in the range of 85%-100%, with in-between partitions of the transition regions. This ANN-enhanced physics-based model addresses the requirements of a TFET channel charge partition strategy and has been verified in circuit simulations with improved accuracy.
Adrenomedullin (AM) is a multifunctional peptide vasodilator that signals through a G-protein-coupled receptor when the receptor, called calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CL), is associated with a ...receptor activity-modifying protein 2 (RAMP2). We demonstrated previously that haploinsufficieny for each of these genes led to reduced maternal fertility, and that even a modest genetic reduction of AM peptide caused maternal defects in implantation, placentation, and fetal growth. Here, we further demonstrate that Adm+/− female mice displayed reduced pregnancy success rates that were not caused by defects in folliculogenesis, ovulation, or fertilization. The poor fertility of Adm+/− female mice could not be rescued by transfer of wild-type blastocysts, which suggested an underlying defect in uterine receptivity. In fact, we found that Adm, Calcrl, and Ramp2 gene expressions are tightly and spatiotemporally regulated in the luminal epithelial cells of the uterus during the estrus cycle and the peri-implantation period. RAMP3, which also generates an AM receptor when associated with CL, had a diametrically opposite expression pattern than that of Adm, Calcrl, and Ramp2 and was most robustly induced in the stroma of the uterus. Finally, we discovered that Adm+/− female mice have a substantially reduced number of pinopodes on the uterine luminal epithelial surface, which is indicative and possibly causative of the poor uterine receptivity. Taken together, our studies identify a new class of pharmacologically tractable proteins that are involved in establishing uterine receptivity through the regulation of pinopode formation.
In this article, one feasible fabrication appro-ach for novel fishbone FETs using the channel-first and single work function metal (sWFM) processes is proposed and investigated by 3-D technical ...computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations. Through a small modification on the fabrication process of general gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet FETs (NSFETs), the special fishbone-like channel composed of vertically stacked Si NSs and sandwiched SiGe nano-fins is experimentally demonstrated by the channel-first process. The simulated electrical characteristics show that the width of the nano-fins should be within 5 nm for a better gate control. Unlike traditional NSFETs, symmetrical threshold voltages (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\textit{V}_{\text{th}}</tex-math> </inline-formula>s) for n-type and p-type fishbone FETs can be achieved by using a sWFM, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\Delta \textit{V}_{\text{th}}</tex-math> </inline-formula> is optimized by 99.26% compared with that of NSFETs. Meanwhile, it is also found that the SiGe nano-fins contribute more driving current for p-type devices. Therefore, the proposed fishbone FETs with sWFM not only exhibit significantly enhanced driving current but also provide good balance between the performances of n-type and p-type fishbone FETs with a little extra process cost.
In the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), there is a need for the long-term use of therapeutic drugs that reduce joint pain and have fewer adverse effects.
This study aimed to investigate the ...therapeutic effect of bean pressing on ear points on early KOA pain.
One hundred patients with KOA recruited at the Wenzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between February 2019 and May 2022 were divided randomly into a treatment group (n= 50) and control group (n= 50). Patients in the treatment group received regular rehabilitation combined with auricular bean-pressing treatment, while patients in the control group only received conventional rehabilitation treatment. The measurement indicators - knee swelling, tenderness, range of motion sign score, C-reactive protein, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) indexes - were recorded before and after treatment.
On day 5 following the start of treatment, the visual analog scale (VAS) and WOMAC scores of the treatment group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P< 0.05), and the VAS and WOMAC scores in the treatment group after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment (P< 0.05). At week 4 after the start of treatment, the dosage of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). No adverse events were observed during the treatment.
Auricular bean-pressing therapy had an analgesic effect and could also alleviate mild to moderate KOA swelling, joint stiffness, and other symptoms, effectively reducing the demand for NSAIDs and improving both knee function and quality of life. The results suggested that auricular bean-pressing therapy has promising prospects in the treatment of early KOA pain.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, FSPLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract Computing‐in‐memory (CIM) architecture inspired by the hierarchy of human brain is proposed to resolve the von Neumann bottleneck and boost acceleration of artificial intelligence. Whereas ...remarkable progress has been achieved for CIM, making further improvements in CIM performance is becoming increasingly challenging, which is mainly caused by the disparity between rapid evolution of synaptic arrays and relatively slow progress in building efficient neuronal devices. Specifically, dedicated efforts are required toward developments of more advanced activation units in terms of both optimized algorithms and innovative hardware implementations. Here a novel bio‐inspired dendrite function‐like neuron based on negative‐differential‐resistance (NDR) behavior is reported and experimentally demonstrates this design as a more efficient neuron. By integrating electrochemical random‐access memory (ECRAM) with ionic regulation, the tunable NDR neuron can be trained to enhance neural network performances. Furthermore, based on a high‐density RRAM chip, fully hardware implementation of CIM is experimentally demonstrated by integrating NDR neuron devices with only a 1.03% accuracy loss. This work provides 516 × and 1.3 × 10 5 × improvements on LAE (Latency‐Area‐Energy) property, compared to the digital and analog CMOS activation circuits, respectively. With device‐algorithm co‐optimization, this work proposes a compact and energy‐efficient solution that pushes CIM‐based neuromorphic computing into a new paradigm.
In our multicenter study, 43 fluconazole non-susceptible and 45 fluconazole-susceptible isolates were collected from vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) patients from three Shanghai maternity hospitals to ...analyze their molecular epidemiological features and fluconazole resistant mechanisms. Cross-resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole and voriconazole was observed in 53.5% of the nonsusceptible isolates. Though we acquired 12 clonal complexes (CCs) of diploid sequence types (DSTs) in clinical isolates by a multilocus sequence typing method, fluconazole nonsusceptible isolates all belonged to CC69 with a predominant genotype of DST 79. Increased expressions of efflux pump genes (CDR1, CDR2, and MDR1) were observed only in minor fluconazole non-susceptible isolates by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, ERG11 genes of fluconazole SDD and resistant isolates had significantly higher expression levels than fluconazole-susceptible isolates. Moreover, 13 distinct amino acid substitutions in Erg11p were found in clinical isolates. Three of the substitutions were novel amino acid substitutions (T123I, P98S, and Y286D), which were not in the susceptible isolates. Only two heterozygous amino acid substitutions (A18P/A and R365G/R) in Erg3p were found in two isolates with cross-resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole. Taken together, we observed the clonal spread of CC69 in fluconazole non-susceptible isolates of Candida albicans from VVC patients with the dominant genotype DST79. ERG11 gene mutations and overexpression predominantly contributed to fluconazole resistance instead of the more common increased expressions of efflux pump genes (CDR1, CDR2, and MDR1).
Candida albicans is a major fungal opportunistic pathogen for humans. In the treatment of C. albicans, azole drugs target the sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) encoded by ERG11 gene. Most studies have ...focused on the fact that the ERG11 mutant results in drug resistance, but its mechanism of action as a drug target has not been described yet. Our results showed that deletion of ERG11 reduced filamentous and invasive growth, and impaired hyphal elongation in sensing serum. Lack of ERG11 increased susceptibility to H2O2 and was defective in clearing reactive oxygen species. ERG11 may affect oxidative stress adaptation by specifically downregulating CAT1 expression. In addition, C. albicans cells lacking ERG11 were more efficiently killed by macrophages and became avirulent in vivo. This study is the first to indicate that ERG11 plays an essential role in hyphal elongation, oxidative stress adaptation and virulence in C. albicans. We speculated that azole drugs not only inhibit the growth of C. albicans, but also assist the host immune system in clearing the fungal organism. The new understanding of mechanisms of action of antifungal drugs should facilitate the development of treatment strategies for resistant fungal infections.
Complementary FET (CFET) is a promising booster for further area reductions in static random-access memory (SRAM) cells. However, the performance degrading by a series of parasitic parameters in ...these SRAM cells will diminish the scaling benefit introduced by new transistor architectures. In this article, we propose a universal methodology to determine the layout optimization direction of 6T static random-access memory (6T-SRAM) cells by studying the sensitivity of 6T-SRAM cell performance to various parasitic parameters. And adopt this method to optimize the CFET SRAM cell layout structure under the advanced nodes beyond 3 nm. The performances of CFET 6T-SRAM cells with different layout schemes are comparatively evaluated. It is found that the influence of the parasitic resistance on 6T-SRAM performances is double-sided, and parasitic resistances from transistor to power rail (Formula Omitted, Formula Omitted) and from access (AX) devices to bit-lines (BLs) (Formula Omitted) have the most important effect on improving read noise margin (RNM) together with write margin (WM). The BL-first scheme with reduced Formula Omitted and increased Formula Omitted is proven to have 76.3% improvement in WM and 122.5% decrease in write time (WT) compared to the BL-last scheme, and a 63.8% improvement in RNM compared to conventional nanosheet architecture. Further optimized Formula Omitted in the buried-BL scheme is proven to have higher WM, as well as lower WT. The BL-first scheme and buried-BL scheme is proven to be the most efficient approach to boost CFET SRAM performance.
In this work, a p-type high-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{k} </tex-math></inline-formula> metal gate (HKMG) with 3-nm interfacial Al 2 O 3 doping HfO 2 laminated dielectric is ...presented to achieve the required gate electrode effective work function (EWF). Through the ex-situ interfacial doping strategy with various Al 2 O 3 thickness, the electrical and interface characteristics of p-type HKMG MOSCAP are investigated. The results show that these parameters are strongly dependent on the thickness of the Al 2 O 3 . By increasing the Al 2 O 3 thickness, the flat-band voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{V}_{\text {FB}} </tex-math></inline-formula>) positive shift is elevated by 360 mV, and the trap/detrap electrons density (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{N}_{\text {ot}} </tex-math></inline-formula>) is significantly suppressed by an order of magnitude. In addition, the interface charge density (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{N}_{\text {SS}} </tex-math></inline-formula>) is significantly reduced, and interface trap density (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{D}_{\text {it}} </tex-math></inline-formula>), time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), and positive bias stress (PBS) is obviously improved. Finally, EWF modulation was increased from 4.976 to 5.206 eV (over the valence band edge of 5.17 eV). The results reveal that it is possible to tailor dielectric and electrical properties of high-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{k} </tex-math></inline-formula> layers by adding a proper amount of interfacial Al 2 O 3 doping into HfO 2 , meeting the criteria required for gate electrode p-type EWF. These results and discussion provide an effective method for the integration of the HKMG stack in the MOSFETs and also useful for design of CMOS integration.
The increasing prevalence of azole resistance in Candida albicans poses a growing problem for clinical treatment. Amino acid substitution of the 14α-demethylase (Erg11p) encoded by the ERG11 gene is ...one of the most common mechanisms involved in azole resistance. Although amino acid substitutions of Erg11p have been observed in many clinical isolates, only a few amino acid substitutions have been confirmed to be related to azole resistance. In this study, by amplifying and sequencing the open reading frame of the ERG11 gene from 55 clinical isolates, we identified 27 fluconazole-resistant isolates that harbor a novel amino acid substitution, T123I, in Erg11p, in addition to the previously described homozygous substitution Y132H. We investigated both the contribution of this novel substitution T123I and its synergistic effect with substitution Y132H to azole resistance by heterogeneously expressing the C. albicans Erg11p with different substitution forms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results showed that S. cerevisiae cells harboring the substitution T123I displayed higher (4-fold) minimum inhibitory concentration values to both fluconazole and voriconazole than the cells expressing the wild-type version of C. albicans Erg11p, but this was not true for itraconazolele. More importantly, a synergistic effect of substitutions T123I and Y132H was observed in an assay of voriconazole resistance. These results indicate that amino acid substitutions of Erg11p are prevalent among azole-resistant isolates and that the substitution T123I confers resistance to both fluconazole and voriconazole.
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