This study investigated the electrical and stability characteristics of Al
2
O
3
as a gate insulator, which was deposited by various atomic layer deposition methods in top-gate staggered amorphous ...InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistors. A trimethylaluminum precursor was used as an Al source, and H
2
O gas (H
2
O device) and O
2
plasma with a long plasma time (O
2
LP device) and a short plasma time (O
2
SP device) were used as oxidants. The initial electrical characteristics, including the hysteresis, on–off current ratio, and subthreshold swing, were superior in the H
2
O device compared to the O
2
LP and O
2
SP devices. In the positive bias stress (PBS) results, the degradation characteristics showed a tendency similar to the transfer properties. However, under the negative bias illumination stress (NBIS), the stability of the H
2
O device was significantly reduced compared to the O
2
LP and O
2
SP devices. In this paper, the mechanism of instability, which has opposite results in terms of the PBS and NBIS for the three devices, was identified using capacitance–voltage, three-terminal charge pumping as electrical analysis techniques and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) as a physical analysis technique. It was confirmed that the surface oxidation of a-IGZO deteriorates the interfacial properties, causing the transfer characteristics to degrade. The carbon of the Al
2
O
3
film identified via SIMS analysis acts as a trap layer, causing deterioration in the PBS. Alternatively, in the NBIS, it was observed that the carbon acts as a capture site for photo-excited holes, thereby promoting device stability.
Graphic Abstract
The association between adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH) and allergies remains controversial. Periostin is an important player in allergic diseases. We aimed to investigate the expression of ...periostin in hypertrophic tonsils and adenoids in children.
We enrolled 24 children who underwent adenotonsillectomy due to sleep-disordered breathing. They were divided into atopic and control groups according to ImmunoCAP results. The presence and location of periostin in the tonsils and adenoids were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The mRNA expression and protein levels of periostin and inflammatory cytokines were measured.
Immunoreactive periostin signals were observed in the subepithelial regions and germinal centers of both tonsils and adenoids. In the subepithelial regions and germinal center, periostin signals were more prominent in both tonsils and adenoids of the atopic group than in those of the control group. Significantly, the atopic group had higher periostin mRNA expression in tonsils and adenoids than the control group. The atopic group also had higher protein level of periostin in the adenoids than the control group. Atopic children had higher TGF-β1 levels in the tonsils and adenoids than those in the controls.
This study showed that periostin is present in both the tonsils and adenoids, and that its levels are increased in the adenoids of atopic children. Periostin and TGF- β1 expressions in the adenoids may be associated with the atopic status in children. Further studies are required to investigate the association between ATH and periostin in a larger number of participants.
•Immunoreactive signals of periostin were observed in the tonsils and adenoids.•The expressions of periostin were prominent in the adenoids of the atopic group.•Periostin in the tonsils and adenoids may be associated with atopy in children.
Abstract Background Colon cancer ranks as the second most lethal form of cancer globally. In recent years, there has been active investigation into using the methylation profile of circulating tumor ...DNA (ctDNA), derived from blood, as a promising indicator for diagnosing and monitoring colon cancer. Results We propose a liquid biopsy-based epigenetic method developed by utilizing 49 patients and 260 healthy controls methylation profile data to screen and monitor colon cancer. Our method initially identified 901 colon cancer-specific hypermethylated (CaSH) regions in the tissues of the 49 cancer patients. We then used these CaSH regions to accurately quantify the amount of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood samples of these same patients, utilizing cell-free DNA methylation profiles. Notably, the methylation profiles of ctDNA in the blood exhibited high sensitivity (82%) and specificity (93%) in distinguishing patients with colon cancer from the control group, with an area under the curve of 0.903. Furthermore, we confirm that our method for ctDNA quantification is effective for monitoring cancer patients and can serve as a valuable tool for postoperative prognosis. Conclusions This study demonstrated a successful application of the quantification of ctDNA among cfDNA using the original cancer tissue-derived CaSH region for screening and monitoring colon cancer.
PEG‐functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are shown to promote fast exciton dissociation in organic solar cells. Short‐chain PEG promotes the most favorable interaction with other organic ...layers, and the overall efficiency is improved by 36% when compared to the reference devices. The mechanism of enhancement is shown to be increased absorption due to fewer charges remaining in the bound state.
The accumulation of short-chain carboxylic acids (SCCAs), such as acetic acid (C
2
), propionic acid (C
3
), butyric acid (C
4
), and valeric acid (C
5
), produced by acetogens in the anaerobic ...digestion (AD) process hampers the maintenance of stable AD processes in biomethane production. The conversion of various SCCAs to the corresponding alcohols can be a good solution not only for utilizing abandoned or harmful SCCAs and producing useful alcohols but also for increasing the efficiency of the biogas production process. ACT01_02765 (acyl-CoA transferase) from
Megasphaera hexanoica
quickly and easily converted C
2
-C
8
carboxylic acids into the corresponding alcohols in
Escherichia coli
with AdhE2 (alcohol dehydrogenase) from
Clostridium acetobutylicum. E. coli
(ACT01_02765 and AdhE2) converted carboxylic acids to the corresponding alcohols with a conversion yield that was approximately 40 times higher and a conversion rate that was approximately 10–50 times faster than those of
E. coli
(Ptb-Buk and AdhE2). The enzymatic machinery in
E. coli
(ACT01_02765 and AdhE2) is effective for carboxylic acids of different carbon chain lengths, resulting in the production of propanol, butanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, and octanol.
We conducted experimental and quantitative studies on the effects of off-state bias stress of the p-type polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors, and present a degradation model using spatial ...mapping simulations. In the off-state bias stress condition, the gate induced drain leakage current (GIDL) is determined by the gate and drain voltage (Vgd), and the gate bias stress above a certain bias is accompanied by a change in Vth. The spatial distributions of the electric field and the electron concentration are considered as degradation factors, and are used in the equations for defect creation (DC) and the charge trapping (CT) model. We had to implement different forms of the aging model in the two regions: 1) CT in the poly-Si/SiOX interface, and 2) DC in the channel bulk. Finally, our degradation model allows us to analyze how the GIDL current decreases with various aging conditions, and provides a quantitative relationship between the amount of charge trapping and the amount of defect creation.
•The purpose of this paper is to improve leakage through the LTPS aging process, model it, and analyze it quantitatively.•In our model, physical quantities with spatial information are directly used as parameters of the degradation formula•Even with changes to the fab process, it can be predictable, intuitive, and very useful with a little calibration.
Exsolution generates metal nanoparticles anchored within crystalline oxide supports, ensuring efficient exposure, uniform dispersion, and strong nanoparticle–perovskite interactions. Increased doping ...level in the perovskite is essential for further enhancing performance in renewable energy applications; however, this is constrained by limited surface exsolution, structural instability, and sluggish charge transfer. Here, hybrid composites are fabricated by vacuum‐annealing a solution containing SrTiO3 photoanode and Co cocatalyst precursors for photoelectrochemical water‐splitting. In situ transmission electron microscopy identifies uniform, high‐density Co particles exsolving from amorphous SrTiO3 films, followed by film‐crystallization at elevated temperatures. This unique process extracts entire Co dopants with complete structural stability, even at Co doping levels exceeding 30%, and upon air exposure, the Co particles embedded in the film oxidize to CoO, forming a Schottky junction at the interface. These conditions maximize photoelectrochemical activity and stability, surpassing those achieved by Co post‐deposition and Co exsolution from crystalline oxides. Theoretical calculations demonstrate in the amorphous state, dopant─O bonds become weaker while Ti─O bonds remain strong, promoting selective exsolution. As expected from the calculations, nearly all of the 30% Fe dopants exsolve from SrTiO3 in an H2 environment, despite the strong Fe─O bond's low exsolution tendency. These analyses unravel the mechanisms driving the amorphous exsolution.
A method is devised to exsolve dopants from the amorphous state of perovskite oxide, followed by crystallization of the oxide through vacuum‐annealing at elevated temperatures. This process extracts all Co atoms heavily doped into SrTiO3, resulting in the formation of uniformly distributed high‐density CoO particles embedded in the support, with complete structural stability, dramatically enhancing photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances.
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and approximately half of AMI-related deaths occur before the affected individual reaches the hospital. The present ...study aimed to identify and validate genetic variants associated with AMI and their role as prognostic markers.
We conducted a replication study of 29 previously identified novel loci containing 85 genetic variants associated with early-onset AMI using a new independent set of 2,920 Koreans 88 patients with early- and 1,085 patients with late-onset AMI, who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and 1,747 healthy controls.
Of the 85 previously reported early-onset variants, six were confirmed in our genome-wide association study with a false discovery rate of less than 0.05. Notably, rs12639023, a cis-eQTL located in the intergenic region between
and
, significantly increased longitudinal cardiac mortality and recurrent AMI.
is known to play a role in altering vascular permeability. Another variant, rs78631167, located upstream of
and known to function in fibrinolysis, was moderately replicated in this study. By surveying the nearby genomic region around rs78631167, we identified a significant novel locus (rs8109584) located 13 bp downstream of rs78631167. The present study showed that six of the early-onset variants of AMI are applicable to both early- and late-onset cases.
Our results confirm markers that can potentially be utilized to predict, screen, prevent, and treat candidate patients with AMI and highlight the potential of rs12639023 as a prognostic marker for cardiac mortality in AMI.
Heterogeneous Catalysis
In article number 2308934, Bong‐Joong Kim and co‐workers devise a method to exsolve metal dopants from amorphous perovskite oxides, followed by the crystallization of these ...oxides through vacuum‐annealing at elevated temperatures. This process extracts all heavily doped Co atoms from SrTiO3, resulting in uniformly distributed, high‐density CoO nanoparticles embedded in the oxide support, providing structural stability, and enhancing photoelectrochemical performance.
PDF
