The sensitivity of existing fingerprint sensors (FPSs) can decrease considerably owing to environmental factors and parasitic capacitance. In order to overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a ...highly-sensitive 300 dpi mutual-capacitive transparent fingerprint sensor (FPS) with uniquely designed reference lines for device security. Specifically, the reference lines of the FPS induce capacitance cancellation. Images of fingertips under dry, wet, and oily surface conditions were obtained in the presence and absence of the reference lines. The results showed that the fingerprints were significantly distorted in anomalous surface environments when the reference lines were not used. However, when the reference lines were used, the sensitivity improved irrespective of the environmental conditions. With the edge-detection processing, the proposed FPS exhibited 9.25 %, 61.49 %, and 8.60 % increase in the ridge sensing improvement (RSI) of dry, oil, and wet condition, respectively, thus significantly enhancing the sensing capability. Therefore, we believe the proposed FPS can increase device security owing to its excellent performance.
Hydrogen plays a crucial role in controlling the electrical characteristics of oxide thin‐film transistors (TFTs). The conductivity of the semiconductor can be modulated by controlling the amount of ...hydrogen in the active layer. In this study, a thermal annealing of the sample in an inverted orientation (referred to as “upside‐down annealing”) is introduced. The impact of this approach on the hydrogen content within the In2O3 active layer is examined through the lens of a hydrogen diffusion model. By time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, a hydrogen diffusion model for the TFT is established, and it is demonstrated that upside–down annealing is an effective method for preventing hydrogen depletion caused by out‐diffusion. A bottom‐gate bottom‐contact TFT is fabricated to analyze electrical characteristics. By employing different post‐thermal annealing methods on the device, it is discovered that the upside–down annealing enhances the device's performance significantly up to mobility of 22.3 cm2 V−1 s−1, which surpasses more than twice the mobility achieved with the traditionally oriented, “straight” annealed TFT.
In this study, a thermal annealing method of oxide thin‐film transistors in an inverted orientation, called “upside‐down annealing,” is introduced. Upside–down annealing prevents hydrogen out‐diffusion from the In2O3 active layer and enhances mobility. The hydrogen content in the In2O3 active layer is examined through the lens of a hydrogen‐diffusion model.
Background and Aims
Although many studies revealed transcriptomic subtypes of HCC, concordance of the subtypes are not fully examined. We aim to examine a consensus of transcriptomic subtypes and ...correlate them with clinical outcomes.
Approach and Results
By integrating 16 previously established genomic signatures for HCC subtypes, we identified five clinically and molecularly distinct consensus subtypes. STM (STeM) is characterized by high stem cell features, vascular invasion, and poor prognosis. CIN (Chromosomal INstability) has moderate stem cell features, but high genomic instability and low immune activity. IMH (IMmune High) is characterized by high immune activity. BCM (Beta‐Catenin with high Male predominance) is characterized by prominent β‐catenin activation, low miRNA expression, hypomethylation, and high sensitivity to sorafenib. DLP (Differentiated and Low Proliferation) is differentiated with high hepatocyte nuclear factor 4A activity. We also developed and validated a robust predictor of consensus subtype with 100 genes and demonstrated that five subtypes were well conserved in patient‐derived xenograft models and cell lines. By analyzing serum proteomic data from the same patients, we further identified potential serum biomarkers that can stratify patients into subtypes.
Conclusions
Five HCC subtypes are correlated with genomic phenotypes and clinical outcomes and highly conserved in preclinical models, providing a framework for selecting the most appropriate models for preclinical studies.
The pursuit of exceptionally high photoluminescence (PL) and stability is critical in the development of novel fluorophores for use in challenging bioimaging and optoelectronic devices. Carbon ...nanodots (CDs) doped with heteroatoms provide a particularly attractive means of effectively tailoring their intrinsic properties and exploiting new phenomena. Here, we report a one-step, scalable synthesis of boron-and-nitrogen co-doped CD (BN-CD) with outstanding optical properties unlike those of nitrogen-doped CD (N-CD) in solid state as well as solution. The detailed mechanistic framework was explored using a series of spectroscopic analyses and ultrafast spectroscopy coupled with density functional theory calculations, which all conclusively confirmed that the presence of more graphitic structures in the core and well-distributed surface states are responsible for the enhanced PL in BN-CD. Furthermore, single-molecule spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that a single BN-CD shows higher PL intensity and enhanced photobleaching time. We anticipate that this study will aid in uncovering the full potential of CDs in various fields.
Expansion microscopy combined with single‐molecule localization microscopy (ExSMLM) has a potential for approaching molecular resolution. However, ExSMLM faces multiple challenges such as loss of ...fluorophores and proteins during polymerization, digestion or denaturation, and an increase in linkage error arising from the distance between the fluorophore and the target molecule. Here, we introduce a trifunctional streptavidin to link the target, fluorophore and gel matrix via a biotinylizable peptide tag. The resultant ExSMLM images of vimentin filaments demonstrated high labeling efficiency and a minimal linkage error of ∼5 nm. Our ExSMLM provides a simple and practical means for fluorescence imaging with molecular resolution.
Keeping it all together: Single‐molecule expansion microscopy can reach a resolution on the molecular scale that is challenged by labeling density and linkage error. We introduce a biotinylizable peptide tag and gel‐linkable fluorescent streptavidin that enable a fixed 5‐nm linkage between a fluorophore and a protein of interest in a cell.
Synbiotics intake can alter the composition of intestinal microbes beneficially. We aimed to detect the changes in the intestinal microbiomes of 37 healthy elderly Korean women after the intake of a ...synbiotic drink. This was a longitudinal study controlled with a temporal series, including a control period of 3 weeks before intake, synbiotic intake for 3 weeks, and a washout period of 3 weeks. Fecal microbiota composition was analyzed by sequencing the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA. Physical fecal activity increased with improvement in fecal shape. Thirty intestinal bacterial taxa were observed to change only after the intake period. In particular,
appeared only after ingestion. In addition, the abundance of Terrisporobacter showed a positive correlation with C-reactive protein, triglyceride. Lachnospiraceae_uc, Eubacterium_g5, and Blautia had a positive correlation with creatinine, whereas PAC001100_g had a negative correlation with creatinine. Short-term (3 weeks) intake of symbiotic organisms changes the composition of the gut microbiota in healthy elderly Korean women.
This paper proposes a Fourier transform-based modified phasor estimation method to eliminate the adverse influence of the exponentially decaying dc offsets when discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is ...used to calculate the phasor of the fundamental frequency component in a relaying signal. By subtracting the result of odd-sample-set DFT from the result of even-sample-set DFT, the information of dc offsets can be obtained. Two dc offsets in a secondary relaying signal are treated as one dc offset which is piecewise approximated in one cycle data window. The effect of the dc offsets can be eliminated by the approximated dc offset. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by using computer-simulated signals and Electromagnetic Transients Program-generated signals. The algorithm is also tested on a hardware board with TMS320C32 microprocessor. The evaluation results indicate that the proposed algorithm can estimate the accurate phasor of the fundamental frequency component regardless of not only the primary decaying dc offset but also the secondary decaying dc offset caused by CT circuit itself including its burden.
We introduce UnaG as a green-to-dark photoswitching fluorescent protein capable of high-quality super-resolution imaging with photon numbers equivalent to the brightest photoswitchable red protein. ...UnaG only fluoresces upon binding of a fluorogenic metabolite, bilirubin, enabling UV-free reversible photoswitching with easily controllable kinetics and low background under Epi illumination. The on- and off-switching rates are controlled by the concentration of the ligand and the excitation light intensity, respectively, where the dissolved oxygen also promotes the off-switching. The photo-oxidation reaction mechanism of bilirubin in UnaG suggests that the lack of ligand-protein covalent bond allows the oxidized ligand to detach from the protein, emptying the binding cavity for rebinding to a fresh ligand molecule. We demonstrate super-resolution single-molecule localization imaging of various subcellular structures genetically encoded with UnaG, which enables facile labeling and simultaneous multicolor imaging of live cells. UnaG has the promise of becoming a default protein for high-performance super-resolution imaging.
Gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) is a lethal disease characterized by genomic and clinical heterogeneity. By integrating 8 previously established genomic signatures for GAC subtypes, we identified 6 ...clinically and molecularly distinct genomic consensus subtypes (CGSs). CGS1 have the poorest prognosis, very high stem cell characteristics, and high IGF1 expression, but low genomic alterations. CGS2 is enriched with canonical epithelial gene expression. CGS3 and CGS4 have high copy number alterations and low immune reactivity. However, CGS3 and CGS4 differ in that CGS3 has high HER2 activation, while CGS4 has high SALL4 and KRAS activation. CGS5 has the high mutation burden and moderately high immune reactivity that are characteristic of microsatellite instable tumors. Most CGS6 tumors are positive for Epstein Barr virus and show extremely high levels of methylation and high immune reactivity. In a systematic analysis of genomic and proteomic data, we estimated the potential response rate of each consensus subtype to standard and experimental treatments such as radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Interestingly, CGS3 was significantly associated with a benefit from chemoradiation therapy owing to its high basal level of ferroptosis. In addition, we also identified potential therapeutic targets for each consensus subtype. Thus, the consensus subtypes produced a robust classification and provide for additional characterizations for subtype-based customized interventions.
Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the compounds present in the marijuana plant, has anti-tumor properties, but its mechanism is not well known. This study aimed to evaluate the apoptotic action of CBD in ...colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, and focused on its effects on the novel pro-apoptotic Noxa-reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathway. CBD experiments were performed using the CRC cell lines HCT116 and DLD-1. CBD induced apoptosis by regulating many pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, of which Noxa showed significantly higher expression. To understand the relationship between Noxa and CBD-induced apoptosis, Noxa levels were downregulated using siRNA, and the expression of apoptosis markers decreased. After ROS production was blocked, the level of Noxa also decreased, suggesting that ROS is involved in the regulation of Noxa, which along with ROS is a well-known pro-apoptotic signaling agents. As a result, CBD induced apoptosis in a Noxa-and-ROS-dependent manner. Taken together, the results obtained in this study re-demonstrated the effects of CBD treatment in vivo, thus confirming its role as a novel, reliable anticancer drug.
Display omitted
•Our results strongly suggest, for the first time, that CBD can cause Noxa-induced cell death.•CBD induced apoptotic cell death via ROS/Endoplasmic Reticulum stress-regulated Noxa activation in colorectal cancer cells.•These results suggest that CBD has important implications for the potential treatment of human CRC.
PDF
