A dual-polarized hybrid eight-antenna array operating in the 2.6-GHz band (2550-2650 MHz) for 5G communication multi-input multi-output (MIMO) operation in the smartphone is presented. The proposed ...hybrid antenna array elements are symmetrically placed along the long edges of the smartphone, and they are composed of two different four-antenna array types (C-shaped coupled-fed and L-shaped monopole slot) that exhibit orthogonal polarization. Therefore, coupling between the two antenna array types can be reduced, and the MIMO system performances are enhanced. A prototype of the proposed eight-antenna array is manufactured and measured. A good impedance matching (10 dB return loss or better), desirable cross-polarization discrimination (better than 15 dB), and an acceptable isolation (better than 12.5 dB) are obtained. Envelope correlation coefficient and channel capacity are also calculated to evaluate the MIMO performances of the proposed antenna array.
Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) facilitates the formation of condensed biological assemblies with well-delineated physical boundaries, but without lipid membrane barriers. LLPS is increasingly ...recognized as a common mechanism for cells to organize and maintain different cellular compartments in addition to classical membrane-delimited organelles. Membraneless condensates have many distinct features that are not present in membrane-delimited organelles and that are likely indispensable for the viability and function of living cells. Malformation of membraneless condensates is increasingly linked to human diseases. In this review, we summarize commonly used methods to investigate various forms of LLPS occurring both in 3D aqueous solution and on 2D membrane bilayers, such as LLPS condensates arising from intrinsically disordered proteins or structured modular protein domains. We then discuss, in the context of comparisons with membrane-delimited organelles, the potential functional implications of membraneless condensate formation in cells. We close by highlighting some challenges in the field devoted to studying LLPS-mediated membraneless condensate formation.
All‐polymer solar cells (all‐PSCs) have received attention in recent years for their desirable properties in power conversion efficiency and long‐term operational stability. However, it is still a ...big challenge to acquire an “ideal” vertical‐phase distribution of polymer/polymer blends due to the non‐ideal molecular conformations and mixing behaviors. Herein, a ternary‐assisted sequential solution deposition (SSD) strategy is adopted to regulate the vertical compositional profile of all‐PSCs. A favorable acceptor(donor)‐enriched phase near the cathode(anode) can be obtained by a ternary‐assisted SSD strategy. With such a compositional profile, the exciton yield and carrier density can be enhanced by the vertical component gradient. Remarkably, the non‐geminate recombination is suppressed with an improved exciton diffusion length (15.36 nm) that delivers an outstanding power conversion efficiency over 16% of the ternary PM6/PY‐IT:PDI‐2T SSD devices. This work demonstrates the success of ternary‐assisted SSD strategy in reorganizing the vertical‐phase distribution, which provides a feasible route for a potential ternary device construction toward efficient all‐polymer photovoltaics.
A vertical compositional gradient within the active layer with a donor‐enriched active‐anode interface and an acceptor‐enriched active‐cathode interface can be achieved by sequential solution deposition treatment in PM6/PY‐IT:PDI‐2T device. As a result, charge transfer properties and exciton diffusion length are promoted with suppressed non‐geminate recombination to deliver an outstanding power conversion efficiency of 16% in the all‐polymer solar cells, which are verified with transient absorption, time‐resolved photoluminescence, and capacitance‐voltage measurements.
A reliable and low‐cost solution‐processing procedure to synthesize a highly adhesive flexible metal antenna with low resistivity for radio‐frequency identification device (RFID) tags on paper ...substrates via inkjet printing combined with surface modification and electroless deposition (ELD) is demonstrated in this paper. Through the surface modification of colloidal solution of hydrolyzed stannous chloride and chitosan solution, the paper‐based substrate is able to reduce the penetration rate of ink and further increase the adsorption amount of silver ions, which could create a catalytic activating layer to catalyze the subsequent ELD of a conductive deposited metal antenna. The resulting metal antenna for RFID tags presents good adhesive strength and low resistivity of 2.58 × 10−8 Ω·m after 40 min of ELD, and maintains a reliable reading range of RFID tags even after over 1000 times of bending and mechanical stress. Consequently, the developed technology proposed allows for cheap, efficient, and massive production of metal antenna for paper‐based RFID tags with excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Furthermore, this process is especially advantageous for the fabrication of next‐generation flexible electronic devices based on paper substrates.
A novel and efficient solution‐processing procedure combined with inkjet printing, surface modification, and electroless deposition is proposed for the fabrication of an outstanding flexible radio‐frequency identification device (RFID) tag metal antenna on a paper‐based substrate without high temperature or sophisticated manufacturing equipment. This method is a low‐cost and portable fabrication route for RFID antennas, which is promising for large‐scale commercial manufacturing.
Objective
To examine the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for treatment of pilonidal disease (PD) and thus provide a reference for clinical application.
Methods
A systematic review of PubMed and the ...Cochrane Library was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. We considered all studies that reported the use of PRP for treatment of PD. Extracted data included the first author’s name, year of publication, study type, number of included patients, inclusion and exclusion criteria, interventions, anesthesia, application of PRP (source, preparation, dose, and operation), antibiotics, follow-up time, therapeutic outcomes, and adverse events.
Results
In total, eight randomized controlled trials and one prospective cohort study involving 809 patients were included. PRP reduced pain, accelerated healing, and reduced adverse events. The application of combined minimally invasive surgery achieved better results. However, overfilling of the wound with PRP in minimally invasive surgeries was shown to potentially increase the risk of adverse events.
Conclusion
PRP can be used as an adjuvant treatment in PD surgery to improve the therapeutic effect and reduce adverse events. The optimal combination of PRP and various factors is an important direction of future research.
INPLASY registration number: INPLASY2023100070.
A tri-polarized 12-antenna array working in the 3.5-GHz band (3.4-3.6 GHz) for future 5G (the fifth generation mobile communication) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operations in the smartphone ...is presented. In order to reduce the mutual couplings and simplify the design process, orthogonal polarization technique is utilized. By combining a quarter mode substrate integrated wave-guide antenna and two open-end slots, a compact 3-antenna tri-polarization block operating in the 3.5-GHz band is achieved within a small volume of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">17\times 17\times6 </tex-math></inline-formula> mm 3 . Thanks to the orthogonal polarization features, the three antennas within the block are able to have good impedance matchings and low mutual couplings between antennas. By integrating four such tri-polarization blocks, a 12-antenna MIMO array is then designed for smartphone applications. It is also due to the tri-polarization feature, the proposed array could attain acceptable isolations and low correlations between antennas with only two additional decoupling structures. The proposed array is fabricated and tested, good antenna performances, such as return loss better than 10 dB, isolation higher than 12.5 dB, and antenna efficiencies higher than 50%, are obtained. The channel capacity of the 12-antenna array is calculated to be about 57 bps/Hz in a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">12\times12 </tex-math></inline-formula> MIMO system with 20-dB signal-to-noise ratio, which indicates the proposed array using tri-polarization technique is a good choice for future 5G terminals.
Recent advances in organic photodetectors (OPDs) have enabled high detectivity, high quantum efficiency, and fast response, due to their broad spectral response, easy processing, compatibility with ...flexible devices, and cooling‐free operations. The advantages of combining ultrathin and self‐powered OPDs are rarely explored, as technological limitations and lack of knowledge on the underlying mechanisms may lead to low light absorption efficiency and carrier recombination issues. Here, a modification layer‐assisted approach is developed to construct ultrathin self‐powered OPDs with enhanced sensitivity and ultrafast response time performance due to efficient exciton dissociation, energy transfer, and charge extraction processes. Specifically, this strategy enables a reduced exciton binding energy (42.4 meV) for efficient dissociation, as well as an increased dielectric constant of the photosensitive layer that shields undesirable lattice binding effects of photogenerated excitons. As a result, a remarkable device responsivity (0.45 A W−1), improved response detectivity (1.25 × 1012 Jones), and enhanced energy transfer efficiency (78.7%) are observed in the modified ultrathin organic photodetector. These findings illustrate a clear correlation between the exciton dissociation process, photogenerated exciton yields, and energy transfer channels, providing essential insight into the design of efficient ultrathin organic photodetectors.
An ultrathin (≈10 nm) self‐powered organic photodetector with high performance is constructed using the modification layer‐assisted strategy. The exciton binding energy reduction is achieved by shielding undesirable lattice binding effects, and it is revealed that efficient exciton dissociation and Föster energy transfer processes are key factors to achieve optimized performance of the self‐powered photodetector.
The paper comparatively investigates the microstructures and mechanical properties of Inconel 718 superalloy manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) and casting. The finite element analysis ...(FEA) method is used to simulate the temperature fields during SLM and casting processes. Driven by ultra-high temperature gradient and ultra-fast cooling rate during SLM process, the fine grains (average grain size of 48 µm) and dispersed fine precipitation in SLM-ed sample even after HSA (homogenization + solution + aging) and HA (homogenization + aging) heat treatment significantly enhance its mechanical properties, which far exceeds that of casting with average grain size of 1300 µm, and is comparable to that of forging. The microstructure of casting with coarse irregular Laves phases, acicular δ precipitates and globular carbides in the interdendritic zones after HSA heat treatment and some defects existed possibly result in premature failure of tensile samples. The microstructure without δ phases but only some globular carbides in the grain boundary of SLM-ed sample after HA heat treatment possesses higher mechanical properties than that after HSA heat treatment, in which there is only some finer needle-like δ phase and few carbides are precipitated in the grain boundaries. The analysis shows the large amounts of δ phase precipitated in the matrix will deteriorate the plasticity of SLM-ed IN718 superalloy, the appropriate reduction of the δ phase will improve the strength and plasticity of material simultaneously.
This review focuses on critical scientific barriers that the field of point-of-care (POC) testing of SARS-CoV-2 is facing and possible solutions to overcome these barriers using functional nucleic ...acid (FNA)-based technology. Beyond the summary of recent advances in FNA-based sensors for COVID-19 diagnostics, our goal is to outline how FNA might serve to overcome the scientific barriers that currently available diagnostic approaches are suffering. The first introductory section on the operationalization of the COVID-19 pandemic in historical view and its clinical features contextualizes essential SARS-CoV-2-specific biomarkers. The second part highlights three major scientific barriers for POC COVID-19 diagnosis, that is, the lack of a general method for (1) designing receptors of SARS-CoV-2 variants; (2) improving sensitivity to overcome false negatives; and (3) signal readout in resource-limited settings. The subsequent part provides fundamental insights into FNA and technical tricks to successfully achieve effective COVID-19 diagnosis by using in vitro selection of FNA to overcome receptor design barriers, combining FNA with multiple DNA signal amplification strategies to improve sensitivity, and interfacing FNA with portable analyzers to overcome signal readout barriers. This review concludes with an overview of further opportunities and emerging applications for FNA-based sensors against COVID-19.
Graphical abstract
Developing efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) with thick active layers is crucial for roll‐to‐roll printing. However, thicker layers often result in lower efficiency. This study tackles this ...challenge using a polymer adsorption strategy combined with a layer‐by‐layer approach. Incorporating insulator polystyrene (PS) into the PM6:L8‐BO system creates PM6+PS:L8‐BO blends, effectively suppressing trap states and extending exciton diffusion length in the mixed donor domain. Adding insulating polymers with benzene rings to the donor enhances π–π stacking of donors, boosting intermolecular interactions and electron wave function overlap. This results in more orderly molecular stacking, longer exciton lifetimes, and higher diffusion lengths. The promoted long‐range exciton diffusion leads to high power conversion efficiencies of 19.05% and 18.15% for PM6+PS:L8‐BO blend films with 100 and 300 nm thickness, respectively, as well as a respectable 16.00% for 500 nm. These insights guide material selection for better exciton diffusion, and offer a method for thick‐film OSC fabrication, promoting a prosperous future for practical OSC mass production.
This study addresses the challenge of maintaining efficiency in thick‐film organic solar cells (OSCs). A novel polymer adsorption strategy that regulates molecular stacking, leading to enhanced intermolecular interactions. A reduction in trap states and an elongation in exciton diffusion length, resulting in a remarkable increase in power conversion efficiency in thick‐film OSCs, is achieved.
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